GERD?! HELP!!

I'm a 21 year old male in pretty good shape.  I exercise daily, don't smoke, and eat fairly healthy.  One day I was running and just couldn't catch my breath, which is pretty unusual for me.  I'm used to running 5 miles no problem and I was struggling with 1.  I have not been able to catch my breath since, and it's been 2 months now.  It's pure miserable!  I yawn nonstop throughout the day, trying to fill my lungs with oxygen and it just doesn't happen.  I've had an EKG, a breathing test, and blood drawn, with all of it being normal.  So it's not a lung problem.  My doc suggested asthma, so I was on the Dulera inhaler and the emergency relief inhaler and neither did anything.

I also can no longer eat anything of substance without feeling bloated and nauseous.  I burp a lot and sometimes with acid in them.  It also makes the breathing worse.  This has been going on for 2 months now and I've concluded it has to be GERD, right????  The eating problem and breathing are the only 2 major symptoms I have, but they are both PURE MISERABLE. 

I'm normally outgoing and friendly, but this past few months have been depressing and I am unable to do pretty much anything.  I do a lot of sitting around at home and I still exercise, just with MUCH more difficulty than ever before.    Another thing, it's not from anxiety.  I don't really feel anxiety or let a lot bother me.  In fact the day before this started, I had a great workout and felt like I could've run a marathon. 

PLEASE someone give me some potential answers, because I really can't go on like this much longer.  It just sucks.  I have an appt with a gastro doc in like 3 weeks, but waiting that long is awful.  I would just like to hear from someone going through something similar.  Thank you, whoever, for reading this and sharing my pain.

So you have yet to find out what it is after a year now? That's a scary thought. Are your symptoms the same as mine? I know I will keep searching for what it is until I finally figure it out.

No I agree, and I do still run the .5, but it's just frustrating. I guess the point I was trying to make was I used to be capable of doing the 5 miles and I no longer am. It's not that I'm asking, "Why me?" but more of me asking how this happened when I keep myself in good shape and it's really just come out of no where, with no apparent cause or cure (to this point). All I have been able to figure out as of now is that it gets worse when I eat, especially if I eat an entire meal or anything unhealthy.

Honestly, the breathing is the worst part by far. I wakeup with a stuffy nose and some mucus in my throat as well, but I would be fine if it wasn't for the breathing. I try to stay positive but the more I research this GERD, the more it seems that it either never gets better or medicine doesn't help it, so it freaks me out to think that I could have to live the rest of my life like this. I couldn't care less about my level of fitness at this point, I just want to be able to do the things I used to do without feeling like I'm having a heart attack.

I had all of these symptoms, as well as very bad diarrhea, food staying in my stomach way too long, constant GERD, leaky gut syndrome, constant lower stomach pain (to the point where I couldn't bend over) and other aliments caused by poor vitamin / mineral absorption. I was a real mess and it was having a huge impact on my personal life and work. A few years ago my doctor prescribed Prilosec, over time this only made things much worse. I was diagnosed with SIBO, gastritis, GERD and the endoscope noted damage to my esophagus, yet all I got was a PPI that ended up making my problem worse.

Unless you have a condition that is causing your LES to stay open, or its badly damaged, I would say try what worked for me. Basically, your whole GI track needs your stomach to do its job and digest the food properly, if it doesn't all subsequent GI processes are messed up. In order for the stomach to digest its food correctly you need stomach acid, strong stomach acid. For many people with GERD (if not most) their body produces to little stomach acid, not too much. The cause of most GERD is the stomach acid gets past the the LES and in to the esophagus, where it doesn't belong, but this isn't caused by too much stomach acid. This is because of poor food transport (from poor digestion). When the food sits in the stomach it ferments, producing gas, and what stomach acid you do have gets blown past your LES (weakening it) in to your esophagus. Read the book mentioned below for more information. The Candida and/or bacterial imbalance (you probably have both, as I did, but this regime fixes both in most cases) starts all of this and causes inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis) and small intestine. The inflammation causes the stomach to produce less acid (and actual damage to the stomach lining, which, luckily can usually heal within a week or two) which only promotes more bad organisms. Adding a PPI to this scenario only makes things worse, especially over time. I recommend reading the book below, taking it to your GI, and then get his/her OK on the following:


Here is what I took (you can search for these on Amazon or Vitacost, etc):
$11 Vitacost Probiotic 10-20 - 20 Billion CFU - I took two, twice per day, between meals
$14 Jarrow Saccharomyces (yeast based probiotic) - I took 1, twice per day, between meals (with above)
$14 Nutribiotic - Gse Liquid Concentrate, 4 fl oz liquid - I followed the bottle instructions on dose and took once per day
$17 Now Foods Candida Clear Formula, Veg-capsules, 180-Count - I followed the bottle instructions
$12 Super Enzymes 180 Tablets - I take one with every meal and one with protein / fiber containing snacks. Large protein / fiber containing meals I take two. You may have to do this for life if your stomach doesn't completely heal. But believe me, its worth it!
$0 a no sugar, low carb diet for 2 weeks
$?? a good multi-vitamin, good nutrition,

I recommend you read all of the product reviews on Amazon for these products.

All of the above helps GERD. Bad bacterial in the lower intestine prevents digestion, this causes fermentation of food both there and in the stomach, as well as causing food to stay in the stomach far longer than it should. With too much food in the stomach and fermentation you get stomach acid bubbling up through the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) under pressure. We all know what happens after that. Digest the food properly with the HCL/Enzymes, kill the bad bacteria / yeast that slows food transport and causes fermentation gas (and causes inflammation), replace the bad bacteria with the good stuff (probioitcs) so that the lower intestine moves food properly (and addresses IBS) as well as fights bad bacteria / yeast. It all makes since, your GI won't disagree, he/she just won't prescribe it, ask them (I've asked 3 of them).

I highly recommend the book "Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You: Natural Relief from Heartburn, Indigestion, Reflux and GERD" by Jonathan V. Wright, $11 on Amazon. It also discusses Candida, gastritis, SIBO, but not in great detail. According to the author (who has been writing about this for years) HCl actually helps strengthen the LES. I think just getting rid of the reverse pressure (bubbling acid / gas from the stomach) probably helps the most!

After you have your GERD under control I recommend trying Magnesium Malate and quiting calcium supplements for a while. Search Google for "magnesium breathing difficulty". A lot of people with poor food absorption end up with low levels of magnesium.

If you try this please come back and let us know how it worked!

A relatively common manifestation of LPR symptoms is a faux-asthmatic response from aspirating reflux, or even aerosolized acid that makes its way past the laryngeal sphincter.  The tissues of the bronchial tubes and lungs are very sensitive, and react to the toxicity with a host of symptoms -- rattling breaths, spasms, excessive mucous, among them.  I have experienced this, as have others.

If it truly is GERD/LPR you're suffering from, it's possible you may be able to manage the symptoms with diet and behavior modifications.  Many of the folks on this message board have had to resort to surgical means to find relief, but the truth is that the huge majority of reflux patients manage the condition with the above, and supplemental OTC or prescription medication.

Unfortunately, you'll have to endure some uncomfortable tests to diagnose reflux for certain.  If you go this route, and have an EGD (upper endoscopy), make sure the physician also takes biopsies for eosinophilic esophagitis.  This condition is frequently found alongside reflux, and the symptoms can overlap.  

Best of luck!

-Bruce