Has your gastroenterologist done an endoscopy? It's a medical procedure where the doctor uses a scope to take a look at your esophagus. This can help them see what is going on internally. Your symptoms may not require it, but if you're really in a struggling place perhaps you need to go back in and let the doc know that you have real difficulty getting good rest.

The wrong meds can create the side effect of insomnia......as can other conditions. Finding the right answer for your unique chemistry can take some trial and error.

Did they tell you that raising your bed can really help? Put bricks or risers under the bed frame but only on the end where your head rests. Raising your head will keep the acid from rising up while you sleep. And this helps you rest better......something you really need. Another tool? Adjusting your diet.......there are some real obvious things. Avoid fried food, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods.don't smoke.........but don't forget the basics........acidic foods........like tomatoes for example can cause damage to the esophagus as well. For some GERDS patients the pain they feel tells them to back off.......but for those with silent reflux the damage can be occurring but if you don' have the pain you may not be aware........you still need to be careful with spaghetti sauce, chili........tomato any and everything. Any acidic food.......or drinks.

I had pain kicking my tail so to me it made huge sense to stop ingesting anything that felt like a physical hammer impacting me. I wanted to heal the damage and feel better as soon as possible.

It's important to take your meds consistently.......and right now it would help if you eat smaller meals as you find your way.

When I was first diagnosed I was in so much trouble, I'd had a variety of symptoms for some time and felt so lousy all the time. I went to different specialists and when I saw an allergy doc he thought I had chronic asthma. I had never had asthma........and still didn't. When I saw a gastroenterologist I was scheduled for an endoscopy and found out that the swelling was so severe that I literally struggled with every breath to get enough oxygen to my brain. Another thing I had been doing? I had been taking a lot of pain relievers for tension headaches........too many and that did damage as well.

I was doing a lot of things wrong, constant rushing.......a high pressure job, raising kids.........always on the go. I had to get serious to get better!

The lack of oxygen really messed me up. Couple that with interrupted sleep and it's a difficult road to endure...........they literally had to "stretch my pipes"......not once but three times during that first summer. I had a lot of work to do to get my body feeling better. But it's sooooo worth it! I was also diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus, which is a precursor for Esophageal Cancer.......but this is a pretty low risk cancer and by managing symptoms, taking meds and getting good rest you can feel a lot better.

When you're super tired.......everything is much harder. Depression causes you to be tired and GERDS can too..........so you need to treat it seriously and take the time to treat yourself well. In my case I could feel the acid crawling up into my chest and sometimes up into my shoulder area. It was very severe and scared me very much. I would have these attacks and just crawl into bed and pray for sleep. Getting diagnosed and making changes really helped get me back on track.

I used to drink soda like a fish.......a bad soda drinking fish. I used to eat on the go all the time........and not eat right. I had to slow my roll and treat myself much better. Some people have silent reflux so the damage is happening but they don't have the pain. My reflux let me know what hurts loud and clear!

At first while you feel so lousy try to be extra kind to yourself. Lean into what your body needs, if the meds are right.......you need the right med in the right dosage....... if you're on a med for a decent amount of time and it's not a good fit discuss it again with your doctor. Trust your body to provide you with information to get you to the right answers........I had a really good gastroenterologist who really helped me figure out the best answers/treatment. I've had regular endoscopies over the years to see how things are going......& to make sure the Barrett's is in check. Another symptom I had was wheezing (especially when I would lean back or lie down) because of all the swelling........now if I find myself wheezing at all I take a look at what is going on..........do I need a different med, what AM I eating.......am I getting enough rest? Exercise.........balance is important. Want you to feel better...........

Over time I've been on a variety of meds to treat GERDs. For me one med would work for awhile and then no more.........sometimes a med would cause side effects that created double the trouble. I still keep antacids on hand if I have a break through attack which is pretty rare for me any longer.

If attacks continue then again see the doc......get help! If you're already dealing with anxiety and depression and now coping with GERDS you need to get the right combinations .......you need to recalibrate........so you can get good sleep and feel better!

Don't give up.......always be your own best advocate! You know your body better than anyone, so listen to what it's telling you! You can get the symptoms under control..........hope you feel a lot better ........do the best you can to get good help .......good rest and let your body heal. My damage was really bad so I'll always need meds to help control it.........but I learned to manage my symptoms.........you can too!

Thank you so much for your reply.
I'm thinking of going back on omeprazole,as i have heard alot of good things about it.
I definitely will take all your advice to heart.especially that of being kind to myself.

Serce what you wrote is so very true. The hammer symptoms (jack hammer) as its often called is spasms occurring in the esophagus. I thought it was my heart, but the ekg never picked up any problems, they than preceded to look at my esophagus during a swallowing's test and they was able to confirm what it was. They don't know what causes the spasms. I was so helpless when it occurred. I dont have it as often now, if I do its not bad and only last for a few minutes. It happen when I would eat and drink at the same time, now I try not to drink or only take sips when I eat. But than again they thought I was crazy at first.
It brings on a lot of issues, although I am able to eat spaghetti and onions, I cooked the sauce down first and only eat onions by sautéing them first to break down the acid, but I eat those things very rarely. It got so bad when I first got it about 5 years ago, that I was hospitalized for a few days with some sort of infection, But I have learned to live with it, take my meds and when I get a flare up, I take Mylanta to help calm it down. Stressing only makes it worse. Thanks for sharing.

You can do this without medsl. This is all about diet and managing mental health. You dont want to get to the point of having barretts esophagus. The numbers getting cancer of the esophagus keep going up. You can live your life on ppis or get more discilplined with the diet and work on mental health issues if this applies to you.

This is a tough issue and is harder if you have a hiatal hernia. I have a small sliding HH. I am more prone to reflux. I was very determined to not take a ppi. I took zantac here and there while working very hard to manage this with the plain diet approach. It took me over a year. Then things got way better. Almost 10 years later I rarely have a flareup and I can treat myself but not over due it. Life on a ppi is not the best option in my opinion. PPIs can make you feel lousy. I tried dexilant for 10 days. It is also not good to continually block your proton pumps. Try the plain diet approach and stick to it for at least 6 months. Then you watch how much you treat yourself. Heartburn /atypical reflux can come back easily until you are free of symptoms for a good year. At the 2 year point I was very good. No symptoms. I live a life of major exercise. I lost weight in this restricting diet approach but the exercise mentally helped a lot. This can get way better without a dependence on ppi's. It just takes serious discipline. I still have to be careful with black pepper, garlic and onions and spicy foods but everything else is very good. There is hope if you are prepared to do the work. This can all go away!!