I'm new here and would love some help!

Hi, I am new to your board, Thank you for having this awsome place for folks like me to go.  I am a 44 year old female and had my first ulcer when I was 14, great huh?  I was actually good for a long time, but in the last 4 years my stomach has been out of control.  I have had almost every test out there, including the nuclear cardiac stress test, echo cardiogram and EKG (trying to rule out heart problems) those tests all came back that this is not my heart.  I am told that it is GERD.  I have been on Prilosec, Nexium, Aciphex. Zantac and Gaviscon (Thank God for Gaviscon).  Probably the most helpful was 40mg or Nexium in the AM and 150mg of Zantact in the PM.  But I just feel like I can't continue taking drugs for my whole life.  I know that I am overweight, but trying to lose weight while being soooo stressed out is a nightmare to say the least, but I am still trying.  I hate the way I feel, I have chest pains, back pain. jaw pain.  The anxiety is unbelievable and I think all of the stress is causing my blood pressure to rise.  I just read an article about flavonoids and grape seed extract.  Does anyone have any history with this protocol?  You hear so much, I guess I am just wondering what is working for you all.  I am up for trying anything at this point.  I have 2 beautiful children that I want to enjoy and be a healthy happy Mom for and a husband that is on the verge of thinking that I am nuts because this is so interfering with my life.  I am afraid to eat, but if I don't eat my stomach gets crazy...I could go on for days...Thanks to you all for your help!

Personally, I've had the best luck with really gentle yoga (nowhere near meal time, obviously, just in the afternoon shortly before dinner) and walking. They give me the least trouble and help me relieve the massive amount of stress in my life. I've lost a lot of weight just by improving my diet and walking. Also, the great thing about walking is you can start small...try just 15 minutes at first, making sure that you're devoting a little extra time to warming up and cooling down before speeding up. Slowly, you can build up the time and days per week. It seems boring, but it's a lot of fun if you do it with an MP3 player. If you can't handle the cold or heat where you are, I recommend investing in a treadmill. Your health is worth it! Also, I suffer from moderate asthma and this has helped some.
*dove*