21 year old guy suffering from acid reflux for over a year!
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi everyone I am a 21 year guy, currently a student in university and I have been having problems with reflux for over a year and I kind of have ignored my condition hoping that it would go away on its own but it did not. My symptoms stared to appear since I started university, my sleeping and eating habits went from normal to bad in a short time. Last year I went to the doc and he prescribed me some antacids I think he was confused and told me that you are too young to have GERD symptoms. I used them for 2 weeks and I felt relieved for that time but even though the acidity sensation was neutralized from my esophagus I still had regurgitation of food. Then after those two weeks my symptoms started to gradually appear once again and for out of me thinking that symptoms would go away on their own I did not use any medication nor went to the doctor anymore because I was hoping that it would just heal on its own but here we are 1 year later and my symptoms are not going away. I feel like there is something in my esophagus some irritation i would say I have heartburn and food regurgitation, sometimes i feel like it is causing me headaches. I heard that if left untreated GERD can cause esophageal cancer and I am scared I might get it because I have had reflux symptoms more than three times a week for more than a year. And now I have come to a point where it is impacting my life the way i sleep, my thinking I am worried I might get serious condition like barred esophagus. And i know barret esophagus can turn into cancer. So i am interested to know What are my chances at 21 year old having reflux symptoms for over a year to get esophageal cancer since it has started to worry me seriously?
0 likes, 5 replies
88wonder88 rick63157
Posted
go see ENT
joseph98786 rick63157
Posted
ask your doctor to arrange an endescopy.
aniiiiila72787 rick63157
Posted
make healthy lifestyle changes. It would be worth it. Start taking probiotics. Eat smaller meals and cut down citrus caffeine and processed food.
andrew57093 rick63157
Posted
hi rick,
i had heartburn or acid reflux most off my life go back to see a different doctor and ask for omeprazole as they have
worked for me but try and cut out pastries or baking products , fizzy drinks but try diet pop , try and cut down on coffee,cheese and fried food i do most off my food in the oven .
i hope you get sorted out soon and get better
andy xx
Stiffers rick63157
Posted
Hi Rick, I'm also 21 and began to have reflux a year into university, very similar.
I'll start by saying, if you suffer from frequent (erosive I think) reflux for years you can develop what is known as Barretts Esophagus, where the cells change to ones similar to those in the stomach. There is then a very small chance that this could progress to cancer. So the chances are very very very slim.
Anxiety plays a massive role in GERD, stress over time will only make it worse. I would see a doctor to rule other things out, if PPIs are ineffective or you want to get to the root cause then see a Gastro specialist.
In my case I have a sliding hernia and PPIs are ineffective, I think because like you its the regurgitation.
Bottom line, see a doctor and don't stress yourself out. Anything like cancer or baretts takes a long time to develop, so calm down. Follow the advice online for methods to cope with GERD in the meantime. Hope this helps, just stick at it with your doctors to make sure they sort it.
Oh and lastly, it sucks but try not to drink too much as that will irritate your current inflammation