Hey everyone. I wish good health, peace, and a life without anxiety to everyone here dealing with GERD and the problems it causes.
I’m 26 years old male, normal BMI. I was first introduced to reflux back in 2020, in my early 20s. One morning I woke up feeling like I couldn’t breathe, with a burning sensation in my throat, and after going to a primary care doctor I was told it was reflux and was prescribed PPIs and antacids.
In the first couple of years, I used PPIs on and off whenever symptoms came back. My main issue was more about bloating and discomfort when lying down at night rather than severe burning, although of course I did experience the typical heartburn as well.
Fast forward to now, for about the last 3 years I haven’t really needed to use PPIs regularly. I still get reflux symptoms from time to time, especially on days when I overeat or have heavier foods that trigger it, but I can usually manage it with antacids.
To be honest, during these past few years, drinking a glass of milk before bed has helped a lot with the nighttime symptoms, which were my main issue.
I never had a regular doctor following this long-term. Whenever I went in with symptoms, doctors mostly recommended PPIs and lifestyle changes, and given my age they generally didn’t suggest an endoscopy. I did have an abdominal ultrasound once just to check for things like a hernia, and it came back normal.
I also tend to be a bit prone to anxiety and stress, and one doctor mentioned that reflux can be quite common in people like that.
Recently though, I’ve had a bit of a flare-up and ended up going through about half a bottle of Gaviscon, which made me start reading this subreddit more. And honestly, some of the things I’ve read here—especially about Barrett’s esophagus—have made me worry that I might have neglected this and could be heading toward something worse.
So I wanted to ask: am I overthinking this, or should I actually be concerned?
Sorry for the long post, and thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and respond...