It's storytime folks. Mostly venting but also a question or two

I don't even know where to begin.

I had a baby in May 2020. Had a lot of reflux while pregnant but I figured hey, that's what happens. And it seemed to go away after the baby came. Fast-forward to Feb 2021, I had been slowly getting back into jogging and experimenting with intermittent fasting to lose the baby weight. Suddenly started to not be able to tolerate exercise - was feeling short of breath as soon as I started moving. That was weird, I thought, and then came the lightheadedness...waking up every morning feeling slightly hungover despite not having any alcohol. And it stuck around most of the day. Also found myself extremely tired most of the time. So ok, I head to the doc. First thing they did was check for anemia and electrolyte imbalance...nope fine. Well then it must be your intermittent fasting (at that point was only trying 16hrs...come on). I stopped that, no change. Well you must not be drinking enough water. Starting sloshing down a gallon a day. No improvement. Well it's probably just acid reflux. Started taking pepcid. Symptoms stuck around stubbornly. Finally had some referrals and testing--was really put through the ringer...no inner ear issues according to the vestibular physical therapist, no cardiac issues (believe me, I had the full rundown), no neurological issues (had brain MRI, EMG), even saw the pulmonologist. Everything unremarkable. I thought, maybe it's in my head...started therapy. I've been on wellbutrin for over 10 years and feel my emotional well being has been mostly in control (besides, ya know, becoming a new parent)...psychiatrist suggested adding prozac anyway. I said, I don't think I need it but if you think it will rule out anxiety as a cause of my issues then sure, we'll do it. (spoiler alert: it didn't help) Meanwhile I stopped exercising or really paying much attention to what I was eating. At some point I stopped the pepcid because it didn't seem to be doing anything for me.

Fast forward again to several months later...many of the original issues seemed to have resolved themselves, and I learned to live with the lightheadedness. It sometimes is better, sometimes worse, but sure ok, I guess I can deal with it and feel better knowing that nothing dire was going on. In October 2021 I decided to try working out again with the goal of completing a sprint triathlon this June. Additionally, I was going to PT for an SI joint issue that I was told had a lot to do with having been pregnant/having a c-section/not having strong core muscles. I started with swimming and worked my way up to a half mile in the pool. I added jogging on the treadmill in January and toward the end of the month completed my PT stint--I was feeling great. I was still getting dizzy but trudging through it, and at least the other stuff I had experienced wasn't an issue anymore. But I started having more digestive issues in January...constant bloating the worst by far. I saw someone from integrative medicine and she suggested an elimination diet (and of course a ton of supplements). Did that for 2 weeks--very strict, very miserable existence because I very much enjoy food. It didn't help. I tried a longer fast--made it 4 days before quitting...despite taking adequate amounts of electrolytes (I research everything before I do it), I felt worse than ever. I had my first appt with GI. She suggested trying low-FODMAP diet, testing for SIBO, and an xray to make sure I wasn't just constipated. The xray was neg for excessive stool and SIBO test was negative (though I've heard it can be unreliable). Didn't get a chance to really try the diet because within a week after seeing the doc, for some reason I started getting nauseated...like all day, unrelenting nausea. No vomiting, no terrible abdominal pain...just kind of the same old intermittent diarrhea and gas pains I've had my whole life. And the day after this started I woke up with excruciating lower back pain. The pain made it impossible to do much of anything...but it did ease somewhat after a few days so I thought maybe I just pulled a muscle or something. The pain didn't let up after 2 weeks so I dragged myself back to the orthopedic folks. She said my SI joints were flaring up and prescribed a short course of steroids. Meanwhile, still super nauseated and bloated. Back started to get a little better but unfortunately that improvement didn't last. Started wondering if the back pain and digestive issues are related--have been making sure to take only tylenol since Feb. I haven't worked out in like 6 weeks so I feel like a super slug. Saw the GI again last week, she recommended an ultrasound to check for gallstones and starting omeprazole. No stones on US so she recommended abdominal/pelvic CT, which I had this week and already came back normal. Have been taking omeprazole for a full week now. Nausea is maybe a little better but still bloated AND now I have more overt symptoms of reflux--always feeling like something's in my throat...woke up with a sore throat today that has not gone away, shortness of breath, regurgitation, chest pangs occasionally...eating a lot of tums. The GI's comment on my CT results were that she wanted me to message her in 1-2 weeks if symptoms have not improved and we'll discuss doing endoscopy.

So...I guess I really have two questions...1) can taking drugs like omeprazole actually make your reflux worse (NOT as rebound reflux--I'm still taking it daily) and if it does eventually help, how long should it take? I mean...do I really need to give it 1-2 MORE weeks to do its thing? And 2) how the hell do I figure out what to eat? I know certain things I absolutely have to avoid because they make me super sick (coffee and chocolate so far)...but looking at low FODMAP foods that are also good for GERD and that will help me lose a little weight (I am still overweight by about 30 lbs--thanks, grad school)...just doesn't seem to be a lot of options. Salad and oatmeal every day, apparently? Have considered just fasting but then...that didn't work before either.

It's really weird to think of all of my issues (besides maybe the back pain) could be due to acid reflux..particularly because I basically only have heartburn when I'm taking the GD pills to prevent it. But...bodies are wacky.