First thanks for your service! I had LYNX surgery at Mayo in 2014. After that I discovered I had a Fructose intolerance even though they tested me for it prior to surgery. I have written several replies to this thread. Please before surgery and taking PPI's or other drugs that have severe side effects try an elimination diet. You may not like what you have to give up but you will feel so. much better. Doctors like to just prescribe drugs and then after a few years you hear they cause cancer and heart problems, soon you'll go down the rabbit hole of taking drugs to relieve the symptoms of drugs you're on. I had to give up fruit and sugars of all kind which is in just about everything, and stick to whole foods. Some vegetables are actually fruits, anything with seeds. Also beans and some nuts are fruits!! These intolerances cause more problems then just reflux. If your eating a food that you can't tolerate can have autoimmune diseases, diabetes, IBS, and many other ailments! I have never had a med since I went off fructose! It's often easier to take a pill then change eating habits but try eliminating certain food groups for a few weeks and see if you feel better. FYI if you've been on PPI's for over 2 weeks and try to get off you will have rebounds that are worse than what you had to start with. I think some people confuse that with assuming that the diet didn't work.