Is GERD and throat ulcers TMS?

[khush]

I’ve been experiencing GERD symptoms for the past 4ish weeks. It started when I was having hot chips and I suddenly got a surge of acid in my mouth, so painful that I couldn’t speak. I tried taking over the counter antacids, which did not work. Now, I’m currently seeing a doctor and I’m under PPIs which has completely made my GERD symptoms vanish. But today morning I noticed an ulcer in the back of my throat. It’s really uncomfortable but still manageable. I’ve also been experiencing burning mouth symptoms a few weeks after my GERD symptoms started. Could this be related or is it just another symptom imperative? I’ve had a rough life and childhood with an abusive mother who I still live with.
So, I’ve been journalling about it all. What I’ve noticed is that I start experiencing pelvic pain when I do that. Which i’ve had off and on for over 3 years. So, I know that it’s TMS. but what about GERD, ulcers and burning mouth? could this be TMS?

 

[monica-tms]

Most definitely! Over the past couple of months, I’ve started experiencing GERD-like symptoms - including a burning sensation and sore throat. They come and go, and I’m convinced they’re TMS-related. When I don’t mind the symptoms they get better on their own. 100% TMS BS lol.

 

[Cactusflower]

GERD is definitely part of anxiety and TMS. It was one of my symptoms.

 

[Rabscuttle]

Yeah being in perpetual fight or flight is going to mess with the digestive system. These are common symptoms with TMS, but the issue with acid related symptoms is that they can cause physical damage so we need to be mindful of the fact. I had reflux and GI issues for a few months, biopsy via endoscopy just showed chronic inflammation which lines up with TMS. Frankly doctors are super quick to diagnose GERD and then people spiral thinking it’s a life long thing. It isn’t, but you’ll definitely need to manage the stress and underlying emotional issues that are fueling nervous system dysfunction. I did do a low fod map and low acid diet for a few months to recover, but I’m reintroducing foods now without much issue, I think diet changes are wise in these instances because acid issues can cause physical damage, but diet changes should be approached from the perspective of aiding recovery, not as the sole cure. your doctor should also have you on a plan to get off ppis, in the vast majority of cases they aren’t meant for long term use despite how overprescribed they are.

Have you had an had an endoscopy to rule things out and give peace of mind?

 

[khush]

Yeah being in perpetual fight or flight is going to mess with the digestive system. These are common symptoms with TMS, but the issue with acid related symptoms is that they can cause physical damage so we need to be mindful of the fact. I had reflux and GI issues for a few months, biopsy via endoscopy just showed chronic inflammation which lines up with TMS. Frankly doctors are super quick to diagnose GERD and then people spiral thinking it’s a life long thing. It isn’t, but you’ll definitely need to manage the stress and underlying emotional issues that are fueling nervous system dysfunction. I did do a low fod map and low acid diet for a few months to recover, but I’m reintroducing foods now without much issue, I think diet changes are wise in these instances because acid issues can cause physical damage, but diet changes should be approached from the perspective of aiding recovery, not as the sole cure. your doctor should also have you on a plan to get off ppis, in the vast majority of cases they aren’t meant for long term use despite how overprescribed they are.

Have you had an had an endoscopy to rule things out and give peace of mind?

Do you have any tips on emotional self-regulation while having to encounter stress on a regular basis?
As you said, I’m in constant fight or flight and it makes my symptoms go crazy!!! Also, yes my doctor plans on getting me off PPIs in a week or so. And i’ve been following a non acidic and alkaline diet. If the burning persists after getting off PPIs I shall get an endoscopy done. Thankyou for your response and reassurance. Definitely helps a lot and encourages me to keep going!

 

[Rabscuttle]

Do you have any tips on emotional self-regulation while having to encounter stress on a regular basis?
As you said, I’m in constant fight or flight and it makes my symptoms go crazy!!! Also, yes my doctor plans on getting me off PPIs in a week or so. And i’ve been following a non acidic and alkaline diet. If the burning persists after getting off PPIs I shall get an endoscopy done. Thankyou for your response and reassurance. Definitely helps a lot and encourages me to keep going!

What is your TMS knowledge like, what methods are you following/have you tried?

for me personally, Dan Buglio helped a lot. Lessening fear of the symptoms was essential. I made the most progress with the GI stuff when I started treating it like other symptoms, if I had pain so what, I knew it would pass, forcing myself to reintroduce foods that used to cause issues and not caring if I got symptoms. Yoga, meditation, finding joy in my life, resuming hobbies that bring happiness. Overall reengaging with life, and just being proud for not giving up, praising myself during that challenges, forcing self compassion

asking if I wasn’t thinking of the symptom/pain what would I be thinking about.

 

[khush]

What is your TMS knowledge like, what methods are you following/have you tried?

for me personally, Dan Buglio helped a lot. Lessening fear of the symptoms was essential. I made the most progress with the GI stuff when I started treating it like other symptoms, if I had pain so what, I knew it would pass, forcing myself to reintroduce foods that used to cause issues and not caring if I got symptoms. Yoga, meditation, finding joy in my life, resuming hobbies that bring happiness. Overall reengaging with life, and just being proud for not giving up, praising myself during that challenges, forcing self compassion

asking if I wasn’t thinking of the symptom/pain what would I be thinking about.

I’ve been following Nicole Sachs and her technique of JournalSpeak for over a year now. I was extremely inconsistent with it though, but it still helped with minimizing pelvic pain. I’ve been consistent with journalling for 20 days now since GERD symptoms terrified me. It’s so hard to think of it loosely when there’s a possibility of the acid causing damage. But it has also encouraged me to keep journalling. I also practice EFT tapping when i’m especially overwhelmed. And i’ve been showing myself a lot of compassion throughout this process. I’ve noticed that my symptoms are dull and tolerable when I’m outside with friends. But the symptoms exacerbate when I’m home.

 

[Rabscuttle]

I’ve been following Nicole Sachs and her technique of JournalSpeak for over a year now. I was extremely inconsistent with it though, but it still helped with minimizing pelvic pain. I’ve been consistent with journalling for 20 days now since GERD symptoms terrified me. It’s so hard to think of it loosely when there’s a possibility of the acid causing damage. But it has also encouraged me to keep journalling. I also practice EFT tapping when i’m especially overwhelmed. And i’ve been showing myself a lot of compassion throughout this process. I’ve noticed that my symptoms are dull and tolerable when I’m outside with friends. But the symptoms exacerbate when I’m home.

Yeah I think the fear surrounding GI symptoms is the biggest obstacle. Especially when you do a simple google search and that monstrous AI bot or support groups show people dealing with these issues for years. But they’re missing the big picture. I developed these GI issues back in December after being thrown into perpetual fight or flight due to post vasectomy pain. The symptoms scared the shit out of me, even becoming TMS aware it took a good 2ish months to really lose the fear, the negative endoscopy and colonoscopy helped, and the chronic gastritis diagnosis helped me make the connection to it being stress related.

my symptoms are also worse in the house. At least they were for GI stuff. It doesn’t have to stay this way though. I really think just asking yourself, what would I think about if I wasn’t occupied with these symptoms is super important. I actually started getting the GI symptoms as I was about to resume working despite the vasectomy pain (which I masked with meds)-but had I been in touch with my thoughts instead of obsessing over the pain I would at least have confronted the fear that I was terrified to go back to work because I was worried about making mistakes and hurting an animal (work in veterinary medicine, and in the post vasectomy panic stupor I had almost made some serious mistakes) We don’t even have to solve those issues that come up we just need to let the primitive brain know that we are capable of interacting with those thoughts and emotions. Finding joy in hobbies at home is also super important, everything sucks when I’m just slothing in my bed doom scrolling and watching and following the outrageous events in this country, but when I’m playing with my dog, or drawing, or reading, my symptoms consistently go down.

I really empathize because I remember those early days thinking I was absolutely F’d and that I screwed myself by eating too large of meals and then laying down lol, even had a doctor thinking it was gatroparesis. It was always secondary to stress and fight or flight, the modern medical system is just totally ill equipped to deal with these chronic issues.

 

[khush]

Yeah I think the fear surrounding GI symptoms is the biggest obstacle. Especially when you do a simple google search and that monstrous AI bot or support groups show people dealing with these issues for years. But they’re missing the big picture. I developed these GI issues back in December after being thrown into perpetual fight or flight due to post vasectomy pain. The symptoms scared the shit out of me, even becoming TMS aware it took a good 2ish months to really lose the fear, the negative endoscopy and colonoscopy helped, and the chronic gastritis diagnosis helped me make the connection to it being stress related.

my symptoms are also worse in the house. At least they were for GI stuff. It doesn’t have to stay this way though. I really think just asking yourself, what would I think about if I wasn’t occupied with these symptoms is super important. I actually started getting the GI symptoms as I was about to resume working despite the vasectomy pain (which I masked with meds)-but had I been in touch with my thoughts instead of obsessing over the pain I would at least have confronted the fear that I was terrified to go back to work because I was worried about making mistakes and hurting an animal (work in veterinary medicine, and in the post vasectomy panic stupor I had almost made some serious mistakes) We don’t even have to solve those issues that come up we just need to let the primitive brain know that we are capable of interacting with those thoughts and emotions. Finding joy in hobbies at home is also super important, everything sucks when I’m just slothing in my bed doom scrolling and watching and following the outrageous events in this country, but when I’m playing with my dog, or drawing, or reading, my symptoms consistently go down.

I really empathize because I remember those early days thinking I was absolutely F’d and that I screwed myself by eating too large of meals and then laying down lol, even had a doctor thinking it was gatroparesis. It was always secondary to stress and fight or flight, the modern medical system is just totally ill equipped to deal with these chronic issues.

How are you doing now with your GI symptoms? And how is your vasectomy pain? Thanks a lot for sharing your experience, makes me feel less isolated and scared. I woke up this morning and noticed that my ulcer discomfort has already gone down from a 7 to a 3. I will keep doing my JournalSpeak work and gradually practice letting go of the fear that i’m holding onto.

When I got the reflux symptoms, I was really conflicted and worried about my career as I’m in my final year of college right now. I just could not stop ruminating and worrying about it. Maybe that could be it. Is it possible for TMS to show up from something that happened in the past or long back? In that case I’ve dealt with many such stressful and traumatic situations. Also, yes I have a terrible habit of doom-scrolling and bed-rotting. I’ll try to incorporate more hobbies into my routine as you suggested. Thanks a lot for you input, again!

 

[Rabscuttle]

How are you doing now with your GI symptoms? And how is your vasectomy pain? Thanks a lot for sharing your experience, makes me feel less isolated and scared. I woke up this morning and noticed that my ulcer discomfort has already gone down from a 7 to a 3. I will keep doing my JournalSpeak work and gradually practice letting go of the fear that i’m holding onto.

When I got the reflux symptoms, I was really conflicted and worried about my career as I’m in my final year of college right now. I just could not stop ruminating and worrying about it. Maybe that could be it. Is it possible for TMS to show up from something that happened in the past or long back? In that case I’ve dealt with many such stressful and traumatic situations. Also, yes I have a terrible habit of doom-scrolling and bed-rotting. I’ll try to incorporate more hobbies into my routine as you suggested. Thanks a lot for you input, again!

Both are pretty much completely gone. They don’t impact my life at all.

aw, I get that school/career anxiety, my 20s were such a crummy time, dropping out of college over and over, beating myself up, questioning career options/choices, comparing myself to my siblings, my friends. No doubt that all that stuff is contributing to your symptoms. I don’t have any advice for dealing with those big life changes, but I really wish I had taken it easier on myself. You sound way ahead of me in that regard.

I believe in you

 

[khush]

Both are pretty much completely gone. They don’t impact my life at all.

aw, I get that school/career anxiety, my 20s were such a crummy time, dropping out of college over and over, beating myself up, questioning career options/choices, comparing myself to my siblings, my friends. No doubt that all that stuff is contributing to your symptoms. I don’t have any advice for dealing with those big life changes, but I really wish I had taken it easier on myself. You sound way ahead of me in that regard.

I believe in you

That gives me a sense of relief and hope! Thankyou for your guidance

 

[Baseball65]

Late on this post, but I had a leukoplakia on my throat from reflux. I discovered it by not being able to sing a certain note. I could sing every note above and below it, but I had a blank spot in my scales where a dry rasp came out. (I have a raspy voice anyways) I was a singer in a Rock Band, so this mattered.

Got scoped and the doctor even let me watch it on a TV while he went down there.

I didn't ever have 'acid' stomach or barf in the back of my mouth. He said in some cases of reflux, it's there but doesn't make it all the way back to your mouth. I just took some OTC antacids and it was gone in a few weeks. This was waaay before I had chronic pain = TMS. Of course it scared me.

You don't want to over do antacids either. I was taking antacids as a preventative measure. I woke up and had the GNARLIEST scary looking thing in my mouth...My saliva glands had crystals in them and were White and swollen. Every time I opened my mouth to look? They shot a stream of water (Gleeking is what we call it) It's called Thrush Mouth and it is the opposite of Acid reflux/Gerd. I spoke to a nurse about it and immediately went to Taco Bell and ate burritos with a ton of Taco sauce for the ACID. It went away in about 2 days of Taco sauce therapy.

All of these things are really there to keep us focused on the body, when the problems in our life and lack of perception

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Do you have any tips on emotional self-regulation while having to encounter stress on a regular basis?

Heck, my GERD has been acting up merely because of current affairs, never mind a dysfunctional living situation with an abusive and miserable parent! I feel for you @khush.

I recommend regular deep vagus breathing and relaxing your muscles from the bottom of your pelvis all the way up through your jaw. I find myself unconsciously clenching, especially my gut, and when I do some deep breathing and muscle relaxation I can get the burning to go way down. Drink plenty of plain water. These two things can be done any time, for any length of time, many times each day and in bed at night.

Wishing you better days ahead.

 

[khush]

Damn, that sounds ex

Late on this post, but I had a leukoplakia on my throat from reflux. I discovered it by not being able to sing a certain note. I could sing every note above and below it, but I had a blank spot in my scales where a dry rasp came out. (I have a raspy voice anyways) I was a singer in a Rock Band, so this mattered.

Got scoped and the doctor even let me watch it on a TV while he went down there.

I didn't ever have 'acid' stomach or barf in the back of my mouth. He said in some cases of reflux, it's there but doesn't make it all the way back to your mouth. I just took some OTC antacids and it was gone in a few weeks. This was waaay before I had chronic pain = TMS. Of course it scared me.

You don't want to over do antacids either. I was taking antacids as a preventative measure. I woke up and had the GNARLIEST scary looking thing in my mouth...My saliva glands had crystals in them and were White and swollen. Every time I opened my mouth to look? They shot a stream of water (Gleeking is what we call it) It's called Thrush Mouth and it is the opposite of Acid reflux/Gerd. I spoke to a nurse about it and immediately went to Taco Bell and ate burritos with a ton of Taco sauce for the ACID. It went away in about 2 days of Taco sauce therapy.

All of these things are really there to keep us focused on the body, when the problems in our life and lack of perception

Damn, That sounds extremely scary (especially when you don’t know it’s TMS) But I’m glad you found a way out of it and discovered something that works for you!

 

[khush]

Heck, my GERD has been acting up merely because of current affairs, never mind a dysfunctional living situation with an abusive and miserable parent! I feel for you @khush.

I recommend regular deep vagus breathing and relaxing your muscles from the bottom of your pelvis all the way up through your jaw. I find myself unconsciously clenching, especially my gut, and when I do some deep breathing and muscle relaxation I can get the burning to go way down. Drink plenty of plain water. These two things can be done any time, for any length of time, many times each day and in bed at night.

Wishing you better days ahead.

I’ll definitely give that a try! Thankyou so much I hope you feel better soon and have a speedy recovery from your GERD symptoms, too! Cos god, are they scary and painful.

 

[Duggit]

Dr. Sarno himself suffered from recurring GERD aka heartburn. Here is what he said about it in his book Healing Back Pain on page 45.

“Heartburn means that I’m angry about something and don’t know it. So I think about what might be causing the condition, and when I come up with the answer the heartburn disappears. It is remarkable how well buried their anger usually is. Generally for me it is something about which I am annoyed but have no idea how much it has angered me. Sometimes it is something so loaded emotionally, I don’t come up with the answer for a long time.”
​

Fifteen years later in his book The Divided Mind at pages 125-26, Sarno reported going on a long trip with his wife and suffering from GERD the whole time. He wrote: “She and I both recognized this to be psychosomatic, and we tried to figure out what was making me unconsciously angry.” They came up with several possibilities: He disliked the inconvenience and discomfort of traveling; he did not like the places they were visiting; the trip was too long; he would rather be at home working on a book. But, as he put it, “We obviously didn’t hit on the right answer, because my symptoms continued unabated for the entire trip.” He continued:

“It wasn’t until we got home that I realized what had been going on. I had promised the long trip to my wife, who loves to travel. I was being a good guy. I was unconsciously furious for having to do something I really didn’t want to do. My psyche wouldn’t permit me to be consciously furious at my wife, and neither would my reasonable self—so to be absolutely sure the rage remained unconscious, the brain dished up the severe gastrointestinal symptoms. The rage, of course, was the reaction of that unconscious child-primitive—selfish, narcissistic, and totally unconcerned with the needs and desires of anyone else. Not very flattering.”
​

Sarno was referring to what Freud called the id. What Sarno said next was shocking:

“Earlier in this chapter I suggested that reasonable people might prefer to deal with the unconscious rage rather than the pain and discomfort of a psychosomatic symptom, if the brain’s decision maker would only give them the opportunity to choose. My gastroesophageal reflux episode prompts me to rethink my position. Rage at my wife would have been inappropriate and unfair—better to suffer gastroesophageal reflux.” (I added the italics.)
​

Draw your own conclusion. Mine is that Sarno was too in the thrall of Freud.

 

[khush]

T

Dr. Sarno himself suffered from recurring GERD aka heartburn. Here is what he said about it in his book Healing Back Pain on page 45.

“Heartburn means that I’m angry about something and don’t know it. So I think about what might be causing the condition, and when I come up with the answer the heartburn disappears. It is remarkable how well buried their anger usually is. Generally for me it is something about which I am annoyed but have no idea how much it has angered me. Sometimes it is something so loaded emotionally, I don’t come up with the answer for a long time.”
​

Fifteen years later in his book The Divided Mind at pages 125-26, Sarno reported going on a long trip with his wife and suffering from GERD the whole time. He wrote: “She and I both recognized this to be psychosomatic, and we tried to figure out what was making me unconsciously angry.” They came up with several possibilities: He disliked the inconvenience and discomfort of traveling; he did not like the places they were visiting; the trip was too long; he would rather be at home working on a book. But, as he put it, “We obviously didn’t hit on the right answer, because my symptoms continued unabated for the entire trip.” He continued:

“It wasn’t until we got home that I realized what had been going on. I had promised the long trip to my wife, who loves to travel. I was being a good guy. I was unconsciously furious for having to do something I really didn’t want to do. My psyche wouldn’t permit me to be consciously furious at my wife, and neither would my reasonable self—so to be absolutely sure the rage remained unconscious, the brain dished up the severe gastrointestinal symptoms. The rage, of course, was the reaction of that unconscious child-primitive—selfish, narcissistic, and totally unconcerned with the needs and desires of anyone else. Not very flattering.”
​

Sarno was referring to what Freud called the id. What Sarno said next was shocking:

“Earlier in this chapter I suggested that reasonable people might prefer to deal with the unconscious rage rather than the pain and discomfort of a psychosomatic symptom, if the brain’s decision maker would only give them the opportunity to choose. My gastroesophageal reflux episode prompts me to rethink my position. Rage at my wife would have been inappropriate and unfair—better to suffer gastroesophageal reflux.” (I added the italics.)
​

Draw your own conclusion. Mine is that Sarno was too in the thrall of Freud.

This is very interesting! I’ve had a lot of symptom imperatives where I experience burning pain. I’ve had recurrent UTIs, recurrent strep throat, hemorrhoids, and currently GERD and burning mouth. So I’ve been asking myself in my journal practice; what’s burning me up so much? Even as a kid, I was never expressive of my anger towards anything. I had always learnt to repress it. My psychiatrist also once mentioned it to me that he feels like I carry a lot of repressed anger. So, this could very well be the reason behind my GERD. I will definitely look into it and try to explore it more. Thanks for your response!

 

[TrustIt]

Dr. Sarno himself suffered from recurring GERD aka heartburn. Here is what he said about it in his book Healing Back Pain on page 45.

“Heartburn means that I’m angry about something and don’t know it. So I think about what might be causing the condition, and when I come up with the answer the heartburn disappears. It is remarkable how well buried their anger usually is. Generally for me it is something about which I am annoyed but have no idea how much it has angered me. Sometimes it is something so loaded emotionally, I don’t come up with the answer for a long time.”
​

Fifteen years later in his book The Divided Mind at pages 125-26, Sarno reported going on a long trip with his wife and suffering from GERD the whole time. He wrote: “She and I both recognized this to be psychosomatic, and we tried to figure out what was making me unconsciously angry.” They came up with several possibilities: He disliked the inconvenience and discomfort of traveling; he did not like the places they were visiting; the trip was too long; he would rather be at home working on a book. But, as he put it, “We obviously didn’t hit on the right answer, because my symptoms continued unabated for the entire trip.” He continued:

“It wasn’t until we got home that I realized what had been going on. I had promised the long trip to my wife, who loves to travel. I was being a good guy. I was unconsciously furious for having to do something I really didn’t want to do. My psyche wouldn’t permit me to be consciously furious at my wife, and neither would my reasonable self—so to be absolutely sure the rage remained unconscious, the brain dished up the severe gastrointestinal symptoms. The rage, of course, was the reaction of that unconscious child-primitive—selfish, narcissistic, and totally unconcerned with the needs and desires of anyone else. Not very flattering.”
​

Sarno was referring to what Freud called the id. What Sarno said next was shocking:

“Earlier in this chapter I suggested that reasonable people might prefer to deal with the unconscious rage rather than the pain and discomfort of a psychosomatic symptom, if the brain’s decision maker would only give them the opportunity to choose. My gastroesophageal reflux episode prompts me to rethink my position. Rage at my wife would have been inappropriate and unfair—better to suffer gastroesophageal reflux.” (I added the italics.)
​

Draw your own conclusion. Mine is that Sarno was too in the thrall of Freud.

“Earlier in this chapter I suggested that reasonable people might prefer to deal with the unconscious rage rather than the pain and discomfort of a psychosomatic symptom, if the brain’s decision maker would only give them the opportunity to choose. My gastroesophageal reflux episode prompts me to rethink my position. Rage at my wife would have been inappropriate and unfair—better to suffer gastroesophageal reflux.” (I added the italics.)

The above is EXACTLY how German New Medicine approaches chronic pain and illnesses. Rage expressed thru the body.