Can one night of drinking cause GERD? (My Story)

Hi All,

Hoping to get some feedback here on people's thoughts about what might have caused my GERD and if I will ever feel better. Up until two months ago, I'd never had heartburn in my life (33, fit, male). In fact, I've always considered myself to be very healthy, active (weight lifter), and have a reasonably good diet of mostly home cooked food. I also very rarely drink alcohol (once every 3 to 6 months) and even then, only occasionally to excess.

However, in early December, my fiance and I went to a holiday party and I drank too much vodka on the rocks and consumed little else. At the end of the night, I ended up throwing up and then crashing into bed. The next morning I was a bit dehydrated and hungover, but l generally felt normal. The rest of the following week I felt completely fine, exercised normally, ate normally (italian, mexican, etc.) and generally just felt the same. Then, exactly a week after the party, we had Chili for dinner. And at 3am that night, I was stricken with the worst heartburn I've ever even heard of in my life. It literally felt like my chest was going to explode.

I ate a bunch of tums we had in the house and pretty much stayed up the rest of the night. After that initial attack my heartburn never fully went away, but I was able to resume my normal routine the following week and continue to eat a fairly normal diet, etc. I didn't feel stricken by GERD yet. Then the following Friday, I again had a small amount of the leftover chili (big mistake!) and again had a massive heartburn attack. I haven't been the same since.

At this point, I've been on steadily increasing PPI's (+H2's) for the past two months and my symptoms have only seemed to get progressively worse. Because my symptoms came on so quickly, my doctor suggested I get an EGD, which they did a couple weeks back. It showed signs of both acid reflux (inflamed distal esophagus), and gastritis / areas of inflammation in my stomach. I was originally on 40mg of omeprazole and an H2 before bed, but they have now upped my dose to 80mg daily! This seems like a lot of medicine (I take pills 3x / day) and I really don't like being so dependent on it. I've also made every possible lifestyle change (elevated bed, strict GERD diet, no eating several hours before bed, etc.) with very limited benefits. In fact, I still wake up off and on throughout the night dealing with various stomach and esophagus issues. And then I walk around all day because I don't get enough rest.

I'm really reeling and frightened by the effects of this disease. I burp constantly now, I always have an aching pain in my chest along with heartburn after every meal. I feel like I can't even exercise any more as going up the stairs gives me acid reflux and makes me feel short of breath. I can't imagine what going for a run or bike ride would do to me. I also can't sit down much any more after I eat, and usually stand for a couple hours after each meal at a standing desk. I feel like all the things I've enjoyed in life have been taken from me all at once.

So I guess, I'm wondering, how did things get so bad, so quickly? I don't understand how I went from a perfectly healthy person, to a GERD monster overnight? Is there any reason to be hopeful?

My doctor believes there's reason to be hopeful that after my inflammation heals in 3 to 6 months that I will feel much more normal. However, at this stage, and with my limited improvement after 2 months of TONS of meds, I'm not feeling so optimistic. Should I be? Is there a chance I will regain some of my old abilities and not have acid reflux hindering me at every step? I really hope so.

The other thing that's been plaguing me is wondering if it's all my fault and big time feelings of guilt. Did one night of drinking too much cause this? Did I overdo it one night and cause myself a lifetime of pain and suffering with GERD? Is that possible? If so, that is awful. I'll never drink alcohol again.

I know in the long run it doesn't matter that much - I have GERD now and have to deal with it. But, I would really like to know why I have it, and if it was the result of my behavior or just plain dumb luck / bad genetics / a complex web of things I've done in my life (e.g. weight lifting, occasional overeating, genetic susceptibilities, etc.). I know that my father (who's passed away) suffered from heartburn from his late 30's on, but it was NEVER this bad, so I don't know where I went so wrong.

I feel like I've lost my youth, but in some ways, gained more humanity. I now have the deepest empathy for anyone who's ever suffered from this or any other digestive disease in their lives. Consuming food and drink are so much a part of being a human and to have that so closely associated with pain and suffering is a horrible thing.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Lucas

Lucas,

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  You posted, " Because my symptoms came on so quickly, my doctor suggested I get an EGD, which they did a couple weeks back. It showed signs of both acid reflux (inflamed distal esophagus), and gastritis / areas of inflammation in my stomach."

 

I suspect you already had GERD but for whatever reason it decided to exploxed full bore and thus it felt sudden to you.  I don't thing one night of drinking caused your GERD but now the choices you make which include eating certain foods and alocohol are triggering your symptoms.  

Do look into lifestyle changes especially where you diet is concerned.  Each person with GERD will find it's disease is unique to them.  Work closely with your Dr. and stick with us as you will find much info in the forums.

Again a warm welcome.

Kindly,

Kitt

Speedy Gerd and Nidhi, I agree with what has been suggested above and it sounds like you are doing the right things to feel better. Did the GI say what caused the reflux? Mine was caused by a hiatal hernia (HH).

I had the highest grade of esophagitis and gastritis. I was on PPI 80mg also, but the doctor also put me on Carafate suspension, which coats the stomach. I found TUMS and milk coated my stomach also and helped relieve my symptoms. When I went on a the Carafate, after a few days much of my pain was gone. I wanted to stay on the drug for the rest of my life. However, I only needed it for about a month. It coats the stomach to protect it from the acid. Don’t worry about taking so much medicine right now. You need to heal your condition, otherwise it will get worse. I would get back in to see the doctor. The medicine should have made you feel better by now.

I was on pantoprazole 80 mg per day. I am now on 40 mg (after 3 months) and an over the counter Zantac at night. My plan is after six months to go down to 20mg then hopefully off. Take your time when you wean yourself off the drugs, otherwise you will get rebound. As I mentioned I was on Carafate suspension 2 tablespoons 4 times a day, then after a month, I tried it 3 times per day for a week then down to twice per day, then once. I have been off of it for a while. I am in a flare up, but I didn’t wait I started the Carafate on a PRN basis. I just had my first flare up (from wine) and took the Carafate two tablespoons at night and in the am for a couple of days. It quieted my inflammation feeling down. I didn’t drink alcohol or coffee, or eat spicy foods until the pain subsided. I drink a glass of wine occasionally, but it was what brought on my flare up on. This was the first time the wine bothered me.

This is a tough problem, but stress makes it worse, so go with the flow and try to stay calm.

If you have heartburn, you may want to consider a GERD diet. My GERD diet was to stay away from anything that made the heartburn burn. It was lots of different types of food - bananas, fruit juice, tuna fish, some people say dairy but not me - salty food - pretzels, potatoe chips, oranges, coffee, spicy food, alcohol and anything that was acidy (to name a few)

Post Edited (Yellow1955) : 11/29/2017 6:51:16 PM (GMT-7)

This thread is over 5 years old. Lucas has not posted since the above date.