Published on 12, July, 2020
I don't get out very much at all.
But I went into town yesterday morning and by lunch I had a headache, by the evening I was exhausted and by bed I was feeling pain in the abdomen, chest, everywhere really and at 2 I woke up with the worst acid reflux (a regular occurrence for me)... all caused by anxiety and all because I went out yesterday.
This I find it so frustrating and a little upsetting and embarrassing. I don't go out much because the idea of people and public places is terrifying to me, sometimes I drive to the shop but get filled with so much dread and fear I can't actually get out the car and end up going back home. But yesterday I was brave - I persisted.
I knew I would suffer for it afterwards. I always do. I can look forward to today with more acid reflux and pain.
Sometimes, I really hate myself for being like this.
Hello Vice, have you had a GP check you for the causes of the ongoing acid reflux?
I did this last year and after being referred to a specialist they found I had a faulty valve that controls how food/drink enters the stomach (more specifically how it should stop it coming back up) - called a hiatus hernia.
This led me to research more into the triggers for acid reflud, long term risks etc and the things I found were worst for it were:
1 - stress (you clearly have this)
2 - drinking caffeine in the evening
3 - eating spicy food in the evening
4 - eating/drinking acidic food/drink (orange juice etc)
5 - drinking booze
Other things I founf helpful:
1 - having several pillows to raise my upper torso and head to a slight angle for sleeping (gravity helps a lot)
2 - eating early in the evening and only water afterwards, and only a little before bedtime.
3 - getting fit. Lose any fat around the abdomen if you can
Medication wise I was prescribed a six month course of Omeprazole with a warning that it is not for ongoing use (I'm not sure why). That did have an effect within days but the instructions were not to rely on drugs but get the underlying cause under management.
These days I do often break the guidelines for a good night out or when on holiday but good old Rennie type antacid tablets work for managing the symptoms if they appear.
Longer term surgery to repair the faulty valve is an option but I'm not going down that route while I can still manage it effectively with little hassle.
I hope something here is helpful - I don't think any of it raises to the level of medical advice and you should deffo get a GP consult over it.