# Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)



## espec1000 (Jul 27, 2010)

I have it and it sucks. 

For those of you who don't know what it is, it's basically chronic heartburn. About three years ago I was diagnosed with a 'lazy esophagus'. What happens is when I chew food, my throat doesn't push it to my stomach quick enough and the acid from my stomach climbs it's way to the food, which happens to be somewhere around my chest area. This is extremely painful and makes me want to vomit fire like a very uncool dragonman. It also gives me back pain and angina (heart pain caused by GERD). 

The scary thing was my doctor telling me that if the acid were to stay long enough in my esophagus, it could burn a hole and have me eating from a tube for a long, long time. I did take medication for a while that did help temporarily, but it kept coming back. I have ways of controlling it on a daily basis which include downing a stick of rolaids and enjoying some tums for desert. I don't drink acidic drinks or eat acidic food anymore either.

I created this thread because I wanted to see if there are any more of you who share this same shitty disease. I also want to know what your remedies are to help out with it (do you eat tums, drink milk, what's your favourite antacid etc, etc). Are there any meds that you currently take to help out?


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## zeal0us (Jul 27, 2010)

I develop a mild case if I eat too much spicy food (which I crave), so I just watch those portions now. Eating tons of dessert right after was my initial tactic, but that's a fail. 

What really helped me is quitting smoking and ingesting little to no hot spices. I'm rarely bothered by the condition now, thankfully. Milk is also great, but 'drowning' is not going to help if there's a handful of chili peppers in the stomach already.

P.S. I dunno if I got this right, but does your reflux happen while you're eating, as you swallow? That absolutely sucks, I hope someone has better advice for severe cases.


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## espec1000 (Jul 27, 2010)

Ya I enjoy spicy foods quite a bit too, and ironically they don't even cause any problems! I try to drink lots of milk too and anything with calcium. 

It happens a couple ways. One way is if I miss some meals, like not eating anything during the day or something. I don't know why but that's when I start to get some severe burning in my chest. This is pretty rare as I don't usually mis meals  but it happens 100% of the times that I do miss them.

Another way is after I eat. I usually have a good diet, but there are times when I'll have some not-so-healthy food. That just induces the burning. This is the most rare of cases though. 

The most depressing way it happens, and this is one of the worst ones that actually make me throw up, is when I drink. I know that wine can cause heartburn and some beers as well, but pretty much any alcohol can cause it for me. After a night of drinking, if I don't have my hands on some antacids before I sleep, i'll be guaranteed to throw up some acid (sorry if this is a little graphic). This can happen even if I've only had one drink. Basically, if it's there, it's there. Doesn't matter how many drinks I have.


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## Mr Incredible (Jul 27, 2010)

I kinda have it. I had all the symptoms often, but once I figured out what foods and situations caused the problem I have been able to work around it. The worst food for me was ice cream. If I ate ice cream after dinner I had a bad night. I thought it was a dairy problem, but it tured out to be more of a sugar problem. Also, eating too much triggered it.

My doctor suggested using a brick or something to prop the head end of my bed up a little so that my stomach was downhill from my esophagus. I didn't do that but I did prop my upper body up with pillows so that I could sleep on my back at about a 45 degree angle. That was very helpful.

Now that I know what foods cause me trouble I avoid them after about 6:00 pm and I rarely have problems.


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## espec1000 (Jul 27, 2010)

Mr Incredible said:


> I kinda have it. I had all the symptoms often, but once I figured out what foods and situations caused the problem I have been able to work around it. The worst food for me was ice cream. If I ate ice cream after dinner I had a bad night. I thought it was a dairy problem, but it tured out to be more of a sugar problem. Also, eating too much triggered it.
> 
> My doctor suggested using a brick or something to prop the head end of my bed up a little so that my stomach was downhill from my esophagus. I didn't do that but I did prop my upper body up with pillows so that I could sleep on my back at about a 45 degree angle. That was very helpful.
> 
> Now that I know what foods cause me trouble I avoid them after about 6:00 pm and I rarely have problems.


 
Hmm, I wouldn't have guessed ice cream at all being a cause with it being a dairy product and all. It just goes to show that each person is triggered by something different.

I like the idea of propping up my head at night. I don't think i'll use the brick either, but i'll try sleeping with an extra pillow under the head. Thanks!


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## josh pelican (Jul 27, 2010)

espec1000 said:


> The scary thing was my doctor telling me that if the acid were to stay long enough in my esophagus, it could burn a hole and have me eating from a tube for a long, long time.



That's not all, man. It can cause esophogeal adenocarcinoma.

Another way to attempt preventing it is by eating small frequent meals instead of large meals, especially for dinner.

Have you tried medications? If you said you have and I missed it, I apologize!


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## espec1000 (Jul 29, 2010)

^ 
Ya i've tried medications. I usually still get it when I'm taking the meds which blows. I'm going to go to my doctor and see if there is anything stronger.


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## josh pelican (Jul 29, 2010)

Which medications? I assume Gaviscon and other antacids, but anything beyond that?

Three suggestions are as follows:
-Proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole or rabeprazole). These are supposed to be the most effective for reducing the acid secretions.
-H2 receptor antagonists (ranitidine being the most known). These also reduce acid secretions and seem to work for 50-60% of people who deal with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Ranitidine is actually an antihistamine.
-Prokinetics. These help strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter and speed up gastric emptying. If I'm not mistaken, Reglan seems to work the best (and have better side effects) than any others.

Also, Carafate is supposed to help to heal and prevent damage caused by GERD. The only downside to Carafate is that I think you're supposed to take it several times a day and at least two hours before meals and other medications. Depending on when you're eating and taking other medication, this could really screw up you're daily schedule.

These are all just suggestions, and while I'm not an actual doctor, I'm sure those three are mentioned on many websites dealing with GERD. You could bring them up with your doctor and see what he/she says. Those three seem to have the best results (when regular antacids are not doing the trick).

Hopefully you can find something that works soon! Keep us updated!


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## espec1000 (Jul 29, 2010)

Ya I was using a PPI. I was using the Nexium brand if I remember correctly. I think I'm going to either go back on nexium or talk to my doctor about the receptor that you mentioned. I think the problem was that I didn't stay on the nexium as long as I should have. From what I understand it could take a few weeks to a month to kick in. I think I might have taken the Prokinetics. That was what my doctor gave me after I first found out about the problem. The only problem with that was it was a one shot thing which now seems stupid. I'll talk to him about the Reglan and getting another PPI.

Thanks a million for the support and recommendations! I truly appreciate it


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## Ckackley (Jul 29, 2010)

I was diagnised with GERDS a few years ago. Took meds and they helped but not a lot. Turns out the real culprit was milk. As I got older I developed a pretty nasty case of lactose intolerance. Now I stay away from dairy and all is well. Try cutting food groups out of your diet one at a time and see what happens.


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## yellowv (Jul 30, 2010)

I've had it for years now. I take Omeprazole daily and pop Tums when it doesn't work. Go back on a PPI. It will help a good deal more than what you are doing now.


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## lava (Aug 2, 2010)

I developed dispepsia with GERD last year after catching a stomach bug in Asia. My whole throat was burning, my adams apple would 'pop' with every swallow because of the swelling, I had stomach cramps and pains, and lost 20 lbs in a month. Some of these symptoms are similar to hiatal hernia, ulcer and stomach cancer symptoms, so it was a bit scary for awhile. I had a CT scan and an esophageal endoscopy only to find nothing. So the diagnosis was dispepsia from a combination of stomach flora change and trauma from the illness. After a whole year I am basically better now, if I behave myself, but here are some of my observations that may help others:



Take VSL#3 (VSL#3 - The probiotic medical food for the dietary management of ulcerative colitis or an ileal pouch.). It's a hardcore probiotic. It was recommended by my gastroenterologist and there are studies backing up it's efficacy. I'm of the opinion that it's the main reason for my recovery. I take it every day.
Proton pump inhibitors like Nexium and Protonix don't work at all.
Don't consume alcohol, dairy (especially liquid dairy like milk or ice cream), or chocolate as they make symptoms much worse.
Don't eat within 3 hours before bed.
Don't eat huge meals
A big steaming cup of ginger tea at night before bed settles the stomach and helps a lot.
Elevate your head while you sleep.


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## espec1000 (Aug 3, 2010)

lava said:


> I developed dispepsia with GERD last year after catching a stomach bug in Asia. My whole throat was burning, my adams apple would 'pop' with every swallow because of the swelling, I had stomach cramps and pains, and lost 20 lbs in a month. Some of these symptoms are similar to hiatal hernia, ulcer and stomach cancer symptoms, so it was a bit scary for awhile. I had a CT scan and an esophageal endoscopy only to find nothing. So the diagnosis was dispepsia from a combination of stomach flora change and trauma from the illness. After a whole year I am basically better now, if I behave myself, but here are some of my observations that may help others:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I always thought that I was doing better by drinking milk because of the calcium coating my stomach, but it seems to be a root problem for a lot of people with GERD. I've started drinking a lot less alcohol and tried to not eat at least 3-4 hours before I go to sleep. I'll talk to my doctor about the VSL#3 over the PPI and maybe try out the ginger tea too. Thanks for the tips!


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## lava (Aug 5, 2010)

Oh, a couple of things I forgot to mention:

- Chew your food really well! It really does aid digestion. And chewed food fits more densely down in the bottom of your stomach instead of piling up in big chunks all the way up to your esophageal sphincter!

- Another great stomach settler is Iberogast. It's an all-natural herb tincture: Iberogast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- If you try the VSL#3, be prepared to wait at least 3 weeks to see results. It took me that long for it to work, and by that time I wasn't sure if it was the VSL or if my condition had gone away by itself. When I ran out of VSL, I didn't get more. Within a week my GERD was back!


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