I have been happily married for 12 years (2nd marriage) and between the two of us, we have three kids. My oldest son is 22 and a great kid, he is successful in his career and is very supportive of me and my problems. The other two kids are 14 and 16 - teenagers - oh my! My daughter is 14 and thinks she knows it all - LOL, is very emotional, but a good kid. My other son is 16 and has some mental health issues that have been difficult to deal with but we have done what we need to do and get through it day by day.

About 4 years ago (maybe 5), I was diagnosed with GERD/Acid Reflux after I was hospitalized for a probable heart attack. Since GERD symptoms can sometimes mimic a heart attack, I was hospitalized for 5 days before the docs finally said my heart was fine. Then an endoscopy was done and that’s when I was finally diagnosed with the GERD/Acid Reflux. Since this had gone on untreated for 25 years, it was found that I have what’s called Barrett’s Esophagus. Basically, that’s ulcers in your esophagus and is a pre-cancerous condition. I have to be scoped once a year to make sure nothing has changed to cancer. Two docs have told me very bluntly that I have to take medication for the GERD for the rest of my life in order to prevent Esophageal Cancer. After trying four different medications to find one that I could tolerate, I am now on Nexium and for the most part, it works great for me. I can eat most anything - in moderation with the spicy or acidic foods and I do okay. Lately though, I am finding that a few more foods are bothering me that didn’t used to. It’s trial and error as far as finding what you can tolerate and what you can’t.

If you check out my profile you will see some of the other problems I have to deal with as well as some of the forums I have joined. I am very happy to have found MDJunction as this is a great place to come to for support and help.

I am honored to be a Group Leader for the GERD forum and hope to be able to answer any questions you may have. If I don’t know the answer, I will find it for you as quick as I can. Feel free to PM me any time or you can usually catch me on yahoo at wen4003. If you yahoo me, please make sure to say you are from the forum so that I don’t think you are a spammer.

Wen