r/GERD

Often, basically all day, I will feel this tingling sensation and weakness throughout my body. It sucks so bad… at times it’s not as severe; others, I feel like my body is literally shutting down.

It mainly affects my head and arms, other body parts rarely. It’s scary as it has caused immense head pressure and at times my face feels like it falls asleep. I’d try scrunching my face around to get blood flowing similar to when your arm falls asleep to try and wake it up but it doesn’t do anything. It’ll come and go on its own.

I do have problems with my ears, mostly ringing. My right ear has had outer pain from time but ringing is the main symptom. Intensity comes & goes.

It can happen suddenly where I am overwhelmingly fatigued or the intensity of what feels like tingling or poor circulation, takes place. As in not enough blood/oxygen is being pumped to wherever the tingling is going on.

What’s crazy is when I’m in a car, head pressure and tingling sensations can especially start to happen. It’s very confusing and honestly, this is what makes GERD scary for me. I wish I had nothing but the regular symptoms and not this. It’s very physiologically taxing in the worst way.

Just wanna know if anyone else has had this or had success with resolving this kind of issue.

Sidenote: This triggers as well when I eat non-friendly acid reflux/Gerd foods. Happened once as well when I walked past a BBQ and inhaled smoke from the grill. I feel it first thing in the morning, doesn’t have to be triggered it exists as is.

I been mainly only having a liquid diet since my recent flare up. I would greatly appreciate any food recommendations that I won’t choke on or throw back up. Thank you.

I've been having GERD for the past 4-5 years because of my college food and I thought it would go away once I finish college and it only got worse. I puke literally every single morning and I am tired of it and sometimes it is followed by a headache. And for the past couple days I have been having heavy heartburn and cough. Is it gonna lead to something serious or has anyone experienced similar to this before?

Does reflux ever get better? I have it every single day whatever I eat. I have had it for a month. I dont know what to do anymore. I dont know what to do anymore. I am taking medicine but the medicine is not helping me.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been dealing with a frightening squeezing, crushing pain behind my breastbone. I do not have the typical burning or “heartburn” sensation at all — it feels much more like pressure, tightness, or an angina-type squeezing pain. Sometimes it honestly feels cardiac, which has been very anxiety-provoking.

The pain is highly unpredictable and can happen both at rest (sitting or lying down) and during exertion, even something as simple as walking. I also sometimes get a dull aching pain in my jaw and teeth along with the chest tightness, which makes the whole thing feel even more concerning.

Because of the squeezing nature of the pain, I underwent a very extensive cardiac workup. I had 3 resting ECGs, all completely normal, a normal echocardiogram, and an excellent stress test result reaching 12.4 METS at 18% incline with a peak heart rate of 185 bpm (117% of predicted maximum heart rate), without abnormalities. My cardiologist has fully cleared my heart, but mentally it’s still difficult because the pain can feel so convincing.

To investigate a digestive cause, I recently had an endoscopy (FOGD) with biopsies. I translated the reports from French to English below, and I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar.

Endoscopy Report (FOGD)
Reason for exam: Retrosternal chest pain.

Esophagus:

• The lower third of the esophagus was very red and inflamed (erythematous), without ulcers.
• The Z-line was irregular.

Stomach:

• Grade 1 hiatal hernia (Hill classification).
• Diffuse redness/inflammation throughout the stomach (pangastritis).
• Biopsies were taken.
• No ulcers or tumors seen.

Duodenum:

• Completely normal.

Conclusion:
Marked inflammation/redness in the lower esophagus, Grade 1 hiatal hernia, and erythematous pangastritis.

Biopsy / Pathology Report

• Four small stomach tissue samples analyzed.
• Mild chronic inflammation with congestion/swelling.
• No precancerous changes (no metaplasia or dysplasia).
• No cancer.
• Positive for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori).

Biopsy conclusion:
Mild chronic inactive gastritis associated with H. pylori infection, without malignancy.

My concern is that despite the reassuring cardiac tests, I still struggle mentally with the squeezing “angina-like” sensation because it can feel so intense and convincing, especially when walking or during physical activity. My doctors believe the inflamed esophagus and small hiatal hernia may be causing esophageal spasms or pressure sensations rather than classic burning reflux symptoms.

Has anyone else had H. pylori, gastritis, reflux, or a hiatal hernia cause severe squeezing chest pain without actual heartburn — especially pain triggered by walking or movement? Did anyone also experience dull jaw or tooth pain from it?

And for those treated for H. pylori, how long did it take after antibiotics and acid-reducing treatment for the chest tightness/spasm sensations to improve?

Thanks a lot for any insight or shared experiences.

I posted here a while ago about the symptoms I'd been having, pain behind sternum since January which hasn't responded to high dose ppi treatment. The pain has become more regular but no more intense, I don't feel like I have any problems swallowing. I've been fat tracked for gastroscipy on the 3rd of June due to symptoms not responding.

The last three nights I've had night sweats, I was concerned about cancer when I was referred but I'm now convinced that's what I have due to the night sweats. Has anyone else had sweats and symptoms like this that didn't turn out to be cancer?

I've also switched from Lansoprazole to Esomeprazole twice daily, could this be the cause? I haven't had any weight loss or extreme fatigue just the sweats.

Thanks

I know this sounds weird, but I accidentally fixed my GERD by drinking EAA’s (Essential Amino Acids) in my water first thing in the morning instead of plain water. For some reason, plain water on an empty stomach was my biggest trigger for reflux. Coffee never bothered me, but regular water would instantly cause issues.

I started adding EAA powder to my water and noticed my stomach felt “activated” properly. My theory is maybe the sweetness or amino acids trigger digestion/stomach acid differently, but I honestly have no idea scientifically. I just know it worked for me.

It’s been basically cured for like a year now. I either start my day with coffee or EAA’s and I rarely get GERD anymore.
Not medical advice at all — just sharing something random that personally worked for me after struggling with reflux for a long time.

Not complaining, purely explaining my situation.

The past 3 months have been the worst months of my life. I walked past a guy with a broken leg on the way out the hospital today ENVIOUS as I would rather be him. Little did he know… at least he can eat ice cream that bastard.

Anyways, I was upset with my GI when told NOT to do surgery and to take medication to manage symptoms. It especially surprised me when the surgeon, who I felt would put an end to my suffering, repeated the same thing.

Truth be told, and I cannot deny this… I have only gone through this disease for 3 months. Rookie numbers compared to some of you guys on this reddit.

I never gave myself the chance to make peace with the fact I’m not the person I was before this happened to me. The longest I was on PPIs was 3 weeks, tops. I haven’t given myself a trial to see if I can manage what I’m working with.

I’ve seen videos and articles and searches out there that suggest there are people that exist who wish to opt for surgery rather than be dependent on PPIs for life and DO get surgery approved by their doctors (can’t say I didn’t wish that was me), but the fact remains I haven’t given an honest jab at trying medication. I’ve done all else the GERD rule book has asked of me: diet, timing, sleeping on a wedge pillow, the whole thing. Front to back.

I’m posting this because I was told no not once, but twice.
I made peace with myself when I walked out that office today. Essentially, surgery is a last resort, to the doctors I’ve made contact with anyway. If let’s say, 6 months from now on meds to a year nothing improves and I have the exact same complaints, perhaps the conversation will be different.

*I am aware of the long term side effects of PPIs, but I finally made peace with myself. That is the difference. I’ll do everything in my power to monitor myself and prevent them from happening*

Until then, this is the step I’m on in my journey. It’s a long road, but the strong survive. ALL of you, are strong. I know because this sucks. You’re not alone, neither am I. One day at a time people. Let’s shoot GERD in the fucking face 😎

No one wins fights without taking a couple punches. Let’s do it! And thank you all for being here today, to breathe and take this one moment at a time. Cheers people

Sidenote: I will still go out of my way to get opinions from other doctors and surgeons as I am a firm believer in multiple opinions. But for now, this is the mindset.

Its been 2.5 years I've had GERD, I am so sick of this. I can't eat anything anymore without experiencing pain, or extreme belching and bloating. My family makes it so much worse. They're constantly shoving their food in my face and teasing me about how I can't eat it anymore. When I tell them I can't eat something They'll either laugh or give me a response like "its just _____ what's wrong with that? I can eat it." It annoys me so much. The worst is when they insist on cooking for me and put stuff i can't eat in the food, even after reminding them multiple times. When I confront them they always try to gaslight me into thinking that I'm making stuff up. I'm sick of the pain and total disregard for my health.

tldr i went through a really difficult period end of last year and was constantly stressed, had anxiety, felt depressed etc. i started getting pain when swallowing and thought this would simply go away when i was mentally better. over time the pain would be on and off but it has never fully gone away - sometimes it hurts just for me to swallow saliva.

my gp did an ecg & urea breath test which came back negative & nexium 20mg doesn’t work. honestly don’t think this has anything to do with stomach acid/acid reflux. i wouldn’t say i have heartburn but it is purely pain when i swallow. closest thing i could find when researching that matches my experience is esophagael hypersensitivity & apparently taking antidepressants is a way to ‘treat’.

has anyone experienced something similar to me & how did you go about treating it? or even if you took antidepressants for a similar situation i’d be keen to hear your thoughts!

My dad burps (??) more than 300 times a day. Each round lasts a couple of minutes (up till 20 times when it gets bad), and theres multiple rounds of this each day, each of those rounds takes from 50 to 150 burps. We went to ENT, GI, did Endoscopy, did Colonoscopy, brain MRI, and EKG. Nothing showed up, everything says he's healthy. We're not sure what the issues are with my dad, but hoping if someone has encountered this, what the diagnosis is, and how to help.

the video is in the comment.

Anyone have any tips on quitting caffeine? Typically have 200-300 mg a day usually in the form of caffeinated sport drinks or tablets/capsules. Should I try weaning down first or just go cold turkey thru sheer willpower?

Between early morning workouts, depression and late night hockey games, caffeine has become somewhat of a necessity.

I haven’t had a flare up in a while and have been off of my meds for at least a year. However, I started having a flare up last night and have been in intense pain ever since. I got and took famotidine (omeprazole and pantoprazol don’t work for me for whatever reason) and am still in agony hours later. I got up to try and cook dinner and can’t even stand up straight because buckling makes the pain less severe. I’m so frustrated by being in such severe pain that I cried. I’ve had bananas, I’ve taken Tums, and nothing. My stomach is also now growling which I’m sure will make the issue worse, not better, but swallowing water hurts when it hits right around the bottom of my sternum so how am I gonna get food down?

I’m exhausted. I have a performance this weekend I cannot be in this state for. I got sent home from work today and can’t call out tomorrow because I’ll run out of PTO. I don’t know what to do but I’m just in so much pain and I know there’s nothing anyone will do for me.

I think I just needed to scream into a void full of people who get it. Thanks for reading if you got this far. Just. I’m exhausted.

Hello, I’m a slim 21 year old male and I’ve gotten diagnosed with GERD two months ago and within those six weeks, I was taking famotidine then stopped and I was prescribed omeperazole and my diet wasn’t the best until six weeks after due to me not being aware of gerd. I’m three weeks clean of gerd, still deal with flare ups. I was playing basketball Monday and I noticed that I barely got heartburn! Also I’m about 46 caps of omeperazole left. Is there anything that I can use to wean off omeperazole? Like any natural products? Also does slippery elm root and aloe Vera juice works and how long will it take me to fully heal from gerd?

Does GERD feel like dying sometimes? With shortness of breath and heartache. I keep thinking I’m dying the next minute every minute. It honestly bothers me so much it gives me anxiety. Is it just me?

I was on Omeprazole for almost 20 years I recently finished a taper and got off of it. While on it I was having loose stool often and sometimes full blown diarrhea. I'm in the middle of my 2nd week fully of it and fully transitioned to Famotidine and all the sudden I'm dealing with the other side of things with constipation. Nothing I take or in my diet has changed just suddenly going the other way. Has anyone gotten off PPI and experienced anything similar?

As a singer onboard a ship in a rock band it ruined my singing voice and led to a few years of vocal trouble.

At the time on the ship I went through all these problems with my voice, loss of vocal range, loss power in my voice and ultimately more stress. At the time I suspected I had nodules or something similar like a vocal haemorrhage… it was the most likely explanation for my symptoms.

I never knew that it was acid reflux which was giving me a sore throat every morning and leading to the stressful loss of range and power in my singing voice.

After leaving the ship I went to see an ENT to find out what I was suffering from. I had the camera up my nose and down my throat and was misdiagnosed with muscular tension dysphonia. It’s what ENTs diagnose when there’s no visible scarring or other physical evidence of damage. Essentially what the ENT said was I was too tense and I needed to relax the muscles around my voice.

After another year of pandemic and continued poor vocal health I decided to see a laryngologist (An ENT who specialises in voice problems). She disagreed with the MTD diagnosis and suspected reflux. She gave me a prescription for Omeprazole which worked wonders for my voice within 2 weeks. After a month my full range and strength of vocals came back like before.

Once the reflux symptoms resolved I spent the following 3 years up until now focusing less on specific triggers (which I couldn’t identify) and more on variety & quality of foods, specifically avoiding ultra processed foods and eating lots of fermented food. After worrying that I would be on PPIs for the rest of my life working on my gut health (hard to prove but don’t have other explanation) gave me the confidence to cut down to 1 pill every 36 hours, then 48, then 72 and then 96, eventually stopping completely.

I have no reflux symptoms now unless I drink copious amounts of booze or eat ultra processed foods in significant amounts. No foods are off limits, even curries. My go to is Gaviscon Advance to control flare ups. The reason I’m sharing this is because I once thought I’d be on PPIs till I’m old and now I’m not. I’m aware this information won’t help everyone but I believe it’s worth mentioning that for my reflux isn’t really been about specific triggers like it is for many people as it has been about my gut health.

I believe working as long as I did on a cruise ship with cheap, oily, ultra processed food essentially destroyed my good gut bacteria which led to the reflux, stress, inflammation, repeat cycle which I am so glad to have escaped from, I also think that I never would have escaped the cycle without the help of PPIs. It was the important first step to peace of mind and reduced stress which helped me get the rest of my life in order.

Any singers on here with similar experiences?

Hello, does anyone here get heart palpiations WHILE they eat their food, not after?

I tend to get them later in day, when I think the acid already has irritated my vagus nerve. And I think food hitting my stomach irritates it?

Any idea what to do? Would appreciate any help 😃

Bg: 98kg male 30 yo, not on PPIs, suspected GERD

Well it's been awhile. I'm doing better now. I'm actually able to eat. Mostly bland food still and I still need to stay away from triggers. But I've gained weight I'm at 130 now! I've been underweight my whole life so I'm really happy about that.

I'm still getting occasionall heartburn, heartburn palpitations and some other issues but I have improved a lot since last year. I was barely able to eat, or do much of anything tbh. But I'm happy with the progress I've made. Still sucks ass! But I'm seeing a new GI specialist soon to see if I need anything else. Might end up getting another scope done. I don't wanna :")

Oh well