Worse Acid Reflux / GERD / Heartburn
Oct 1, 2014
I noticed around 6 years ago that I was getting heartburn on a daily basis, I didn't really know what it was at that time and soldiered for another few months before seeking medical attention.
The culprit at this time was regular ground black pepper so I cut this out.
For a while I hadn't had any problems until I came to Australia and changed my diet which now consists of nuts - Almonds, Walnuts and Peanut Butter and Oatmeal.
Over the last several weeks I have noticed my heartburn getting more worse and aggressive. Just seconds after eating peanut butter I get the symptoms and some 20-30 minutes after eating porridge or most cereals now I get the symptoms.
This change has only just happened to me and I do not wish to medicate, I would rather prevent. I do not want to see a doctor about this until I get healthcare insurance, then I will be happy to pursue medical treatment.
For now I would like to get information from people, preferably ones who are triggered by the same foods to see what I can do for my diet as it seems absurd to cut out cereals, wholegrains and peanuts.
Additional notes: I drink a lot of water, I rarely drink coffee or tea - if I do it is 1-3 cups a day, I drink alcohol a couple of times in a month, I exercise regularly, I keep my sugar low, I eat spicy foods which do not seem to affect my symptoms, I stay away from heavily processed carb or starchy foods, I only eat bananas as fruit and eat vegetables if I have them or they are served to me.
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I have various back problems I have posted about in the back section but due to this I'm on 500mg of Naprosyn 2x a day. I also take 20mg of omeprazole 2x a day at the same time as the naprosyn as it was giving me heartburn. I started on 20mg but went up to 40mg because I was still getting the heartburn which is now acid reflux bringing me close to vomiting.
I've told my doctor about this and the latest thing I'm on is peptac liquid at bed time but I'm also taking it after meals if I have to.
It doesn't seem to be improving. My doctor said if it doesn't improve soon she will have to take me off it. The only reason she hasn't done yet is I am already in so much pain and the naprosyn is one of the few things that has helped.
I also have noticed I'm beginning to have difficulty swallowing hard or dense foods. Soft ones are fine but now I'm kind of afraid of and completely avoiding anything hard or dense. Could this be to do with the acid reflux?
I am going to ask my mum to help me raise the head of my bed (as due to my back problem propping myself up on pillows just makes things worse) but is there anything else I can do?
I'm really worried about developing a peptic ulcer.. it's the last thing I read right now. Can anyone tell me what the symptoms are I need to watch out for? If this carries will I end up with permanent acid reflux as well does anyone know?
I see my doctor again on the 4th of November so will discuss it all with her again then but I just am worried in the meanwhile.
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My body weight is normal, am only 35, and having gerd symptoms. I have read about Gerd and LPR etc. Previously had acidity but under control, few weeks back was getting out of control, ate bad food, and wondering if I have caused some problem?
RIght now I am on a very strict diet and limiting acidic foods, even logging my foods to help identify my food.
However, I have noticed I will eat some lentils for example or even vegetables and then all of a sudden I burp and then have reflux it might happen once but I am surprised. I have noticed that if I drink water then I get it after even 2 hrs of dinner. I eat around 5 so I give myself time to digest.
Question: I am taking prevacid 15 MG, and have zero heartburn, previously I use to get heartburn but when I take prevacid then I get no heartburn. However I get a random reflux and then it leads me to cough and get that feeling in my throat as if something is stuck.
I am eating every 2 hrs, eating the right foods, just cannot figure out what could be causing the GERD? It no severe but still I want to get it in control before it gets complicated.
I heard about LPR, I am hoping that if I eat right then can it correct it self, right now I am eating perfectly and all the right foods, so even though it happens once in a day I am worried since I feel, I feel the lump in throat after it happens.... help!
NOTE: It got worse all of a sudden, before heartburn but never reflux, how it happens when I eat even a light meal Right now what I have done is eat nuts, fruit Apple and pear, and drink vegetable juice with pulp (no acidic fruits or juices) and then one light meal and I still get this reflux.
I am really worried about it getting worse so want to deal with it and find a solution. It is almost in control, but only when on a strict diet. So that tells me something is wrong it seems.
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I have been suffering with acid reflux for the past 10 years. I also became lactose/ gluten intolerant all of a sudden like 8 years back. Then I took probiotics for some time and my lactose / gluten intolerance became better. After that i took probiotics only when needed.
2 years back I got food poisoning from bad milk and to get better I started taking probiotics again and my diarrhea improved a lot however after couple of days of probiotics I started getting very bad reaction to them like severe burning in stomach , chest , acid reflux .. ( which kept me awake all night ) . since then every time i take probiotics or eat anything containing them like yogurt / fermented stuff etc. even in smallest quantity . I get similar reaction.
When i go to the GI and tell him about my acidity issues , he suggests to take more probiotics. . which is actually the cause of the problem.
Everywhere i read it says that probiotics are good for acid reflux and GI issues. Why is it in my case I get such adverse reaction to them . ?
I also tried taking prebiotic fiber and then probiotic , i still get the same reaction.
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for over a week I have been on pantoprazole 40 mg and zantac 150 at night in an effort to get acid under control. before that I was on prevacid 20mg for 3 weeks. It really seems that my symptoms are worse since I started taking the PPI?
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Will try to make this brief, first I do take 1mg Xanax er daily for anxiety and panic attacks. 2 months ago I had a vaginal ultrasound done that showed some change in one of my ovaries. Was rescheduled for second ultrasound in 2 months. My older sister passed away 10 years ago from ovarian cancer, so of course waiting 2 months really stressed me out. I woke up one morning and felt horrible chest pain and thought I was having a heart attack. My husband rushed me to the hospital where they ran a stress test, CT Scan, and chest X Ray and everything came back fine. They decided it was acid reflux brought on by worrying about the Ultra Sound and prescribed pantoprazole, took for 2 weeks and felt awful, could not eat because I was so nauseated all the time and made anxiety worse. Switched me to omeprazole and still feeling bad, I have quit taking both and am trying to wean myself off of everything but taking OTC Zantac once a day. Now the acid reflux is back but mainly in my chest and shoulders, if that is possible. Not sure what to do. Am going to see a GI doctor. Never had acid reflux before this and medicine seems to have made it worse. Is this Possible.
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I've never ever had heartburn, or throat irritations (that weren't from a cold) in my life, and suddenly in January I started getting a lump in my throat feeling, that felt better as I ate, but came back when I was done. I was also noticing a dull chest pain on my left, but i figured it could had been from working out. It wasn't a big deal at the time, and I saw my GP about it. She couldn't really help me, other than refer me to an ENT.
A day after I saw the GP, I ate some instant ramen and got my first episode of heartburn/acid reflux. I went back to the GP shortly after, letting her know about the heartburn and she put me on 150mg of Zantac. Over the next few weeks, it didn't help much (neither did the constant Tums), and I had several more episodes of heartburn/reflux. It was always the same, I'd have the episode, the next few days I'd feel sore in my esophagus, and I'd almost get to the point of feeling better, then I'd eat/do something that would make me flare up again. It snowballed to last weekend, when I woke up on Sunday, drank some water, and just had the most acrid backwash. I panicked and went to the ER, where they put me on 20mg of Prilosec.
First few days were terrible nausea, migraine, chest pain and tense/twitchy muscles. Those went away, but now I always have the acrid backwash at night (I did get a wedge to keep my upper body slanted up), lots of throat gurgling/burps when I eat, and little-moderate acrid/stingy taste afterwards. It also feels as if my throat tenses on and off, and sometimes "clicks" when I dry swallow.
I'm having some other weird little side effects too, but I'm bothered that this reflux seems so constant now. I've already worked on cleaning up my diet, quit coffee, don't smoke, no fatty/greasy/sugary foods in the past week since starting Prilosec. Both parents have acid reflux, and my mother has GERD (a side effect of migraine meds). I'm not sure if this is made worse by Prilosec, or if I just suddenly have severe acid reflux no matter what I eat, and this is life now.
I'm seeing a gastroenterologist next week, but I'm afraid she's just going to up my dose and send me off. I want to get off all medication, and deal with this by diet change. I guess I'm asking if anyone has gone through something similar. In retrospect, I wonder if all the bad foods I was eating over the holidays set things off. In retrospect I was having a lot of "solid burps" through december, but no irritation till January.
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I am a 22 year old male. Along with my other issues I also suffer from the above. My endoscopy showed (Mild G1 reflux oesophagitis and minor duodenitis. Some bile reflux in stomach). I am currently taking Esomeprazole 40 mg per day which I believe is not helping. Everyone has said how my voice sounds much deeper and different than before, and the top of my throat is always itching. My teeth feel really bad, I know over time Acid can make them really bad. I have had several appointments cancelled by the Gastroenterologist at my local hospital and I am due to see him in September. I have tried all remedies etc but nothing seems to help.
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Okay, I am going to have to ask many questions because trying to fit them all in one post is going to be way too wordy.
I have a question that has been bothering me a lot lately:
Is it possible to have damage from stomach acid but never feel pain, have no symptoms and have no feedback from your body to let you know something is wrong?
I apparently have damage, but these are my symptoms.
No = Never had symptom B4
Yes = Have symptom
PRILOSEC = Only RECENTLY got symptom since starting Prilosec (Been off it for a couple days)
Heartburn: No
Bad Breath: No
Sore Throat: No
Lump in Throat: No (PRILOSEC)
Hoarseness: No
Bloating: No (PRILOSEC)
Stomach Pains: No (PRILOSEC, feels like what I imagine a mini labor contraction would feel like)
Gas: No (PRILOSEC)
Bitter Taste: No
Cough: No
Asthma: No
Nausea: No
Trouble Swallowing Food: Yes
- Feels like SOME foods (It's always the same food) get "stuck" somewhere between my throat and my stomach.
- It hurts.
- I salivate a LOT. (Maybe enough to fill 3/4 of a cup)
- Drinking water makes it WORSE as it just rises the food contents closer to my throat.
- Going into a dark, quiet room and focusing hard on relaxing, calming thoughts usually makes the food go down (Stress, loud noise, bright lights seem to make it worse, sometimes creates hiccups)
- Sometimes this doesn't work though, and I have to forcibly vomit the food back up because it simply will not go down
- Can stay in the "stuck" position for 10-15 minutes
- Feels like a muscle is way too tight and won't let the food pass, and I can almost FEEL it when it relaxes. Breath of relief.
- Gets better as I eat the food, not worse. (It's almost like the muscle is getting used to relaxing or something.)
- Taking Prilosec has not helped (Been taking it for 2 months)
Does this sound like a GERD type of swallowing issue? Because I was just browsing around the forums, looking at this topic and I noticed a few things:
- Every post seems to be talking about problems with the throat, not the area between the throat and the stomach
- Many people are saying that water helps them, while water makes it worse for me
- Many people are saying that they have that lump alongside this swallowing issue. I have had the swallowing issue for a while, but have only recently (since starting Prilosec) felt a lump.
- Many people are saying they have to "push" food. The food has easily already gotten past my throat no issues, my issue is that it just hangs somewhere between my throat and my stomach. I couldn't push it even if I wanted to, because that area doesn't have any voluntary movement.
- Many people are saying they have trouble swallowing saliva. I have never had that issue.
Mucus: Yes/No (Sometimes get it, thickness varies, not really been a real problem for me, so 50/50 on this one.)
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I decided to become a vegetarian about 6 months ago... I ate very little red meat at the time anyway. I also, about 3 months ago, cutout glutens. I have found my general digestion very good... And have lost about half a stone, and never feel bloated or blocked. (Too much information?).
My diet is pretty well rounded. I do eat fish, as well as the Quorn chunks, and every now and then a protein supplement. I have one or two fresh fruit smoothies a day, and a eat 'little and often'. Calories wise I am always there or there abouts - although being a runner (5 miles a day) and a performer, I do expend a lot of energy.
I have recently started suffering from reflux and acid. My doctor has given me tablets for 30 mins before a meal. And habits con plus for afterwards, but I don't really want to have a reliance on those.
Is this acid reflux quite normal after a major change in diet such as this? And does anyone have any advice on how to cut done stomach acid?
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I went to a new doctor and he mentioned that I may actually have Hypochlorhydria, a lack of stomach acid, anyone have experience or knowledge with this?
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I can eat the smallest thing and get an acid taste in my mouth. The taste can stay in my mouth for hours. Does this mean that acid is continually fluxing into my esophagus while I have the acid taste?? I never feel acid in my esophagus or throat, just this acidy taste in my mouth. I worry that acid is fluxing for so many continual hours, if that is what is happening. I had the acid taste WORSE when I was on PPIs, so it doesn't make sense that it would be nonstop acid fluxing into my mouth, but I don't know. I am not seeing a gastroenterologist until October ...
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This has been going on for about 3 months now, sometimes worse and sometimes barely noticeable.
I'm 24 years old, male.
I have no known allergies and i have tried different foods if possible for periods of time to no real effect.
The symptoms do not seem to point to a specific condition - it always lacks something to link it to a certain disease or problem.
Symptoms include:
Constipation/gas (usually feeling of fullness and the need to burp - which seems to help a little).
When worse, lumpy feeling in throat.
Sometimes feel as if its harder to breathe, tho actually i can breath just fine.
Eerie, empty feeling in left chest (seems to be generally wide spread hard to localize). Sometimes the feeling can click and get stonger suddenly.
Heart palpitations (not really sure if its actually due to skipping beats or just being strongly aware of heartbeat).
Rarely iv had pain radiate to my arm (can last longer, change location), or feel sharper pain in the left chest when breathing in (wont last for long).
When it gets worse, i seem to get some nausea - feeling the need to puke.
Rarely i may have mild heartburn.
The arm pain was worse during the first few weeks, haven't noticed it much anymore.
I do have somewhat "sitting" lifestyle and less physical exercise, i am not overweight, tho i may have few extra kg but overall its ok.
I gave up on coffee(for 3 months now), avoiding foods that might irritate stomach( acidic, spicy).
The arm pain, palpitations and eerie feeling in chest could be due to vagus nerve getting wrong signals together with potential anxiety (possibly developed early on - after all weird feeling in chest sends subconscious thoughts on heart).
I don't have any real pain - so can't be ulcers.
I lack constant heartburn - not a common GERD.
Gastritis of some kind? Tho no noticeable pain most of the time.
OH and PS! i am nonalcoholic 100% so alcohol cannot be the cause. Nether do i smoke. I don't eat junk food often.
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Something very odd is going on with my body of late...
I am a 35 year old man whom most would consider to be generally healthy. I am 6 foot 2 inches tall and currently weigh in at 217 pounds. I enjoy weightlifting and mountain biking but spend a lot of time sat down in the office and at home. I probably exercise about 3-4 hours a week at present. I stopped smoking nearly 5 months ago and rarely drink alcohol.
Over the past 5-6 weeks I have cut out bread, refined sugar and refined salt from my diet and started to attend the gym on a regular basis. Over the past 3 weeks I have cut out all processed foods, GM meat and have introduced organic veg and fruit into my diet. I'm still eating meat but am very selective. Overall i've been feeling good about my change of lifestyle and people have been very complimentary as to the change in my appearance.
However, there has been a strange twist. On 2 occasions now i've felt ill after my favourite curry dish (a treat I would have once a week). At Nando's last week I experienced the most gut-wrenching and crippling stomach cramps 5 minutes after i finished eating - never experienced pain so intense before. Even when I tried to have my favourite rum n pepsi last Saturday, I didn't really enjoy the drink and also noticed a bit of discomfort in my esophagus. It seems that my body is rejecting all forms of junk food and sometimes violently so...
Last night I yet again had heartburn which prevented me from getting to sleep until after 2am. Sunday I didn't sleep until 3am. All in all I think i've had heartburn/reflux 7-8 times in the last 2 weeks... Today I'm at work n all of a sudden the pond water (spirulina) I drunk this morning has just come up to the back of my throat and I now have the sensation of this foul tasting liquid in my my gullet. Despite coughing, drinking and trying to clear my throat I can't get rid of this mucus-like liquid.
I've been super healthy of late. I'm eating extremely nutritious whole foods, I'm exercising regularly and sleeping well most nights. Generally I feel great, my skin is clearer, I've lost weight and I have more energy. So why the reflux?
What's weird is that I could probably count the number of times I've had reflux historically on one hand...
I'm wondering if this is just a temporary side-effect as I go through the process of cleansing my body. I am taking apple cider vinegar and probiotic yoghurt shots (not at the same time) so I wonder if the symptoms I am experiencing are a side effect of my gut flora coming back into balance...
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So as this pregnancy progresses so does my acid reflux and heartburn. At night is when it gets the worst and wen I wake up I still have it. Anything help cause milk isn't doing the trick for me :/ they always say that creates hair on your baby and I agree cause my first was the same way but only wen I ate spicy foods, this cravings are different and no spicy food but this acid reflux is killing me
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My gosh its 5 in the morning and I can't sleep because of my heartburn. I took zantac in the afternoon yesterday and I didn't take one before I went to bed. But man this is killing me it's horrible. And this baby is so freaking comfortable in my stomach. I feel like she's using my left rib as a blanket. Making mommy in pain.
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Im 37wks+4 and Im still having horrible heartburn!! When I starting dropping it eased a little but its back with a vengeance. Anybody else having this issue this far along? Everything I eat seems to cause it. It worse at night when I want to lay down of course.
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My whole pregnancy i've had bad heartburn. I am now 37 weeks and 2 days and it's just gotten worse today where I keep almost throwing up.
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I have heartburn very badly as perhaps you all know from my previous posts.
I am waiting for my ENT appointment. I take Lansoprazole twice a day before food. I also take ginger capsules and enzymes. None of this seems to work. As soon as I have eaten it starts to burn in throat and nose. I only eat small meals regularly rather than a big meal and am very careful what I'm eating.
I don't drink anything other than fruit teas and water.
I don't eat any fatty foods or tomatoes. Only a very slight amount of dairy ie semi milk with porridge in the morning.
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So, about three months ago, i noticed my stomach started to feel weird between breakfast and lunch. It's like an anxious, nervous, acid-y almost jittery feeling that's hard to describe. Yesterday was one of the worst times of it yet! I had my usual breakfast of hot quinoa topped with almond butter, a little maple syrup to sweeten, and bananas and strawberries. It was a pretty small amount, but just enough to fill me up. However, a half an hour later, I started to get that terrible acidic, nervous, anxious feeling that feels like i had a ton of vitamins on an empty stomach or something. So I ate a bunch of bagels to absorb any acid, and i felt great. This morning, I had a heartier breakfast of a vegetable tamale and some baked beans. I got that feeling again! So i ate and felt better. I usually don't get this feeling any other time of day, however, a few nights ago, i couldn't go to sleep because i had that feeling, but accompanied by hunger, so i got up, ate, felt great. Most of the time when I get this feeling after breakfast, it's after i had had a HUGE meal the night before. Is it acid reflux? I get heartburn after practically every meal. I don't know, i'm just SOOOOO afraid this is something terrible! Is it GERD?
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I have the worse heartburn and acid reflux ever....I have had many tests done and was told years ago that I have a hiatal hernia which is not an uncommon thing I am told....I take nexium twice a day, but they don't do anything for me anymore, I drink gaviscon also....I watch what I eat/drink because really there is not a lot that I can have of either without being bothersome to me....any suggestions/ideas....if you have it, what do you take for it?
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