I had a great experience today!

Today I went to the mall with my 19 year old daughter. We were shopping and of course got hungry and decided to stop at a food court for lunch. I was a little nervous as I had no antacid or GasX or anything with me. (This was a big mistake...I need to make sure to carry stuff--just so I am more confident).  Anyway, I ordered a chicken and vegetable soup cup with a whole wheat roll, some water, and I split a piece of carrot cake with my daughter.

I chewed everything carefully and took it slow. I was careful to eat a lot of bread to soak up any spicy stuff in the soup. I drank lots of water and tried to relax.

I did great. I didn't choke on anything or feel like anything got caught in my throat. I had no burning or stomach pain. I felt very "normal". It was so nice to go out in public and have a meal without feeling strange. After we ate, we shopped some more and I felt just fine. It was quite a victory for me.

Thanks for listening. I figured someone on here might understand how a day like this would be a big deal. :)

Yes, I take Protonix.

I know a lot of my troubles are caused by anxiety. If I get upset about something my reflux acts up and my stomach hurts. When I am at work and things are going well and I am distracted, I don't notice a whole lot of GERD. When I am at home, I notice all the symptoms like the lump in my throat, etc.

The other thing that has greatly helped me is not wearing tight pants. I know that sounds silly, but I have lost a lot of weight and my pants are much looser. I bought some smaller ones and they were tighter around the waist and I noticed more GERD. I also used to wear "support" underthings but those are just too tight also. Amazing what you learn.

Sciencelady, I totally understnad about the college daughter and the handgun thing! How scary!

I have three teens and while they are good kids, all teens come wth their share of headaches. I SO agree that stress revs up the GERD bigtime. Many new posters on here are so panicky and want quick answers and I always start by telling them to try to relax and get a handle on the anxiety. I seriously think calming down is a significant part of the problem-- at least it was for me. I was in such a panic at all my symptoms and pain and wondering if I would ever be the same.

The good days can really build on each other, especially if we remember that we will have bad days and to expect that. I try to think to myself...okay, I had three bad days this week but two decent ones and two great ones. That's not bad. I try to write down what happened on the bad days. Was it stress or drinking coffee or not eating often enough or what? What happened on the good days to make them good? Being proactive makes a big difference.