Anyone have G.E.R.D??

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  • pensierobello
    pensierobello Posts: 285 Member
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    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
    kristimason3 Posts: 131 Member
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    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
    akboy58 Posts: 137 Member
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    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
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    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.

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