Hi all,
I have been suffereing from Gerd for at least 10 years on and off. I am 40 and in otherwise in good health. I lead an active healthy lifestyle. But in times of stress or for no reason at all heartburn comes back. My first 2 Endoscopies cam back negative of any damage. I was prescribed various PPI's (prilosec and aciphex) but neither made a significant difference. I did the 24 hour ph test while on aciphex at a time when my symptoms were very minor. The test came back negative--no acid. My MD (who is very skilled) said I had acid sensitivity but probably not reflux. So for the next 5 years I lived without meds and bore the pian when it came. In the past 4 months the pain became greater and intolerable especially if I had alocohol or any caffeine. Had another scope...Dr saw something that might be Barretts. Lab tests came back negative. Phew --no Barretts. Still pain. I am now on prevacid with mild results. I can eat small meals and if I avoid alcohol and caffeine I am relatively symptom free. This probably means GERD and not just senstivity. A life without caffeine is doable, but a life without wine is not. At least I will try all I can do to beat this thing. I am a passionate wine collector. The PPI's that I have tried do not seem to work completely. The MD said that after the holidays I should go off of wine and caffeine altogether for a month. Then introduce wine (1 - 4 ounce glass) with dinner for a week and call him. I am sure I have a few more tests ahead of me to figure this thing out.
I wonder if the new endoscopic procedures work for those that do not respond completely to PPI's. Any thoughts would be most welcome.