Anyone else suffer from GERD?

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
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.

It is genetic. My grandfather suffered from GERD, didn't take his medication and developed holes in his esophagus. The food would go into his lungs. Eventually he had to be fed via feeding tube. My mother also had it. She developed scar tissue in her esophagus and would have food stick there. I've had that happen to me, especially with foods like salmon or rice. She did have her esophagus stretched twice and it worked like a charm.

Anyone else have this issue?
 
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I occasionally get this especially if I eat too much too late in the evening. Laying down , I can feel the food wanting to come back up and while I donā€™t actually throw up, it constantly feels like Iā€™m going too.
Sorry you are dealing with it. Have you spoken to your doctor about it?
 
I had GERD so badly once that it would cause me to get chest pains that I imagine a heart attack is like. I would also have to throw up, which relieved the pain. Oddly, that seemed to happen when I ate somebody else's rice, but it happened at other times too. At first my gastroenterologist put me on Aciphex, which worked great. In fact, I didn't have to take it every day. Then the insurance companies stopped paying for it. A friend was on it too and he had BC & BS and they stopped paying, as did Aetna, my insurance plan.

So then my Dr. put me on Omeprazole, but during a medication review by Optum RX's pharmacist, I was told that Omeprazole was contraindicated due to a medication I take for osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis). She suggested I have the doctor change to Pantoprazole instead. I've been on that ever since. The medications control the GERD well. If I miss a day, I can tell. In addition to taking the medication, I avoid orange juice and other highly acidic drinks and spicy foods.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I had GERD so badly once that it would cause me to get chest pains that I imagine a heart attack is like. I would also have to throw up, which relieved the pain. Oddly, that seemed to happen when I ate somebody else's rice, but it happened at other times too. At first my gastroenterologist put me on Aciphex, which worked great. In fact, I didn't have to take it every day. Then the insurance companies stopped paying for it. A friend was on it too and he had BC & BS and they stopped paying, as did Aetna, my insurance plan.

So then my Dr. put me on Omeprazole, but during a medication review by Optum RX's pharmacist, I was told that Omeprazole was contraindicated due to a medication I take for osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis). She suggested I have the doctor change to Pantoprazole instead. I've been on that ever since. The medications control the GERD well. If I miss a day, I can tell. In addition to taking the medication, I avoid orange juice and other highly acidic drinks and spicy foods.
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Yes, I've thrown up from severe GERD as well. Thanks for reminding me that my mother was put on Aciphex due to her issues. I'd forgotten about that medication.
 
I donā€™t eat much red meat these days. Stress is my big contributor. I would get chest pains until it passed.

I have kept it well under control with a +/- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a bottle of water. I drink a lot of water, adding the baking soda to every single bottle has just about kept GERD down to zero.
 
seadoug said:
Yes, I've thrown up from severe GERD as well. Thanks for reminding me that my mother was put on Aciphex due to her issues. I'd forgotten about that medication.
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You're welcome, of course. I forgot to mention that after the insurance stopped paying for Aciphex, between my gastroenterologist and PCP giving me samples, I had enough to last for months before switching to the other medication. :)
 
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.

It is genetic. My grandfather suffered from GERD, didn't take his medication and developed holes in his esophagus. The food would go into his lungs. Eventually he had to be fed via feeding tube. My mother also had it. She developed scar tissue in her esophagus and would have food stick there. I've had that happen to me, especially with foods like salmon or rice. She did have her esophagus stretched twice and it worked like a charm.

Anyone else have this issue?
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I have had this problem for years. I take a 20mg capsule of Omeprazole each morning. I don't know if that is the same as Prilosec, but I know that it works for me.
 
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.

It is genetic. My grandfather suffered from GERD, didn't take his medication and developed holes in his esophagus. The food would go into his lungs. Eventually he had to be fed via feeding tube. My mother also had it. She developed scar tissue in her esophagus and would have food stick there. I've had that happen to me, especially with foods like salmon or rice. She did have her esophagus stretched twice and it worked like a charm.

Anyone else have this issue?
Click to expand...
Yes, after my research I've found that I'm suffering from a combo of acid reflux, heartburn, probably a hiatal hernia and some type of irritable bowel syndrome. I realized that I'd developed light lactose intolerance several years ago, but I never thought I'd have these other types of problems. I have had to modify my diet significantly over the past few years, including eating smaller portions. Carbonated beverages can make it worse but I don't drink them often.

I stopped eating citrus, onions, bell peppers and am careful about tomato-based foods. I had to stop using garlic power and onion powder a couple of years ago, threw it all out, which has been very hard. Garlic is the worst, onion is next. As I started reading labels, I've been shocked and disappointed about how many foods contain garlic and onion powders. I've had to remove so many foods from my pantry and shopping list, but I needed to start preparing my own foods anyway. I don't eat red meat and use ground turkey for burgers but I didn't know that red meat is a problem for GERD.

Missed garlic and onion so much that last week I bought new bottles of the powders. I thought that if I just shook a few grains of garlic into my crockpot chicken, I could enjoy the smells in my kitchen and it wouldn't hurt my system as I ate. I suffered all last night with stomach pains. I've developed ways to reduce the pain until the inflammation or acid flare-ups pass. But I do work hard to not cause or aggravate these interrelated conditions. I don't keep anything like Prilosec. I keep heartburn and gas chews (Wmart Equate) to help when it's extra bad. I've used enzyme pills (Equate and Beano) to help control gas.

I was told that my father had colitis really bad as a baby. I don't know if that is related to what I'm enduring.
OneEyedDiva said:
I had GERD so badly once that it would cause me to get chest pains that I imagine a heart attack is like. I would also have to throw up, which relieved the pain. Oddly, that seemed to happen when I ate somebody else's rice, but it happened at other times too. At first my gastroenterologist put me on Aciphex, which worked great. In fact, I didn't have to take it every day. Then the insurance companies stopped paying for it. A friend was on it too and he had BC & BS and they stopped paying, as did Aetna, my insurance plan.

So then my Dr. put me on Omeprazole, but during a medication review by Optum RX's pharmacist, I was told that Omeprazole was contraindicated due to a medication I take for osteopenia (the precursor to osteoporosis). She suggested I have the doctor change to Pantoprazole instead. I've been on that ever since. The medications control the GERD well. If I miss a day, I can tell. In addition to taking the medication, I avoid orange juice and other highly acidic drinks and spicy foods.
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Yes, I've been through the severe chest pains, which I believe is the stomach pushing up into the esophagus, hiatal hernia. Most of the time it certainly mimics a heart attack and often comes from too much food in the stomach, too much gas or both, or other problems in the stomach.

And the opening from the esophagus into the stomach is not as strong as it used to be and allows acid to break through. The flap over the opening doesn't close as swiftly or tightly as it used to, for various reasons. Yes, I've had several of the throwing up episodes, which immediately relieves the pain. This happens, I believe, if the stomach is not relieved of the pressure by the food and/or gas being able to move on into the intestines.

Why did your insurance company and others stop paying for that medication?
Imogene said:
I donā€™t eat much red meat these days. Stress is my big contributor. I would get chest pains until it passed.

I have kept it well under control with a +/- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a bottle of water. I drink a lot of water, adding the baking soda to every single bottle has just about kept GERD down to zero.
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You're not concerned about getting too much sodium? I do understand about being desperate for pain relief. I've pushed it with acetaminophen and naproxen to get relief from toothaches. I saw this online:

A single teaspoon of baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, contains approximately 1259 milligrams of sodium. This substantial sodium content is a critical factor for individuals managing their sodium intake due to health conditions like hypertension or kidney disease. chefsresource

I learned through the Arm & Hammer label to take 1/4 tsp in 4 oz water occasionally as needed. It does help with heartburn problems. I don't have that as much as too much food or gas pushing up into my esophagus. It wouldn't help with that because you're not supposed to take baking soda on a full stomach. It's one of the precautions on the box. I think that when I'm having too much food or gas pushing up into my esophagus, taking baking soda would make it worse.
 
Nathan said:
I had a bout with GERD in 2014, had overdone it at the gym lifting weights, and had tore and herniated my Hiatal opening. Healing up from that was a miserable 8 months.
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I'd read that it can sometimes heal itself or be healed. I'm glad it happened for you. So weight-lifting is one way that the condition can be brought on.
 
Imogene said:
@DailyArtsyCrafter I donā€™t eat any processed foods, so I donā€™t worry about a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a 16 oz bottle of wateršŸ¤ 

The positive far outweighs the negative in this instance. Iā€™m not saying itā€™s for everyone, Iā€™m merely saying what works for me and it doesnā€™t cost me anything because thereā€™s always a box in the refrigerator šŸ¤ šŸ¤ 
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A quarter teaspoon contains about 315 mg sodium, which is around 13-14% of the recommended daily allowance. I donā€™t eat processed foods either, but even the whole wheat bread I buy from the health food store has a surprising amount of sodium, as do the ā€œhealthyā€ ā€œorganicā€ canned goods I keep on hand for occasional consumption and the unflavored Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.

Iā€™m an avid label reader, and itā€™s shocking how much sodium is in otherwise healthy, minimally processed foods that I purposely pay more for at the Whole Foods store. Frustrating too.

If I followed a typically normal diet that many people eat, Iā€™d be consuming sodium far, far in excess of the recommended daily allowance.
 
I have had acid reflux, hours long stomach pain, blown up. The baking soda helps, but I read that you shouldn't take it too often.
I called the doc in 2020 for it and he didn't know and I didn't want to bother them nor pay, so I asked dr. Google.

Then it was so bad that I could only lay down and eat nothing, but that hurt too. A girl online said that bread with cheese in the morning caused it for her. I tried skipping stuff. Now I only eat sheep cheese.

I just looked at a hospital site for stomach saving diet and that stuff is light. Dark bread is too heavy, so I take white toast. I just skip everything that hurts and now I hardly ever have pain or feel blown up or have reflux and lately I ate something wrong and fixed it with baking soda.
 
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.
 
I have IBS, and other digestive issues. I can go weeks and be fine, then I'll have a week of misery. I started keeping a log of what I eat and the effect it has on me, thinking I could stick with foods that worked well. In that process, I identified certain foods to avoid, but have found no particular combination of foods that are failsafe.
 
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