Hi Stacey,I can't help you with the gum issue...I can't chew it. I have mandibular joint issues and chewing gum isn't good. Actually, chewing gum always bothered me if I chewed it on an empty stomach. I have heard it can be helpful, though.
As far as the endoscopy goes...generally a GI doc is looking for the effects of reflux on your esophagus. If you don't have Barrett's esophagus, if you don't have esophagitis, GI docs think all is well and you're in good shape.
They don't really care about/or understand how much discomfort we can have with just small amounts of reflux. If your LES is open, it can be seen in an endoscopy. If it's open a little, maybe not. A manometry measures the pressure, so that's a good measure. Barium swallow can check for reflux, but it's not always precise.
I had enough LES relaxation and reflux to cause me to have uncontrollable asthma, yet the GI doc never thought it was the reflux that was causing it, because the PH monitor testing never revealed a high DeMeester score. My asthma doc, though, has told me that GI docs don't generally understand how much damage a small amount of reflux can do to the lungs. He said that GI docs who understand that are few and far between.
LPR is a trickier issue than straight GERD.
Our bad luck, huh?
Hang in there!
Denise