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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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@rkuz Hello. I've been invited to join this conversation. The best steps that I have taken to reduce Gerd are to sleep on a wedge and also not to eat/drink 3 hours before bedtime. I also think adding good bacteria to the tummy is helpful and I eat homemade saurkraut loaded with probiotics. My diet may not be for everyone but I do try to stay away from anything fried/sauted...along with eliminating as much processed food as possible...also no sugar. I am Plant Based only...and I think it helps. I never have issues from fruits and veggies. Suggest that you start keeping a food diary and pay attention to your bad nights. Good luck...Oh, I see you like tea....try Ginger tea. Kate
@alleycatkate @rkuz I had GERD but 6 years ago I received some life-changing bad advice from my local GI doc.. have the Nissen surgery.. Mayo MN diagnosed it... and gave me a way to cope with this non-fixable problem.. Now I have post-operative gastroparesis .. the surgery injured many nerves that helped empty the stomach.. Every meal is a challenge.. I feel best in the morning when the stomach is empty.. I have to eat small meals often.. snack whenever.. sleep on a wedge, no getting prone for 2 hours after eating.. I drink Kefir as a probiotic, plus take Gas-X and Probiotic pills to keep the bowel movements normal.. So those with GERD... Check out all the options... that are non-surgical first... My Mayo GI doc said 1 in 6 of the Nissens Fail.. I was in the Military for a while and eating fast was a learned trait... Now I eat painfully slow.. chew my food very well and hope for the best.. sometimes a foam, like saliva gone wild, forms in my stomach and comes up to remind me I ate too much ...too fast... I have to eat most things with a liquid...gravy, sauce, and such .. Smoothies are my friend... Ken
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2 Reactions@rkuz Hi, I haven’t been ‘formally’ diagnosed with GERD from any type of test. About 10 years ago, the ENT said I showed signs of acid reflux. (Scope up my nose into my throat). He saw some inflammation on my vocal folds and edema. My symptoms were constant throat clearing, but I hardly ever had acid indigestion. Since my MAC dx, from a lung biopsy in 2016 due to a nodule, and I was also Dx with bronchiectasis, I use an Aerobika for lung clearance 2x a day, I sleep on a wedge, I try not to eat after 6:00 PM and I take a pro-biotic, (Renew Life). I hate to admit, but, I’m awful when it comes to watching what I eat. Sometimes I get acid reflux sometimes I don’t. Some of the foods that I notice cause it are; red wine, grilled hamburgers, sauce, and spicy peppers. Sometimes it can be anything I eat. If it’s bad I’ll take a couple of Tums and drink ginger tea. I know watching your diet will help.
I’m sorry you’re feeling so sick and hope you feel better soon.
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2 ReactionsYes. Same issue. GERD with main symptom being coughing. A lot. Even with Omeprazole. It is also intertwined with significant allergies so I never know what the cause of the cough is, but I’m leaning toward food as the main culprit. Finding out which foods send you on a coughing jag could help, if you’re willing to give them up. As everyone else has said, use a wedge (plus pillows), you can even try sleeping in a sitting position with pillows stuffed behind you, it’s the lying flat that causes the reflux that causes wheezing and/or coughing, and don’t eat for 2-4 hrs before bedtime. A tiny snack won’t hurt.
I just ordered a wedge pillow 7.5 inch incline. Hope th add t helps. I love wine and beer sad that I have to limit my intake. Thanks
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1 Reaction@wendymb ...Hello. Just wanted to give feedback from my Pulmo at Mayo. He said never use just pillows (I used to do that). You wind up slipping down into weird positions sometimes resulting in the diaphram getting "crunched" (for lack of a better word) He also stated no food or water...maybe just a sip 2-3 hours before bed. Thought I would pass that along.
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1 ReactionThank you !!
Thank you. That was one off the reasons I changed from a half wedge that went on top of my mattress to a full wedge that went under my whole mattress. I felt that I was sliding and getting into an uncomfortable position. Also, I was starting to get a pain in my hip bones.
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1 ReactionEasy solution is a low acid diet, no fried fatty foods. No spicy foods, no Italian, no Mexican foods. No booze, or soda. No smoking. Low acid coffee or decaf green tea. Drink more water and no eating 3 hrs before bedtime. Chicken breast is good and baked fish. Cut out processed foods and meat like bacon and sausage. Ripe bananas and melon is ok. Cut out junk food too.
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2 ReactionsWhen I read all the comments about gerd, I have flash backs to seven years ago when my husband was suffering from acid reflux. After some research, I discovered a new procedure they were doing at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville called the Linx system. We went down and he had the procedure done and it fixed his acid reflux/gerd issue perfectly. However, while he was there he was diagnosed with Idopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. His pulmonary Dr there said that most likely he had aspirated the acid into his lungs which contributed to the fibrosis. So, we began our 7 year journey of ups and downs dealing with pulmonary fibrosis. Sadly, on Jan 2, 2021 our 56 years together ended as he quietly slipped away from me to meet his Lord. I share my story to say, please don't mess around if you have serious acid reflux. And the Linx procedure seems to be a much better option than the Nissan procedure. Also the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville is an awesome place. Please keep me in your prayers, as I begin a new journey alone.
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