How do you balance work and GERD?

I've been feeling ill for 7 months and was finally diagnosed with GERD a month ago. I was prescribed liquid Ranitidine (Zantac) and it was helping at first, but since I have to work and sometimes don't get time to eat, I usually only take it once a day, instead of two. Some days are better than others, but the bad days are horribly bad. I don't have much energy again, I have enough energy to wake up right before I have to go to work and sometimes that's even hard to do. Work makes me feel worse, because I have to be on my feet all day, which doesn't help my aches and pains with this. I usually have to demand a lunch break just so I can go home, eat, and take my medication.

I showed up to work on Friday, sick as could be and throwing up in the work bathroom due to all the acid, must have been my worst day yet. Told my managers about what I was doing, no one cared, they wouldn't send me home. Fine, I stuck it out and demanded to have a lunch hours later, which made me feel tons better, thanks to my medication. I've tried telling my store manager (which is also a good friend) that it's hard for me to work 8 hours these days, but she still schedules me for 8 to 9 hours a day and figures my health isn't as serious as I make it out to be. I just need to find a balance, but I can't seem to. I used to be able to work 10 hours a day a year ago, that was until this all hit me hard. I miss those days, I miss feeling healthy.

So how do you do it? How do you balance working and feeling horrible every single day?
People always say the same thing to me - "you don't look sick, so you can't be! You must just be lazy then."

Hi Bluewatergirl1988.

I had a Nissen Fundoplication for GERD in April. I suffered from moderate to severe GERD like you for several years, and I was on medication for 2 years before I had surgery.

I understand that the medication you are taking doesn't seem to do much for you, and I have some tips.

Try taking the Zantac 1 hour before you eat your first meal of the day, and once before you go to bed. If this doesn't work, You should consider switching to a stronger version of Zantac (they have different numbers on the front, the higher the number, the stronger the dosage). You must seriously take the zantac one hour before you eat to get its full effect. Try this for a few days to a week and up the Zantac "dosage" as needed.

If that does not work, you should consider visiting your doctor to request a different medication like Omeprazole (RX), or Dexilant (RX). These medications are much stronger than OTC Zantac medications.

Also have you had a scope of your esophagus? You sound like you are experiencing very severe GERD and as you know this can cause very serious problems down the road. Barrett's esophagus and Cancer are nothing to play around with, so if you haven't been scoped, please consider arranging one with a general surgeon. This is a very simple and easy process and you will only be out of work for one day.

If medication does not help you, you will have to suffer from gerd or eventually have the GERD surgery (Nissen Fundoplication). I hope you see better days soon and good luck to you!

Thank you everyone. I had an appointment with a general surgeon on Monday and I'm going to be having a scope done on August 21st. I actually can't wait, I want to get this over with and hopefully they don't find something serious.

Wowsuchdrum, I tried taking the Zantac an hour before a meal, instead of right before, like my doctor told me to do, and it has been a little bit better. I still just have to find a way to be able to eat while at work somehow, that's the problem. The medication seems to work, but not when I can only take it once a day.

Also, it isn't OTC Zantac, but it is a very low mg. The only reason he prescribed me Zantac, is because I have never been able to swallow pills, so he put me on liquid Zantac. When I went to the general surgeon, she said that there's a PPI that melts in your mouth that she could prescribe me after the scope, but she couldn't remember the name of it right off hand that day. She also said that it seems like I would have better luck with a PPI than an H2 Blocker.

I really don't mind the acid, it's weird to say that, I know. I can't stand the breathing problems I've developed because of this. I've never had problems breathing, until after this all started. The surgeon even said that you can have asthma like symptoms with GERD, which gave me some relief, because I thought something was seriously wrong.

Post Edited (BlueWaterGirl1988) : 7/31/2014 1:12:59 AM (GMT-6)

Bluewatergirl, Im glad taking the meds an hour before helps you better. I understand that you dont mind the acid, but you really should. There are very serious complications associated with GERD, especially untreated GERD. I'm Talking cancer and Barrett's Esophagus. Im glad however that you are talking to physicians and surgeons about your issue and it gets resolved appropriately.

Someone mentioned dissolving your ppi's in water. Why why why lol. The taste would be atrocious. Instead, crush it up or open up the plastic pill cap (whichever type of ppi you get, some are solid others have granules) to get the goods out. Crush the pull up (our get the granules) and mix it in with a little applesauce to mask the taste. This method of delivery is better and longer lasting anyway.

Good luck!