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At My Wit's End

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 5/1/2015 10:14 AM (GMT 0)
Greetings everyone,

I'm rather new to GERD and I've only been diagnosed with it since the beginning of March. Although I believe I've had it since the beginning of 2014.

The pain started like most others I've read, with a gnawing pain in the pit of the stomach right below the breast bone. In the beginning it was more of a irritation more than anything else. The pain either went away, or my body got used to it, toward the end of 2014.

Fast forward to February of 2015 when I started waking up between 2 AM and 4 AM at least once a week with an intense burning pain in the pit of my stomach. More than enough pain to keep me up for the rest of the night.

I went to the doctor on March 4th who sent me for blood, urine, stool tests. He also ordered an abdominal ultrasound and a barium swallow. The ultrasound showed 3 gallbladder stones and the barium swallow showed damage from GERD.

Since March 4th I've done the following:
-Changed my diet to primarily chicken, spinach, mushrooms, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, yogurt, and toast. Most bread is consumed before noon.

-Exercising for one hour every day, 6 days per week.

-Raised the head of my bed 6 inches. (My girlfriend hates that one)

-Stopped eating at 7 PM.

-Stopped eating out almost completely.

-Kept a food journal.

-Taking pantoloc twice daily.

And with all that, I still wake up with intense GERD pain in the pit of my stomach at 1 AM or 2 AM or 3 AM once per week.

Last week the pain was so bad I vomited. I found blood in the vomit so I went to the ER. The doctor ordered an endoscope that showed a small tear and acid reflux damage at the bottom of the esophagus.

At the start of this experience I was 254.4 lbs and am now 221.8 lbs and falling.

As the title says, I'm at my wit's end. I'd have thought I'd have made a bit of progress with the GERD by now, but that doesn't appear to be the case.This is why I'm turning to you fine people. What am I (and my doctor) missing?

TL;DR
Diagnosed with GERD. Done everything the doctor and internet say. Still get intense GERD pain exclusively at night. Need advice.

Thanks very much for reading, and enjoy your day.
Posted 5/1/2015 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Im trying to figure out what I am missing. I avoid all the foods, activities, sleep raised up, am on the highest mg level of my gerd medication, I only weight 85 pounds so its not like I need to lose weight yet here I am still sick as hell. I am starting to think I do not have GERD and that I have LPR.I also think my hiatal hernia plays a bigger role in all this than my gatro likes to admit.

I really don't know what to tell you. It sounds like you are doing everything you should be. Maybe change meds? I think strawberries/berries can cause issues for some maybe give them a break for a week. I cut all dairy out of my diet and I think it helped as far as stomach is concerned however I notice I seem to have problems no matter what I eat lately.

Maybe see another doc for a second opinion. I see you have reflux damage at bottom of your esophagus, does it feel like you are choking when you eat or do you feel like you have stuff stuck in your throat? That's how I feel l every day and It just makes me want to jump off the nearest bridge.

Also how about trying something like Gaviscon at night? That's what I have been doing. I take a table spoon of Gaviscon Liquid at night before bed. May be worth a try.

Good luck.
Posted 5/1/2015 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
I drink a few ounces of Aloe Juice (all natural, organic, non-processed stuff) and that seems to help me. It seems to coat and cool things and I've noticed good results with it. Maybe give that a shot at night before bed.
Posted 5/1/2015 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
LAWCHICK, thank you for telling me your situation. I feel for you.

I went with the berries in the morning because they're categorized as "low acid", but I could try and give them a break for a bit to see if things improve.

Buster1, I've read that about Aloe Juice before and will definitely have to try it. Hopefully it works for these episodes. So far, once I've started having the pain I have to ride it out as nothing seems to soothe my stomach.
Posted 5/1/2015 10:43 PM (GMT 0)
Just a quick update for those having a similar situation to mine. I went to the ER this morning because, in addition to another GERD episode, I had a gallbladder attack.

Apparently having problems with my gallbladder could be the root cause of my GERD symptoms. It's scheduled to be removed this upcoming Wednesday, so I'll report back how things go.

That being said, I'd rather have permanent GERD pain than occasional gallbladder attacks if I had to choose.
Posted 5/2/2015 3:53 AM (GMT 0)
I had numerous gall stones about 14 years ago and significant bile reflux. Bile is stored in the gall bladder and it was refluxing into my stomach and esophagus (hiatal hernia made the reflux into esophagus a lot worse). Like you, I ended up in the emergency room due to gall bladder issues. After gall bladder surgery, my conditions improved significantly.

From time to time I do get bile refluxing into my stomach which can be common after a gall bladder is removed; but, nothing like what I had before surgery. I just limit my intake of fat to a reasonable amount. Possibly you will have significant improvement after gall bladder surgery,

-Tim
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