New to GERD. Confused on what to do.

I've had only occasional heartburn in my life, and always from one of three things. 1) Way too much pineapple in one sitting, 2) Drinking fruity (caffeine free) tea for too many days in a row 3) Too much montreal steak seasoning.

about three months ago I started getting heartburn pretty regularly. It seemed to coincide with a brand new bag of coffee beans I had never tried before (blue bottle, a light roast). Unlike previous episodes, it seemed to keep coming back. It might go away a few days, then come back. Admittedly I wasn't great about not having any coffee during this period, but I had never had a problem with coffee previously.

I was using standard antacids like pepcid, and it would come and go. Eventually I tried prilosec, and was feeling pretty good about a week in, but then tried a coffee and the symptoms returned. Finished out the 14 day trial, as it kept kind of coming and going. Then it started to get worse (sore throat, and post nasal drip, worse heartburn) which I realize now might have been acid rebound. So I went to the doctor and he put me on protonix and zantac. I also started some probiotics. I started to feel better, but about a week and a half in, I tried a coffee again and it was instantly real bad symptoms, adding lump in the throat to the mix.

I got an appt with a GI, and magically there was an appt available right away. He scheduled an endoscopy for me. In the meantime I had got it in my head that PPIs were dangerous to be on, and started to come off of it. After three days, holy hell did I get rebound. I had the worst reflux I've ever had for a couple days. I started the protonix again after only being off a few days, and luckily those kicked back in.

I had my endoscopy and everything looked fine. Basically was told to continue protonix for a few months and then we'll see if I can come off of them. In the meantime, things don't really seem to be improving. Sometimes I don't have heartburn and start to feel a little normal, but then I'll have breathing issues (feels like asthma) and hot breath. Hurts when I breathe a little bit today, and still have asthma symptoms.

I'm trying to eat more bland, but I had something slightly spicy last night that perhaps is what caused it to get bad after a fairly good day. I also don't know *what* to eat because there's 99 different diets claiming to solve redux.

So I don't know if protonix is an issue for me somehow? Or if my GERD just progressed? Does it seriously just start out of the blue like this? Am I in for a lifetime of dealing with this? I also have anxiety, so I'm really freaking out about this. The breathing issues especially are scaring me. I'm even up on a wedge pillow at night, and I generally don't feel like I have any symptoms then aside from the sore throat (which I attributed to post nasal drip due to reflux during the day).

Should I try and come off protonix, since this all seemed to get worse once I got PPIs involved? See if I can get by on zantac? Should I stay on a probiotic? What the hell should I eat?

Thanks Sharon. I appreciate it.

Yeah, I already have to deal with anxiety in general, which I do fairly well at. I'm just really struggling with the idea of dealing with something else for the rest of my life.

Also I don't know if the probiotics help or hurt? I know they can sometimes make people bloated and gassy, which probably doesn't help. I also have been trying the apple cider vinegar before a meal, but have trouble deciphering if that ultimately helps or not. It seems to sometimes.

It's so messed up that you can go from being to eat whatever, to serious GERD in a short period of time. I don't understand it. So obviously they don't really know why this happens. I've seen like four competing theories.

Trying not to be too upset, but man this sucks.

darn it. Looks like I've been using the wrong vinegar as well. Mine didn't have the mother of apple in it. Maybe I should just cut that for now and ask the doctor about it. So how do you know if GERD is caused by low acidity or high acidity?

Reading about LPR, and I've definitely had those symptoms. Perhaps more-so after I quit the PPI for a couple days and had rebound. I'm very nervous that all of this coming on so quick is bad news for me and means I'll need surgery.

Thanks Sharon.

After upping my meds, I haven't had too much heartburn in the last couple days (aside from seemingly split second moments). I have had a persistent dry cough, sometimes a lump in the throat, and just this weird feeling of "movement" in my esophagus, almost like gas bubbles, but seemingly not? Just pressure moving up and down. I had some burning in my throat, bit of asthma like symptoms, and feeling like my breath was hot, but those almost seemed to stem from sore throat possibly from post nasal drip?

I've always had lots of allergies, so I'm praying it's more allergy related. I don't know how long I should wait before asking for the Multichannel impedance and ph monitoring. I guess I'll at least wait for my biopsies to come back.

I'm looking into the mediterranean diet since there have been studies showing that markedly improved people with LPR.

I'm still very anxious, but managed to let some of the anxiety pass over the weekend.

Thank you. I appreciate the encouragement.

Were you ever formally diagnosed with LPR, or something that you self-diagnosed via Dr. Google? Continue to take the Protonix as prescribed and don't expect all of your symptoms to disappear in a few weeks. Be careful with things like ACV, because they can make your symptoms worse. You need to take a deep breath and relax, I think you are stressing too much at this point as you are getting some relief already.

BGL, try to stay away from Dr Google, he is rarely right, lol. The internet is great to look up a condition that a person has been diagnosed with to gain knowledge. Using Dr Google leads to nothing but anxiety & stress that no one needs if they can avoid it. Same with the "what if's", don't go there, all you are doing is shooting yourself in the foot every time, not productive at all. Everything is not doom & gloom unless you want it to be that way.

Get excellent drs that you trust & listen to them. Please do not play the game of trying to second guess drs by reading junk all over the internet.

Hang in there things will get better.

bobbygolucky, any luck controlling your LPR symptoms?

bobbygolucky:

If you are experiencing asthma issues and shortness of breath, you might want to make an appointment with a pulmonologist to rule out any other lung issues.

Sharon

Bobby, don't start playing around with your Protonix. Take it exactly as directed by your dr.. Trust your dr, he is the expert, not an internet forum or you searching things on the internet. Medications are not an overnight fix, it takes time & you will find the same with any diet you attempt. This is where people mess up not being patient so they stop everything.

You are correct about reading so many worse case scenarios on the internet. You have to remember we know nothing about their situation at all. Not only that we do not know if they are even following their drs instructions. So, don't get overloaded with the negative stuff.

I tell everyone that surgery should always be a last resort. Many people have small hiatal hernias that cause no symptoms. If you have GERD/LPR symptoms, there is no quick fix. Anxiety can cause/make your symptoms seem worse, so working on that aspect improves how you feel. You have to be diligent with lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise and weight loss, if needed. If you are prescribed a medication by your doctor, take as directed. A lot of people on the Forum have been able to manage their symptoms without surgery. Most importantly, if you are considering surgery get a second opinion. Make sure that you have all the required testing, not just an endoscopy. Do not self-diagnose via Dr. Google. There is a lot of mis-information out there, and some of it can be harmful. Be careful about taking a lot of the supplements/cure alls that people often talk about before speaking to your doctor about it. I know the sudden onset of symptoms can seem unbearable, but you don't even need to think about surgery. There are many different types of medications, if one doesn't work then have your doctor try another.