PPI Stepdown pt 2

OMG. Terrible. I’ve been taking only one half a 20mg esomeprazole at bedtime for a week. Now I have breakthrough GERD randomly all day. For the last two nights, a couple of hours after I go to bed, I’m awakened by my stomach trying to crawl out my throat. I feel strangled and have a coughing fit. This is GERD at its worst. I have to go sit up on the sofa and eat TUMS until it stops, which is usually an hour or so.

I’ve got ranitidine and famotidine (these are H2 blockers) on hand and I’m heading to CVS and Sprouts for a variety of other products to try. Eating a handful of TUMS just ain’t cutting it.

My ability to eat has also been compromised. I can eat about 1/3 less than before I dropped the PPI. While annoying to get the foamies (what we call it when our VSG tummies get too full), I do need to lose about 10#, so THAT I’ll tolerate. I’m back to about 1/2-2/3 cup capacity with this GERD irritation. I got the foamies and was pretty sick after eating a small couscous stuffed pepper last night, so I’ll have to be very careful.

But basically, I am miserable 24 hrs a day right now. As I knew would happen w/out PPIs. ::sob::

I’ve added probiotics to my supplement regimen and I’m looking for something called Iberogast (STW-5) liquid to try as well. (Amazon is pricey, I’ll check Sprouts.) I am aware of aloe juice and will get some.

I hope I can live through this and Lil Tummy will self regulate. If nothing works, I’ll be forced to go back on PPIs. I can’t live like this indefinitely – I *do* need to sleep and eat!

Despite all this bullshit, I’m still hopeful I can get off PPIs. I really think if Lil Tummy has time to adjust, it’ll be OK. I’ve never in my life had any sort of stomach issue, so I hope I can get that back. I’ll post more as I implement various things.