Will I ever be able to eat normally again?

I have had stomach problems for a year. about 5 months ago, I got diagnosed w/GERD and enterogastric reflux after a pretty good work up by a gastroenterologist. I have had a hard time accepting this. I am 1/2 Italian and I love my spaghetti sauce and wine. So when I finally started feeling better I start attempting to eat like a normal person and then boom the GERD comes back.
So I stopped the wine and am now on a soft food diet. The doctor upped the Nexium to 60 mg a day and I take Zantac 150 2x/day.
This has been a life altering experience. I feel tired a lot. I don't know if it is the pain or the medication. I am not overweight, but I actually gained some weight, because I am so sedentary now.
I go out with my boyfriend and can barely find anything on the menu to eat. It is depressing. I am already on an anti-depressant as well.
At this point, I am willing to accept the diet just if I can feel better.

I understand how you are feeling, I went through it. It took me a while to accept the changes I have had to make. The good news is that there are substitutes out there and you get used to it. It took me 6 months to feel better from a flare up. I did not have alcohol for 5 months. I was able to have 3 cocunut rum in waters for my 30th birthday. I did ok with that. So I know now, that I don't have to give up alchohol for good, I just can't drink regularly. I miss having a few drinks on the weekends with my friends, but I have come to accept that my life has changed. I avoided ice cream because of the fat content and dairy and found I can tolerate non dairy ice cream (made from soy or almond milk) which tastes good and is so much less fat and easier to digest.

I am also on a anti depressant to deal with the anxuety that comes along with this condition. Anit depressants typically seem to be ok, the medications that are benzos like xanax are the issues. I think the antidepressant helped me as it cut down on teh anxiety which then decreased the reflux.

I have my days. But the good news is that I am healthier than I have ever been minus the reflux and I also look better than I have in years. It took a while for me to start to feel better and I am still working on it, but it has improved.

You could always have surgery, but you have to be the right candidate and go trhough all the testing.

Don't worry, I will not mess with medications without my doctor. I have to agree with the Forum Moderator, my doctor says I internalize my stress and he feels that is causing a lot of this. I also have IBS and the Nexium or my diet has improved that significantly. I have tried it without the Zoloft and it does help me more than hurt me.
At this point no one is talking surgery. I really don't want to go down that road if I don't have to yet.
I just got some Aloe Vera Juice and I have added that to my routine as well. It seems to be soothing. I have resigned myself to the fact this process is doing to take a while. Since I have been on the Nexium, the pain isn't everywhere, it just seems to be around the LES and the gall bladder area.
Since I have had ultrasound and a HIDA scan, we found out the gall bladder is causing the enterogastric reflux which can mimic a gall bladder attack.
I wish the fatigue would improve, I am not sure if that is the Nexium or the reflux or a combo of both.

I think you're making a mistake if you have stopped exercising because of GERD. If anything you should try to exercise more.

The Nexium will make it hard for your body to absorb calcium, so this can weaken your bones. You need to exercise to keep your bones strong. It will also keep your weight down and give you more energy, and exercise is a natural antidepressant.

The main thing to remember is to only exercise on an empty stomach and avoid exercises that make you bend over or bounce around a lot, since those can slosh acid out of your stomach and into the esophagus.