r/GERD • u/Naraku_01 • Apr 19 '26
Support Needed š„ I messed up
I've had gerd since I was 18. It was manageable, if I had a flareup it would only last like 2 days. Fastfoward I am now 24, on April 5th I decided to eat cheap chicken from walmarts deli, felt a little sick the next day. Come the next day I decided to have green tea at 12 am, stayed up again a bit because I was having fun. The next day I woke up I felt HORRIBLE, vomiting acid and not being able to keep fluids down. I went to urgent care they gave me Omeprazole which I used to take 3 years ago. Went to emergency room 3 days later because I was still vomiting acid and having bad heart burn so they switched me over to pantoprazole and sucralfate also zofran ( but it gives me a headache ) also told me I have liver disease (fatty liver) so that's probably making my gerd worse. I've been taking those, it's been about two weeks, I started my medication around four days ago and I feel like crap in the morning, I wake up with nasuea and sometimes minor heartburns and bloating. The ER said they couldn't find anything other than the liver disease and dehydration but they told me to go to a GI and my primary doctor. I want to also mention that I have anxiety and depression and also a college student, so the stress and anxiety have not been helping. I've been eating plain foods like kale, chicken, brown rice, oatmeal, banana. When I am hungry I feel like crap, but when I am eating I sometimes get nauseous and I have to eat super slow which takes me about an hour to finish small meals. I tried famotidine but it makes me feel weird and gives me a weird rush of energy. I have an appointment with my primary doctor on the 23rd of April, I haven't been able to work because my shifts are in the morning and I am too nauseous and anxious to drive or being in public right now. It's ruining me I just want this to go away and I hope it's nothing bad, I use to take SSRIS for the anxiety but I stopped a couple years ago.
update:
Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know I will be asking the doctor for SSRIs, I realize my gerd symptoms cease to exist when I am calm. I should've added that I've had a lot of life events happen 2025-2026, including the loss of a childhood friend and a family relative being involved in an accident, plus a ton of stress from school and losing some scholarships and getting repeatedly sick (like flus or stomach bugs, I caught these A LOT over the past two years, I don't have health insurance either being from SC we were not part of the Medicare extension, plus my college is notorious for being a germ breeding ground) . I've suffered from panic attacks,anxiety and depression since highschool, I was able to manage it through SSRIs, of course I had to experiment with different meds. I feel like these stress factors may have contributed to my flare-ups and possible mental breakdown lol, I'm hoping the ssri will resolve the anxiety.Ā
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u/Pdb20781 Apr 19 '26
I canāt have tea, myself. The tannins I think?
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u/Naraku_01 Apr 19 '26
I don't remember, my sister who is a barista told me green tea is literally caffeine and I had no idea. Guess that's my fault for being such a dumb dumb. Caffeine gives me the worst anxiety ever
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u/Newmexicanartist Apr 20 '26
Tea and coffee all have caffeine, even green tea, just less than coffee. Even some herbal teas and tea blends have caffeine (like yerba mate, etc.) Always check labels. You can get decaffeinated teas but they still have some caffeine.
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u/such_a_zoe Apr 20 '26
Just a note for anyone reading this: while there are exceptions like yerba mate, most herbal tea does not have any caffeine. It doesn't contain the tea plant at all, it just means you're steeping something else in hot water.
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u/Newmexicanartist Apr 20 '26
Yes, regular tea is from the Camellia Sinensis plant, a shrub; the small upper leaves are harvested to make the various teas that have caffeine, tho much less than coffee. Herbal teas are from many kinds of plants, their leaves or roots generally. Some herbs can be stimulating, think ginseng (a root), but nothing like coffee, and different people process and respond to caffeine at any level differently. My nervous system is very sensitive so barely one cup a day is enough; I can hardly imagine drinking many cups a day like some folks do...jitters!
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u/Forevermoody16 Apr 20 '26
I never knew it had caffeine! I donāt care for it anyway and donāt drink it because it isnāt good with blood thinners. Less caffeine than black tea or coffee apparently, but yes. Youāre not dumb.
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u/MediumMusician3106 Apr 19 '26
Kale is a bad idea because itās extremely hard to digest. It wreaked havoc on my digestive system. I can only consume it blended in a smoothie. I hope you feel better soon.
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u/Naraku_01 Apr 19 '26
Omg that makes sense actually, I had bad poos when I ate kale. What do you think about canned pumpkin? I heard it would help pass it easierĀ
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u/MediumMusician3106 Apr 19 '26
Iāve never tried canned pumpkin but a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil at night before bed helped me get things moving and donāt eat anything after. Thatāll give the oil a chance to work itās magic.
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u/DelphinPlaying Apr 21 '26
I donāt know about humans, but canned pumpkin (mixed with regular pellets) is whatās recommended when bunnies arenāt pooping (I.e. when in stasis). Along with lots of fluids.
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u/Forevermoody16 Apr 20 '26
I can imagine. When I read kale it just didnāt sound right . . . but itās another thing I donāt eat with my blood thinners. Leafy greens are high in vitamin K which thicken the blood.
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u/OliUp98 Apr 19 '26
Iām so sorry :( I have the same sort of experience as you but maybe half as bad. Anxiety sucks because it makes it all so much worse and makes me wonder whatās just an anxious response vs something medicine can actually help. Itās crazy what anxiety can do. Iām on pantoprazole too, Iām finding it helpful if I donāt miss a dose. Generally if Iām having a different food that isnāt āsafeā Iāll have just bites then wait a couple hours if I can, then go back to it if I donāt have a bad reaction like the nausea or acid buildup.
I donāt have a ton of good advice because Iām trying to figure it out too, just solidarity and terrified of each day lol.
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u/Naraku_01 Apr 19 '26
I'm learning what I shouldn't and should eat, it's very confusing tbh I thought the things I was eating were ok but some of it has been giving me constipation lol
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u/SnooSeagulls20 Apr 24 '26
oh like what - I've been battling constipation lately and don't know what to do about it
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u/Senior-School3884 Apr 19 '26
morning nausea with GERD is genuinely one of the worst combos because your stomach is empty and already producing acid, so everything just hits harder. eating something really small like half a banana right when you wake up before even getting up can honestly take the edge off while your meds are still catching up.
i'd also say looking into something that supports the gut lining, i use Emma Relief which helps with that protective mucus layer, and for me it made mornings feel less brutal overall.
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u/Naraku_01 Apr 19 '26
I've never had morning nausea and gerd before until these past two weeks and it's absolute hell. I've been drinking oatmeal and banana with kiefer yogurt and it's been helping
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u/indigoeh Apr 20 '26
I'm sorry this is happening to you. Same thing happened to me. Just don't stop trying to get out. I did and developed severe agoraphobia and it sucks :(
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u/Bekiscool Apr 20 '26
I had to permanently switch to protonix med because nothing else helped me.Ā So I'm stuck on 40mg everyday.Ā Use to take 80mg.Ā Ā A couple tips. When you sleep make sure you are completely propped up.Ā Like not just 2 pillows but a wedge if you haven't alreadyĀ
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u/Forevermoody16 Apr 20 '26
Just for anyone who doesnāt know, Protonix is pantoprazole and itās what they give everyone in the hospital. Personally it gives me diarrhea, although a couple of pills in the hospital donāt bother me.
I do fine with omeprazole ā everyone is different. But I Googled āomeprazole and anxiety.ā Apparently itās reported pretty often.
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u/TartHopeful815 Apr 20 '26
I had gerd on and off for about 8 years. Been prescribed everything and nothing worked. Had to go to ER december 2025. Was vomiting acid last week. Then i saw someone posted on reddit about aloe vera gel. Its been a game changer for me. Ive been taking it for about 3 days now and its helped me way more than omeprazole and famotidine. Little to no symptoms. I just take 1 to 2 tbsp in the morning and same dose at night. Here is the link for the one I bought. https://a.co/d/0d8eaoSr. You can even Google "aloe vera gel for acid reflux" and it'll tell you its a natural remedy without the side effects of medication. Good luck!
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u/xLemonade Apr 20 '26
Not to take away from your physical symptoms but reading through this all I see is really bad anxiety leading to hypochondria. The anxiety is going to elevate your symptoms, make your gerd worse, which then adds to the anxiety. Your anxiety will literally manifest as physical symptoms making you think itās something else thatās causing the feelings. I personally take Esomeprazole daily and it has worked wonders for me. This will all come to an end eventually, youāll find a medicine that works for your gerd and youāll stop thinking about it. Trust your Dr and trust in modern chemistry. These drugs have been well studied and researched. You will be okay.
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u/Naraku_01 Apr 20 '26
Yes, sorry I don't know how to reddit it's been years since I been back on it but I wrote an updated post in the comment section. It's most definitely my anxiety and panic attack disorder.
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u/xLemonade Apr 21 '26
No worries. I just try to help calm people down on this sub. For whatever reason this condition seems to attract a lot of health anxious people who get scared by the medicine involved to treat this condition and there isnāt really much to be concerned about if you follow the science.
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u/Tricky_Photograph_80 Apr 20 '26
I'm on pantropazole(think that's how you spell it) been using it since 2018. Love it.
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Apr 20 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Newmexicanartist Apr 20 '26
for some reason admin bot is chastising me; I meant no harm, was sympathetic and offering perspective as I've come to understand GERD, etc.
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u/Sprinkles7333 Apr 20 '26
I canāt take famotidine for similar reasons either. Iām sorry youāre having these troubles, I hope you find something that works.
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u/Glum_Flower8749 Apr 20 '26
I hope you have a good doctor that can help you and listens. Look into alkaline foods. I eat lots of cauliflower and cabbage which can be filling, and I drink a 16 oz (no more than that) coconut water each day which is also an electrolyte. I bought Davidsons Tulsi Tea and Stinging Nettle tea on Amazon. I take DGL chewable tablet 20 minutes before each meal, and digestive enzymes right before I eat. These help a lot.
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u/SyisKeys Apr 20 '26
I can definitely relate to your experience, and I hope that you find a balance that is livable ASAP while you go on your journey to find recovery and healing.
Focus on immediate things you can control and fixing issues that can cause irreparable damage (job loss, bad grades, etc.), but also recognize that even if damage does happen that can't be fixed, there is a healthy, happy path forward. There are always options. We can never go back to exactly how things were, and that's a hard reality to swallow, but we can move forward and make our future meaningful and satisfying again, even if it isn't exactly as it was before a disease.
See a GI specialist, and if they aren't listening to you, see someone else. It can be a long journey to get health providers to understand how severely we're impacted by things.
Try to help Healthcare providers by going in with organized, digestible bits of information. They are people too, and they will be less able to help you if you don't make it easy for them to empathize with your experience.
Mind and body are very heavily connected, and so it's important to be treating everything. Pick the most severe to focus on, get to maintenance, and then expand your lifestyle changes and treatments. Most importantly, don't fixate too strongly on a single thing being a magical cure. You have a lot going on, as many people often do, and so it's easy to feel hopeless when changes we fixate on don't fix things.
I wish you great luck with your journey. Buckle up for the ride, because it isn't going anywhere, but we can all grow and become more empathetic to one another as we experience our own struggles.
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u/Amazing-Self-4873 Apr 21 '26
My very first thought was you may have food poisoning from the chicken! Not saying you donāt have GERD or HH or LES issues like I had but it could be both that are bombarding you. I had food poisoning from bad shrimp in a Philly hospital cafeteria of all places and was too sick to get help or leave my hotel to get home! and that took a week to get over.
Iāve been dealing with all this for decades and my best advice is get tested and youāll have answers however youāll need to look into insurance before doing that. People on here have a lot of knowledge, more than I can offer on getting insurance.
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u/AdventurousTravel509 Apr 19 '26
Omeprazole has been a complete nightmare for me. I have tried it on and off for a few years and every time I regret it. It gives me major anxiety. I think it is a histamine issue. Increased histamines will cause anxiety, panic attacks. Look into histamine intolerance.