Living With Acid Reflux

It has been days since I last posted and my morale has gone very low. My love of traveling and photography makes me feel so alive. But due to the life changes that came to us like a traitorous strike. Our lives have no longer been the same.

Three years ago I often cough every morning and feel like my throat is choking. Sometimes I vomit a sour-tasting fluid in worse cases. I was worried that I may have serious lung disease since I have been smoking for years. I went to the doctor to have a checkup and do some tests. I was diagnosed with GERD. A gastroesophageal reflux disease in which the stomach acid comes up to the tube from the stomach.

Symptoms

• Heartburn
• Difficulty Breathing
• Chest Pain
• Struggle to Swallow
• Bloating
• Frequent Burping
• Food Regurgitation
• Feeling a Lump in the Throat

If left untreated could lead to more serious issues.

After the diagnosis, I was given medication and my acid reflux went away eventually. I was living a normal life again. I enjoyed eating everything I wanted again for 3 years.

Until last Sunday early morning.
I was sleeping soundly when suddenly I woke up at 1 AM with a burning sensation in my chest. I knew the feeling as I experienced it before. But this attack was different, I was having trouble breathing and was coughing very hard. I tried to control my coughing as I felt I might cough up my guts out. I was in a state of panic, hyperventilating, confusion all was crashing on me at the same time. I went outside and walked trying to gasp for air. I was very afraid and felt that it was my end.

My wife woke up and gave me a tablet of Omeprazole which was my medication to control the acid. I felt it was not working and I just kept on walking back and forth. After an hour I tried to go back to sleep but every time I lied down it felt like I was gasping for air. So again I went outside to walk around, somehow it gave some sort of relief when doing so.

I was praying that morning would come soon and I would survive this ordeal. Around 4 AM I was able to sleep with my head elevated with three pillows so that the acid would not come up.

Morning came and I went outside to take a walk. I was thinking that maybe more than one year of exercise has caused my GERD to come back and haunt me. I thought of planning to start exercising again. I was willing to change my lifestyle completely so that I will never go thru that ordeal again. One of the big changes which I started for three months now is to quit smoking. Smoking is a major factor in this disease.

I also love eating as you can see in my previous blogs in food photography. Now I try to avoid eating too much but there is a lot of food to avoid.

If you want to reduce your acid reflux. There is a lot of food to avoid or at least limit the intake.

Food to Avoid

• Fried and Fatty food
  (Ex. Fatty pork, french fries, ice cream, butter, bacon)
• Spicy Food
  (Anything with chili)
• Citrus Fruits some vegetables
  (Ex. Oranges, Lemons, Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic)
• Beverages
  (Ex. Coffee, Tea, Carbonated drinks, Citrus Juices)

It is impossible to avoid all these food but limiting eating them would greatly help.

One thing that has also triggered my acid reflux was my crash diet. I suddenly changed my diet to oatmeals for breakfast and just vegetables and fruits for lunch. I only ate boiled chicken which was unsalted.

I mentioned this to my doctored and he said that what I did was dangerous and dieting should be gradual. I went back to my usual way of eating and I felt normal again.

According to my doctor, another big factor is STRESS. There are a lot of us who are already stressed out and we must find time to relax and just forget everything for a moment.

Right now my system is getting back to normal hopefully but I still feel a bit different from my usual self. I am continuing the medication that my doctor provided and will be doing a few tests in the coming day.

I am praying the I would be getting a good night's sleep without waking up early in the morning having trouble breathing.

Thank you for listening to my story and if you are also suffering acid reflux. Please leave some comments and share your story. Maybe we can help each other fight this demon within us.

All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 and Olympus 45mm f1.8