Hi all!
I'm posting here to share my experience of how my GERD started and how I am feeling better now.
To start off, my GERD symptoms were very mild. All I felt was a persistent minty feeling in my lower throat the entire day.
My symptoms started last year June 2018. I remember having had spicy food both the night I got it and the night before. I also had heartburn on first night which went away. The minty feeling started about
2 hours on the second night after dinner. I waited for 2 days for the feeling to disappear but it didn't so I went to see the doc and was prescribed Somac 40g once a day 30 mins before dinner. I took that for a week and it did not get better and I was told to get an esophagus endoscopy which I was only able to schedule 2 weeks after. During that period I was only having plain porridge and plain McVites Digestive Biscuits.
Fast forward 2 weeks, I still wasn't feeling any better, in fact on my way to the hospital, a car almost hit me, and because of that I felt like having a lump of phelgm in my throat from the stress. Note that I had to fast and follow the proper procedures before the endoscopy. This was when it got interesting. When I woke up from the twilight sedation, the minty feeling disappeared. I don't know what happened and I thought I was fully cured (and I think I really was). I took care of my diet for the entire month after.
Unfortunately on the 5th week I started drinking coffee and junk food like the spicy&sweet tamarind candy. Those were delicious but I believe that was the cause of my GERD reoccuring. I also played badminton for 2 hours the same night but I don't know if it was the cause. Anyway, this time I went and saw an ENT, and it showed that the area around my vocal cord was red. Again, I was prescribed PPI Omaprazole 20mg 2 times a day 30 mins before lunch and dinner. Anyway, cutting things short, I took PPI for about
4 months. The minty feeling in my throat would come and go but it eventually disappeared, so I started tapering to 20mg a day for 4 weeks, then to one 20mg every alternate days. I eventually stopped PPI and took over the counter Zantac for 3 weeks and since then I have been feeling okay, except with the occasional < 2 seconds warm feeling in my throat a couple of times a day when I feel bloated.
I have been PPI free since about
mid January. Now to recount what I did that I think helped:
Please note that this is an account of what I did and is by no means a proven cure to GERD.
None of them are dangerous as far as I know but please do your own research before following.
Now, with the disclaimer out of the way:
1) I relate the strange cure after the endoscopy to getting enough sleep so I started sleeping early.
2) I chew gum every day after meals. I like the Simply Gum Ginger (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGH8S0G/)
3) Take a stroll after eating. Walk around slowly for about
15 minutes.
4) I chew my food thoroughly before swallowing. I eat very slowly now.
5) Gaviscon Double Strength really helped.
6) I avoided and still avoid Tomato, anything spicy like pepper, chilli, capcicum, anything sour, and anything acidic. I also stayed away from Wasabi and Apple cider vinegar (Some say ACV helps but I think it is still acidic when it hits the throat so, I avoided it just in case).
7) I avoid Coffee and any form of Tea with caffeine.
8) I took drank Camomile Tea up to 2 times a day.
9) Sleep on lots of pillows to elevate my head. I formed a nice wedged slope with 3 pillows.
10) I did diaphragmic breathing 10 to 15 mins a day
11) I sometimes take Nature's Own DGL that I got from Wholefoods (It looks like this one https://www.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Licorice-Chewable-Tablets/dp/B003DI98D6). I only got one bottle so I don't know if this helps
Once again, I do not think that I am fully cured as I still get warm feelings in my throat but only when I feel bloated. However, I am fortunate that my symptoms are really mild and do not feel anywhere like heartburn.
Anyway, I hope this will help someone out there.
Post Edited (Proxey) : 6/7/2019 1:14:39 AM (GMT-6)