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GERD issues

Posted by janarose @janarose, Feb 29, 2012

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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januaryjane | @januaryjane | Mar 21 11:31am
In reply to @jlharsh "Who ordered your scope, and what are they recommending? Is there anything you can pin down..." + (show)
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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

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My gp ordered my scope. My diagnosis was gastritis, bile reflux, hital hernia, gastric polyps, mild distal esophagitis.
I was on Omeprazole for years so after my scope I tried Pantoprazole with no effect, added pepcid, switched to Nexium and now on Prevacid. I worked with the surgeon and my gp.
Along with burning indigestion, I have frequent burping and hiccup fits that come out of nowhere. The surgeon said my h hernia was small and not concerned at the time.
Seems like symptoms can get a little better at times but it's not long till they rear their ugly head again!

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januaryjane | @januaryjane | Mar 21 11:33am
In reply to @rozy288 "I’ve had chronic 7 diagnosed digestive illnesses, 11 years now . Did all the major testing..." + (show)
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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 .

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That's awful I'm so sorry. Thank you for your kind reply.

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januaryjane | @januaryjane | Mar 21 11:39am
In reply to @californiazebra "You do have lots of unpleasant symptoms. Gallbladder okay? Are you currently taking a PPI? I..." + (show)
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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.

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On prevacid now. Gallbladder is fine but I do have gallstones that are deemed ok.
Pantroprazle is supposed to be a wonder drug but I tried it for months to no avail. I'm glad it worked for you!

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januaryjane | @januaryjane | Mar 21 11:44am
In reply to @baguette "I am sorry you are going through all this. I can tell you what I did..." + (show)
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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!

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Thank you for all the info! Yes, I usually sleep head elevated or in a chair. Processed foods and acidic foods or drinks are the worst! Sometimes the only thing I can drink is water and I try to get the alkaline because it sits best. I will look at these recipes, thank you!

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baguette | @baguette | Mar 21 12:04pm
In reply to @januaryjane "Thank you for all the info! Yes, I usually sleep head elevated or in a chair...." + (show)
Profile picture for januaryjane @januaryjane

Thank you for all the info! Yes, I usually sleep head elevated or in a chair. Processed foods and acidic foods or drinks are the worst! Sometimes the only thing I can drink is water and I try to get the alkaline because it sits best. I will look at these recipes, thank you!

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/199013402360712 is the FB page for the group following Aviv. It's a bit bureaucratic, you have to read multiple guides to find out where everything is. But they do have awesome recipes.

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leonardkite | @leonardkite | Mar 21 7:33pm
In reply to @pb50 "I went to pepcid 20mg once a day when i weaned off PPIs. No issues" + (show)
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I went to pepcid 20mg once a day when i weaned off PPIs. No issues

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my GI doctor said take Pepcid 40 mg at night, about 30 years ago but I forgot that, now I am taking 20 mg twice a day, with some success. I forgot about the bland diet so I am paying the price for it now. thanks for reminding me to stay off the good food.

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pb50 | @pb50 | Mar 21 9:37pm
In reply to @gigipatula "Went to the GI Dr. they said to take Pepsic AC max 20mg, twice a day..." + (show)
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Went to the GI Dr. they said to take Pepsic AC max 20mg, twice a day for 2 weeks. I took it for 4.5 days and was mentally destroyed. Anxiety, depression, and an off feeling in my gut. I quit taking it and a couple days later got this horrible bitter taste in my mouth that I still have 7 days later. I'm hoping it will go away. Has anyone else experienced this on this drug? Thankfully mentally I'm feeling better, never again will I take this drug or any PPI!

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Yea Pepcid works but not aa quickly as a PPI like Nexium. Taking on your schedule will help.

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blessedwildapplegirl | @blessedwildapplegirl | Mar 22 2:08am
In reply to @januaryjane "Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried..." + (show)
Profile picture for januaryjane @januaryjane

Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried switching my medication up multiple times and still do not have a good handle on it. Diet etc helps but only to an extent. I can't handle foods or medicines like I use to do. It's been an awful battle of different symptoms. Nausea, indigestion, bloating, acid reflux, regurgitation and sometimes vomiting. I'm just wondering when this will subside and what if meds don't help anymore? I'm scared that I won't be able to stomach any new medication I might need. It's taking forever to get into the gastroenterologist.
I can't take nsaids or ibprofen anymore and I have chronic inflammation..so it's driving me a little bonkers. Please anyone with similar GERD issues chime in!

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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.

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gigipatula | @gigipatula | Mar 22 8:31am
In reply to @gigipatula "Went to the GI Dr. they said to take Pepsic AC max 20mg, twice a day..." + (show)
Profile picture for gigipatula @gigipatula

Went to the GI Dr. they said to take Pepsic AC max 20mg, twice a day for 2 weeks. I took it for 4.5 days and was mentally destroyed. Anxiety, depression, and an off feeling in my gut. I quit taking it and a couple days later got this horrible bitter taste in my mouth that I still have 7 days later. I'm hoping it will go away. Has anyone else experienced this on this drug? Thankfully mentally I'm feeling better, never again will I take this drug or any PPI!

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Not sure if I did update this post or not from before but ....I did indeed test positive for Alpha Gal. Since giving up mammalian meat my GERD symptoms are all but gone I still get the occasional heartburn, burping etc but nothing like before! I've also lost 12 pounds since my diagnosis. I had no idea that Alpha Gal could cause GERD like symptoms I was used to having the whole anaphylactic shock GI issues which were far more scarier! I now believe that every year when I get my annual blood work done I will have the AG test done as well.

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sori | @sori | Mar 22 11:36am
In reply to @januaryjane "Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried..." + (show)
Profile picture for januaryjane @januaryjane

Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried switching my medication up multiple times and still do not have a good handle on it. Diet etc helps but only to an extent. I can't handle foods or medicines like I use to do. It's been an awful battle of different symptoms. Nausea, indigestion, bloating, acid reflux, regurgitation and sometimes vomiting. I'm just wondering when this will subside and what if meds don't help anymore? I'm scared that I won't be able to stomach any new medication I might need. It's taking forever to get into the gastroenterologist.
I can't take nsaids or ibprofen anymore and I have chronic inflammation..so it's driving me a little bonkers. Please anyone with similar GERD issues chime in!

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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.

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