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GERD issues
I am 22 years old. I don't smoke or drink. Growing up I can remember having a slight hoarse voice in the morning if I ate to late at nights. But never anything too miserable. It would go away within a hour after drinking water.
March 2011 on a Wednesday. I woke up with a hoarse voice that never went away. After a few weeks I started to get slightly worried so I went to my family doctor. I went 3 times over a course of 5-6 weeks and they had no idea after giving me multiple steroids and antibiotics that did nothing. I also had no pain in the beginning my throat didn't hurt at all. My only symptom was the voice. So they sent me to a throat specialist. (Audiologist) He did a throat endoscopy and told me I have GERD. He prescribed me omeprazole 20mg once a day. I changed my diet. I stopped eating hours before I went to sleep. I have never been a soda drinker, I am not a fan of fatty foods. The fattiest thing I like to eat sometimes is chocolate.. So I gave that up. I don't eat big meals. I have always been a snacker. But I didn't seem to get that much better so back as planned in 6weeks. He told me to start taking it twice a day. my throat started to hurt and become really sore around this point. I would wake up in severe pain, and it would hurt through out the day. I would take 2- 20mg omeprazole and I would also drink baking soda mixed with water whenever I couldn't handle the constant burn anymore.. I wouldn't drink the baking soda/water at the same time as taking the omeprazole. I made sure I did that hours apart from one another.
So about 10-12 weeks later my symptoms got much worse. It wasn't working. Nothing seemed to work.
So I went back to the doctor. They did another endoscopy and my throat is more swollen than the first. It's starting to swell up even higher around where my thyroid is.
I started having chest pains and it has become hard to swallow anything.
My heart rate gets insanely high in random occasions.
I feel a knock/thump whenever I swallow.
My throat is always hurting.
I am nauseous when I eat.
It's painful to eat or drink anything; I have lost almost 30lbs because of it.
So I have had a endoscopy twice now,
I got a barium swallow done and he told me I have acid reflux. probe test done,.,Blood work....How many more test need to be done?
I haven’t heard my voice in a year now. It's to the point where I am becoming depressed and I ignore talking to people. I ignore hanging out with friends, because if I talk to much my throat becomes incredibly sore to the point where I won't be able to sleep. I can't yell or whisper. I have one tone. If I yell then I’m pretty much out for the rest of the day because my throat hurts so badly.
I am thinking about going to the Mayo Clinic. Has anyone else been through this? Do you think they will be able to help? Could it be something else?
Im desperate.
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I went to pepcid 20mg once a day when i weaned off PPIs. No issues
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1 ReactionHow long were you on PPIs and how did you taper off? I've tried a few times to slowly wean off my PPI and replace it with famotidine (Pepcid), but I always get stomach pain and nausea so have to go back on the PPI.
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1 ReactionI was on PPIs for 15 years and i went to every other day for a couple of weeks and then went to pepcid daily and then once symptoms were stable, I began weaning down on that. Now I take it only ‘as needed’ dosage.
I did have to supplement with tums and took two pepcids a day. Try to put yourself on calming diet of food that doesn't cause gas or otherwise make it worse - White rice no butter, white toast, soft white chicken, veggies cooked until soft, scrambled eggs. Start mixing your coffee or tea with decaf if you can. Try to shoot for no caffeine but to start just weaken it.
In general avoid foods that cause heartburn for now. Eat tiny meals and digest it before you eat again. My typical breakfast is greek yogurt and white toast with honey. My lunch is a cup of white rice, some soft white meat chicken, and half a cup of soft green beans.
You get the idea..
*Eat less food in one sitting - so 4-6 small meals rather than 3 big ones
* Eat LESS SUGAR, FATS, and SPICY FOODS
* avoid eating in between meals or make it something like sugar free jello with a few animal crackers
It took about 2 -2.5 months to stop having break thru heartburn. . But I virtually never have it now. And i only use Pepcid now if i screw up and have 3 slices of meat lovers pizza. 🙄
Good luck!!
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10 ReactionsOddly enough, this week I have had 2 episodes of what feels like Alpha Gal reactions. I had AG for years, and did not know it. Then went off mammalian meats for 5 years and tested negative. Now it seems as if I have managed to get bit once again by the wrong tick and have maybe contracted it once again. Trying now to get an appointment to get the necessary blook work to rule it out or confirm it. It may very well be what my problem is and I know how to manage that and feel good again, without meds!
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2 ReactionsGreat!!
PPI’s lower stomach acid production and Gerd can be caused by low stomach acid levels. Hence why taking PPI’s increases unwanted side effects. I would suggest these things if you are experiencing GERD symptoms. Excercise to help lower stomach circumference if slightly over weight. No tight waiste belts. To test for low stomach acid levels, take one tablespoon of baking soda in a glass of water. If you burp within 5 minutes your stomach Ph is normal. If you do not burp then you have low stomach acid levels and should stop taking PPI’s immediately, as those will make matters worse. I know because I’ve taken them before myself and nearly passed out from them. If symptoms are intermittent in nature get your Dr to check for H-Pylori , as this can cause these symptoms and can cause Cancer in the long term. Please check with your Dr first before taking any medications or supplements etc. Hope this helps someone. ~ Trained Paramedic
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2 ReactionsWelcome, @anonymous999. You're quite right that members should always check with their doctor about their medical concerns. As per the community guidelines on Mayo Clinic Connect (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/tab/community-guidelines/), members do not give out medical advice. See guideline number 1 here:
1. Be careful about giving out medical advice
- Sharing your own experience is fine, but don't tell other members what they should do.
- Experiences and information shared by members on the Mayo Clinic Connect are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
- Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the community. See the full Disclaimer.
- Medical tips or information may be removed if a member:
** Tells another member what to do
** Attempts to provide a diagnosis for another member
** Makes a medical statement that cannot be verified clearly as coming from their own personal experience
** States information as fact or makes a claim that is not properly referenced
** References information that is not evidence-based and/or does not come from a verified medical expert source.
As a trained paramedic, I'm sure you appreciate these community parameters.
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5 ReactionsHe gave helpful suggestions. I would hope you would not remove such a post.
I'm not sure he's completely correct about everything, but quite a few other posters post questionable information, and these are not removed.
Many people try to suggest what could be considered a "medical tip", so I guess everyone should remember to say "maybe try..." "maybe you have..." and not give their medical title, if they have one, and that will follow the rules.
Thank you for the forum!
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2 ReactionsWell, I have an appointment with my GP on 9/30 to get a Alpha Gal test done. Sadly I had 2 episodes of what felt like Alpha Gal reactions last week. Since then I have not had any mammalian meat products 🙂 And, so far so good, I feel much better even the heartburn is gone! So I am cancelling any GI dr' appointments, xrays etc until I get my results back! Fingers crossed this is Alpha Gal, which I had off and on since 1990 and never knew it till 2013. Then tested negative in 2017. I was bitten in the Spring by a Lone Star Tick and thought uh oh!!! Thank goodness I love chicken! Will update this once I get my test results. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information!!!
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1 ReactionI’m confused about the too little acid vs too much.
I am open to the idea, but sometimes I can feel the acid in my stomach churning around.
I have had gerd for years and currently take Protonix.
I just started Carafate, too.
Also, there is an advanced form of Gaviscon made in the UK.
I get some relief from that.
I am having the worst episode of gerd right now that I’ve ever had.
Chest tight, short of breath, exhausted. Raspy voice. Had third endoscopy a couple of months and doctor said it was clear. Oh, and the bloating is terrible.