I'm trying to figure out what we all had in common when the GERD first started. If we know what caused it,we might know how to fix it. Here are the things that I think contributed to my reflux (LPR).

1) Was under heavy stress (anxiety)
2) Was taking alot of antibiotics for sinus infection.
3) Started belching alot before having any signs of reflux. Belched for about 4 months before reflux started.

Hi, GERD cannot be fixed. It can be relieved. The GERD was caused by stomach acid coming up into the esphogus due to the lower spincter being weak. That means when you ate something, some of the food was being pushed back up. GERD is controlled with PPI's, acid reducers and most times they work pretty good for people. You should be scoped for GERD, because GERD may turn into Barretts Esphogus. I've had GERD for over 20 years now and it is painful at times. I also have a small hiatal hernia but it doesn't really bother me. I don't think I could have done anything different before but now of course I am restricted to acidic foods (sometimes I cheat and
pay for it:rolleyes: ). Hope this ifo helps. Keep well, Linda

I'm trying to figure out what we all had in common when the GERD first started. If we know what caused it,we might know how to fix it. Here are the things that I think contributed to my reflux (LPR).

1) Was under heavy stress (anxiety)
2) Was taking alot of antibiotics for sinus infection.
3) Started belching alot before having any signs of reflux. Belched for about 4 months before reflux started.



1st off, I would stress that we may be simply talking about reflux, not GERD (which is really sphincter disease, a term I wish they'd use so it's not all confused).

I don't know absolutely positively that I have GERD as opposed to something else, such as gastritis (I do have mild), or gastroparesis (we'll find out this week). I do know I have reflux itself as a symptom, and that it is wreaking havoc on my throat in particular. I also know I have a "small" hiatal hernia - but don't know if it's allowing the reflux.

That all said, there were a couple things just before I started the 2-day non-stop burping that clued me in I had reflux (not knowing it at the time):

-6 mos of heavy ibuprofen usage for "hurtin' butt" if you will :) Went from 2400 to 1600 to 800 mg a day over that period.
-physical therapy for the butt about 2 mos - this involves sucking in the gut alot for excercises, as well as working on nerves (the base problem).

Those are the 2 things I highly suspect may have caused, either independently or combined, my reflux. It FEELS like NSAID/aspirin burn many times - including the pivotal days when I was burping alot! I fear the PT may have created the hernia (but will never know!), but surely the ibu caused my mild gastritis and such.

Rebel-
you just substantiated what I strongly suspect contributed to my LPR/Reflux/gastritis/etc., and that is ibuprofen use, for back pain over the last year or so. I also took Aleve which is even stronger. I didn't take as much as you did, but enough to do damage and cause the reflux, as well as bleeding internal hemmorroids :blob_fire

There should be a warning label on NSAIDs --much more than what is --it could be this what is contributing to so many of us with reflux and gastritis.
I really believe it.
I also took 6 weeks of PT..

I didn't get burping till AFTER dx'd with reflux/LPR and it only happens sometimes when drinking certain things.

I think there's a lot to be said for the ibu usage and GERD/LPR/Reflux in general.
As far as healing, that's another whole thing. Certain things I've tried have helped me but I'm not sure of ever being cured completely. Just have to keep trying to keep symptoms in check, and live one day at a time.
best wishes to all for an acid free day.

I have to disagree with the person who said it can never be cured. I had it 15 years ago for 6 months and it went away (I know, if i have it now it's not cured but lets face it, having it for 6 months every 15 years I could live with). Anyway if it went away then their must have been a reason. I notice alot of people saying they had gastritis, so did I. Maybe inflammation in the stomach causes the GERD (or acid). So instead of concentrating on the acid maybe concentrate on healing the stomach? Also, did anybody have any problems like constipation or diarrhea when the GERD hit? I know I did, now that my stomach problems have cleared up I notice the GERD isn't as bad (still there but not as bad).

Don't go with the defeatist talk that it will never go away, we'll figure it out. I know I will.

You can have a condition or disease and not exhibit any symptoms for months or years, i.e., AIDs or herpes for example, or MS, which can be dormant and then active, then go into remission.

Just because you have no symptoms doesn't mean that the weakness or condition isn't present, that is what I meant, and it's not defeatist to face facts and learn how to best keep it from rearing its ugly head.

I do agree that stomach issues and GERD go together.

Reflux can go away and you can be cured but with GERD, you cannot be cured but it can be controlled.

Don't believe what the doctors say. GERD (or acid indigestion or whatever you want to call it) doesn't come out of the blue for no reason. Their is always a cause and if there is a cause their is a solution.

Here are some of the things I think may (MAY) cause GERD.

1) Food Allergy
2) Stress
3) Antibiotics
4) IBS

I have eliminated stress, and am now switching my diet to an almost vegetarian diet. Will see what happens. So far the indigestion (burning, burping etc.) has improved but my throat still hurts. Not sure why my throat still hurts because I haven't noticed any reflux coming up my throat in weeks.

I think to many people on this board have given up. We should all work on a solution not tow the line and say it's here for the rest of our lives, I will not accept that.

If I can add my "two cents" in, :) I noticed that my acid reflux also started after a period of heavy stress and anxiety. I also had (and sometimes still get) the wonderful belching. :dizzy: I also get a lot of mucous in my chest, which I never had before. The dr. will prescribe antiobiotics and it will go away. However, the nurse at the dr.'s office said that either my Aciphex might not be working (due to the mucous) or maybe it's all allergy related. I know that stress doesn't help things any. I also want to believe with a positive attitude that anything can be overcome - especially with good diet, exercise, determination and a lot of prayer! Not to say that physical problems don't exist, but I think what is going on with us mentally so much affects the rest of our body. :angel:

danni

HI - I got it in my early 20s. I was exercising a lot and lifting weights at the time but otherwise I was not doing anything unusual. I have had periods when it has either completely gone away or not bothered me much and other periods like now when it is horrendous. I can honestly say I have tried everything and can't find a correlation between the times when it is bothering me a lot and when it completely goes away. If you figure it out please let us know!

I believe that the LPR I have began as a result of inhaling exhaust from my backdrafting oil burner. Not only did this cause extreme coughing, but it was very stressful because we didn't know specifically that the burner was backdrafting.

Basically, I noticed a slight, funny, exhaust-like, gaseous odor in my home in October 2002 after we started using the oil burner for the season. I had the oil company and gas company come to the house to test for leaks, but that proved negative. But from October 2002 - January of 2003, whenever I would go into my living room or front hallway (which were directly above the burner in the basement and the basement stairs opened into these locations), I would begin coughing like crazy. As soon as I went away (usually heading to the 2nd floor, the coughing would immediately cease. I never ever coughed outside the home. Obviously, I stopped hanging out in my living room, because I would get sick in there no matter what I did. During this time, I had a parade of engineers/plumbers/technicians through my home, and none of them could pinpoint the problem.

In January of 2003, the coughing became consistant, and started happening wherever I was. So it took approximately 3 months for the exhaust to the coughing into a permanent situation. But it was the middle of winter, and we needed the heat. T

The cough grew progressively worse through April of 2003, where I was coughing all the time and had beguan visiting medical specialist after medical specialist.

Finally, in April of 2003, I had a knowledgeable oil company rep who was visiting (once again). This time, as I stood with him next to the burner, there was a brief flash of heat and odor that came out of the burner after it finished a burning cycle. It was the same weird gaseous odor I had been smelling all along, and I began coughing like crazy once more. The rep explained that a burner should never ever release any heat after a cycle, because the heat would contain exhaust. (You wouldn't go into your garage,keep the doors shut, and turn on your car, would you?). Then he pointed to a small exhaust fan that previous owners had installed on the flue leading from the burner to the chimney and proclaimed that obviously, the previous owners had the same problem, and instead of replacing the burner or lining the chimney, they installed a stopgap measure - a fan that wasn't doing it's job.

So we replaced the burner, lined the chimeny, and the problem disappeared. So more odors, exhaust, or gassiness. But I was stuck with this cough that had already seriously eroded the quality of my life. I had already had to quit my job, and I had been living with all the windows in my house open all winter, walking around in a parka every day. We only used the heat enough to keep the pipes from freezing.

It would take an additional 3 months to get a diagnosis of the cough from an ENT.

Ultimately, I think the LPR was caused by inhaling exhaust, but the stress of not being able to identify the cause of the exhaust and the cause of the cough really didn't help. I suspect that the exhaust, over time, weakened the spinchter. I had read that carbon monoxide will make the epiglottis (the flap that covers the opening to the windpipe and esophogous) floppy and weak, which I suspect means that once it is weak, the exhaust can get further into the body.

Do any of you have any problems with IBS or any other stomach problems? How about excema? I still think one of the following cause GERD:

1) Digestion problem (IBS etc.)
2) Allergy (food allergy etc.)
3) Stress induced

I had the digestion problem but now seem fine with that. Not sure of food allergy. Problem is when you switch to good foods like I'm doing you also reduce the acid, so is it an allergy or just acid reduction? I have eliminated almost all of my stress and exercise all the time. I don't expect an instant cure but I'm hoping it will get less and less over time and then go away like it did 15 years ago.

One other thing, I am on an ACE inhibitor for high blood pressure. I wonder if that could contribute to the reflux? I might consider stopping that for a couple months also.