Please help, have lost weight..now at 96 pounds due to supposed GERD/reflux...

This all started when I took a Zpack for strep throat. I am 29 and am thin regularly, but never this thin. Usually I weight about 110-115. The dr today said I have lost 12 pounds. I ended up in the ER after the zpack because I was having trouble swallowing, and I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something. ER doc said reflux and prescribed Prilosec OTC. I took two nights and it woke me up with rapid pounding heart beat....also funny feeling in ears I could not stand and fuzzy vision, so I quit taking. Tried Zantac 75 mg...that didn't work and reflux got worse and still can barely eat anything. Went to a clinic and they said to try taking the Prilosec twice daily instead of once. ..told him my side effect he said he had never heard of that , but to try Prevacid otc twice daily. I did not try, I am scared of all these drugs. So I tried another OTC Axid AR 75 mg..no side effects but it only works for like 6 hrs then stops and I'm miserable right now and want to take another but it has not been 12 hours yet.

Finally went and saw my reg dr today and he felt my tummy it was tender at the top area of my stomach. He said he wanted to try this new drug on me called Kapidex and they did an H Pylori test, which I have not gotten results of yet. The Kapidex apparently is a reformulation of Prevacid and it is supposed to be released differently and work for longer so you don't have to take twice a day. I have not taken it yet as I had already taken the Axid today and I have a fear of trying new drugs, but I don't want to feel miserable all the time. I have only eaten tiny bites of broccoli today, plain chicken breast (few bites) and peanut butter (which made reflux worse). I'm sure I'm starving myself but I'm simply not hungry. I hate waking up with acid in my throat and a choking sensation it makes my heart pound and throws me into an anxiety attack. Should I just got get some OTC prevacid or try this new med he prescribed. Please help I'm seriously scared.

The thing is I haven't even seen a GI yet and am unsure why my reg dr. does not send me to one. I guess he doesn't think it's that big of a problem? I even asked to be tested for celiac disease but he said let's hold off on that because that involves a biopsy and let's test for H Pylori first?? My aunt has celiac disease. Anyway I'm just scared and frustrated.

Hi ArbyBarbie,
To me it sounds like you had a gastritis/reactive stomach (probably from the antibiotic), that refluxed acid into your lower esophagus and burned it. Your stomach and lower esophagus/and LES is so burned that you can't eat. If you eat anything, I'll bet you feel full or have a stomachache right away. I've been through that same thing many times. The first thing I'd say, is RELAX. You WILL get better. I also lost LOTS of weight--up to 20+ pounds at an episode.

I would highly recommend you take the Kapidex at the dosage your doc has prescribed. These drugs don't work in a day. It'll take time for your esophagus and LES to heal and recover from the acid bath it has been getting. In addition, the full effect of the medications take about two weeks.

Be careful what you eat. I found egg custard (homemade) the only thing I could really tolerate. (Actually, one episode like the one you're describing put me in the hospital for over a week. I have asthma, and they couldn't get my stomach calmed down, so my asthma was out of control. Even in the hospital, egg custard was the only food I could manage, and only about a tablespoon at a time.)

Don't eat anything that is rough in texture. Your stomach contracts to mash food, (and everything has to pass through your esophagus and LES), so rough food is an irritant until the delicate tissues heal.

To be honest with you, a GI doc won't necessarily help you more than your family doc, if you feel comfortable with him/her. I had GI docs treating me in the hospital, and they did absolutely nothing for me that my family doc couldn't have done. They gave me a new PPI (Protonix) 40mg twice a day. My family doc had already given me Nexium 40mg twice a day. What it came down to was that it just took TIME...time for my GI tract to heal--and heal it did. I'm not saying you wouldn't benefit from a great GI doc, but really, it's a matter of giving your system the time to heal.

Because of my asthma, I eventually had the GERD surgery (in my case, Nissen Fundoplication) to control my reflux. I most likely wouldn't have had the surgery otherwise, and would have dealt with it by taking medication.

Please try to relax (struggling and worrying can create more acid), and trust that your stomach and esophagus WILL heal.
Lots of us here have experienced similar problems.
We'll do our best to support you and answer questions you might have.
Welcome to the forum!
Denise

You absolutely need to go see a gastro dr.  I can't believe you weren't referred to one already.  That's just insane!

I've woke up choking on acid in my throat.  I know exactly what that feels like and it's horrible.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone.  I even aspirated it into my lungs and got pneumonia.  So here's my advice (remember I'm not a dr, just a fellow sufferer).  I would get the prevacis and take one in the am, one in the pm.  Get the big bottle of rolaids and take one right before you go to sleep.  If you can wake up at night as soon as you feel heartburn when the acid hasn't come up yet, take another rolaids.

Eat nothing 4-6 hrs before bed.  Eat nothing spicy, nothing chocolate, no mints, caffiene, carbonated sodas or citrus.  If you smoke, cut down or quit.  Elevate the top of your bed 6".  A brick under the legs works perfectly.  Don't sleep flat.

I wish you luck and I hope you can get an endoscopy as soon as possible.  That's the best way to see how bad your stomach is.  I suspect gastritus, hiatus hernia, gerd and LES. Let us know what happens!

I had silent GERD. The acid was going in my lungs and causing constant irritation. Nothing seemed to help. I had an asthmatic cough almost all the time. I had the surgery and my cough is gone.

Joy

Hi ArbyBarbie!

I've lost a very similar amount of weight due to GERD (normally around 118, now down to 102 and looking bony!) -- it can be hard to eat enough calories when you're feeling sick, or even when I don't have many symptoms if I eat too much it can cause GERD symptoms! My doctor thinks anxiety is also playing a role in my weight loss, so even though it's difficult, do try to calm down if you can :) You could certainly ask for a referral to a GI doctor or find one on your own if you don't feel comfortable with what your family doctor is doing! I saw my family doctor for several visits until he referred me to a GI to get an endoscopy done; now I go back and borth and see both doctors since they both want to keep an eye on me :)

While I'm obviously not a doctor, the fact that your symptoms are worse when sitting or laying down could indicate GERD. When you sit down, it can put pressure on your stomach and cause acid to back up, and if you have a hiatal hernia (like me!) sitting down can put pressure on the hernia. When you lay down, gravity makes it easier for acid to back up. My symptoms usually feel the best when I stand up, walk around, or lay on an incline or recline.

I originally tried Prilosec and it did nothing for me. I finally found some relief by doing the following things:

* Taking Nexium 40 mg
* Sleeping on a wedge pillow
* Eating smaller portions more often
* Changing my diet to exclude common GERD trigger foods (caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, spicy foods, onions, garlic, tomatoes, citrus, anything really acidic, chocolate, mint). Every person has different trigger foods so it may take some experimentation to find out what works for you, but these foods might be a good start if you have no idea what your triggers are! However, previously I was eating *at least* 2 or 3 of these foods every day, and within 24 hours of starting this diet one of my main symptoms (chest pain) drastically improved!
* I also get more symptoms when I'm stressed, so I'm working on dealing with my stress and anxiety! But sometimes you just can't avoid stress ;)

While I have yet to gain the weight back, I have been able to maintain my weight for at least a month now so that's a start! While dairy and fatty foods may cause GERD symptoms for some people, I try to eat as many calories as I can without causing symptoms -- I've actually been eating more dairy lately (yogurt, cheese, etc.), nuts, avocadoes, other healthy fats, some fried foods (but too much grease makes my stomach angry!), etc... Basically whatever you can tolerate :)

You may have to start slow until you get your symptoms under control, and yes, it may take a while until meds start working -- good luck and take it easy!

PS: My GERD started when I took doxycyline (an antibiotic) for a few months for acne.  Now I wish I wouldn't have let my dermatologist talk me into that! :)

They would have found a hernia with the endoscopy.  Go to an ENT and get a videoscope.  You may have vocal cord dysfunction.