Who ordered your scope, and what are they recommending? Is there anything you can pin down that is working for you? I’m not much help to diagnose, rather just someone trying to hold it all together through my own process. 🙂 A scope my local GI did a few years back didn’t yield any information for me. When you say “inflammation” how are you defining that? I am thinking pinning down details of where you are at will help you make another step forward. IDK

I’ve had chronic 7 diagnosed digestive illnesses, 11 years now .
Did all the major testing , many x over . 5 GI Dr’s , even Mayo Clinic Jax testing .
I tried FM practitioners , holistic approaches, every supplement for GI Health, acupuncture, hypnosis ( that didn’t work ) , you name it . RX ‘s , eliminating diets , food allergy testing .
I still suffer every single day , chronically, plus chronic fatigue now , I deep wet belch over 600-700 x a day gross 🤢, went through a throwing up stage , non stop churning gut & intestines. Can barely stand to eat but still very sick if I don’t eat .
I’m really at wits end.
It’s no way to live , I can barely leave my house anymore.
I feel for you .

You do have lots of unpleasant symptoms. Gallbladder okay? Are you currently taking a PPI? I just had to wait a few months to see a new GI.

I have GERD and when I had my first scope 12 years ago my esophagus was red and irritated. I’ve had a small hiatal hernia all along. That allows the reflux. I’ve been on pantoprazole ever since and even though I still have some mild symptoms my esophagus has looked pink and healthy in the 3 scopes I’ve had since including last week. My understanding is that a PPI and OTC reflux meds may both relieve symptoms but only PPIs actually heal the esophagus so I’ve been told to stick with my PPI.

I hope you can get in to see the GI soon and find a solution to whatever is driving your GI issues.

I am sorry you are going through all this. I can tell you what I did and maybe will ring true for you. I have GERD, hiatal hernia, and laryngopharyngeal reflux. I suffer chest pains and coughs and belching. I was on a PPI (omeprazole) for four years without blood test monitoring and discovered by chance that I had developed chronic kidney disease, stage 3. I weaned off the PPI and my CKD improved; it was an acute kidney injury caught in time so I improved into the reference range. I will say the PPI managed my symptoms so I could eat almost normally.

You said you tried diet, etc., but let me tell you what I did in that regard.

I bought Dr. Jonathan Aviv's book on low-acid, whole food diet, and joined the FB page that has a ton of recipes based on his diet (acid watcher warriors I think it's called). I also went to the web site of another ENT, Dr. Jamie Koufman, which has a lot of good free advice. She also has a book on a low-acid diet. I followed a lot of her advice, e.g., the diet, alkaline water (be careful if you have filtered water. Check to see if it's acidic. If it is add alkaline drops); Gaviscon Advance from UK, chewing sugarless gum, sleeping on an incline (actually I sleep sitting up), spritzing my throat with alkaline water. When I follow the low acid, whole food diet I feel better, no chest pains, less belching, no reflux. It is difficult, but when I eat highly processed food or acidic foods I feel worse. It took more than a month for the worst symptoms to start abating.

My GI doc wanted me on PPIs or undergo surgery. I opted to try the diet/lifestyle protocol because it had less chance of side effects. If diet/lifestyle changes don't work for you then I suppose you need to do more testing to see if there is something else going on besides plain vanilla GERD. Good luck!

@januaryjane I have had GERD and a hiatal hernia for several years, and have been taking Lansoprazole for as many years. I have discussed going off Lansoprazole with my doctor because I have heard it should not be taken long term, but she said in some cases - like mine - it is best to stay on it to prevent Barrett’s esophagus. I take one 30mg. Lansoprazole every night at bedtime.

I also do not eat anything after 9:00 p.m. - most nights I stop eating by 8:00 p.m. I have the head of my bed raised too. All this has kept my GERD at bay. Having lost ten to fifteen pounds over the years has helped greatly too.

My issue is probably different than yours, but I thought I would let you know something interesting that happened to me. I’ve had IBS all my life, but about four months ago I’m not sure what happened, but I had sudden terrible stomach distress that was so severe that I almost couldn’t eat anything. I’ve been under a lot of stress and I don’t know if it was that or what, but about a week ago I decided to try some canned sardines because I read that they were anti-inflammatory. I had a CAT scan about three months ago and they saw inflammation in my lower bowel, and it was burning something terrible, which I had never experienced before with my IBS. Anyway, I’m not sure if it was a coincidence or not, But the day after I ate the sardines, the burning went away, and my Gerd got better! The Gerd was new to me as well because I didn’t have that until this new episode of whatever it is that began four months ago. Maybe this is a fluke, but since I read online that fatty fish contains omega-3 oils, and I had a miraculous healing, it appears from eating them, I thought I would share. I’ve eaten some every day and then skipped one day and had a stomachache again. Again, this could be a coincidence, and our situations could be totally different, but you never know. I hope you get your situation sorted out! There’s nothing worse than not being able to eat. You have my deepest sympathy.

Hi !
I also have several chronic gastric/intestinal conditions. Crohn`s, gastroparesis, hiatal hernia, GERD, diverticulosis, chronic gastritis . I also have osteoporosis and Bronchiectasis. Last week I was tested for SIBO. I waiting for the results.
Right now, I am going thru a diverticulitis flare (very painful). My hiatal hernia is small. I am lactose intolerant and I have sensitivity to gluten.
I manage my GERD with diet, famotine, supplements ( my functional Medicine recommended the supplements|) and Gaviscon. I also raised my bed. I ate dinner between 5:00-5:30 pm and I don't drink or eat anything after 7:00 pm. I was on PPIs for many years. I talk to my doctor about stopping the PPIs because all the secondary effects. PPIs can lead to osteoporosis. I know a lot of people take PPIs and the do well. I only take PPIs if I have to, and for a very short period.

I'm sorry about your brother. Wow I get why you are very concerned. You definitely want to keep the GERD at bay. That is pretty identical to what my doctor said. And no surprise, he just kept referring back to science and told me to stop reading so much on the internet (in his nice way lol).

It will take about 1 month to get GERD under control on PPI med if u just started the treatment - 40 mg 1st thing in the morning - then wait 30 minutes before eating anything. For Gastritis. It also took 1 month on 40 mg in the morning and 40 mg 30 minutes before dinner - 80 mg total.

Are you taking a strong ppi? Or something like Pepcid?