Anyone have G.E.R.D??

Love_Is_My_Fuel

I've been having some major issues with my stomach since I've lost weight. It started about a year ago. I would wake up at night with a burning sensation that radiated into my back, when I'd get up I would be nauseous and dizzy. The symptoms continued through the day and no matter what I'd eat I would be sick. I fill up quickly and have very little appetite. The doctor sent me for tests. I had an upper GI...ultrasounds...all normal. He put me on Tecta, saying I probably have stomach ulcers and built up acid. The Tecta worked most days with the symptoms being less bothersome but never went away.... now my husband has no drug benefits and the meds are too expensive. So here I am 2 days into not being on the Tecta and the symptoms are back full force. I'm not sure why I am only having these issues now that I've lost weight or if it's just a coincidence. Has anyone else had these symptoms and know what it is? Have any advice or home remedies? I have more doctor's appt.s and testing to go for but I'm not hopeful they'll find anything wrong which makes no sense!!! So frustrating!!

Blueseraphchaos

I have GERD but i have found the exact opposite to be true....as I've lost weight, it's gotten better.

But I've noticed i have some trigger foods that will inevitably lead to an episode, like tomato sauce. I also noticed that if i eat until I'm full, i have problems.

Once I figured out my trigger foods, staying away from them or having very small amounts helped a lot. But it took some trial and error to figure things out.

There are over-the-counter meds you can take that help, like prilosec. But if you have more doctor appointments coming up, i think the best thing you could do is talk to them about your situation. And maybe take some otc meds to prevent the worst symptoms until then.

Good luck

Laurend224

My husband has terrible g.e.r.d. He went in for an upper g.I. and was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. For a while it was so bad, he could hardly eat and lost 10 lbs. What works for him is a combo of prescription drugs (dexilant) and sleeping on an incline pillow. We went on vacation a while ago, and forgot the pillow. His g.e.r.d. came back even with the medicine. He now only takes the meds every other day. As long as he sleeps on an incline, he's fine.
Hope you find something that works for you!

Steff46

I have recently been diagnosed with GERD. I don't think mine is weight related. Per the doctor, I have cut my coffee habit in half and take Omeprazole (Prilosec) once a day along with watching my trigger foods (mostly spicey foods). I haven't had any flare ups in three weeks (fingers crossed). I hope your doctor can help you get your symptoms under control:)

melimomTARDIS

I have GERD, losing weight and eating a lowfat diet have been a godsend.

Unknown

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Love_Is_My_Fuel

Perhaps it's not GERD that I have...who knows!! It doesn't matter what I eat, the symptoms are there for me 24/7 and only worsen through the day. I never felt these symptoms when I was close to 300 lbs. I eat no fried food, lower carbs..high protein..lower healthy fats...my diet is clean and low processed foods. It's very frustrating that the doctor can't figure out what's wrong with me...trying to take care of my 2 year old son through the day before my daughter gets home from school....horrible days!!

SLLRunner

I also have Gerd, but was diagnosed when I was overweight. I took prilosec for awhile, but found I don't need to anymore. Losing weight and change in diet (cutting way down on acid foods) seems to control it.

Jennifer_Lynn_1982

Have you tried using a digestive enzyme? My boyfriend has 1-3 tsp of apple cidar vinegar in the morning before eating and I have a Betaine Pepsin/HCL pill before each meal to help increase my stomach acid and aid in digestion and any problems I had with foods before is gone. Start with the apple cidar vinegar - it could be a very inexpensive solution in combination with sleeping on a few pillows.

goldthistime

Eliminating coffee, alcohol, spicy or acidic foods worked for me. In conjunction with a few weeks of taking Zantac as needed and before bed. I took the Zantac before bed every day for three weeks whether I felt like I needed it or not, in an effort to ensure healing was happening.

acmilan11

I'm glad this is issue is being discussed! I too have been having problems lately and I can name the day it started! it was on Wednesday, August 6, everything was fine in the morning, later that day I walked home from work about 5 miles, then went home and had a large salad followed by popcorn and I haven't been the same since! I went to cardiologist first because there was also pressure and palpitations. he did some tests and said I had fluid around my heart and that it would go away on its own. But the GERD symptoms are still there, acid reflux and I get a feeling of fullness all the time.
last week I went to see a Gastroenterologist and get this...he wants me to have an endoscopy at same clinic as the late Joan Rivers! I'm going to try some dietery changes and weight loss, hopefully that will help!

wkwebby

As a past pharma rep that sold Nexium and Prilosec, these are some helpful hints.

-Losing weight absolutely helps (after you make sure you don't have a hiatal hernia)
-If your symptoms are mostly at night when you sleep, prop up the bed a few inches (if possible) at the head so that gravity can help
-I forget which side you need to sleep on and it will also help (sorry, I stopped the pharma biz a while ago), but again, it is a gravity thing with the shape of the stomach and how it empties out, so sleep on your side (one side will make things worse, and the might help)
-Avoid trigger foods which include raw onions (the whole family), tomato and based products, acidic things (OJ, vinegar, etc), spicy things, fatty and greasy stuff, minty things, etc.
-For quickest relief (and cheapest, but not the longest lasting relief), grab tums or the like.
Zantac is the next quickest, but lasts a little longer than Tums (also a bit more money), and the most expensive is the class of drugs that belong to Nexium and Prilosec (includes Prevacid) but these last the longest as well once you take it every day for at least a week.
-Avoid eating 3 hours prior to bed (or drinking milk), or have at least that amount of time before you sleep
-Avoid eating until your stuffed and eat smaller meals more frequently (you may have a pro-motility disorder) which means it takes longer to get food through your system than most people combined with a "relaxed esophageal sphincter" which makes you get heartburn.

Hope this helps and provides some relief!

Edited for this comment: No drug or therapy is 100% for 100% of people so be prepared for some experimenting with your trigger foods and lifestyle changes. Good luck!

melaniedelane

You sleep on your left side, it does help some, incline the head of your bed, and if you cant do that, prop yourself up with pillows. I have a hiatal hernia, and a double lung transplant. I don't know if your issues are GERD or a hernia, but If you have a hernia, it will help to prop yourself up at night, a hernia is a part of your stomach, that is above the diaphragm, so that when you lay down the food travels up and down your esophagus and even up into the back of your throat which causes terrible burning. I have found that eating a small meal early in the evening helps me, if I eat to much, I am miserable. wkwebby who posted above has great advice. Losing weight has helped me more than anything, and I still have more to lose. I take nexium everyday, but have also found that as weird as it sounds, sometimes, when I am really suffering, I take a big drink of pickle juice, it is horrible at first, but then in a little while, it will help me feel better. It has something to do with the acid. I dont know how all that works, but it does. Hope you find relief, and figure out what the problem is for sure, its hard to treat something when you are not sure of he problem. Take care of yourself...

wkwebby

FYI, Tecta is another of the class with Nexium, Prevacid, and Prilosec.

luvs2teachincali

I actually went to the ER a few weeks ago because I thought I had had a heart attack. It has been happening for several years... on again, off again. What happens is after just 3 or 4 bites of food, it will feel like my heart misfires/palputates and as though I have fluid around my heart itself. It takes my breath away and I cant swallow anything... not even a drink of water. Many times my chest will be tender and sore for a day or two after one of these scary and painful "attacks." Yes, I get heartburn... a lot... always have. It seems to be hereditary. My mom has also always had it though she has never been overweight. She takes prescription meds daily to keep it at bay but sometimes, like me, wakes up with heartburn not having eaten anything. We both can get heartburn even just drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach. Frustrating!

Back to the ER experience...

They did an EKG, blood work, & chest x-ray and all came back normal. The doctor said she suspects severe GERD possibly a hatial hernia. I am scheduled with a GI doctor Jan 5th for an endoscopy. They will put a camera down there to see what is going on and take a look at any lasting damage.

When I was losing weight in 2012 (from 205 to 170...not goal), it went away. Now that I am back to 202 ot is horrible again.

The ER doctor said losing weight will help. She also prescribed a delayed release medicine and told me to take it daily 30 min before breakfast. Knocking on wood but since taking it I have not had those scary "attacks" but I have still had to take Tums a few times.

I hope you find some answers and some relief soo. Good luck!!

FatFreeFrolicking

I have horrible GERD. I take Protonix for it but want to come off of it because long-term PPI use can be harmful for your gut. Losing weight usually helps most people with GERD. Avoid foods high in citrus, fatty foods, tomato sauce, chocolate, coffee, peanut butter, alcohol, pepper, garlic, raw onion, spicy foods, peppermint. They are the most common trigger foods for heartburn.

emily356

Digestive enzymes, digestive, enzymes, and more digestive enzymes!!!! Seriously, once other things are ruled out, this is the best way to go. I was on all the different Rx for GERD for years (approx. 6) and was just so sick and tired of it, but I couldn't go one day without it, no matter what I ate. I knew it wasn't treating the root of the problem, and started doing some digging. I decided to try them, and first started taking them with every meal, along with my Rx GERD meds. After a few weeks, I started weaning myself off of the Rx, and much to my shock, I didn't have the terrible burning and pain!!!! after a few more months on the enzymes, I started weaning myself off of them as well. Now I only take the enzymes as needed, like this time of the year when eating all sorts of junk!:/

a_regalado

It's possible that you don't have GERD, it might be that you're fighting the stomach acid when there really isn't an overabundance and your body is overcompensating by producing more acid. My friend started with heartburn and was taking medication to stiffle the symptoms which in turn caused her symptoms to flare as she didn't actually over produce the acid she was underproducing. Anyways she started taking betaine hydrochloride and has been fine since. This is fairly cheap at health food stores. This article explains what I'm trying to say....
http://naturopathconnect.com/articles/stomach-acid-reflux/
It might not be what's happening but it could be worth a shot I know several people that have benefitted from Betaine. Anyways goodluck!

acmilan11

luvs2teachincali wrote: »

I actually went to the ER a few weeks ago because I thought I had had a heart attack. It has been happening for several years... on again, off again. What happens is after just 3 or 4 bites of food, it will feel like my heart misfires/palputates and as though I have fluid around my heart itself. It takes my breath away and I cant swallow anything... not even a drink of water. Many times my chest will be tender and sore for a day or two after one of these scary and painful "attacks." Yes, I get heartburn... a lot... always have. It seems to be hereditary. My mom has also always had it though she has never been overweight. She takes prescription meds daily to keep it at bay but sometimes, like me, wakes up with heartburn not having eaten anything. We both can get heartburn even just drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach. Frustrating!

Back to the ER experience...

They did an EKG, blood work, & chest x-ray and all came back normal. The doctor said she suspects severe GERD possibly a hatial hernia. I am scheduled with a GI doctor Jan 5th for an endoscopy. They will put a camera down there to see what is going on and take a look at any lasting damage.

When I was losing weight in 2012 (from 205 to 170...not goal), it went away. Now that I am back to 202 ot is horrible again.

The ER doctor said losing weight will help. She also prescribed a delayed release medicine and told me to take it daily 30 min before breakfast. Knocking on wood but since taking it I have not had those scary "attacks" but I have still had to take Tums a few times.

I hope you find some answers and some relief soo. Good luck!!

OMG, I too went to the ER thinking that I'm having a heart attack! I was strapped to the EKG for 4 hours! Doctor said everything is normal and gave me Femotadine.
Two weeks ago I went to the company holiday party and had a few sips of a Cosmo, that night when I lay down, I felt gurgeling feeling in my stomach! I never had a problem until that night on Wed, Aug 6th!

wamydia

Love_Is_My_Fuel wrote: »

Perhaps it's not GERD that I have...who knows!! It doesn't matter what I eat, the symptoms are there for me 24/7 and only worsen through the day. I never felt these symptoms when I was close to 300 lbs. I eat no fried food, lower carbs..high protein..lower healthy fats...my diet is clean and low processed foods. It's very frustrating that the doctor can't figure out what's wrong with me...trying to take care of my 2 year old son through the day before my daughter gets home from school....horrible days!!

My GERD is 24/7 when unmedicated and unfortunately does not respond to either changes in diet or weight loss (106lbs lost at my best and no change in gerd). My diagnostic tests have never showed a particular cause for it but several members of my family have had similar problems so I assume it is something hereditary. The only thing that controls it for me is acid reflux medication. I am currently on prescription Prevacid and it works great for me. In the past, I also took OTC Prilosec and it was a great help when I had no medical insurance but it is fairly expensive over the counter. I took the generic store brand of it for a while because it is cheaper and just as effective as the name brand. Before OTC Prilosec was available, I took the Pepcid complete tablets. They were able to control it for about 22 hours a day and are cheaper than OTC Prilosec or Prevacid. My suggestion is to get whatever over the counter medication you can afford for now to try to control it. You don't want it to just keep going on since the refluxing acid can do a lot of damage to your esophagus. And get back to your doctor as soon as you are able to see what other suggestions they can give you.

wkwebby

I forgot the alcohol and tobacco triggers.

pensierobello

It's not diagnosed but I got something similar in July ten days after a very stressful endoscopy, which had caused a lot of anxiety and stress. I ate something fairly late at night (which I've done before many times!) and like you haven't been the same since. It's been awful - almost everything seems to be a trigger food! Weight loss doesn't affect it (I was fine at 226lbs!) and I was also on pills but have come off them as I was worried about the long-term effects, so now I just take them occasionally. It is incredibly upsetting and frustrating. This time last year I could eat whatever - now most things are off the table!

The endoscopy showed nothing, by the way (it was for severe gastric reactions that they have lazily labelled IBS...) but I can't help think the stress and trauma of it contributed. I had a barium swallow a few months later (in September) which showed reflux. I have never had reflux before, not like this. It scares me how a body can change in such a short space of time. I suspect this is around for good, depressingly... got to learn how to cope!

kristimason3

My teenage son struggled with terrible acid reflux for the first five years of his life paired with major dental issues due to acid levels in his saliva. It was awful. After years of doctor visits and different meds he was finally sent to Yale for allergy testing. Turns out he has food allergies. Also insect allergies, allergies to grass, trees etc. Have you been tested for allergies? We then found an amazing pediatrician who worked with him building up a tolerance to certain foods again. He is now a normal, healthy 15 year old who can eat almost anything without issue. You can develop allergies at any age, so it might be worth looking into. I suffered from GERD for awhile but like many here weight loss and diet changes have pretty much eliminated it. Good luck! Oh and if I do get heartburn regular alkaseltzer in water works well and quickly for me.

akboy58

My primary GERD symptom was shortness of breath, particularly at night. It started all of a sudden in August 2008, and it took forever to identify the cause. None of the medications I tried seemed to help. I hoped that losing weight would make a difference, and it did, eventually, but only recently, when I got to 190 lbs from a high of 255. Weight loss itself is one factor; diet is another -- I eat MUCH healthier now. I also tend to eat earlier these days -- mostly because I get kind of savage if I wait until later in the evening. I still get heartburn, but nothing that a couple of Tums won't fix, and the shortness of breath episodes have almost entirely disappeared.

wkwebby

If you're looking for a more homeopathic remedy, my mom use to drink Aloe (fresh from the plant) that was crushed up and steeped in hot water like a tea twice a day. It worked wonders. Again, everyone is different and it worked just as well as Nexium did for her.