RE: GERD i.e. heartburn from Hell

June 9, 2007

My GERD had been so bad several years ago and was triggering asthma attacks.

I tried various drugs, diet changes (and with my food allergies, that meant

a very restricted diet) and others. Nothing worked. My esophagus was

pre-cancerous, and I was miserable. I decided to have surgery to fix it as I

was 36 yrs old and was really missing out on quality of life with my family.

I had a Nissen Fundoplication and they fixed my hiatal hernia at the time.

Recovery was hard, but within 6 months, life was so much better. I was off

all GERD meds, my asthma was much improved, and I wasn't in constant pain.

Fast forward to 1.5 years ago, and my chest pains started coming back after

a choking episode on some chicken (caught in my wrap area). The GI suspected

my wrap had come undone. I underwent every test in the book it seemed and

everything came back perfectly normal. But I was still in constant pain and

then the shortness of breath really started to kick in. My peak flows

started to drop and my attacks became daily if not 2-3 time a day. I was put

on Nexium 2/day and carafate. Prednisone became a monthly visitor to my

body. I was in constant pain and not happy.

The GI and the allergist worked together to come up with a plan. I was

treated for esophageal spasms that in turn triggered the asthma attacks.

This was a big help for me, though my allergic asthma was still very

prevalent. The downside was that the anti-spasm med made me very tired. But

it broke the cycle. I was able to drop to once a day with the Nexium. We

added Xolair in September and by February my life was much better. The chest

pain was gone, the shortness of breath was pretty much gone and now we are

tapering me off some more meds - first reducing the Advair to once a day,

next dropping the Nexium completely.

In addition to all of this, my sinuses were a mess and constantly draining

and mildly infected on a daily basis - I was on antibiotics every other

month. I had nasal surgery in April to fix my deviated septum and reduce my

turbinates and as long as I keep my sinus washes up, I can breathe through

my nose again which also keeps my lungs happier.

I still get some chest pain on occasion but it is now usually when I am

dehydrated or have sinus drainage. Everything is so connected and western

medicine so compartmentalized that sometimes you need a doctor who looks at

the big picture not just their little piece. It was my internist that

started making many of the connections and helped me get healthier and

happier.

Easy breathing to all,

B.

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