RikR, I had this happen to me a lot beck before I had my parathyroid surgery. I had really bad GERD for
about 3 or 4 years. I ate a good diet, mostly fruits and vegs that my Gastroenterologist had put me on. It worked at first, but the symptoms always got worse. One of the primary symptoms of hyperparathyroidism
is GERD. This is what led me to the Endocrinologist who tested my serum calcium and PTH to discover my parathyroid tumor. No adults should have serum calcium in the 10's. Mine was in the low tens, normal by a lot of standards, but my PTH was high normal which indicated the presence of a benign tumor. I also had osteoporosis because the extra calcium in the blood comes out of the bones. Since having the surgery, I never had GERD again no matter what I ate. It can also be an early sign of pancreatic cancer. Sometimes it can be caused by what you eat. And, YES, it is often a symptom of TMS. So I would have your friend get some tests to rule out medical issues. If there are none, then it is probably TMS.
A good source for info on hyperparathyroidism is
www.parathyroid.com. Dr. Norman did my surgery. Most doctors and even Endo's do not know how to correctly diagnose hyperparathyroidism, so a lot of cases get missed. This is a silent killer, responsible for a lot of degenerative disease like congestive heart failure, kidney failure and some types of cancer.