r/GERD

Hi all! I just got an upper endoscopy today, and I have grade B esophagitis as well as swelling in my stomach. My GI doctor believes it was either due to GERD and EoE or just GERD, so she took some biopsies as well, which I’ll be waiting on the results for. I’ve had reflux for years, as well as trouble swallowing.

After my procedure today, my doctor recommended that I strictly avoid meals, and eat something small every few hours instead to avoid irritating my stomach. Has anyone else gotten this recommendation? And, if so, what kind of snacks are you eating that still have a lot of nutrition? The foods that seem to cause me the most trouble are ones containing dairy, as well as wheat.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

ETA: My GI doctor also believes I have delayed gastric emptying due to food being found in my stomach on previous endoscopies that I had eaten 12+ hours before the procedure- not sure if that is relevant or not, but I wanted to add that just in case.

Literally throughout the day every single day past month or so I’ve had bad air hunger, checked my lungs at a pulmonologist and heart and everything came back clear.

Has anyone else dealt with this? I wake up in morning struggle to get a real breath and it carries on throughout the day. Previously only had difficulty swallowing and burping symptoms and this new one is seriously ruining my life. I can’t even exercise anymore and previously I was very fit.

I’m on PPIs (Nexium) daily and that hasn’t helped at all so far.

Does anyone have any success stories dealing with this specific symptom?

Genuinely so depressed these days

Hello! so I’ve had 2 instances of going to the ER due to heart palpitations and chest pain until I was told it was acid reflux. The first visit, I was prescribed omeprazole (10mg) and as soon as I felt better, I got off of them and had the worst palpitations in my life and pain that stuck for +30 minutes. It was stupid of me, but on my second visit, a new doctor prescribed me both Pepcid (20mg) and Sucralfate. I have major health anxiety especially because of the fear of palpitations and the medical bills are climbing up so I really don’t want to have to go to the doctors as a result.

I’ve been dealing with terrible globus sensation, to the point where it feels like there’s a ball on my throat. I’ve also been dealing with chest pain but I’ve been adjusting my diet heavily. Any reassurance from your experience or information abt the two would truly be appreciated as this globus sensation is driving me insane and it drives me in the loop of believing in running out of breath.

Thank you!

Whenever I sit down, my indigestion is a million times worse. It feels like it becomes more difficult to burp and like the lump in my throat is the size of a golfball. Does anyone have experience with these symptoms and if so do you know what it ended up being?

Hello everyone,

I got the refluxstop surgery 3 years ago and since I regularly get messaged how its going with the procedure here is an update:

I got the procedure 3 years ago and until now im very satisified with it. I can drink and eat trigger foods (coffee, spicy stuff also alcohol, although depending on my stress level I still have problems from that) without major problems. I very rarely have heartburn and if then only after im really stressed and consumed a lot of trigger foods (which is the normal reaction of the body i guess).

Im in no way handicapped by the surgery and can excercise completly normally. I tend to burp quite a lot and still swallow a lot of air, but I guess thats something that I always have done. Now its just more difficult for the air the get out again. In the beginning I had some trouble swalling but that has now vanished almost completely.

Cause of some heavy drinking I also found out that I can in fact still puke and its not nearly as painful as I imagined it would be.

So overall I would definetely recommend the surgery since it has really improved my quality of life. I got it in Friedrichshafen at lake Constance.

here are my previous posts:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GERD/comments/1cjvyzm/10_month_refluxstop_update/

https://www.reddit.com/r/GERD/comments/14gyrx6/ama_just_had_refluxstop_surgery/

https://www.reddit.com/r/GERD/comments/17gg7v6/4_month_update_after_reflux_surgery/

27M, software engineer, working remotely for 5+ years, mostly desk work and long sitting hours.

Quick background: some time back I got a pain on the left side of my stomach that stayed for about a week. Went to a GP and got an endoscopy done. It showed erosive gastritis, small ulcers (peptic ulcer disease) and a lax LES with mild esophagitis. Took the full course of meds for 2-3 months and the ulcer side of things is cured now. Doctor said nothing serious, just eat less spicy food and fix the routine.

The problem: since then I have this weird sensation in my left underarm and left upper chest, and sometimes it travels behind my left biceps. It is bearable, but it never fully goes away, and because it is on the left side it obviously catches my attention.

What I have ruled out so far:

- ECG and 2D echo are normal
- Saw a second cardiologist with full blood reports and all heart tests, they clearly ruled out anything heart related
- A nerve specialist suspected it could be cervical, so I got a cervical spine MRI done, but I have not gone back yet to discuss the report (I know, that is on me)

I could think a few possibilities: the lax esophagus valve or GERD causing sensations on the left side, vagus nerve involvement, or something from the cervical spine(not very sure but that’s what some others subreddit post or claude suggested)

Lifestyle stuff that might be relevant: years of late nights, eating late, sometimes overeating, long desk hours, very little movement. Earlier I used whey protein, pre workout and creatine, and I always had bloating and would need the washroom right after eating. For the last 2 months I have been walking 10k steps daily and that also bcoz these sensations started on left side which is being constant for almost 3-4 months.

Questions:

1. Has anyone had this kind of left underarm, chest or arm sensation from GERD, a lax LES, or vagus nerve irritation after gastritis or small ulcer issues?
2. What should my next step be? Follow up on the MRI report, go back to the gastro, or something else?
3. Any lifestyle change or remedy that actually fixed this for you? I am even wondering if that can be fully cured because it’s really difficult for me to identify what’s causing this or why in first place this started. I don’t drink, never smoke. Really weird what’s happening, could be due to taking too much load/stress on the body about work or so but didn’t know this kind of things can happen suddenly with the body i use to do 100k benchpress with.

Just looking for directions and similar experiences Thanks.

I got hearburn after eating gummy bears last night. I have not had heartburn in the past from gummy bears. I do have GERD though. Have others gotten GERD symptoms from gummy bears?

I know I should get a blood test for nutrient deficiency, but I am currently taking supplements for:
B1, B12, Iron, Calcium, magnesium; trying to add zinc, but I am on vitamin overload as it is :(

I have been cutting down my workouts at the gym; I don’t lift and barely do any physically demanding exercise to reduce heartburn symptoms.

I’ve been on an on-again, off-again relationship with Omeprazole like most of you, I assume, but after my restart, the hair loss I am experiencing is out of control. I brush my hair multiple strands come out. Any time I touch my hair, I lose several strands.

I am having an upcoming endoscopy to see if there’s anything unusual. But wow, I couldn’t get rid of this disease ASAP. If I lose my hair, I lose my identity. I am a woman, and it’s hard to accept this loss. Does anyone have any advice it would be helpful thank for your response I appreciate any input.

Hello everyone, I want to share my story and I hope somebody can help me or guide me. In 2025 I went on a trip and on that trip I had a panic attack due to stress and overthinking stuff and worrying about my family and my safety. After that panic attack i was never the same. I went back home and my problems just kept on piling on me, first it was the trip panic attack, then a stray cat scratching me which led me to getting a rabies shots, then after that my brother just casually telling me he has Coved while i was sitting beside him. All of this led me to having anxiety, unexplained chest pains, why i say pains with an S because it changes location around my chest area. I went to the ER many times and the general doctor and many doctors and each one told me something else, some said i need to start SSRIs, others told me that i developed GERD. At first I know it was anxiety because i used to worry more than the past, but nowadays i don't, it's just this chest pain that i worry about.

Now i want to talk about my chest pain and how it acts, it's random, so random and weird that it comes out of no where and it's like a needle pokeing me. Before anyone says go check your heart, I went and all the doctors cleared me from any heart issue.

Why some doctors said it's GERD, because i mentioned that sometimes I burp after the chest pain, i tried many mannnny meds but i don't think any of them is doing anything.

The things i did: ECGs, blood tests, echocardiogram for the heart and a Spirometry Test.

If anyone can give me an advice i would really be thankful

Well after my hiatus hernia (Hillary) showed up on my chest x-ray, my GP referred my for an ultrasound and bloods. It would seem Hillary has brought some friends along with her.....fatty liver disease, a gallstone stone....just the one🤣 ( i dont know why I find it so funny to just have 1....I've called him Gary). And the blood tests show that I'm anaemic and just short of being pre diabetic.

Now whilst none of these are particularly serious, coming all at once it feels particularly overwhelming.

For now we are monitoring everything and trying to keep things under control through diet and lifestyle changes. I've been prescribed iron supplements and accepted a referral to the diabetes prevention scheme- why not ..at this point I will accept any support offered.

I'm taking this as a wake up call, a chance to turn things around before I can't ....I've got 4 years to retirement and I plan to be in a state to enjoy it.

Has anyone else dealt with multiple diagnoses ?

Pros/cons? Did it help you at all? Hurt you? I’m starting this tomorrow and am a little worried. My worst symptoms are nausea, feeling food come up my throat after eating and pain/burning around my rib area

Before GERD I always use to eat later meals, if bedtime was 10pm I would be eating at 9-9:45pm.

Now that I have GERD I find it incredibly hard to sleep if I don’t eat 2-3h before bed.
If I eat at 8pm, I’m hungry again at 9:45pm and for me the hunger is way more difficult to sleep through than the acid reflux is.

If I eat later, I can sleep through the reflux but in the morning it feels terrible, if I don’t eat later, then I can’t sleep because the hunger bothers me so much.

Any tips on how I can deal with this and get to a point where I can stop eating so late?

I finally am going to do my first endoscopy. I’m so nervous for the results. Terrified of having something scary. Been like 2 months of chest pain and it’s not fun at all.

How long does it take to hear the results?

hi all :)

prefacing by saying i know you all are not doctors and can’t make this decision for me, but i just wanted some insight if any of you have been in the same spot.

i’ve posted a lot here, but the short of it is: last summer i got a bad flare up of acid issues one random weekend out of nowhere. it started off as the classic gnawing stomach pain, nausea, etc. and moved to throwing up daily, stomach pains, & losing 30 lbs. i was the sickest i’ve ever been.

i did all the things: HIDA scan (95% EF), labs (some elevated things that eventually came down), endoscopy (mini erosions, esophagitis). put on a PPI (omep)

following that initial bout of sickness, my health went downhill fast. chest pains/ pressure, heart palps, body tingling, bad headaches, dissociation/spacy/woozy feelings. tonssss more symptoms beyond this. like 20+ over time. id just wake up, go about my day & have constant symptoms.

i then did all the next step things: got a MRI, saw a new GI, saw a cardiologist, hematologist, eye dr, got more labs, etc. these were all recs from my GP/ i didn’t just chase down specialists.

everyday i felt worse & it made my health anxiety & regular anxiety spike worse than the ever been. this entire time (to me) it has 100% felt like i have symptoms which increases my anxiety (not the other way around).

however, now its been a bit over a year & while i’m doing a bit better then i was last summer im still not great & have constant symptoms. something has to change

i have met with a neurologist (due to the tingling and headaches and spaciness) who suggested amitryptline or nortriptyline. i also am in therapy and have thought about starting a ssri.

i just don’t know which to do. i’m feeling stuck.

i am extremely extremely sensitive to medicine. like VERY. have been my whole life. i feel like taking one of these will be a HUGE undertaking (for my body) and i just want some advice before figuring our which route to go on.

have either of these meds helped you? pls pls pls no horror stories! if they didn’t help you pls just nah girl 😂 and i’ll get the hint.

Been on prescription Prilosec for five days now.

I've been in a state of fight or flight from an LPR flare up for two months now. During the five days, I've come out of the state of fight or flight a little bit but today felt like some kind of new panic was setting in.

I have been on the PPI for just five days. Is it possible it is adding to the agitation or is it just the LPR symptoms? I feel incredibly jittery. I really want to try a PPI for 4 to 8 weeks to see if it can help with the LPR, but I'm having a hard time distinguishing between mental health symptoms from the condition or side effects from the pill.

I have been belching for the past months and everything I drink or eat anything I burp constantly everyday and it’s so loud and annyoning. Even when I get up I burp right away I feel like I have been gas too sometimes farts are hard to come out. Please guys any tips for this to go away I need help I went to the GI Doctor today but I want some opinions and options on what you guys did

Just got conflicting results and I’m confused.
Endoscopy biopsy: Negative
Stool antigen test: Positive
Has anyone else had this happen? Which test should I actually believe?

Hi everybody. I’m relatively new to this forum, having started experiencing GERD-like symptoms for just about two months now. I had an endoscopy two weeks ago, which thankfully showed my esophagus is, (to quote my GI who performed the procedure), “Perfect”, which shocked the hell out of me in the best possible way. There was some “Mild, patchy redness” seen on my lower bowel; some slightly elevated white blood cells, and I’m about to be checked for celiac disease, (which I don’t think it is bc I eat gluten all the time and don’t seem to have any issues), or some other autoimmune condition. My GI said there’s no apparent cause shown yet, so that’s the next phase of trying ascertain what’s going on. It could be nothing or it could be bacterial or something else.

Prior to that, I was put on Omeprazole (40mg in the morning before breakfast), and then Famotidine (40mg after dinner). I’ve completely changed my entire diet, (it wasn’t horrendous beforehand, but there were some definitive habits that needed to get the boot, ie drinking seltzer at every meal, sometimes even in the middle of the night, eating my last meal and going to sleep soon after, sleep-eating, etc.). I’ve stopped all of the above and inadvertently, actually improved my overall cholesterol (eating Cheerios, steel-cut oatmeal and cantaloupe/watermelon instead of cake and cookies will do that to you. Lol!), and have lost 7 lbs.

The pressure I’ve felt in my esophagus has definitely abated during these past few months; but some days it’s far less than others, and it doesn’t really seem to be indicative of what I’ve ingested since my diet is excessively bland and “GERD-friendly.”

BUT…I’m curious, could anyone tell me how long you’ve personally experienced these globus symptoms? I sleep fine, (elevated head and all that), but sure enough, when I wake in the morning, I don’t have that globus sensation. Within a half hour of being up and vertical; walking around, etc, that damn lump-in-the-throat feeling comes back again.

The only beverages I’ve had for these past few months are water and caffeine-free chamomile tea! No coffee, no alcohol, no citrus.

Just seeking advice and other people’s perspective; hearing others’ experiences. Thank you in advance. I appreciate it.

I take 140 mg spread throughout the day. I’ve read that for Zollinger-Ellison syndrome the max dose is 120 mg every 6 hours, so I’m still well below that. I’m bed bound from a CSF leak and have to lay completely flat all day for the past 6 years, which is why I have GERD. PPI’s all caused awful cognitive side effects/headaches/ear-ringing. I know there are serious heart risks with high doses of Pepcid. Just wondering if anyone else is on super high doses like this, or how dangerous it actually is? My doctor didn’t seem too concerned, but it still makes me nervous, and I would like to not be nervous.

And then I belch, and I feel normal again. It’s so fucking embarrassing to have this issue. I always think I’m going to die or pass out and it’s just GAS. How can gas affect my life this much?