I'm not sure if there's an easy test for the vagus nerve; I don't even think all doctors are aware of the connection between GERD and the vagus nerve!

I would recommend treating the GERD and see if your symptoms improve.... you can try the Pantoprazol, and you may consider starting a GERD-friendly diet especially if the meds don't work. (Meds alone didn't eliminate my symptoms, I needed to make diet changes too!) While every person has different trigger foods, here's the diet I follow to get you started:

http://www.dailystrength.org/people/508274/journal/1912231

And a few other tips:

http://www.dailystrength.org/people/508274/journal/1997732

You could see a gastrointerologist right away to discuss your symptoms, or you could wait and see if the GERD treatments help so you'll have a better idea of what's causing your symptoms.

Also, while this is unlikely, I like to mention this for everyone who complains of undiagnosed dizziness.... My mom fought with non-stop dizziness for over a year, took several tests with neurologists and ENT's, and they couldn't determine a diagnosis. Finally, through research on the Internet, she discovered that her symptoms were almost an exact match for Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SCDS), and her doctor then confirmed it with a high-resolution CAT scan (the only way to accurately diagnose SCDS). The main symtpoms that made her suspect SCDS were sensitivity to sound, and the ability to hear body movements (heartbeats, footsteps, even your eyes moving!!) in your ears. Surgery to fix the SCDS has vastly improved her symptoms! However, so far this is a very rare condition, but it's also newly discovered and not all doctors (even ENT's) are aware of it. Here's some links for more info:

http://scdssupport.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_canal_dehiscence

Good luck!

Hi @shanmoo. I feel for you. I experienced horrible dizziness and vertigo at the onset of my GERD in 2008. The vagus nerve info is new to me...will look it up :)

I saw many doctors and basically waited a full year for the worst symptoms to clear up. Virtually none now that my GERD is being treated.

Good luck. Keep us posted!

Geekchick,
Thats a great list. Its very similiar if not exactly the list of foods to avoid when I was having attacks. I am glad I caught my condition relatively early. After a few years of following a gerd friendly diet, avoiding my trigger foods, I don't have to watch everything so strictly.

I often get the lable of 'healthy' by a lot of people. What they don't get is that if I go to far away from my trigger foods I WILL feel sick. Fortunately I rarely have attacks, but I am still prone to them.

The basics for me is to stay away from processed foods, juice, sugar, artificial anything, anything too greasy. Also avoiding food too late at night. But I can now have some spices, small amounts of cholate, tea, and on rare occations some coffee and small amounts of tomato sauce. Wine and alcohol are ok, which I am surprised as that is often a trigger. Doughnuts and fried food are still out. My partner wanted to share some doughnut he though was so great. He said I wouldn't react because it was 'high quality'. Within minutes I had a problem. So thats out. But I discovered that my tastes have changed. I can live without a doughnut, believe me, and also without orange juice. For some that seem like death sentence, but I don't expect anyone else to do what I need to do. But I have been medication free for 5-10 years!!or so.

ask your doctor for a pylori test they had me do different diet changes and everything else when i fought to have the pylori test it came up positive after the grueling med regime i finally was cured it has not return in over 11 years now. it doesn't hurt to get the pylori test just to rule it out................good luck

Shur1 has a great point, one of the first things your doctor should test you for if s/he suspects GERD is for an H. pylori bacteria infection. If your GERD is caused by H. pylori, then a round of antibiotics will cure it right up! Otherwise, you'll have to start looking into all the meds and diet changes and such that I talked about in my first post :)

Acceb, I can still eat a lot of processed foods if they don't contain my trigger foods (there are a few processed foods that bother me that I wouldn't expect -- probably some spice or additive or something that I don't realize is a trigger), but I probably should cut back on processed foods just to be healthier ;) Although I've been on this diet for almost 2 years now and still can't eat any more of those trigger foods than when I first started... I can still get symptoms from a single Dove dark chocolate square, or a small amount of fresh garlic in foods.... I haven't tried tomatoes or tomato sauce in a long time and I do LOVE homegrown tomoatoes in the summer, maybe I should try a few bites this summer just to see ;) It does seem like the foods that I have to be the most careful about are the foods that can relax the esophagul sphincter (chocolate, tea, coffee, garlic, onions, mint, spicy foods, etc.), while a small amount of acidic food (citrus, tomato, vinegar) is usually less of a problem... though I still don't push my luck by drinking a whole glass of OJ or something! :)

Chocolate and tomatoes are definitely the foods I miss the most -- and they're in so many of my favorite recipes! :(

Hi all I have got gastritis and GERD. Im on Pantoprazole now just changed from Lansoprazole which didnt do anything. I feel dizzy and drowsy sort of tired a lot. I wonder if its the medication? I sometimes am not too bad then some days the bloating and burning pain comes back and its agony. Some days I can have coffee and even chocolate with no problems and other days it flares up. Its worth having tests such as an endoscopy to see if there is any inflammation. Its best to thinkl before hand the questions for the gastro,though if they dont want to answer anything they wont. Im seeing the gastro again soon next month. I would love to eat tomatoes and drink orange juice again. I keep hoping my stomach will heal so I can. I think the PPIs are suposed to conrtol GERD so that you can eat what you want. They dont always control it. Its not fair when you cant eat what you want. I would consider surgery if it was offered rather than put up with it never going.

Hows your stomach feel by the way? You would know if it was GERD as it would hurt. Also have you been checked for asthma? I have asthma and can feel weak and dizzy sometimes. If you cant breathe you feel dizzy. It must be horrible if you cant breathe very well often. I know what its like but I think my asthma is well controlled. Also get checked out for a hiatus hernia, see if you have that. I have had more GERD symptoms since Ive had that. What I dont understand is that I have had other endoscopies and none showed hiatus hernia but the last one did. I must have got it somewhere in the past few months. I had acupunture and was meant to go 7 times but was so ill with the gastritis that I only went 3 times. Im not sure if it helped me any as its kept flaring up. Also be careful as the Chinese like to prescribe herbs at the same time. You dont know what they are and you have to boil them up and drink the liquid twice a day. They rubbed some unknown oil on me after the acupunture. I didnt know if it would upset my stomach so wasnt happy. It may help some people but I know I couldnt keep it up and its expensive. Those doctors should do more tests on you I think. I had a hormone problem and they wouldnt do a MRI scan,they said it was my meds. Have you looked up Vertigo too? My dad had that but I think hes fine now.

Dizziness here too caused by Gerd.

Shan,

I sent you a message. I have also been suffering from dizziness and i think reflux and GERD are related somehow..

And let me tell you why...

It has been 15 days i have dizziness...a tooth root treatment that started with caries and an amygdala bigger that the other...

Guess what?

2 caries and the amygdala on the same side of my face, right one!

Why?

Have been sleeping on the right side...we must tell it everyone...

Seems like even doctors are not aware of that bad habit of ours.

Not happy to hear of your struggle, but now all my symptoms make sense. I was in the urgent care and was diagnosed with menieres disease. I was sooo upset. I have had a real problem recently with reflux. Have had it for a long time and take aciphex, but can't seem to keep it under control lately. My ears plugged up and now I wake in the middle of the night with dizziness and nausea. A little dizzy everyday and now anxiety..UGH.
I do not want to take all kinds of drugs. I am going for accupuncture on Fri. I understand that it is very successful for our problem.

I also feel dizziness,light headedness . i have always been told that it was because of my depression.But i found out that some GERD medicines make it better.

I too have had dizziness in the past due to anxiety/depression.
Anti Ds helped a lot. Went away for years but is coming back recently and I am wondering if it is linked with the GERD I am trying to fight.

Same is the case with me. I even got ECG and Cardiovascular ECHO test. But all tests were clear.