Hiya,
this is really interesting to hear, I live in the Galway area, too, and was scoped by Dr McAnena in the Bons in December. I was only diagnosed with acid reflux (in my case LPR I think) in November after three months of a bad cough that I could not get rid of and a sudden onset of swallowing difficulties. When I started to get burping and belching problems in December my GP suspected GERD and prescribed PPIs. I was miserable on omeprazole, had no appetite and lost 8 pounds really quickly. I was referred to get a scope by Dr McAnena to rule out anything sinister, thankfully there was no cancer or similar. Just had a barium swallow this week and hope to find out what the problem is, waiting for the results (I suspect a hiatal hernia since I sometimes feel pressure on my chest and have difficulty breathing).
Switched to esomeprazole and the cough and swallowing are much better, still having other problems though, I always feel sickly full etc. Hardly any heartburn thankfully, it just sucks that I get lots of throat issues and voice problems with this reflux. I cut out all of the known triggers and cut back on fat and sugar, but since I was slim before the weight loss has been very scary, I'm only a few pounds away from being underweight now. I intergrated a bit more sugar and fat in my diet now as I don't want to get even skinnier. I'm very grateful that my OH is a chef and has good ideas for recipes so I don't get too bored of chicken, fish and veg and low-fat meals...
Anyway, keep us posted about how you're getting on, it's good to know that other people here in the area get surgery if I ever have to go down that route...