Re: Recommendations

Hey Tony, I thought I'd post an update. My symptoms have persisted and lead to more burping and now flatulence. The Fall semester hasn't started yet, so I find myself so fatigued that I'll sleep in till 12 in the afternoon then find myself falling asleep again around 4 PM. Stools have been powdery (as if someone were to put flour at the bottom of the toilet bowel and let it settle then flush) and very odorous. The burps vary a lot as well. Some burps are very deep, like I feel a gurggle and then it comes rolling up in a big gas wave. Some are short and don't even make any noise. I also get that internal "mmphhh" feeling you get when you eat a huge meal, but I've been feeling it on an empty stomach. Lately I've also been getting lower intestinal pain as well on and off. This is totally not hypochondriac stuff, it's very new to me and alarming.

I haven't had any alcohol, and have definitely been eating a lot less. I've also tried apple cider vinegar and have been taking probiotics as well as eating yogurt. I still get the constant throat cough/irritation. My tongue has white thrush with 2 yellow streaks down each side. If the streaks aren't yellow, they usually take the color of anything I've eaten. I'm starting to think it's candida because I have a lot of the symptoms.

When I thought of Candida I started taking some Candidase supplements (they contain Protease and Cellulase). I've heard of something called "wipe out" where if you eat something the Candida dislikes, your symptoms get worse. I ate a clove of garlic and I noticed that it burned my tongue as I chewed it (I've eaten cloves of garlic before w/ no burning, I'm usually a hot sauce affecianado). I scrape the thrush off my tongue and it often looks red and feels tender. After I ate the garlic I had this strange burst of energy but then immediately felt extreme fatigue.

The doctors won't help me and all they want to do is label me an "acid reflux sufferer" and push deadly and potent PPI's on me. They want me to believe I was 100% healthy one day and just woke up one night after a drinking binge to a chronic lifelong illness, as if I was randomly struck by lightening or something. They want me to take 80 mg of Protonix a day (40 mg twice a day) plus Zegerid at night. There is no way in hell I am going to take those things as I am aware of the crazy side effects of long-term use. Besides, last month I decided to try them for a couple weeks and they did nothing.

Again, breathing in deep intensifies the irritation in below the throat (in the larynx area). I've thought about seeing an ENT but I'm worried that they may just scream the dreadful "GERD!" and throw more useless antacids at me.

Everyone and their mother now who walks into a doctors office with any irritation between the throat and the stomach that isn't cured by anti-biotics gets an instant "acid reflux"/"GERD" diagnosis, this is insane. Is there a place I can find a doctor that isn't trying to throw a sales pitch? Tweet