I have been diagnosed with GERD for 3 months since I complained of chest pain and burning sensation in my upper stomach area. Recently, I have had some serious burning sensation again as it lasted for about a day. I went to a doctor, who said that I have anxiety problem but also suggested to take a barium test for acid reflux. I went to another doctor who suggested to get a surgery done. I didn’t know what to do or who to believe. I get to know from the internet that oral suspension medicines like Pepto Bismol help patients of GERD with a lesser frequency of symptoms of burning sensation, as it is effective only for a small period time. I requested one of my previous doctors to prescribe it to me to which he agreed. Now I am quite relieved from the burning sensations but the chest pain still persists.

I was diagnosed with GERD a couple of months ago. My primary symptoms were persistent dry cough to relieve a constant tickling in my throat, often to the point of feeling lightheaded, and sometimes to the point of bronchial spasms. A few times, the coughing threw me into a temporary asthmatic condition. Sleeping with my head raised upside and using Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) helped, but not much. Even now when I catch a cold, the coughing becomes frequent and it is triggered by almost anything, including swallowing the saliva. Anything that I eat must be smooth in texture and spice-less since any roughage could trigger the cough. Taking small, frequent meals and cutting out spicy foods, and avoiding smoking and alcohol have created a better scenario for me to live with GERD.

I am 42 years old and have recently been diagnosed with GERD. I had agonizing stomach pains and went to see a doctor. I even had trouble while eating food and it felt like the food was getting stuck in my throat when I swallowed. Later, I went to an ENT specialist who treated me for acid reflux. I went to a gastroenterologist, got an endoscopy done and was diagnosed with GERD, the outcome of which had not been so good. The doctor prescribed me a set of two different medications. I was suffering side effects from the medicine and I decided to see another GI doctor who prescribed a different medication which helped with the discomfort due to burning which I was experiencing in my esophagus. After that, one of the doctors suggested and prescribed me H-2-receptor blockers, which you can get now without any prescription. They provided comparatively longer lasting relief than normal antacids, but their effect was not as quick, so I was advised to take them 30 minutes before my meals or before going to bed. This helped me a lot to get back to my daily routine.

I was diagnosed with GERD about 4 years ago and I’m 21 years old now. It is very difficult to bear the pain and people who say that it is just a heartburn are ignorant of the very real difficulty. Most of the time I couldn’t breathe properly because the acidic sensation reached up to my nose. I was constantly having thoughts that the suffering is due to some type of virus because of my sore throat, until I found out from my doctor that it is GERD.

I just felt so tired of taking antacids and prescribed pills every day and having to wait for an hour before I had my breakfast. I had to plan every morning accordingly by waking up before I normally would have been. I know that it’s all about courage but I think after 4 years and many different medications, all of which only worked for about 8 months after starting them, I was quite frustrated. Now when I have made it my daily schedule to keep a check on frequency and severity of the symptoms and cutting off acidic food from my diet, I am feeling a lot relieved.