GERD battle

Posted , 9 users are following.

Hello... I’ve been diagnosed with GERD about 4 years ago. My symptoms range quite a bit. I mostly get intense chest pressure, feelings of I can’t breath, coughing, sore throat, chest pain , and only sometimes heartburn..

About a year ago I had a flare up that lasted 2-3 months. I was on omeperzole which was like the magic cure for 2 years after getting diagnosed, but when I had the flare up the medication stopped working... so I was put on 40 mg pantrozole which ended up working for awhile up until now. It’s like my body starts to become immune to the medications..

Currently I’ve had a flare up for 5 weeks. Coughing up lots of mucous, chest pressure, feel out of breath, sore throat and chest pain. Diet alone doesn’t make a change for me. I’m wondering if there any natural remedies or herbs anyone has taken that has helped them? I prefer not to be on these anti acid meds forever especially if they stop working. I’d rather find the root of the problem. I know stress and anxiety can act it up for me.. I just can’t keep going through these miserable flare ups that last months at a time, only to have my meds increased or changed which may or may not work. There’s gotta be something better that’s out there. I’m trying to do my research the best I can, but if anyone has gone through this and found relief please share. My symptoms are constant 24/7. I just want to be better! This is the most miserable thing!

1 like, 20 replies

20 Replies

Prev
  • Posted

    Hi Dee I had an endoscopy and still waiting for confirmation that i have Gerd. Being on one kidney I was too scared to try antacids and have constantly looked for alternatives. my symptoms are sore throat and half hour after eating I get extremely uncomfortable feeling that food is stuck in my lower esophagus. I have been trying alkaline food, bought bed raisers, and eating very plain food. Luckily i am not lactose intolerant so can drink milk which helps. I take slippry elm, digestive enzymes, probiotics and natural constipation relievers which help quite a bit. At times I still have symptoms but very mild. i take liqourice when feel pain in my throat. Its quite expensive but worth it. hope it helps.

  • Posted

    Hi Dee,

    I'm sorry you are in such a situation. I think that as things have worsened for you, it is probably time to see your doctor. I was initially treated with Omeprazole and Ratinidine, but they did nothing for me. I was referred to hospital and had a laparascopic fundiplication. This is meant to be the gold standard as an operation, and as the medications are no longer working, it might be you have a hiatus hernia that needs repairing.

    Best of luck

    Keith

  • Posted

    im getting an upper endoscopy done with a 48 hour ph tesr. My GI doctor wants to see if im suffering from non acid reflux.. not sure if thats my case or not, but it would make sense to why i stop responding to medication.

    • Posted

      I used to take lanzoprazole then omeprazole and they both stopped working, I was then told that esomeprazole was the ppi that patients responded to the best and what doctors put people on when the others stop working. I can still get a little heartburn hear and there occasionally but I just take a couple of gavisc0n double action tablets and it generally clears up. After your endoscopy you may need ppis, after mine I had to take double dose esomeprazole, ranitidine and gavisc0n because swallowing food and hot drinks especially was very uncomfortable for a good few days. Ask your doctor if they can prescribe you esomeprazole in case you get the discomfort I did, it provides a lot of relief. If you are fine after, you don't have to take it, but if you get discomfort it can help a lot. Good luck I hope everything goes ok for you.

  • Posted

    About two years ago I think I had achalasia as the food was getting stuck at the end of my esophagus (LES) even after drinking a lot of water during meals. About a week ago for a few days I had a burning throat when I bend to pick up something from the floor. Only my throat was burning. I used the same herbal treatment for both conditions and it worked in only two days. I think in my case two years ago my esophagus LES was stuck in a closed position. It happened after I drank some very hot broth which caused a very sharp pain at the bottom of my esophagus. I did the herbal treatment and it went back to normal in only two days. Last week or two years later I had acid in my throat when I bend to pick up something from the floor. I used the same herbal treatment and it went away in two days again.

    As far as I know your lower esophagus sphincter muscle is stuck open when you have acid reflux and stuck closed when you have achalasia.

    The herb that I think made my LES work again for me (opens only when you swallow to let the food down your stomach and closes and stays closed when you are not swallowing to prevent acid from going up into your esophagus or throat) is Lobelia. I happened to have a tincture a home that included Lobelia among other herbs and I rubbed bout ten drops at the reflexology points under the big toes that correspond to the esophagus and it worked in only two days for both conditions. I got this herbal tincture in the U.S. See if you can find one. These are all of the ingredients.

    Organic Valerian root,

    Organic Lobelia herb and seed,

    Organic Passionflower herb,

    Organic Hops Flower,

    Organic Black Cohosh root,

    Organic Blue Cohosh root,

    Organic Skullcap herb,

    Wild Harvested Wild Yam root

    Lobelia is supposed be good for muscle spasms which might be why your LES is stuck open. This is just my opinion. You can search the web.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.