Anyone else suffer from GERD?

I've had it for quite sometime, take a purple pill everyday - even though they do not recommend that. I also read it's not good to take baking soda everyday. I don't know what is true these days, but if I don't take my meds - I get terrible acid reflux regardless of diet.

Wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Years ago, I suffered from this. Tried several different meds for it; they mostly worked. Was scoped for a different problem and was also diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus (inflamation). Back on the meds (I forget which one but it was OTC).

Stopped the meds a year or two ago. I also realized that using lemon in water for flavoring brought it back. NSAIDS also make it worse (ibuprofen and naproxin). Now, if I take ibuprofen for more than three days, the acid pain returns. If I have to take the ibuprofen, I will take famotidine (pepcid) with it. If that doesn't work, Mylanta (or the generic equivalent) does, almost instantly.

Be careful with these types of treatments if you take other meds. Certain meds are only absorbed in an acidic environment; taking anti-acids within a certain time frame of another medication negates absorption. My statin actually states that on the container.
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I read that ibuprofen is bad for your stomach and that you can better use paracetamol.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Having a bunch of old people running around on PPI's ( proton pump inhibitors ) is probably not too good. In severe cases, bleeding ulcers, erosive esophagitis, or barretts esophagus it is the gold standard. Staying on them longer than eight weeks can have negative effects. Please be your own advocate. :)
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Funny you should mention that.
I wondered about the same thing & asked the doc that did my upper GI about it.
He just shrugged and said that he’s been on one (PPI) for over ten years with no negative affects.
I was hurting bad enough that i just wanted it to stop so at least for the time being continue to take Pantoprazole.

But guess what, my insurance said that a Pantoprazole ‘script beyond 60-days worth would require Prior Approval.
And that 60-day time period pretty much coincides with the eight weeks you mention in your post.
Coincidence?
 
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I had chest pain about a year ago that PCP diagnosed as likely GERD. Was put on pantoprazole (Protonix), which made my heart's preventricular contractions (PVCs) shift into high burden territory (9% of my heartbeats were extra, early beats originating from the ventricles). It took a few months and numerous cardiac tests before I made the association (none of the doctors did).

In the fine print, way down the list of side-effects, pantoprazole notes that (rarely) use for more than a year can blunt magnesiume absorption.

Bingo! I take magnesium twice a day to control my PVCs. It didn't take months to blunt the magnesium, it took less than two weeks. I quit the pantoprazole and the PVCs settled down to (my) normal low to moderate range of about 2-3%.

My point — and I do have one — proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are powerful meds with a range of side effects, and doctors won't always put all the pieces together.

These days, when I get heartburn I chew a couple of Tums or take a famotidine (Pepcid AC ingredients). No more PPIs for this gal.
 
I was having horrible heartburn and was treated for GERD and all the medication was doing was soothing
the esophagus and easing the pain, masking it. A month later I had a heart attack, heartburn is a symptom
of that for some. I agree with @Sunkist Especially if you've been eating Tums like candy. I had a right coronary
artery 80% blocked. We never want to know that something could be extreme. Having to have a stent put in before
a heart attack is way better. I pray for all of you it is just a simple case of GERD.
 
I should add, my heart attack was a Vascular problem not a Heart Problem, So I needed to have seen a Vascular Surgeon
to detect it. My doctor did EKG's in office and they all came out fine. Because it went to a heart attack, I now have the
"stigma" of having a Heart condition on my heath record to carry around even though I suffered no damage to my heart.
Once the stent was put in I have not had any heartburn since and less meds to take.
 
IrishEyes said:
I should add, my heart attack was a Vascular problem not a Heart Problem, So I needed to have seen a Vascular Surgeon
to detect it. My doctor did EKG's in office and they all came out fine. Because it went to a heart attack, I now have the
"stigma" of having a Heart condition on my heath record to carry around even though I suffered no damage to my heart.
Once the stent was put in I have not had any heartburn since and less meds to take.
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This is really strange. The heartburn came from a vascular problem, which ceased with the implantation of the stent?
 
My father had heartburn for decades, even before my birth. I only knew him with this problem. The "cure" in the 1960s and 1970s was quite ridiculous. Pills which neutralized the gastric acid. It didn't last very long. (They are in use today too). He often had duodenal ulcers. Now we know that these are mostly caused from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. He also often had gastritis. One day he had black or tarry stool. Ultimately he decided to go for surgery (Billroth II), in which a part of his stomach was removed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billroth_II

After some rough days his health became better. But he lived only some very short years after the surgery, since he developed pancreatic cancer in the summer of 1985 and died in November. It was the missing gastric acid which caused problems with his pancreas. Meanwhile it is well known that people after the suppression of gastric acid often need medication (enzymes) to support the pancreas. He did not get them although they were already available at that time.

For me also it is very likely that GERD can be hereditary. I have very weak connective tissue which caused an umbilical hernia shortly after birth, flatfeet since childhood, venous problems, a sagging abdomen without much overweight, hooded eyes and even a groin hernia later in life. This condition of a weak tissue often causes hiatal hernias which aggrevate GERD. But I did not get it until my 40s.

Most physicians are not interested in side effects of the medication they prescribe. For instance Omeprazole can cause acute kidney injury.
https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/omeprazole-prilosec-bad-kidneys-3561395/

For this reason I took omeprazole only for short periods and not more than 20 mg over several(!) days. I have stopped taking any medication for GERD after our move to Hungary since the stress of living in Germany is over. GERD disappeared almost completely. Stress seems to play a great role in developing gastric acid reflux as already stated in this thread.
 
seadoug said:
I'm finding as I'm getting older that it is flaring up more often. I can pretty much predict when it will come on, so I've started taking Prilosec when I know I'm going to eat something that aggravates it. I don't eat red meat very often, but if I eat a hamburger I know I'm going to feel it. I love spicy foods, from Mexican to Thai to Indian, but they don't love me back. Peanuts also aggravate it, along with red wine, which I sometimes have in combination.
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Why would you eat it if you know it aggravates it? I ate some spices a few weeks ago with an egg and it hurt very much, so that's the last time I ate em.
 
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Messy said:
Why would you eat it if you know it aggravates it? I ate some spices a few weeks ago with an egg and it hurt very much, so that's the last time I ate em.
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I can't eat or drink spices or anything acidic.... regardless of whether I've taken the daily Lansoprazole or not... those 2 things would have me in horrble gastric pain !

Stress without a shadow of a doubt is a BIG cause..

I didn't learn this until , several times during my marriage I had such pains in my chest I could hardly breathe..like labour literally..in my chest the pain was so bad. One night it came on my late just before bed, and I was up for 9 hours walking, the streets to try and walk it off.. not kidding..

The next time it happened the pain was even worse, so I went to the hospital because my GP had told me to go because a heart attack is so often dismissed as GERD attack, and not to take chances.. so i went to the hospital

They checked my heart everything was fine..they gave me muscle relaxants, and Painkilers , to ease the pain... and it was there they told me about Stress..

Well i was in a very >>VERY.. stressful marriage.. so it was obvious what was making my condition much worse..

I've not had an attack like that since he's been gone!
 
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hollydolly said:
I can't eat or drink spices or anything acidic.... regardless of whether I've taken the daily Lansoprazole or not... those 2 things would have me in horrble gastric pain !

Stress without a shadow of a doubt is a BIG cause..

I didn't learn this until , several times during my marriage I had such pains in my chest I could hardly breathe..like labour literally..in my chest the pain was so bad. One night it came on my late just before bed, and I was up for 9 hours walking, the streets to try and walk it off.. not kidding..

The next time it happened the pain was even wore, so I went to the hospital because my GP had told me to go because a heart attack is so often dismissed as GERD attack, and not to take chances.. so i went to the hospital

They checked my heart everything was fine..they gave me muscle relaxants, and Painkilers , to ease the pain... and it was there they told me about Stress..

Well i was in a very >>VERY.. stressful marriage.. so it was obvious what was making my coondition much worse..

I've not had an attack like that since he's been gone!
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My mom once saw a woman she hadn't seen a few years and she said: Wow! You look so good! What happened to you?
She said: I divorced LOL.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Having a bunch of old people running around on PPI's ( proton pump inhibitors ) is probably not too good. In severe cases, bleeding ulcers, erosive esophagitis, or barretts esophagus it is the gold standard. Staying on them longer than eight weeks can have negative effects. Please be your own advocate. :)
Click to expand...
I have read this, but my doctor brushes it off. I could try baking soda, but again - not supposed to take that daily either.

Rock meet hard place - NO idea what to do....
 
CaliS said:
I have read this, but my doctor brushes it off. I could try baking soda, but again - not supposed to take that daily either.

Rock meet hard place - NO idea what to do....
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I took it for about 2 years when in my 60's. I don't know if it hurt me. But I do have some issues that it likely contributed. There is nothing u can do but quit, which is stupid if your getting relief. Best of luck. I was treated for GERD for about 12 years...it was not fun. I had to miss work several days because my digestive tract was such a mess.

I now take IBGuard...it is peppermint capsules. It has really helped me. Sometimes I need a little mialax.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I took it for about 2 years when in my 60's. I don't know if it hurt me. But I do have some issues that it likely contributed. There is nothing u can do but quit, which is stupid if your getting relief. Best of luck. I was treated for GERD for about 12 years...it was not fun. I had to miss work several days because my digestive tract was such a mess.

I now take IBGuard...it is peppermint capsules. It has really helped me. Sometimes I need a little mialax.
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Thank you. I am not asking for medical advice (for anyone worried about that), but it is helpful to share tips and tricks amongst ourselves. :)

I am going to try the IBGuard. I take medication for depression, which triggers acid reflux - then I take medication for that which I believe triggers my IBS.... So, I am going to talk to my doctor about something different for my depression and maybe - just maybe, I can get off the purple pill - take something like IBGuard - and get by with some tums now and then! That would be amazing!
 
George1959 said:
This is really strange. The heartburn came from a vascular problem, which ceased with the implantation of the stent?
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Yes, the right coronary artery having blockage was not letting blood coming out of the heart to flow properly so it was filling up the artery
to the heart which was causing a GERD type feeling of heartburn. Like a warning type response in me, not all get the same symptoms.
All I can say is what I was told so I could understand it.
 
IrishEyes said:
I should add, my heart attack was a Vascular problem not a Heart Problem, So I needed to have seen a Vascular Surgeon
to detect it. My doctor did EKG's in office and they all came out fine. Because it went to a heart attack, I now have the
"stigma" of having a Heart condition on my heath record to carry around even though I suffered no damage to my heart.
Once the stent was put in I have not had any heartburn since and less meds to take.
Click to expand...
My father's GERD was caused by a hiatal hernia, which, in turn, was caused by a defective heart valve.
The only reason he survived heart attack was he had medical training, knew what was happening, and got to an ER. He needed open-heart surgery and valve replacement.

Although both of his older brothers and their father died of heart attacks decades earlier, it was assumed they had the same cause.
 
Sunkist said:
My father's GERD was caused by a hiatal hernia, which, in turn, was caused by a defective heart valve.
The only reason he survived heart attack was he had medical training, knew what was happening, and got to an ER. He needed open-heart surgery and valve replacement.

Although both of his older brothers and their father died of heart attacks decades earlier, it was assumed they had the same cause.
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I have what they call here in the UK a ''Hiatus hernia'' rather than Hiatal... that's what's causing my problem, they finally found that after a lot of tests.... and there's nothing can be done. As far as I know I don't have a heart problem, but then how would I know ....no-one else in my family has died of heart attacks..so I would presume I'm alright where that's concerned
 
hollydolly said:
Me too... I take 30mg of Lansoprazole every morning before any food... if I miss a day, completely I've not taken it.. I know it within minutes of eating... even a banana....
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I still have occasional issues in spite of the medication, but I can usually relate those situations to my food choice or foolishly eating too fast. In many cases during my life I can truthfully say that I become my own worst enemy.
 
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