GERD & Heartburn Support Group

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is defined as chronic symptoms or mucosal damage produced by the abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. This is commonly due to transient or permanent changes in the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach. If you are afflicted with GERD or heartburn, join the group and find support.

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Hey

SunnyS
SunnyS

I was diagnosed with Gerd when I was 17 years old. Out of no where I couldn't eat anything without wanting to go to the bathroom immediately after. I would occasionally get bad stomach aches as a kid if I ate something bad, but nothing this bad. I went to the hospital and wasn't able to eat anything for my 3 days of being there. It was awful. I went through all these tests and it came back with nothing. When they finally believed I wasn't pregnant or on drugs, I saw a gastrointestinal Dr and had an endoscopy done. It showed a very irritated stomach lining that would bleed when they touched it. Next thing I know I'm popping pills every day for 2 years. I lost about 15lbs and could barely walk up the stairs myself for a while. Needless to say I was pretty depressed. I was about to start university and all this stuff was happening. My stomach attacks were/are pretty terrible. It could happen after I eat anything, and I can't help but panic from the pain because I feel as if I might pass out. I've developed this unhealthy phobia of pain. Not sure how to deal with that yet. I'm 21 now and I'm still having a really hard time controlling my symptoms. I don't eat out, and it makes for pretty awkward friend/date environments. I don't really want to delve into how everything I eat goes right through me. I've lost that enjoyment of going out and socializing with friends over a dinner table, which sucks. I'm not taking antacids anymore. They didn't help and I realized if I did this intensive diet instead then I wouldn't be at risk of osteoporosis in the future. Still, I don't believe this is good enough. I need to have better control of my symptom somehow. I want to be able to take a break from having to think about preparing my food and what I'm going to take when I'm on the road. I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I'm not sure how I can be when I have absolutely no energy, random stomach aches, and the inability to digest "on the go" food. I guess I'm looking for advice on how to make things better. I'm also wondering if maybe I'm just crazy and I'm doing this to myself? The reason I ask is because I've had a doctor tell me to see a psychiatrist instead, so it makes me wonder if maybe this isn't supposed to be this bad and I'm just making it out to be worse? Maybe that doctor was just a jerk? I have no clue obviously, all I know is that I have an issue that I really want to fix.


Thank you to whoever reads this.


Sunny

Lesleygm
Lesleygm
Sunny,

It sounds a lot like gastritis. Go on to the gastritis site here. There is a lot of help there. Your symptoms are common. for really bad gastritis But... I notice that mental health does affect this issue in a huge way. Many on this site that have GERD have mental health issues like anxiety over many years and this issues causes more anxiety and stress etc. I agree, getting help with the mental part can help a lot. It can reduce the symptoms and the combination of being extremely disciplined with diet makes it even better. Your experience is common for many people with gastritis and i often recommend getting mental health help! Hang in there this can get way better but you have to do the mental work too.
SunnyS
SunnyS
Thank you for replying. I did post on this on the gastritis forum as well, I just wasn't sure which one had more people responding to it. I never had to deal with anxiety until I began dealing with my stomach issues. I will definitely look into better controlling my anxiety and stress. I make no promises with the stress though, considering I am a college student lol. I am extremely disciplined with my diet and I have gone through an elimination diet. The problem with things like that however, is that I don't have much left to eat to get the nutrients I need. I know my body is not absorbing enough nutrients and I need to find a doctor that can help me with this (have yet to find an effective one). I'm glad that I don't seem to be making this up (I knew this since I'm aware of how the human body works) but I did have my doubts at times with how people so easily disregarded what I was feeling.

Thank you for the advice!
Lesleygm
Lesleygm
The gastritis site is more busy. Check out shihonage and he has a link for healing gastritis. He is a pro on this issue and many of the old time members here followed his regime.

Yes stress is a tough one and can make you worse. The diet part sucks. When I used to have GERD symptoms I stuck to about 5 foods a day for at least a year. it works but it is not easy. I went to a chiro as well and that really help the reflux issue. That was a turning point for me. Gastritis makes you feel terrible. Just keep doing the work and you will slowly get there!
mermaid0717
mermaid0717
Dr. Eric Berg has a lot of information on this. Basically his idea is that we have decreased stomach acid as we age and when the PH of our stomach is not acidic enough the valve that closes off the stomach acid doesn't close. He recommends using digestive enzymes - Betaine
HCL and apple cider vinegar. I tried it and have had great results. Visit his site an see what you think. Plus I am post menopausal and I think that hormonally GERD is a common post menopausal symptom
SunnyS
SunnyS
Thank you for the reply and some great advice, I will definitely look into that. I'm only 21, so I'm not sure age is really a factor here, interesting.
Lesleygm
Lesleygm
Yes some people have low acid but that is not always the cause for many. Apple cider can be really bad for people who dont have low acid. I could never take it. In fact if you have an inflamed esophagus it is pretty painful to drink that stuff and annoys the esophagus more!

Stick to the food issue and stress and anxiety reduction.
mc7431
mc7431
Sunny,
You might want to start taking probiotics and prebiotics.
Swanson vitamins. Com has em,at good prices
Mike
In Birmingham
Jannahjess
Jannahjess
Sunny, of course anyone would have anxiety and become depressed going through what you are. This idea that being unhappy is some sort of disease is ridiculous, improving your health is what will get you back to your old self. Nine times out of ten all a psychiatrist would do is put you on more meds that could potentially cause more issues. What ever strength you do have put into research and finding out how to improve your health through diet, exercise, whatever natural means you can perform. And in regards to eating out, I felt as you did at first, as if my social life was taking a dive, but the reality is most food being eaten outside of the home is not the healthiest. I've been able to appreciate knowing what it is I'm consuming. I wish you the best.