Case Summary  |  Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

In February of 2002 I began having hearburn for the first time in my life. As a young man, I was unfamiliar with the symptoms but was told by family and friends that antacids like Tums and Rolaids would remove the unpleasant feeling. But it continued to get worse.

I had been seeing a lot of commercials for drugs that treated GERD but did not know that this was the exact condition I had. I consulted a doctor who prescribed a drug called Nexium but the heartburn just got worse.

I woke up every day with flu like sympotms which I now know were caused by the acid from my stomach coming up and irritating my ears, nose and throat. Finally I consulted another physician recommended to me by a friend who had the exact same problem. He sent me in for a barium swallow; I drank a radioactive liquid while a technician viewed my stomach on x-ray. It turned out I had a hiatal hernia, an eroded esophagus and some acid reflux. My stomach had entered my diaphragm, squeezing stomach acid up toward my throat.

The doctor advised me to double my dose of Nexium and to take two Pepcid AC each day. We developed a diet of low fat, non-spicy foods which I followed for about two years.

I still feel the symptoms of the hiatal hernia (surgery is the only sure-fire cure), but now that they are controlled they are minimal. I stronly advise anyone with this condition so seek help immediately and to get a second opinion if symptoms persist.