Three months ago I was a vibrant, happy 36 year old. Today,
I’m a shadow of who I used to be and am feeling extremely depressed.
In March I went to the doctor because I was having pain in
my chest. He diagnosed me with acid reflux and put me on Losec. Losec stopped
working and I developed esophagitis. Put me on Nexium and Motilium. Those
haven’t worked either. In the interim, my symptoms have become so bad that I’ve
had to go to the emergency room. I basically have acid reflux all day long,
every day. Pain in chest, pain in throat, difficulty swallowing, etc. I took a
test for H-Pylori that was negative.
Went to see a specialist. He said that basically this is a
chronic condition that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. I told him
that I can’t sleep, eat or even work – how am I supposed to live? He had no
answer. He said that I have done everything from a lifestyle standpoint that
they usually recommend and he said the PPIs obviously don’t work for me. He
suggested trying Tums or other OTC remedies instead of Gaviscon and continuing
to take the Nexium and Motilium. He said I obviously have a “severe case”.
I asked him how I’m going to keep the esophagitis from
getting worse. He said the only thing that could help would be to stop the
acid. I asked him how and he had no answer.
My husband and I would like to start a family. He told me
that pregnancy would not be a good idea for me and that I should focus on
getting better. I asked him how and he had no answer.
I asked about alternative remedies and he said they don’t
work and that he would not expect me to find any relief from them.
He suggested we do an endoscopy for “diagnostic purposes”,
but indicated that there is really no benefit because the treatment options are
the same (with the exception of what he called an “invasive and complex surgery
that may or may not work” in the case of a hernia) whether this is GERD (of
unknown origin) or a hiatus hernia.
If I have to face this every day for the rest of my life I
seriously will not make it. Please help me.
A bit about me:
I’m a 37 year old female. I am 5’5” and 109 pounds (have
lost 20lbs in the last three months due to this condition). I do not (nor have
I ever) drink coffee, pop, tea or alcohol. I have always eaten an extremely
healthy diet. I do not eat processed foods or fast food. I do not eat
chocolate, peppermint, tomatoes, garlic, onions, spicy food, etc. I exercise
(or at least I used to before the symptoms became too bad). I sleep with my bed
elevated. I wear loose fitting clothing.