What Acid reflux Is

It was two days before my 22^nd birthday when I told my mom I need to go to the ER because I was getting worse.

For four days, I experienced the worse pain that I’ve ever been in. I couldn’t take a breath without curling into a ball from the pain that shoot down my spine. I had to unintentionally starve myself during the time because eating and drinking anything caused a painful sensation in my chest and back.  I missed most of my classes and I barely got any sleep.

I should have gone to the doctors earlier, but I kept thinking I would get better. I had to put my foot down that Friday night and get my mom to drive me to the ER.

My ER trip was April 8, 2016 and I was there for four hours. The result was a flare up from Acid reflux. A bad one. I know this might be a light sentence from someone who has a terminal disease that is slowly killing them from the inside, but it meant something to me.

After what happened, I decided to find out more about Acid reflux. I want to share what I found.

Acid reflux is a very common condition that happens when stomach acid travels back up into the esophagus, a tube that connects the stomach to the mouth and throat. When I think about Acid reflux, I tell people it’s like a fire becomes ablaze in the pit of your stomach and the smoke is rising up toward your throat, causing irritation and discomfort.

The cause of reflux is different every time, but can be connected to consuming certain foods and drink. It is also a common condition in woman who is pregnant because the internal organs are under stress.   

The most regular symptoms “include heartburn, regurgitation of bitter acid into the throat, bitter taste in mouth, dry cough, hoarseness, feeling of tightness in the throat, and wheezing,” said emedicinehealth.

Medicalnewstoday explains that The American College of Gastroenterology said over 60 million Americans will have heartburn each month at least once.

There is also a disease that is caused by Acid reflux. When a person starts to have symptoms of Acid reflux daily, then there is a chance of developing Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD/GORD.

I will get into more detail about this later.

The treatment for Acid reflux can be the use of over-the-counter antacids and to know what foods and drink that triggers the heartburn. You can also try to lose weight if obese and to stop smoking.

My mom has Acid reflux sometimes, so she likes to drink a glass of milk when she gets a flare up.

If you think you have Acid reflux, I would get checked out whenever you can. What you are experiencing could be just simple heartburn or a serious condition.