For 5 months I’ve experienced severe acid reflux. The cause does not seem to be lifestyle (my doctor has said this is “clearly not lifestyle related”) and symptoms are not managed through lifestyle changes. Medication seems to work intermittently. Losec worked for a few weeks, then stopped working. I’m now on Nexium. It took about two weeks to kick in, worked well for about a week and now symptoms seem to be coming back. Supplementing with Tums, Gaviscon, Pepto Bismol, etc. has limited to no effect.
An endoscopy showed nothing out of the ordinary (no hiatial hernia, no esophageal erosion, etc.). The doctor said that the “valve was tight”. An H-Pylori blood test was negative. A gastrin blood test was within normal range. I asked the GI specialist if this was “GERD”, she said “I don’t think we can call it that”. I don’t seem to have any motility issues.
Despite extreme vigilance in adhering to medication protocols (i.e. 30 minutes before eating, same time every day) and lifestyle, I continue to experience symptoms. The symptoms make it hard for me to work, sleep, eat and enjoy life.
I am an otherwise-healthy 37 year old woman with no children. I am 5’5” and 108 pounds. I have no other health issues and am on no other medication aside from the Nexium. I walk daily and eat extremely well (no coffee, tea, alcohol, pop, chocolate, processed foods and any known heart-burn triggers). I sleep with my bed elevated. I don’t lie down within 3 hours after eating.
What else could this be? How am I supposed to manage something for which there appears to be no known diagnosis, cause or cure?