Welcome skipper!
I am so happy to see someone my age, I am 21 going to be 22 this year, and I also just recently been diagnosed with GERD at such young age for both of us right? it's sad disease and it's really hard to deal with I should know. I was never feeling anything until October when my belly button twisted went to doctor and they said I had gastritis, and then I got on ride the next day and I inflamed my esophagus and I couldn't swallow. So when they did my first endoscopy they just said they found inflammation, so I still believed I did not have GERD they put me on protonix 40mg for like 6 weeks to let my esophagus heal which I did do but my first doctor wasn't a very good one and he never answered all my questions so during October-feb I took the ppi continuously because I was afraid of my own my body and I couldn't see another doctor until the following year which is this year and I made an appointment with new doctor he told me according to my results I did not have gerd but put me on zantac for like 150mg for 10 days to combat the rebound effect for being on the ppi for so long. so I followed his instructions and I was drug free after feb 2 that's when all the weird symptoms started to follow, I experienced heartburn for the first time, I have burning stomach, I started belching like small burps even after drinking water, and felt a lump in my throat and more. So I went back to see him and he said sounds like you have GERD, I got confused because I was like before you said I didn't so I believed him and gave up all the bad things just to get through the rebound thing. We did another endoscopy which was on march 8th and they found irritation in my esophagus, So I think I have GERD now, my symptoms have not gone away. I am really trying to stay away from the drugs since I heard they do so many weird things to you in my case they made my gerd from very mild to moderate now, lately i been having stuffy nose so I am scared I might have silent acid reflux. I decided to see when my sore throat and cold will last if it persists more then 2 weeks I am going to see an ent and maybe get the 24 hr done as well.
Now on to you after my long story, I got excited seeing I am not the only one of our age group going through this I felt so weird because I thought no one would understand what I am going through. I know you have to give up alot but I do believe give up, caffeine (cofee and tea even decaf) fruit juices cut down on the fruits bananas apples and pears and melons are okay and everything else in moderations cause believe it or not fruits are acidic. if you must have fruit juices dilute them with water as much as you can. I am currently still experimenting with my diet because I have chronic heartburn I get it all the time any time I eat it starts right after. Its not like severe pain very mild pain but i am such worry wort because since there is already irritation, I am scared of adding more to my scars.
Here are some things I am doing:
aloe vera juice- suppose to heal the esophagus from irritation
slippery elm suppose to coat it from more reflux
manuka honey suppose to heal as well
DGL Licorice suppose to heal the esophagus 20 min before each meal
chew gum immediately after each meal.
I been reading that too much carbs is bad or something like that some people here are on like gluten free and dairy free diet, I want to do this but I feel like with me anything can trigger it so I do not know, but I really feel like you should get your 24hr done before an surgery so you can take approaches to combat it and see what works for you.
and GET wedge pillow or add 6 inches to head posts of your bed at night to keep the acid down.
I hope this stuff kind of helps, let me know how it goes, glad to meet you Helen I am Roah from the usa!
Post Edited (inpinkagony) : 4/7/2013 9:34:46 AM (GMT-6)