I feel like I want to add a bit of information here in case it helps someone who is experiencing similar issues. First, if you are unsure what exactly GERD is, it stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease and is when acid from the stomach comes up into the esophagus. It is a chronic condition, though in my case my doctor has said that I may feel better after a month of medication and what is referred to as the ‘GERD diet’.
Symptoms
The first sign to me that something was wrong was in January this year, when I was feeling nauseated for no apparent reason. I weaned myself off caffeine, since I used to drink three cups of coffee a day, and I stopped drinking alcohol, though I only used to have a couple of drinks on weekends. I also stopped taking Ibuprofen for pain, which is what I usually find most effective. Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and I know it can cause stomach problems which is why you’re not supposed to take it on an empty stomach. I know this because my dad is a doctor.
My diet is usually fairly healthy, except when I eat out, which is not that often. I try to avoid added sugar and I eat vegetables with every meal. Perhaps sometimes I eat bigger meals than I should. I tried eating a bit less as I attempted to work out what was going on.
I felt better after a few days, for the most part. I was no longer feeling nauseated but I also didn’t feel quite right in a way I could not describe, and I was having some heartburn, mostly at night. I also felt like my throat was ‘gurgling’ more.
Yes, my throat makes weird gurgling noises, and has done so for years. I always thought it was because I needed to burp, and I can’t, except very rarely when it kind of just comes out. After all, it usually used to happen after eating a big meal or drinking soda. Now I wonder if it was the earliest sign of GERD. The frequency had just kind of crept up on me and it wasn’t until I started having other problems that I really noticed.
I tried having coffee again after a while, just one cup, and felt nauseated shortly after. It was the same as my earlier nausea, lasting a few days, and so that made me decide the coffee was the culprit. According to information found online, it could be the acidity of the coffee that was making me feel bad rather than the caffeine, so I may attempt a cold brew in the future when I feel I’ve healed enough.
I spoke to my dad about my symptoms and he suggested I try going on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for 2 weeks to see if I felt better. I bought Lansoprazole because it was the cheapest at CVS, and within a few days I did feel better. The only noticeable side effect was that I felt like I was kind of bloated in the mornings.
I did not make any major changes to my diet, mostly just tried to eat smaller meals more often. I continued to avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Almost as soon as I finished the PPIs, my heartburn returned, and this time it also felt like I had heartburn in my stomach, if that makes any sense. It didn’t seem to matter what I ate; I felt it vaguely in the morning and the feeling would increase as the day wore on. At night I began finding it difficult to sleep because I just felt so… burny.
I talked to my dad again and he confirmed what I was thinking–it was time to see my doctor. Unfortunately, my family lives in Australia while I live in the United States, so there is a limit to how much free health care I can get from my dad!
US Health Care Gripes
I can’t resist a jab at the US health care system here. There are many things I do not like about it compared to Australia’s, and it’s not just that there is no universal health care. Since things are probably different depending on what part of the country you’re in, I’ll mention here that I am in Southern California.
- I have to choose a doctor as my primary care physician and can’t make an appointment with someone else at the same medical office unless I call (vs their online appointment system). Never mind the additional fact that I have to see a doctor within the network for it to be ‘covered’.
- I put covered in quotations because I still had to pay $30 for my appointment, then $35 for a blood test, then $16.95 for medication. I would likely have only had to pay for the medication in Australia, with the rest being covered by Medicare. If my doctor did not bulk bill I may have had to pay $15 or so for the appointment, but I only ever went to doctors who bulk billed.
- When I called to make my appointment (my doctor was not available until the end of the month so I needed to see someone else), I was asked what it was for. They always want to know what your appointment is for. In Australia, the only person who has to know that is your doctor. It just rubs me the wrong way.
- The nurse/physician’s assistant/whatever who weighs you and takes your blood pressure and interrogates you before you see the doctor does not exist in any of the medical centers I’ve been to in Australia. The doctor does it all and I prefer it that way.
Diagnosis
I ended up getting an appointment with my primary care doctor on Monday; perhaps there was a cancellation or something. Anyway, I was glad because I really prefer to see the same person each time.
She said a lot of the same things my dad did, felt my stomach and said it’s probably acid reflux, though she ordered a blood test to check for a Helicobacter pylori infection just in case. That came back negative just yesterday. She went on to say that some people will have this for the rest of their lives and others will more or less recover with medication and a healthy diet. She seems to think I will fall into the second category, and that it could be caused by stress.
Treatment
My doctor gave me a prescription for PPIs, this time Omeprazole. She said to take it once a day for a month but that I can start again if my symptoms return, and that I can increase the dosage to twice a day if I still don’t feel good. In addition, I am supposed to follow the GERD diet which basically means no alcohol, no caffeine, and no foods that are too acidic, spicy or fatty. I personally found this kind of ironic since whenever I’ve tried eating more healthy the kinds of food I avoid are the sugary ones and it sounds like that’s one of the things I can eat at the moment.
I’m also supposed to try and keep stress down by exercising and doing yoga (both of which I do already). I feel like I’m living in a stressful time right now, what with it being an election year in the US and the Coronavirus running rampant. ‘Be less stressed’ is much easier said than done.
I started my medication on Tuesday and began being more careful about what I ate, and I’ve felt a bit better each day since then. I’m pretty bored with my food though and I’ve been making different meals for my husband and I which is not ideal. He’s super picky and there’s no way he’d be happy eating a bunch of roasted vegetables and some chicken breast, which has basically been my dinner for the last few nights.
Further Plans
Even if I come off the PPIs and feel better, it’s clear to me that this is something that I’m probably going to have to be careful about in future.
I’ve done a lot of research on the topic these last few days, and it turns out that not everyone has the same trigger foods. Some people can eat onions and garlic with no problems, others have issues with dairy or sugar.
I’m going to be in Austalia for the first two weeks of April, but when I return I’m planning on doing an elimination diet to work out which foods make me feel bad and which are okay. After all, if it turns out I can eat spicy foods in moderation, I would like to know that. I only started really enjoying them after moving to California a few years ago and it’s pretty crushing to think I may have to avoid them forever.
On the other hand, if it turns out eggs make me feel sick, I may as well give up everything. Eggs are the best food in the world. Cheese would be the next worst thing to have a reaction to.
For the rest of this month, I’m going to try eating as well as I can, and I’m going to try vegetables I usually don’t enjoy. Because I’m going to be so bored when I get back from Australia if I don’t find more meals to make! I’ll document my progress here and share any good recipes I come up with.
My Food Journey 