GERD and changes in bowel movements?

Thank you for the response, and there's no need to apologize for sounding forceful! My boyfriend is a bit of anti-medication person all around. He always says it seems like the meds they give you cause a host of side effects which they then recommend more meds for. He's against all that, says you should be able to make yourself healthy without the help of pills everyday. 

Could you tell me more about natural ways of dealing with GERD? I've changed my diet drastically, but it hasn't relieved or erased my symptoms. I still feel the burning every day, and it's almost unbearable at night. I just got a GERD pillow this afternoon, but am not holding my breath on how much of a difference this will make. I've also, since changing my diet, lost almost four or five pounds unexpectedly. 

I think I've got full blown heartburn, but I may have been suffering from silent reflux for some time as well. I had a lot of digestive issues very similar to what I have now several years ago, when I was still in high school. They concluded it was probably just heartburn and prescribed the PPIs. Personally, I've never felt that they really work wonders for me. 

Lately, my symptoms have been extreme nausea and burning in the chest and back of throat. I've already switched my diet and cut out all soft drinks as well as fatty and fried foods. I only eat grilled chicken, vegetables, rice, and occasionally tacos with grilled chicken. I go light on the toppings like sour cream and cheese as well. I still suffer from heartburn, even when I eat this well. 

I did contact my doctor this morning and he said to stop taking the medication to see if my symptoms resolve themselves. I already started feeling better late last night, and have been okay today although I think the heartburn has been quite pronounced. 

I'm glad your sister had a good experience and her heartburn was resolved. That's great to hear and really gives me hope! As for silent reflux, I can't say I know a lot about it. Does silent reflux cause sinus issues? I can ridiculously painful sinus headaches, but don't have any evidence of an existing sinus infection. 

My stomach got a lot better once I got on the Ketogenic diet , cutting out all carbs from sugar and grains . There is nothing wrong with eating good fats like cream and butter . Just stay away from oils made from soybeans , canola , sunflower and corn . Olive and avocado is the way to go . 

Eating the sour cream and cheese is probably was is causing the heartburn. When going through this you have to cut out all bad foods and give it time to heal, or else you’re in a vicious cycle that will never get better.  

Okay, first step is I would get checked for the H. Pylori infection for your digestive issues. Basically H. Pylori can cause reflux and digestion problems, as well as abdominal bloating. Also, if you have it unchecked overtime you could get esophagus cancer (very highly unlikely, but when they did test on people with esophagus cancer I believe about 50 percent of them had the H. Pylori virus).  

I’m actually going to get my H. Pylori results around next week and if it’s positive I’ll be taking antibiotics. There are a lot of side effects to it, however people did get better overtime.  

As for the PPI’s, people on here will say don’t take them. Whatever you want to do is your decision. However, I feel that if you do have really bad heartburn, like you can feel your chest burning, then I would change the PPI into a different brand of it and follow a strict low-acid/alkaline diet so that way your stomach has time to heal. Then, if you feel better, wean off the PPI’s. Don’t stop cold turkey or you will have rebound effects. To wean off the PPI’s take H2 Blockers (like Zantac or Tums) after each meal as a replacement and then slowly wean off the H2 blockers (maybe 2 times a day only). 

Also, I’ve read that Gaviscon advance is great for nighttime reflux. I would maybe take that only at night if you do reflux poorly at night. Also I read your other comment, if I were you instead of getting a GERD pillow I would just place books underneath your mattress to elevate your head. My doctor actually told me that one, and said that a lot of patients who use the pillow have really bad pain isn’t be morning and overtime she noticed their back pain increased. Also, I didn’t want to pay 100 dollars for a pillow. This was much easier for me.  

Also check if you have a hiatal hernia as that might be another reason you may have constant reflux. There is such a thing as a hiatal hernia that moves up and down. You would have to get an endoscopy for that.

Also, get a vitamin deficiency test. I believe it’s like a regular physical but they also check your vitamins. Make sure you’re not too low on anything.