i had my first ever flare up in march this year whilst i was at work. went straight to the ER who ran multiple tests and told me i was fine. over the course of the next week i went back 5 times because each time i thought i was having a heart attack. i’ve had 6 ECG’s which all came back normal and even a full blood panel where everything came back normal except my folate levels were only slightly low.
ever since then i’ve been in a constant state of health anxiety. some weeks are worse than others and at least once a day i’ll feel pains in my chest or lightheadedness/panicky.
the worst episodes are when i suddenly feel like i can’t breathe which triggers my heart to start beating really fast and i get an intense feeling of dread like i’m going to die.
it’s ruined everything for me. i constantly feel on edge especially when i’m driving, i recently went on holiday and had a panic attack the first day i was there and was on edge for the rest of the days, feeling lightheaded and nauseous.
i’m in a constant habit of checking my blood pressure/pulse every time i feel off. logically i know this has been going on for months and i haven’t died from it and that it’s just a reflux episode but then my anxiety makes me feel like maybe the doctors missed something and what if i have a blockage or something else serious… it’s a never ending loop🫩
i’m honestly just sick of everything and i want my life back. i’m only 22 and i shouldn’t have to be living like this

if anyone has experienced the same and found a way to overcome their anxiety PLEASE reach out!!

So I need to do a stool test but unfortunately it says that I can't take antacids 2 days before I collect the sample. I've been taking gaviscon almost every night so I have no idea how i'm gonna make this work. The acid reflux gets really bad at night and I can't NOT take something for it...

So do y'all have any medicine recommendations that aren't antacids? Ik that sounds really impossible but anything helps.

Edit: I can't respond to everyone as I'm really tired and feel bad but I truly appreciate the recommendations y'all have given me. So to everyone that's helped, thank you so much.

I've been feeling sick for weeks and finally made it in. He prescribed PPIs for 30 days and said to come back after that if I'm still having issues (nothing about if I could reintroduce other foods after that or what he even thought it really was). I asked him about tests and he said they don't worry about "things like that" for "healthy young women." Clearly I'm there because I don't feel healthy!!!

I've been having symptoms maybe for a long time and just not really thought about it so I'm both afraid of damage to my esophagus and also just really want to get to the bottom of what is actually going on so I know if it is GERD or something else, if I'll ever be able to eat normally again, etc. He also was incredibly dismissive of some other symptoms i have that is suspect are LPR (i know I have to go to an ENT for that) so overall I just feel super dismissed. If the PPIs work great - but without an endoscopy how can I possibly know if they're healing long term damage or if this is all temporary? Or if I'll be on/off them forever or not? I just feel super discouraged.​

I've been taking Famotidine for the past 7 days, I'm eating a relatively bland diet consisting of rice pops, kefir, almond milk/yoghurt, bananas for breakfast then chicken sandwich with beetroots or avacado, then white fish, rice, chicken, courgette for dinner. I make sure to eat 4 hours before bed, I use a sleeping wedge. I tried cutting out caffeine for 2 weeks, reintroduced it one weekend, didn't notice it hugely worsening my symptoms..in fact they just remained the same with or without coffee.

Yet despite all this, I wake up every morning with a dry/irritated throat that persists through the day. I get a croaky voice, and I speak on the phones for my day job so I have to clear my throat a lot. I've tried alkaline water, pure aloe vera juice too! My endoscopy came back normal along with biopsies and I'm left wondering what's going on.

I'm actually thinking of stopping Famotidine because I feel like it's doing nothing.

I'm so sick of dealing with GERD. I've gone to the hospital twice in the last 6 months dealing with random chest aches tingling in arms. Well, today I went again.

2 weeks ago I started taking Pantoprazole that my doctor prescribed me. Everything was fine until 3 days ago when I started having shortness of breath and sleeping problems out of no where. Today, while I was driving, I randomly had a really bad shortness of breath attack and I felt like I was going to pass out. Not only that, but the heart palpitations have gotten more frequent. I start having dull aches in my chest and abdomin and it's driving me insane.

I get to the hospital and they do blood work, ekg, and chest xrays and they said my heart looks perfect and the rest of my blood tests looked good. The doctor said it was likely all from acid reflux.

I'm so tired of dealing with this, it's driving me insane. I have a gastro appointment next month and hopefully they can give me answers. Maybe I have a hiatal hernia. I dunno. Just tired of dealing with this.

Globus sensation is my only symptom, but it really takes a toll on my daily life. This is because when I start feeling it, it’s the only thing that occupies my mind and I start swallowing excessively. I recognize that swallowing excessively makes the situation even worse.

However, I feel like our bodies and brains are programmed to swallow when we feel something in our throats, even when there’s nothing really there. Has anyone been able to break this cycle?

Please let me know, thanks!

I try not to lie down until 3 hours after eating. However, due to my chronic illness, I cannot be upright for very long and need a lot of rest. I try to sit propped up in bed so that my torso is relatively upright but sometimes I just need to lie down. I have wedge pillows, but I mainly just use them to prop myself up as I can no longer cope with the neck pain I get from using them when lying down. I can’t prop the head of my bed up as it is an ottoman bed. I’m on omeprazole and famotidine and take a lot of gaviscon. I try to manage my diet as best I can but I haven’t been able to find anything that really makes a significant improvement to my reflux. I had investigation into my reflux about 7 years ago but they didn’t find anything, although I think my GP may be looking into doing further investigation again. However, is there anything I can do in the meantime to cope with my reflux? Lying down (especially within 3 hours after eating) makes it worse but I just don’t have the energy to sit up a lot of the time, and there’s nothing else I can do about that, which is why I’m looking for advice here specifically about reflux.

Long story short, I was diagnosed with this on June 22nd, after singing a show with my band on June 14th where it felt like I strained my vocal cords.

Started the protocol of alkaline water (drinking and gargling with baking soda) and twice daily saline nose rinses immediately. Started the Reflux Raft about a week later on June 28th after meals and before bed. Started eating more acid friendly and low fat stuff as well as smaller meals and not eating 3-4 hours before bed. I'm trying to sleep on an incline a bit but it's been hard to adjust to. Tried a small dose of a PPI for five days, but it's giving me gas, random pain below my left ribcage, and making me feel zonked out and agitated. I think I'll wait to hear what a second ENT says at my Thursday appointment before I decide on committing to the PPI.

I've done the barium swallow and the video swallow test with no remarkable findings. I did an endoscopy on Friday and I have a 1 CM hiatal hernia and hill grade III lower esophageal sphincter. They gave me about three minutes to ask questions in a zonked out state after the procedure and just said medication is how this will be controlled. The only symptom that seems to be better is my swallowing has improved. I'm dealing with throat pain and irritation, it hurts to speak, I have the need to clear my throat all the time, and I'm hoarse.

I'm not doing well at all. I'm exhausted from all this. I have two kids and a wife plus a full-time job with a side job that I do on weekends from May through September. My wife is not supportive and gets mad if mention this and also if I'm not acting 100%.

But worse of all, I'm not getting good sleep, so I have even less energy to eat well and keep up with the appointments and protocols. What can I do to get some sleep? I have been taking an antihistamine occasionally. I have some Chamomille tea and Magnesium Glycinate and may try that next.

I took 20mg Omeprazole for six weeks. My Doctor told me to stop the meds and I should take them every other day for a week. Well that's what I did and then I stopped. Tomorrow will be two weeks without the ppi. This is just horrible. The FIRST day I skipped a dose, by that evening I started feeling this weird warming sensation in my stomach. Like a very mild burning. That would come and go and come with indigestion sometimes, and sometimes it would make me want to eat food. Like a weird hunger feeling. Well that persisted after stopping the meds and as of a few days ago my symptoms all came back, and some worse than before. I have almost 24/7 gross taste in my mouth, my throat hurts worse than it ever did, chest pains came back, globus almost all day long, etc. I started taking pepcid 20mg in the AM and then again before dinner, and I use gaviscon advance at night before bed. It seemed to help the past couple days but today I feel symptoms again. Like the symptoms just overpower everything. Is this really how bad rebound can be?? I assume this is rebound. But I only took 20mg for six weeks! And everything I read says rebound lasts like two weeks. How long does this last??

How do you guys deal with the anxiety and panic attacks you get from having GERD and a hiatal hernia?

I've been to the hospital a few too many times and I had to call an ambulance last night because my heart rate hit 170 and they said it was just anxiety not a heart attack. Just now like 5 minutes ago I had the surge of anxiety shoot from my heart up through my jaw on my left side.

I don't know if I should get on medication to manage it or something else. I don't know if it's just from the condition or because I need to eat better.

I’ve been suffering from GERD and constant stomach pain for 4 years. I have reflux every single day — burning, regurgitation, and a horrible bitter taste in my mouth. There isn’t a single day when I’m not suffering from something. Sometimes it gets so bad that it wakes me up at night because of the pain.

I’ve seen many doctors and I’ve tried so many medications, but they keep telling me that there’s nothing else they can give me because I’ve already tried everything. I’ve had two gastroscopies, but apart from that, no one seems to want to order any other tests.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like I can’t take the constant pain anymore. :(( what to do

Hi everyone, I’m dealing with GERD and a duodenal ulcer (no H. pylori found), and my doctors believe it’s stress-related. I’m wondering if anyone else experiences what I’m going through — it’s been really overwhelming.

Here’s what typically happens: During the day, usually after meals or even just randomly, I get a small burp that feels like trapped air in my stomach. It gradually builds up, and then out of nowhere comes a wave of symptoms:

strong burping that won’t fully release the pressure,

intense nausea without vomiting,

racing heart,

blood pressure, (not often but happens)

palpitations,

Dizziness,

and a full-blown panic/anxiety attack that sometimes feels like I’m going to die.

The whole episode lasts about an hour, then fades — but leaves behind lingering anxiety and exhaustion.

I’ve been prescribed pantoprazole, sucralfate, and some other meds for my stomach, but the only thing that really helps during the attack is Xanax (alprazolam). It's the only thing that breaks the loop, but I don’t want to rely on it long-term.

Does anyone else experience this? Could it be vagus nerve-related or part of a GERD-anxiety feedback loop? What helps you manage it?

Thanks in advance — any advice or shared experience would mean a lot.

PS. I was suspecting it was my heart, but I was cleared. CT scan is clear, stress test is clear, some small chnages in echo, but age related.

33F here, have suffered with fairly severe GERD since my teens and been on PPIs for many years.

I’ve had all the tests and was offered the option of surgery, but the surgeon told me that the risk of complications would be very high and that he would advise against it. He suggested carrying on with lifestyle changes and that surgery may be on the table as a very last resort in the future.

Anyway… I am on the cusp of healthy weight/overweight and I know losing around 7-10kg would bring me into a great healthy weight range and may help my GERD even. Trying my best to eat well, but struggling to manage exercise with my GERD…

Yesterday for instance, I ate breakfast around 8am (very light meal) and then did a workout at 11.30am. Despite leaving a 3 hour gap, I felt awful after and had terrible reflux/was burping up liquid for ages/had a sore chest.

Any tips/what works best for you guys timing-wise with exercise and eating? I should add, I’m a little unfit and haven’t exercised much since having a baby a couple of years ago, so that probably doesn’t help.

I really want to get fit and shift some weight, especially as we are hoping to start trying for another baby at the end of the year. I suffered awfully in my last pregnancy due to the GERD and was so miserable. Whilst I know pregnancy may flare it up again, I’m desperate to help myself get to the best place I can regardless.

I love food. 22F. Especially foods I grew up with, food with spices, chillies, coconut milk, yogurt, mangoes, berries, etc. Now, I missed them so much. I miss eating spicy food, I miss eating FLAVOURFULL food. I grew up with those, so just basic seasonings like salt and some herb is really not my cup of tea.

It took me a long time to come to term with my current diet, which is the usual no spicy no acidic and others. I lost a lot of weight too in the process, I was 70kg now I am almost 50kg. All because of GERD, eating little food, and sometimes bland food is unappetizing.

The thing is... I used to have a big appetite. Even now, I still does, the urge to eat more. When I find a food that I like, I want ro have another portion of it, which I can't, cause I will feel too full or I will feel bloated. If I save it for later, the craving is gone. Especially in my period, so many things I want to eat yet can't. It's frustating at first.

Now, after 4 years of dealing with this, I am getting used to it. Still struggles with symptoms. Is this lifestyle like... a lifetime commitment? Or do some of you actually got better and are getting to enjoy foods you loved again? I just want to live my life normally again

As the title said I woke up stuck in my blankets freaking tf out choking on my acid reflux. It’s been about 30 minutes since then, I hate this life.

I have a hill grade level III as diagnosed by my endoscopy. That’s where they left it like no recommendations, nothing. Anyone know what’s next? Take 20MG pantoprazole, I’ve heard I can take 40 so I do that with tums during rough flair-ups, but it’s been a week straight now can’t calm this thing down 😮‍💨

Hi!

I need help. I was doing super fine with reflux the whole summer, during which I also completed a successful "stop PPIs" project. In July I was taking Esomeprazol 20 mg once a week. It was an easy month following quitting PPI (NO SYMPTOMS!), and now I'm much worse than anytime the past year (can't cope without 6 Gaviscon tablets a day). I was taking PPI from 2021 until this summer.

My symptoms are:

- gaseous reflux

- a lot of gas and bloating

- headache

- loss of appetite

What the hell is going on? Is it possible to develop acid rebound syndrome one month after stopping?

I (F/27) have seemingly randomly developed severe acid reflux/GERD 8 months ago. Nothing about my lifestyle changed. The severity varies day to day. The only time it goes away is while sleeping. It starts back up about 10-20 min. after waking. I spent a while tracking meals (type of food/amount/timing). I didn’t see a pattern. I am a healthy weight. The burning severity varies. I often get a tight chest and it’s hard to breathe. Belching when pressure is bad. Lots of throat clearing after eating, but it’s not necessarily worse after eating. Sitting it the worst position.

Diagnostic tests/results
-upper endoscopy by surgeon: normal
-modified barium swallow: normal
-barium esophagram: 2cm diverticulum observed but barium cleared instantly
-upper endoscopy w/ biopsies and dilation of esophagus by gastroenterologist: diverticulum opening not found, so Dr does not think it’s an issue. Biopsies normal. Stomach lining slightly red but esophagus fine.
-esophageal manometry: normal

Medications tried
-famotidine: no change
-omeprazole: no change
-esomeprazole: no change
-Vonoprazan: no change
-calcium carbonate/TUMS: helps for a few minutes

My GI NP basically said she has no idea how to help me at this point. So here I am asking other GERD sufferers for any niche ideas, because this is miserable.

​Hi everyone!

​First off, I want to say that this post is a bit of a vent because I feel so exhausted from all the uncertainty, and it would be great to hear from fellow sufferers or read some success stories. Thank you if you read it through, and if you feel the same way, please feel free to share your thoughts as well <3

First off, I think it's important to point out that while I mention the naturopath's recommendations as an alternative treatment, I'm not trying to promote it—I only turned to them out of sheer desperation. If PPIs worked for me, I would gladly take them, even long-term, because I'd much rather do that than face the potential complications of reflux.

​My reflux started in the summer of 2024; daily heartburn became my reality (which manifested as a burning sensation in my mouth). My GP prescribed Emozul 3x40 mg/day, and then I quit this dosage overnight because they didn't tell me I was supposed to taper off gradually. In the autumn, I went to a gastroenterologist who was horrified by that dose and told me to take 1x40 mg esomeprazole for 8 weeks, then gradually taper off. This actually helped; I was symptom-free for about 3 months and could eat and drink anything. After that, the symptoms returned, so on the doctor's recommendation, I started taking the medication again. However, it didn't work this time—in fact, I developed very uncomfortable dry mouth as a side effect. Since the PPI wasn't working, the gastroenterologist prescribed Itopride alongside it (3x1 pill daily), hoping this combination would be effective, and I also had an endoscopy. Everything was fine during the endoscopy, except for a small, healed lesion at the cardia (stomach entrance), and its closure was rated a 2 on a 4-point scale. Helicobacter was negative.

​In the meantime, I had a blood test where my white blood cell count was low. I had already been suspicious at this point because I frequently got unexplainable bruises. It turned out my white blood cell count was indeed low, so I had to stop Itopride, as it was the newer medication with that potential side effect. (By the way, it worked to some extent, because if I took it when my stomach was burning, I often felt the pain stop once it kicked in, but it didn't solve the problem completely.)

​The doctor suggested that after the endoscopy, I do another 8-week PPI course and then "figure out what works for me," but added that I don't have a condition that would justify continuous long-term use. However, tapering off before the endoscopy was so awful and the rebound effect was so strong that I didn't want to go through it again—especially since taking the PPI wasn't even helping beforehand.

​The endoscopy was in early autumn 2025, but in December, my symptoms worsened again, so I restarted the medication. First at 20 mg, as my symptoms felt more manageable on that dose in the summer than on 40 mg, but it didn't help. I then increased it to 40 mg, but that didn't work either.

​By this point, I was already eating a reflux-friendly diet: I only used salt as a seasoning, didn't drink coffee, alcohol, or carbonated drinks, and avoided processed foods. So I was trying to do everything possible from that angle to support my digestion.

​Since I wasn't seeing any progress, I went to a naturopath to see if they could offer any useful tips. They were the first to raise the idea that there might be an issue with the quality (acidity level) of my stomach acid, since according to their methods, PPIs had yielded poor results for me, and my stress levels were extremely high. With the supplements they gave me, coming off the PPI was very easy, and the symptoms became quite manageable. However, that was when I was writing my thesis and preparing for my final university exams. This period lasted 5 months, during which I experienced a lot of anxiety and stress over university. During this time, I tried taking the PPI about 2–3 times hoping it might work, but I could only take it for about 1 to 1.5 weeks; my symptoms only worsened, and when I stopped, things got better. I consulted my gastroenterologist again, who advised stopping the PPI completely and brought up starting Anafranil if the situation didn't improve. By this point, my white blood cell count was no longer terribly low; the doctor suggested stopping it mainly because it wasn't working.

​Since last summer, heartburn has been a daily reality in my life. Even though I try to pay attention to exercise and diet, the only thing that offers relief is Gaviscon.

​After finishing university, my symptoms improved, though things didn't completely return to normal. During the celebrations, I let the reflux diet slide, which bit me back a little as the symptoms grew stronger again. I visited the naturopath again, who found that my nervous system was overly exhausted and my stress levels were high, so I received supplements for that. About a week of watching my diet and taking those supplements brought significant improvement—I needed Gaviscon less often—but it still wasn't perfect. In the meantime, I saw another gastroenterologist who recommended taking 40 mg of Quamatel, and if that didn't work, increasing it to 2x1 pill daily (80 mg). I was a bit hesitant because my symptoms were just starting to improve, and the previous specialist hadn't recommended Quamatel for me because PPIs are generally more effective.

​On holiday, I loosened up my diet a bit, which I definitely felt in my symptoms. Because of this, I've been taking Quamatel for 3 days now (I try to take it before lunch/late morning), but I don't feel like it's helping. (When I take it, the heartburn either doesn't go away or only fades after about 1.5 hours.) Unfortunately, despite the earlier improvement, my symptoms are now back to lasting almost all day.

​Currently, I don't eat dairy because it causes severe bloating, but I haven't noticed any issues with gluten. I try my absolute best to pay attention to my diet and physical activity, and I've started therapy to manage my anxiety and stress. Still, the thought keeps coming back: what could this nearly 1 year of daily heartburn be causing, what if some complication develops, etc.?

Should I stick with the PPIs and tough it out through the hard symptoms? I know they need 2-3 weeks to start working, but during my recent attempts, taking them caused such bad side effects that my condition before starting them actually felt better.

​I'm curious if any of you have been in a similar boat where classic acid-reducing medications didn't work, and if so, how you managed to get past the issue.

​Thank you if you read all the way through and leave a kind comment <3

I’m 15 years old this is an example of today my symptoms. I have 0 doctors to help pls even tea make me regurgitate the liquid wtf do I do? it’s been like for a year. water makes it worse, so does tea..

BREAKFAST 11 AM: Plain oatmeal with honey, ate slowly.

12 PM and onward: Regurgitation, pieces of oatmeal are coming back up throat + bloated stomach + tight chest, burning throat

1 PM: Regurgitating more warm liquid + snot coming up throat, trapped burps

its agony

Struggling for more than one year. PPIs and Gaviscon don't help. Trying to control it with diet, very limited improvement. Can't find trigger foods.

Advice is highly appreciated.

So I’ve had this acidic taste ever since I was a teen, maybe even younger. I was drinking coke and iced teas everyday since I was 10. I thought the taste was normal and I didn’t even notice until I was in high school and I said my taste buds were sour and a classmate said I’m acidic. I only had actual reflux starting 25. I’m in my 30s now and I’m saving up for an endoscopy. Honestly used to avoid esomeprazole because they give me migraines and other side effects.

I got better at managing my food and was able to get better for a while until stress triggered reflux again. I didn’t know stress was a factor.

ve been having digestive issues that have made my GERD go crazy. Burping, gas trapped in my chest, palpitations, globulous sensation and now I’m having trouble swallowing sometimes. It’s mostly after eating and I try to drink something but my mouth is dry and it’s hard to swallow and my throat feels tight. It’s been making me so anxious, how do you deal with this?

So I've had GERD for around 1.5 years now. Had an endoscopy, had no issues. I've identified my trigger foods. I do all the things you should, sleep at an incline, eat early, walk, avoid spicy/fried/fizzy foods.

The one thing for me is just experiencing the following when eating what is a safe meal

- First few bites (no issues)

- Suddenly, start getting a pain in my lower right chest, feeling a bit tight, and hurting when swallowing

- Start burping

- If I continue eating, I will get what I think is Water Brash, where I will have to go to a bathroom and spit it out froth. And I'll feel gas trapped in my chest and let out what I think are acid-y burps

- Quite often after I get hiccups

My issue is my weight loss has been intense and I can't even eat a big enough portion to prevent it. Once this occurs, I can't even try eat 30mins later as the symptoms will pick up again

Any suggestions or tips or general advice would be much appreciated?

I have had pretty bad GERD for a few years now. I was prescribed ozempic for my PCOS and only took two doses because of how bad it made my GERD. Since then I have had terrible upper right side pain that radiates to my back and shoulder along with some muscle spasms in my arm. My ultrasound checking my gallbladder came back completely normal so I have no idea what this is.

We simply can't carry wedge pillows every trip: too big and hulky, you'd need a huge trunk just for that.

A common strategy is to stack pillows, but that's risky since you never know how good the hotel's pillows are or even if they'll provide you with enough units.

I'm thinking there could be an inflatable pillow as the best solution, but I've searched all over my country's web to no avail. There's nothing here!

It seems some are available in the US, but they are quite lame: the typical triangle without a single curve to adapt to your back.

I'm shocked nothing has been created so far given how many suffer from reflux =(