# new gerd



## william brown (Feb 22, 2001)

I'm new to the GERD part of this BB, tho' I've been here over a year with IBS-D. Now it seems GERD is a small part of my life. What is the consensus for those of us who get the problem in the middle of the night about 2-3 times a month at most, other than determine which foods were responsible? tums or a prescription? and how do you guess when it's going to happen? Thanks, Bill


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## christine (Jun 4, 1999)

Bill,If you are having GERD symptoms intermittently then it is most likely due to something you are eating or stress. If it is chronic, all the time, then you are looking at a more serious physical structural problem. I would avoid eating past 5:00/6:00 p.m. and then try to figure out what foods are causing it, if you can. You may do well with over the counter relief such as Pepcid, Tagament or Zantac. Take them prior to going to bed BEFORE the problem starts. Do a 2-week trial of this and see what happens. You may find that you need a prescription med. Who knows, everyone responds differently. I know lots of people who get relief from Tums. To me, they are like candy and don't do a darn thing.Christine


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

I only get it bad a few times a month, unless I'm under lots of stress. It seems to be getting more frequent... I probably had problems with it 10 times last month. That is when it's really bugging me, not just a little annoyance.I take prescription Pepcid. My doc primarily prescribed it for chronic gastritis. She wanted me to take a proton pump inhibitor like Prevacid, but the side effects were bad enough for me that I decided that I'd stick with Pepcid for the time being. If the GERD continues to become more and more frequent, I may have to reconsider that, because I don't want to be damaging my esophogus. It's funny, either it's not bugging me at all in the esophogus, or it's washing all the way up into my mouth at times. Either it's all the way or no way, or I don't notice it until it's that high up. Sometimes I also get a bad acid burning in my stomach, but that is usually traceable to stress or a particular food.


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## GurgleGut (Dec 2, 2001)

Bill, I would start with the OTC and see how they work for you. It is a good idea to keep track of when you have the GERD attacks and what you ate that night and also how you are feeling (ie: were you stressed?) I can attribute most of my really bad attacks to either eating a non-compatible food or stress (for example, I spend the entire evening of 9-11 vomiting and with terrible reflux)You should definately see your doctor too. If the reflux becomes chronic it can permently damage your esophagus, sometimes you have reflux at other times and don't even know it. If this only happens at night you might want to sleep with your head and chest elevated...gravity works! Good luck and I hope that you feel better.


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