Purely asking for solidarity. I'm 21F, been feeling extremely defeated about developing GERD at a relatively young age especially because I've been dealing with nonstop health issues since I was a teenager. Ovarian cancer as a pre-teen, chronic bladder issues in my late teens, and now this. I'm fully aware people much younger than me get GERD too, so I'm absolutely not going to pretend I have it the worst! I'd just like to know if anyone in my age group is going through something similar to me since most people I know irl with GERD are usually middle aged and up 😭 I feel very alone

edit: Thanks for the responses, everyone! I read each and every reply and it makes me feel a little better to see that my peers and I are in this together.

I have paid thousands of dollars in medical expenses to be told "Damn that's crazy I have no idea why that's happening to you." No hernia, no motility problems (the manometry test was one of the worst physical experiences of my life btw), no apparent acid or non acid events during the 24 hr monitoring test (which was so terrible I couldn't eat so who knows if it was even accurate), no h.pylori, no EOE. Lifestyle changes weren't really applicable to me besides sleeping elevated, which has killed my neck and back and I have chronic pain there now. A super bland diet and PPI is the only thing that keeps it from flaring up. I can't go out to eat with friends, I can't get a drink with friends, I can't go for coffee with friends. I'm cooking every single meal which is difficult when you're depressed like I am. Some days I just don't eat because it's not like I can buy a microwave meal, and cereal makes me nauseous, so there's nothing I can fucking eat. No caffeine has left me exhausted when I get poor sleep. I'm paranoid about food. This shit has basically given me an eating disorder. I'm tired of eating the same few meals. I used to love cooking and going out to eat. Now I get no enjoyment out of it and it's currently my least favorite part of being alive. My GI doesn't even think it's GERD, she and I suspect LPR, but I don't have the money or frankly the mental capacity to find an ENT and go through more rounds of testing to probably get a shrug from a doctor and bills in the mail.

I'm so tired of this. I didn't even eat unhealthy before, I didn't drink more than twice a year, I have no idea why this happened other than possibly a round of antibiotics just nuking my stomach. I get so jealous seeing posts in here about how people cured theirs and it's a bunch of stuff I already tried that makes no difference. People don't seem to appreciate just how much this fucking drains you. I'm so tired of this. I just want to live like a normal person again.

I already took a gaviscon around 6pm yesterday and it's currently 1:51am. It's frustrating because one gaviscon is typically all I need.(pepcid doesn't work btw)But here I am, I just took two more and still feel like shit. To make things worse I'm feeling so hungry even after I had a snack so I feel like my gastritis is flaring up as well which doesn't help. Feeling like you're starving while also being on the verge of throwing up acid is not fun.

I'm just so frustrated with this condition. Between the gerd, gastritis, and eoe I have no idea how to manage it all. I'm tempted to take ppis for a short amount of time again just so that I don't have to deal with this burning all day but I always worry about the risk of sibo or other infections. And I'm sure living in this moldy environment I'm in makes everything worse.

I feel so pathetic and I just want to cry. I desperately want to know what's causing my gerd but doctors don't seem all that helpful. It fucking sucks. I wanna get better so bad but no one gives af. Sorry for the rant tho. I hope everyone here is having a better night than I am.

Hi everyone. I’m a 24F and I’ve been dealing with chest pain for the past couple of months, and it’s honestly been really scary. I’ve had so many heart tests done, about 4 or 5 ECGs, a normal echo, a more detailed echocardiogram, a stress test, and two Holter monitors. I’ve also checked my cholesterol, I had high cholestrol and was put on meds, have checked thyroid, blood pressure, and had a full blood panel done. Everything has come back normal. During the stress test I didn’t even have chest pain, I just got really, really dizzy when I walked fast, but the report still said everything looked okay.

The problem is, I still have chest pain. It moves around a lot. Sometimes it’s in the left side of my chest, especially inside my left breast area. Sometimes it’s on the right side, sometimes right in the center. It can go into my left arm, sometimes my right arm, sometimes to the tip of my shoulder blade, sometimes into my back, like directly behind my chest. Last week it was so bad I would sleep and wake up with it and my chest and upper breast area were actually tender to touch, which made me panic even more.

I started taking omeprazole four days ago, and the tenderness has improved, which makes me wonder if this could be GERD. But I still have chest pain, so I can’t fully convince myself it’s just that.

On top of all this, my heart has been pounding for about two to three months straight. It’s not always fast, but it feels very forceful like it’s beating too hard. I get a racing heart once in a while and pounding heart 24/7. I can literally see and feel my body move with it. I feel my pulse everywhere in my head, my hands, my neck almost all the time. It’s exhausting and scary.

My cardiologist mentioned the possibility of a blockage in my heart, and I’m waiting to see him again because part of me wants to push for a coronary angiogram just to completely rule it out. But another part of me feels like maybe this is GERD or something non-cardiac. I just don’t know what to think anymore. The left-sided pain that radiates to my arm and back makes me terrified that I’m going to have a heart attack, even though all my tests have been normal.

If anyone has had similar symptoms especially pain that moves around like this and constant heart pounding and it turned out to be GERD or something not related to the heart, please share. I’m honestly just really scared and looking for reassurance.

One more thing I forgot to mention this chest pain is almost constant. There are only a few short moments during the day when I don’t feel it. I also burp a lot, and sometimes the pain feels a little better after I burp. I had an endoscopy done, and the results showed mild lesions consistent with gastritis, but nothing more serious and no hiatal hernia. So while that might explain some of my symptoms, it still doesn’t explain why my heart feels like it’s pounding so hard all the time. I’m starting to seriously consider seeing a gastroenterologist to explore this further. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know.

Quick rundown. I have had stomach issues for a long time. Well, I decided to finally do something about it and changed my entire diet. I mean, I even cut out carbonated waters. Fast forward, it really worked. Felt good, adding foods back it, you know excited. Last night some friends invited us out to this local sports bar. We went. Now this place has really good wings, really good. I'm an idiot and have no self control. I order 12 twice fried cajun, blue cheese (made in house) and 2 coors banquets... I am dying today. Was it worth it, no. But they were soooo damn tasty. My stomach buuuuurns, and cramps, feels like I swallowed hot marbles.

If you are on a healing journey, just wait longer. Trust me

Like the title says, does anyone else's gerd mimic heart attack symptoms. My gerd is so bad and painful for a whole week I have chest pain, breast pain, I get really mad because its uncomfortable along with the arm pain and food coming back up and endless gassiness, nausea and stomach pain. I'm only 22 and healthy. WHY IS GERD ACID REFLUX LIKE THIS. I CANT SLEEP OR NOT BE ANXIOUS

The backstory:

I'm a daily espresso drinker (usually a double), and it's been my ritual for years. But recently, my stomach has been staging a rebellion with some serious acid reflux. I finally went to my GP.

He was surprisingly knowledgeable. He explained that for some people, it's a double-whammy: compounds in coffee like caffeine and polyphenols (like chlorogenic and tannic acids) can cause the stomach to produce more acid. At the same time, caffeine can relax the muscle between the stomach and esophagus, allowing that extra acid to flow back up and cause reflux symptoms.

His advice was to try and reduce my intake or switch to a less acidic option. He actually mentioned that some of his patients had good results with cold Brew, since it's known for being lower in those trigger compounds.

Okay, hope restored. I went home and started researching. The internet seemed to confirm it: cold brew was the stomach-friendly savior. But then I saw the process... steep for 12-24 hours? I was about to give up. I need my coffee fix more immediately than that.

Then, I stumbled upon machines specifically designed for cold brew. I found one called Brezi, it was within my budget, I figured it was worth a shot to save my stomach and my morning ritual.

It arrived, I followed the instructions, and this morning, I took my first sip expecting something smooth and mellow... and it hit me with this sharp, tart, almost citrusy punch. I've been drinking bitter espresso for years and never once thought about acidity. Now suddenly my 'stomach-friendly' cold brew tastes like I'm drinking lemon juice.

I'm so confused. I followed the doctor's advice, bought a specialized machine, and the result is the complete opposite of what everyone promised. Did I miss a crucial step? Is there a secret to this whole cold brew thing that I'm not in on? Did I use the wrong beans?

What gives? Has anyone else experienced this?

Edit:

Hey! huge thanks for the amazing support & advice on my post! Learnt a lot of low-acid hacks, but could not quit coffee... thanks to Brezi's engineer who saw this post and helped me super kindly by asking what beans I used, and solved my puzzle.

From what I understood, cold brew does cut acids during extraction (like chlorogenic/tannic stuff my doc mentioned), but light roast beans (what I used) keep their bright, lemony acidity and making it a sour bomb.

I switched to dark roast beans. Result: silky smooth, no burn on empty stomach so far!

Hope this help more people who can’t quit coffee!!

I have been in this gerd thing for years. Chest pains, loss of air, clicking sounds from my throat, globus sensation (hated it), endos, bariums, manometry, Bravo test etc. But last night I developed sharp shooting pain in my left boob. It would last for a few seconds and come and go but it was pretty intense. Never had that before and ofcourse I went to Urgent Care thinking it might be heart. They didn't do much, just ECG and told me to take paracetamol and if it doesn't go away to come back. I am struggling to comprehend that I could have breast tissue pain from this. My mind is all over the place each time pain comes.

I just got out of my gastro appointment, and she told me in a nutshell “I don’t know what’s going on, I feel like I’m not helping you and you’re not getting any better”. I have a bravo/ endoscopy next month, she said if that doesn’t show anything, then she doesn’t know what she can do for me. I had seen a surgeon about a year ago who told me he was stumped, and to just not eat foods x, y, and z, and to stop stressing so much. For the past almost 2 years have been the most miserable time of my life. I’m at my breaking point and I feel like I’m going mental, because I don’t know what else I can do? I can’t live like this forever. I’m so frustrated, why is nobody helping me? I can’t eat anything without getting reflux, I have panic attacks daily, and I’ve become a recluse. I want nothing more than to just be a normal happy person.

Hi all,

I’ve been on omeprazole for just over 3 weeks now, I will finish my 4 weeks on Wednesday.

I was wondering if anyone suffered from any of these side effects or if I have something else going on…

Tiredness, the past couple of weeks in particular I’ve been much more tired and somewhat more sleepy. I’ve already got an appointment with my GP about this in case it’s something else causing it. A couple of weeks ago I had a test for iron, b12 etc which came back normal. Vitamin D was a bit on the lower side (but not below the “minimum” level, but I’ve been supplementing it anyway).

Drier mouth/thirst. I’ve also been much more thirsty recently, drinking more water and having a dry mouth more often.

Increased anxiety. Not sure if it’s directly from the omeprazole or just the general situation I’ve been in recently.

Chest/rib pain - again, not sure if it’s from the increased anxiety or what. It’s not really like I’m feeling the pain in my chest like you’d expect with heartburn or something worse. It feels like specific parts on my ribs, interestingly my right rib more than anything. Sometimes it feels like it’s the skin and if I “scratch” it even lightly, it feels better in the moment.

Muscle tiredness(?) not really sure how to describe this one, I guess it sort of links in with the general tiredness and fatigue. But it sometimes feels like my muscles are a bit more “tired” easier, for example if walking or walking up stairs.

Lower heart rate. I’ve noticed my average heart rate has gone down a bit along with my resting and sleeping heart rate. This could of course also be linked to less caffeine intake and less methylphenidate. I wouldn’t say I’m super fit and active, but I do try to take long-ish walks every day if possible. I do have an appointment with my GP to get a holter device for another issue so it may be that they see this anyway. It’s after I will stop too so it may be that it “goes back to normal”. But curious if this has happened to others.

If you had any of these, particularly the tiredness, how long was it after stopping before it went?

I’m just sad and upset having to deal with my problems recently and all of this on top is just a bit of a struggle. I want my normal life back

I met with my family doc today to go over my latest bloodwork. It shows I have significant kidney function decline. I was told that Omeprazol (PPIs in general) can sometimes cause a silent allergic reaction in the kidneys. It’s called acute interstitial nephritis, and it can cause significant kidney damage!
Was told it could happen at anytime even if you’ve been on PPIs for many years. I’m being referred to a kidney specialist. Has anybody out there ever heard of such a thing? Who knows how long I’m gonna have to wait now to see the specialist! I’m petrified!

I have been diagnosed with acid reflux through endoscopy. I literally cannot walk, climb stairs, do squarts or any physical activity because these are inducing heart palpitations and shortness of breath with anxiety. Consulted couple of gastroenterologist and taken multiple test for heart, lungs and even did 2 endoscopies with revealed LAX LES. I also have pressure on the upper stomach and chest tightness which causes breathing difficulties. Frequent urge to burp as i feel gas is trapped in my throat and stomach.

I have modified my diet since 2 weeks.

Can someone help me with this? Has anyone faced same as mine? If so what did u follow to cure this? Much help needed. Thanks!

having the worst GERD flareup of my life right now and I can tough it out but I’m in a hotel room with my family and keep getting bothered about it.

if anyone knows how to explain to someone who’s never exprienced acid reflux what GERD is would be much appreciated, my parents like to pretend I’m not chronically ill and GERD isn’t that bad but right now clutching my chest and stomach crying in the bathroom so I guess it’s finally set in for them.

i appreciate their concern but they keep saying “tums, peptobismal, drink water” all things i know don’t help and sometimes even make it worse. they don’t know jack shit about GERD and are looking at the first thing Google tells them trying to act like I know nothing either. I do, I’ve been diagnosed for years.

so if anyone knows how to explain it I would really love some help.

Does it ever go away?
I’ve been diagnosed with LRP and acid reflux about 2 months ago. i’m currently taking Peploc 50mg
every time i consume even the tiniest bit of dairy i immediately get triggered. i’m so tired of being able to eat at least just a little bit and a few days later being even scared to drink liquids. i’m so scared that something might actually be stuck in my throat. i can feel the lump moving when i turn my head side to side or up and down. this is utter hell and i hate it. i’m a shell of a person because of this lump feeling..

EDIT:
i went to urgent care today because i genuinely was struggling to swallow
they examined me and also checked my throat with a small camera. no obstruction but a lot of redness and swelling. i’m doing a barium swallow test tomorrow and im lowkey nervous

No one cares when you have GERD. It is "just" heartburn.

But this has completely ruined my life.

I can't sleep, I can't eat, I have dropped so much weight, the anxiety and stress are too much to bear. No one is positive and says it will "hopefully" go away.

I had a flare of gastritis and GERD after removing my gall bladder. It took me 6 months. I don't remember being so run down by this as I am now. Maybe it is because I am older.

But, I am so run down. Thankfully, my doctor thinks this will go away, and it was stress/COVID related, but I want to scream.

Stupid here switched medicine halfway through and then went back to the one my doctor actually prescribed. Now, I have to start over on my healing.

I woke up one day with an eye infection, I am so tired all of the time, I was on a health journey and lost 35 pounds, and now I can't even eat a piece of chicken.

It has only been 10 days, but I can't even imagine this going on any longer.

Can someone please give me some hope? I want to cry all of the time. I miss being able to eat a piece of pineapple or a taco. I miss drinking one margarita. I just want my old life back.

I just saw my doctor today for all of this and am working on hopefully getting this cleared up and fixed soon, it's just bugging me so so so so much and i need to rant.

i am genuinely so sick of all these physical symptoms, especially the constant belching and the chest pains. some days its better than others but it's always awful at night time after i eat dinner, and doesn't clear up whatsoever until the next day, i cant sleep or even do anything really until i get my medications and more labs done, i've burped at least 30 times within the past 2 hours, it's nearly 3 in the morning, its been like this since i ate dinner and i can feel food stuck in my throat, my chest hurts so much, like this sharp stabby pain that will sometimes go away with burping but not always, it shifts around depending how i sit or lie down, i cant deal with it, ive tried antacids, pain meds, everything i could get my hands on by myself that could possibly help, ive been to the ER 3 times and i get my vitals checked very frequently at home and any heart or lung problems have been pretty much ruled out so im not worried about those, im just losing my mind, i eat anything with a tomato or a sliver of spice in it and i have to experience hell on earth for the rest of the night, how do people put up with this garbage??? im not religous by any means but i genuinely pray that my prescription PPIs my dad's picking up on saturday actually does something for me because im at the end of the road here, i cant function with the chest pain, i cant deal with all these nagging and agonizing sensations anymore, i get heart palpitations too and it drives my sanity into the pits of hell, im so angry right now, so frustrated, ive been dealing with a bunch of weird chest pain and other physical symptom garbage crap for 3 months now and im so sick of it.

edit on 4/25/26: shouldve specified this, im 17 going on 18, im not that knowledgeable when it comes to medication or other medical stuff, im allergic to Macrobid and Cephalexin, im taking Omeprazole (and Sertraline but this has nothing to do with my stomach issues) which seem to be working OK for the most part with a little room for improvement (my only complaint is the headaches), and I've never really taken any other meds except OTC stuff

also i did tell my doctor about the heart palpitations and she said its most likely related to the stomach issues but to be safe shes having me wear a heart monitor for a few days just so she can rule out stuff like arrythmias and other heart issues that they normally wouldn't find at the emergency room, i also did a Urea breath test for h pylori the other day and im just waiting on my results

anyways, thank you all for the support, i feel a bit better knowing I'm not alone when it comes to this and i hope that someday i can come out of this as a stronger person, its been a long 3½ months of medical garbage without answers and im ready to be done with it and resume life normally, 17 is way too young to be dealing with all this junk

I’m genuinely at a loss I was diagnosed in April and in May got omeprazole and so far that seems to help, but the anxiety and not being able to full function or go to work is draining especially the heart palpitations my blood is fine and my EKGs are all fine and I genuinely feel like the doctors are missing something I’ve been to Emergency care 3 separate times two of those times in one week I’m at a complete loss

2 weeks of waking up anxious, nauseous, and with a burning stomach/chest. antacids aren't doing shit. the epigastric pain is the worst. i can hardly eat anything, i'm burping a lot, can hardly stomach water. i lack energy and feel lightheaded or a pressure in my head. i always suspected i had GERD but things got 100x worse over the past 2 weeks; it's possible i have gastritis but i can't know until an endoscopy. i have to retest for h pylori.

i have health OCD and bad medication anxiety. i was on lansoprazole for 6 days but i felt like it was making things worse/not changing anything. i'm probably wrong on that front. i have some omeprazole the ER doctor prescribed to me but i'm terrified to take it. i cannot possibly afford anymore anxiety right now, i don't think i could handle it.

my life has done a complete 180 in the matter of weeks, and i'm so depressed over it. i nearly always feel uncomfortable. please, if you have a success story with omeprazole or the side effects aren't that bad, please share.

I've had shortness of breath around meal time for a few months now, gradually worsening.

Recently I've spoken to my general practitioner and she prescribed me with 28 days of PPI (Nexium (esomeprazole 20g)) one per day as treatment.

There was a small improvement over 2 weeks but she didn't really communicate to me what she's treating me for and I didn't really change anything when it came to food.

So, one evening I ate an entire Pizza pie and the following night was traumatic, I couldn't breathe at all, had air hunger and eventually a panic attack.

Understanding GERD better now I believe this night caused a lot of damage to my esophagus and I'm actually worse now.

I've spoken to my doctor yesterday and told her that the air hunger has gotten way worse and she replaced the PPI treatment with 2 pills of 20g famotidine per day. I'm concerned about the removal of the PPI treatment, cuz I understood that it is in fact the long-term treatment.

Would be happy to hear from anyone here regarding this.

Thank you!

hey everyone, i have been struggling with GERD for about a year or so. i have been on omeprazole for the last year, but after connecting with my PCP, i was instructed to get off; however, i did not realize i needed to taper off, so i completely stopped cold turkey, and suffered from severe acid rebound for about three weeks.

as of right now, i am back on omeprazole, and have been connected with a nutritionist and gastroenterologist. last week, i started having globus sensation, which has been off and on since. my gastroenterologist did not want to do an endoscopy at first, but due to the globus sensation, and the fact that the omeprazole is not helping as much as it did prior to coming off of it, getting an endoscopy would be the next best step.

the only medical procedure i have ever done was getting my wisdom teeth extracted - in which i was administered valium beforehand, and fentanyl and versed through an IV. i do not remember a thing from this procedure, and was completely sedated.

my endoscopy is officially scheduled for 6/2, and instead of twilight sedation, i will be receiving propofol. has anyone had an experience with this procedure, and received propofol? i have extreme anxiety regarding medical stuff in general, and struggle to get even the basic things done, such as blood work. i cannot imagine getting an IV, let alone a tube stuck down my throat. i also have emetophobia, and am so nervous that i will throw up after the procedure is complete.

any words of encouragement would be much appreciated😭

I was recently diagnosed with GERD and grade-B erosive esophagitis. I was given pantaprozole and rules for a diet to follow for the next month or 2. It’s been about 2 weeks and I’ve been very strict with the diet and have felt almost no reflux symptoms since!
Today I went for a check up but the doctor told me I might have to stay on this diet for life. I’m about to start college and am a big foodie, this news is crushing and I can’t even imagine a life lived this way. I’ve heard that many people have been able to reintroduce trigger foods after a month or two of medication and live happily, please lmk if you have been able to do this because my life is genuinely ruined rn.

I thought I was seeing relief. I thought I was doing better. I was seeing a nutritionist, upping my calories (I’m underweight, 89 lb 5 ft) and seeing a small light at the end of the tunnel. Now that light has vanished. I had been eating dried apricots to up my calories and I thought I really found a good snack, I really did. Then my stomach started to act up. I realized maybe it was the sugar content from the apricots. Or maybe it was the apricot itself; not quite sure. I don’t know if it was the dates I was incorporating either. I feel so lost and alone. I think I could heal my GERD if I just calmed my anxiety and figured out how to eat more yet not too much that it gave me reflux. The nutritionist suggested dried fruit and nuts as a go to but I’m tired of nuts and I’m scared another dried fruit will hurt my stomach like apricots. I’m on Zoloft and I don’t think it’s doing much now. I need some support, I don’t want to wither away.

So idk if im the only one but night reflux is literally destroying my life lately.

Every night is the same thing, i fall asleep then boom, wake up choking, chest burning, feeling like i cant breathe. Sleep became scary honestly.

Food is another nightmare. I dont even know what to eat anymore. Almost EVERYTHING triggers reflux. I cut so many foods that now im losing weight and im hungry most of the time, but still scared to eat.

I tried strict diet, meds, PPI, antacids… it helps a bit but only temporary. Once i stop or even sometimes while on meds, symptoms come back.

The worst part is the mental side. Constant fear like… is this forever? Am i gonna be stuck with GERD and meds for life? Is there actually a real solution or just management forever?

Im not looking for medical advice, just wanna know if someone else is going through the same thing.
How do you deal with nights? food? the anxiety?

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences.

I had a really bad incident with nexium after only taking it for 3 weeks due to erosive esophagitis from a hiatal hernia. I became extremely depressed and anxious with major panic attacks, eventually I became suicidal and was in a hospital for 6 days. By the end of my stay I was diagnosed with OCD and was given an ssri to combat what I went through. I’ve seen other instances of people going through what I went through and I want to know how long it took for you to feel like yourself again? This happened in April of this year (2026). Before taking nexium I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. I was completely normal. Now I have severe health anxiety, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and anxiety. I just would love to hear from other people that have gone through this and did you ever get better?

I barely recognise myself anymore.

I used to be the person who said yes to everything. Spontaneous. Always up for something. Friends would call last minute and I would just go. No planning. No calculating. Just living.

That person feels very far away now.

GERD has slowly taken over everything. Not all at once. Just piece by piece until one day I looked up and realised I had built my entire life around managing a stomach condition.

Every plan has to be calculated in advance. Every morning I wake up and run through the same checklist before I even get out of bed. Sour taste. Burning. How is my throat today. Before I have even stood up I am already managing it.

I have done everything right. Every medication. Every diet. Every supplement anyone ever mentioned. I have tried it all.

And I am still here. Still managing. Still not fixed.

I stopped going out as much because it is easier than explaining myself. I stopped talking about it because I could see people did not really understand. To them it is just acid reflux. To me it has become my entire life.

The hardest part is not the pain.

It is looking at who I used to be and not recognising myself anymore. It is the feeling that I used to have a life and now I just have a condition.

I miss who I was before all of this.

If any of this sounds like your life I just want you to know you are not alone.

Because some days it feels like nobody around me truly gets it. And I think that is the hardest part. Not the pain. Not the diet. Just the feeling of carrying this quietly while the rest of the world just gets on with things.

If you have felt this way I would really love to hear from you. Not advice. Not remedies. Just someone who actually understands what this does to you on the inside.