I can relate to all of this, as last fall my GERD got really bad due to a stressful medical situation with my partner (I took him to the ER one night that resulted in
open heart surgery, but he's recovered now.
). I even had an EKG because I thought something was wrong with my heart! Well, you would have thought the symptoms would have went away when the stress was alleviated.
Didn't happen, and Prilosec was not helping. The doctor prescribed Protonix and scheduled me for an endoscope, which I had a few weeks ago.
The Protonix helped alleviate my chest pain, which was great, but other symptoms did not go away: bloating, stomach pain, tingling to my face and extremities, constant sore throat up to my chin, face and sinus cavities.
My endoscope revealed mild inflammation of the esophagus and stomach and chronic gastritis. All I've read about
gastritis is that it's caused by stress and is supposed to resolve once the stressful situation is resolved. Well, this did not happen.
What has been working for me these last few weeks is to eliminate gluten from my diet and eating more whole foods. While there is nothing at all wrong with wheat, barley, and rye (I especially love wheat and ate a lot of it), I believe that I may be sensitive to gluten and/or wheat because of the improvement in how I feel the last few weeks. This would not surprise me because I am already lactose intolerant, soy sensitive, and caffeine sensitive.
Also, the GI doctor had suggested I take a Zantac before dinner at night to help control the acid that was making me wake up with a burning sore throat. I forgot to take it before dinner one night, but thought I should take it anyway and did so right before bed. The next morning my throat was not as sore. So, for the last several nights I have been taking the Zantac just before bed and my sore throat seems much better.
dwm9250, the endoscope is not big deal. Please let us know how it goes.