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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graceym1 | @graceym1 | Mar 27 8:40am

In reply to @jackielb "I take 40 mg Pantoprazole delayed release every morning" + (show)

When mine was really bad I took 40 Nexium 2 times daily. And Pepcid. It helped a lot!

Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Mar 27 9:20am

In reply to @graceym1 "When mine was really bad I took 40 Nexium 2 times daily. And Pepcid. It helped..." + (show)

Hi, @graceym1 - Appreciate your sharing your tips on what helped you for bad GERD. So glad you found a way to make your symptoms a lot better.

I'm guessing you mean you took 40 mg of esomeprazole (Nexium) 2 times daily (not 40 pills)?

graceym1 | @graceym1 | Mar 27 9:51am

In reply to @lisalucier "Hi, @graceym1 - Appreciate your sharing your tips on what helped you for bad GERD. So..." + (show)

Yup

diannesmcneill | @diannesmcneill | Mar 28 9:13am

In reply to @violetsam235 "Thank you very much, I am definitely going to get some Alkaline water. What are the..." + (show)

What brand alkaline water?

violetsam235 | @violetsam235 | Mar 28 11:58am

In reply to @januaryjane "Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried..." + (show)

I'm fine with a brand of alkaline water, I got it from Samas club. (: I already feel a bit better by drinking this water, verse the one I was drinking. Thank you so much. I am wondering if there are any more kind of drinks that are recommended. I love fruit juices but have been told to keep away from citrus, so I am looking for alternative fruit drinks. Do you have any suggestions?

klrick007 | @klrick007 | Mar 29 9:51am

In reply to @januaryjane "Last year I had a scope and it turned out everything was pretty irritated. I tried..." + (show)

Yes, I too have had chronic gerd and digestive issues for many years. After my last endoscopy I knew I had to get serious, otherwise I was facing the next step, which would be Barrett’s Esophagus. I decided to go on a whole foods diet, no fast food, no prepared foods, just homemade foods with no preservatives, no seed oils, low fat, low carb, etc. Also, NO alcohol, no carbonated beverages, no coffee, no black tea, no acidic drinks, or juices, etc and NO STRESS! It’s a very restrictive program, but it has worked. I have lost 45 pounds in the last year, which has also helped my digestive issues. I do take 1 20mg Prilosec every morning. I also use some alkaline water, but I don’t really think that is the answer. I also weight train three days a weeks and power walk five times per week. I finally realized that just complaining without making major changes would not get me where I wanted to go. I now put myself first on my list everyday. My gastroenterologist is thrilled with my results and so am I! 😉

tyzzon27 | @tyzzon27 | Mar 29 10:58am

In reply to @klrick007 "Yes, I too have had chronic gerd and digestive issues for many years. After my last..." + (show)

I too stopped caffeine and soda, changed my diet and stopped ppi pills. The pills were causing intestinal problems, plus not supposed to be taking them forever says only for 3 months.
Have not had stomach issues like before and not relying on prescription drugs.

januaryjane | @januaryjane | Mar 31 11:09pm

In reply to @violetsam235 "I'm fine with a brand of alkaline water, I got it from Samas club. (: I..." + (show)

I love juice too but cannot have it ;( I can sometimes stomach a vitamin water, like the dragon fruit. I've also watered gatorade down and can manage that occasionally. Try icing down herbal teas and infuse with fruit.

karthickvelanmani | @karthickvelanmani | May 16 10:52am

In reply to @johnbluffside "What are your symptoms ? What is helpful? I have heartburn, but mostly hard time swallowing..." + (show)

Hi all,

Pls help me for my problem. I have lost last 8 months because of burping issue.

I used to burp 100-150 time a day. I have no Gerd/regurgitation or no pain in stomach, no indigestion.Daily 2times I am passing stool.

My burp is not so easy as normal person, it pushes me down, if I am standing. I used to feel heavy pressure, noise in middle of stomach. Sometimes it accumulate there and when I move from chair, it causes dizzy and unstability. Sometimes my nerves tingle, followed by burp immediately, sometimes blood flow in hand will be less, followed by burp. After burp is released I will be a normal person until next gas accumulation.

Morning I woke up with full gas in stomach, and with 20min I will burp 20-30times, which sometimes pushes me down in bed (though i had dinner at 7pm before day - nearly 12 hrs of fasting)

Endoscopy done says H- pyroli positive and hiatus hernia grade 4 - I have no gerd or regurgitation. After antibiotics for 14 days h-pyroli stool test came negative. Still I have burping problem.

Followed by CT small bowl done everything normal and CRP value in blood test is around 20 quite high, doctor gave rifaxamine for 14 days 1100mg/day. I am on day 10 but no improvement.

Because of this issue it makes me unstable and reduces my confidence and reduced 20kgs in 7months.

please suggestions me your valuable options. Hiatus is there but no gerd or regurgitation only burping. I have checked many MD DM gastero doctor they are saying it is nothing, burp is least symptoms in gastero.

My problem is not burp, it is only pressure of gas and its accumulation which causes dizzy

PPI tablets, prokinetic tablets doesn't helped me

jenatsky | @jenatsky | May 21 10:35am

In reply to @karthickvelanmani "Hi all, Pls help me for my problem. I have lost last 8 months because of..." + (show)

I just heard a program on XM Sirius Doctor Radio on the subject. Seems it’s either air you swallow from eating to quickly or the normal amount we ordinarily swallow when eating or talking or it’s gas produced by your GI system digestive process. You might consider a breath test to rule out SIBO first since it’s non-invasive. This will hopefully provide a definitive answer as to whether it gas or air. Both can be treated with meds and/or diet change. Good luck. I was recently diagnosed with SIBO but didn’t have burping. My symptoms were all at the other end. You might try keeping a food and symptom diary so you can track what’s occurring when and with what foods. I changed my diet after an antibiotic that cured my SIBO.