What to do when nothing works?

So, I have been reading this board since December of last year. Everything started after one big dose of ibuprofen before sleep.  I had all the tests, blood work, ct scans, ultrasound, barium test (negative for reflux), endoscopy showed only gastritis and mild esophagitis. I got some side effects from the ppis, I stopped them for a while and I was ok just on Carafate. Then I tried all the natural remedies that I was reading online which only made it worse. The HCL and enzymes wore the worst, everything is unmanageable after those. I took them for two months, thinking that the mild burning that I would get after them was a good thing, since I never got the intense burning that everybody was talking about, until one day when I woke up on fire and now I can not get my stomach and esophagus to stop burning, since I stopped them in February. Now I can not take any supplements or vitamins, everything burns very bad.

I can not believe how much damage they did and that I can not recover after so many months on double dose of PPIs, carafate and zantac.

Ashley thank you for taking the time to answer me. I am on a strict diet since December of last year, Broiled or backed chicken, potatoes, carrots, avocados, eggs, bread, some crackers, rice, bananas and sometimes a leaf of lettuce or some other fresh fruit. Yogurt, fish, honey, fresh fruit and veggies, milk and cheese give me horrible heartburn. But I try to eat them from time to time, just to get some calcium and vitamins. I lost 27 pounds, I'm now 98 pounds. All doctors do is give me ppis. I'm also doing some hormonal treatment for my endometriosis and I think that it's making my heartburn worse, every time that I take some hormones, even if they are not taken orally I'm on fire.
Anyways, I just wanted to know if there was anybody else there that had it this bad and that recovered. I was just looking for some hope.

dany1982,

I have a feeling that too many information might have confused you.
When you read about natural remedies on the internet, always be skeptical and look for more information and check the conversations of those who took them.

HCL is a big no no to GERD patients. I am not sure who suggested it to you? HCL stands for hydrochloric acid which is just the stomach acid that burns your stomach and esophagus. It is a supplement for people with hypochlorhydria - lack of stomach acid.

Do let us know what natural remedies you have taken, let us sort it out for you. I am sure every veteran member here has tons of experience with natural remedies. And when you try something new, try not to take too many things at the same time, that will confuse you as to which one is working, which one is not.

As for diet, be careful with avocados (they are rich in fat, which slows down digestion), try to avoid crackers too, because they may have sharp edges that scratch your esophagus. Rice may be tolerable to some, or may cause heartburn to some. Flour-based carbs are safer.

If you are underweight, try taking Ensure Life or any medical nutritional product. They are made to be rapidly absorbed, so they are less likely to cause heartburn, and will help you gain weight.

Are you able to sleep well at night? A restful sleep is critical to heal your gut from inflammation.

I guess I should have done more research when I tried the HCL and enzymes, but everything I read was about people that cured their gerd with it and apple cider vinegar, which burned also very bad. I guess it took its time to burn my stomach very good, since at first I was feeling just a slight burn, and that is why I did not stop, I thought that it was helping.

I was afraid to take the ppis since I got some side effects from them and I was hopping that the natural remedies will help. Here is what I tried and all gave me heartburn, I guess my stomach was burned from the HCL
manuka honey, probiotics, DGL licorice, l-glutamite, slippery elm, marshmallow, metamucil, sea-buckthorn, colostrum,vitamin b, fish oil, turmeric, zinc carnosine ( this one upset my stomach very bad and I could feel the metallic zinc taste in my mouth, the reflux was unstoppable after this one, it came up to my mouth).

I feel like I have a pharmacy at home now. I tried juicing cabbage, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, apples, but these gave me very bad heartburn also. Also when I was having trouble sleeping from the pain I would take ambien, and then when I would wake up in the morning and my esophagus and stomach would be on fire, so I had to stop that and deal with the sleepless nights, since sleeping teas and supplements give me heartburn too. I'm definitely not eating after 7-8 pm and go to sleep at 10-11 pm. I tried to go with no breads or wheat, but for some reason i feel like wheat its actually helping so I went back on it. I tried no dairy, as I'm getting heartburn from It, but I need some calcium and I'm having some yogurt and milk once in a while. I can not take any vitamins, since it seems like now they give me heartburn. Also I tried ensures and power bars, but I guess all the chemicals that they have upset my stomach and give me heartburn. I'm still having them once in a while, for the calories.

Oh well, I learned my lesson and I will be very careful now with the natural remedies, I just wanted to know if there is someone else who had this bad experience with them and if they recovered.
thank you so much for taking the time to help me cope with this horrible disease

Yeah, Zolpidem is not a good idea to take when you are struggling with any sort of inflammation. I'm pretty sure that's why you were waking up with a fire pain in your stomach. Been there, done that.

Good luck with your disease, Dany1982. A lot of us suffer from it, so you're not alone.

I sleep on a wedge pillow, with two more on top of it, to make it more comfortable, I can not lay down as i feel like suffocating and my esophagus gets tight and start coughing. I'll try again to be more strict with my diet, and eliminate again all dairy (lactose free milk still gives me heartburn). If it gets worse, I'll definitely look into surgery, I need to be able to work in order to have insurance. I'm just so frustrated because a few years ago it was not this bad and it went away after 3 months on ppis, and now I feel like is 100 times worse then before due to my stupid mistake of trying different stuff that messed my stomach also and not taking my pills , I could have avoided all this suffering. I'm so frustrated. I just hope people will learn from my mistake and use HCL supplements with caution.