Cause of my GERD?

So I was on PPI’s for 5 years off and on. I am now off of them for just over a week. I have mild heartburn every day even if I don’t eat but it’s worse when I exercise or eat certain foods. I’m off everything right now because I have an H.Ployri breath test coming up. When I was put on PPI’s my doctor never ran tests I just told him I had bad heartburn and would sometimes throw up in the middle of night. I went to an ENT for an unrelated problem about 4 years ago after being on PPI’s for a year and told him I had heartburn and he performed a Fiberoptic laryngoscopy and said my throat looked like there was no damage.

With my current symptoms what do you think the cause of the my GERD could be?

- Mild heartburn throughout the day even on empty stomach.
- Exercise seems to increase heartburn.
- Completely controlled by PPI and almost completely controlled by H2 blocker (zantac once daily 150MG).
- Will regurgitate sometimes if I drink alcohol or eat really bad foods. Hasn’t happened for years.
- Poor posture work on a computer for 10+ years.

I also have UC so I am seeing my GI for that on the 28th and will ask him about it but I want to get your best guess on what could be causing my GERD?

Hi, all.

I'd say the main cause of GERD is usually a weak lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and/or hiatal hernia. In both cases, gastric juices invade the esophagus.

There are things that worsen the GERD symptoms:
- Certain foods, as Sharon mentioned; it's the number 1 issue
- Running or any exercise that make the gastric juice move up, which you mentioned (my case)
- Aspirin and any other NSAIDs (also my case)
- Too many hours of fasting (my case too, because I used to fast 3 days a week; fasting is great, but not for us GERD sufferers)
- Overweight or smoking

I'd follow Sharon's suggestions, no doubt; endoscopy is key, because GERD could erode your esophagus. As UC patient, you already know this type of issues.

Best luck,

JR

Hi again.

During 3 days a week, I used to eat a breakfast and forget about food until next day's breakfast.

My GI thinks that was one of the reasons my GERD got worse. His reasoning is that when the stomach is empty for many hours, after few years gastric juices end up burning the lining.

My GI said that a 16-hour fast (meaning no dinner) is fine, but I feel night heartburn every time I do it, just like you. I decided to wait until my esophagus heals (long process, I know) to give it another try.

Regards,

JR