GERD issues

I was on Nexium for years then switched to Omeprazole before breakfast and recently was put on Famotidine 40 mg before Diner but the reflux got worse so the doctor put me on Pantoprazole . I’ve had several scopes done and the last time was by a heartburn specialist and found out the sphincter going into my stomachs not closing so it’s allowing the reflux to come back up

I’m at a loss. I take Pepcid 40mg in morning and at night, then pantoprazole 30 min before dinner. It’s really hard for me to time that one because I eat right when I’m hungry. It’s taking me awhile because I contracted a respiratory flu bug and it has messed everything up.

@mimikat9 it is hard especially dinner time remembering to take it prior especially if I’ve been in town for awhile and stop and eat! Due to a failed back surgery I can’t sleep in bed so I don’t have to worry about elevating the head of my bed anymore

What do they suggest to do? Is the new medication helping? Hope it’s helping.

@hap8 I rarely have the burning but I can’t use my Cpap which I desperately need because I wake up choking. I’ve tried raising the head of the bed. As soon as I get the pain stimulator put in for my back next week and healed up the Heartburn surgeon is going to do the Nissen fundoplication surgery to restrict the acid from coming back up

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!

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!