u/Puzzled-Practice-122

Since I have memory I’ve suffered GERD , what makes me prone to it I don’t have a gallbladder. For years I was fine honestly i was healed well so I thought until 2024 everything changed . And suffering from bile acid reflux took over my life. I was put on so many meds nothing much help but i did explained to my Gastro that back when I was younger I was given omeprazole 40 mg morning and 40 mg night and that usually helps . We tried it I was fine. End of Feb 2025 I was good again. Then March I got a small surgery that got infected and i was on steroid and antibiotics and Hell again but this time nothing helped no ppi h2 blocker helped . Dr decided to give carafate and voquenza sample to try it wasn’t helping . Then we discovered June 2025 I had c diff . I was put on antibiotics and wow so painful. Dr decided to try vonoprazan Nov because at this point I was losing weight couldn’t eat without pain everyday throwing up it was bad. Chest pain , bitterness in the mouth I felt my mouth dry tasting like paper it was horrible. So Nov we started voquenza 20 mg once again . By Dec I was a new person I was happy thriving still with flare but wow . Now come May we find out I’m still colonized with c diff , but on top I’m depleting all my nutrients anemic , vit D b12 like one behind the other. So I was informed to STOP taking voquenza . Dr said just stop but I didnt just stopped I asked to taper down. And this is how it’s been going . I’ll add my notes below form when I started till this morning . I’m trying to figure out what to do because I have heartburn so bad. And my dr nurse told me back in June 22 just take it as need it but what does that mean? I do apologize for the long text. Any advice I’ll appreciate it!

Started taking it Nov 12 2026 20mg until May 05/25/2026

10mg 05/26 /26- 06/05/2026 full week of 10 mg

Every other day
06/05/2026 first day without it
06/06/2026 - did take it
06/07/2026- didn’t take
06/08/2026- did take it
06/09/2026 - didn’t take it .
06/10/2026- did take it
06/11/2026- didn’t take it
06/12/2026- took it
06/13/2026- didn’t take it
06/14/2026- take it
06/15/2026 - didnt take
06/16/2026-take it
06/17/26- didn’t take it
06/18/2026- didn’t take it ( heartburn)
P6/19/2026 took it
06/20/2026 - Didn’t take
06/21/2026 took it

Stopping
06/22/2026 didn’t take it
06/23/2026 didn’t take it (heartburn)
06/24/2026 didn’t take it (rebound regurgitation)
06/25/2026 didn’t take it (worse heartburn)
06/26/2026 didn’t take it ( less heartburn)
06/27/2026 didn’t take it (way less heartburn none existent tums helps just tummy ache belly button gas )
06/28/2026 No meds less heartburn just bed time tums works
06/29/2026 no meds less heartburn tums works
06/30/2026 no meds heartburn gaviscon helped
07/01/2026 no med (Pcab) heartburn due to taking Tylenol fever after iron infusion
07/02/2026 no meds but heartburn again a bit worse still needed Tylenol and added vit c .
07/03/2026 no meds but severe heartburn finally broke the fever and I stopped the Tylenol and didn’t take more vit c
07/04/2026 no meds heartburn burping feels like the acid is traveling up burning all the esophagus and throat.
07/05/2026 woke up with stomach burning I’m coughing feel that minty cool feeling in the stomach.

Note Before the fever I was doing fine with a tums and gaviscon . But right after the Tylenol and then the vit C I feel nothing has helped . I’m debating if I should go back to the voquenza 10mg as needed or try to see I calm down this flare with tums and gaviscon . I’m just scared to irritate my gut lining again after months of healing .

Hi I’ve been suffer severe GERD since young but 2024 it got worse was always on ppi but I wasn’t healing that my Gastro put me on vonoprazan 20mg since nov 12 2025 but started tapering off may 2026 with 10 mg everyday until June 05th 2026 everything went well . Then I moved to every other day June 06 2026 and so far good I was fine .then June 17 and June 18 I didn’t take it I had heartburn so I got back to every other day again for few more days. June 22nd I completely stopped and reflux has been wild below i will attached my notes of how it’s going after stopping .

06/22/2026 didn’t take it

06/23/2026 didn’t take it (heartburn)

06/24/2026 didn’t take it (rebound regurgitation)

06/25/2026 didn’t take it (worse heartburn)

06/26/2026 didn’t take it ( less heartburn)

06/27/2026 didn’t take it (way less heartburn tums helps ) d3 50000

06/28/2026 No meds less heartburn

06/29/2026 no meds less heartburn

06/30/2026 no meds heartburn

07/01/2026 no med heartburn due to fever meds Tylenol after iron infusion

07/02/2026 no meds but heartburn I, guessing due to Tylenol and vitamin c

07/03/2026 no meds but severe heartburn but I did take vitamins c again

04/04/2026 no meds severe heartburn but I did take weekly dose of d3 50000

I did call my dr a told him about it and asked what I can do and he mentioned taking it only the days I need it . For instance if for 10 I didn’t had heartburn good but day 11 I did and tum or gaviscon didn’t help then take it . Which I find it absurd. i do take slippery elm capsule which helps a lot and tum and gaviscon which help a little but I don’t want to go back to the meds. Because of a case study I read and because i’m anemic and I have c diff history . Im not sure what to do what to take anymore . any recommendations . h2 blocked makes me so Sleepy. So Im not sure what to do .