My GERD Cause: My Ibuprofen Addiction Gave me GERD

So during my stints at the hospital, the doctors thought had an ulcer and so they kept asking me about my use of pain killers and the like.  I thought about it and just nodded, this made sense.  I use ibuprofen a lot.

I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis.  Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a painful inflammatory process of the plantar fascia, the connective tissue on the sole (bottom surface) of the foot. The doctor had me change shoes and other things, but also told me to just take pain killers, such as Ibuprofen.  I went to the store and bought the biggest bottle of Ibuprofen and started popping a couple several times a day.  Anything to get rid of my PF.  At the same time, I ignored the warning on the bottle that said that such medications can cause ulcer.  Why ignore it? Because of course that wouldn't happen to me.

Unfortunately, my Ibuprofen habit went further.  I discovered that I could take Midol for my PMS.  Just so you know, Midol and the like have 500mg of Ibuprofen and the like.  This was great, I'd take two. and felt great for all 5 days.

Finally, I decided to get laser to remove the hair on my legs for good.  They recommend people take one or 2 pain killers before the treatment, about an hour.  Well, since I knew Ibuprofen was so good, I was popping 5.  I was obviously out of control and never stopped to think about how these drugs were affecting my stomach.

This pain killer reliance, since I don't think it was exactly an addiction, went on for about 2 years, until my GERD came on.

After my GERD episodes started, I realized how much pain killers harm your stomach:

Certain medications and dietary supplements can irritate the lining of your esophagus, causing heartburn pain, and others can increase the severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
 Medications and dietary supplements that can irritate your esophagus and cause heartburn pain include:

• Antibiotics such as tetracycline

• Bisphosphonates, such as alendronate (Fosamax), ibandronate (Boniva) and risedronate (Actonel)

• Iron supplements

• Pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) and aspirin

• Potassium supplements

Medications and dietary supplements that can increase acid reflux and worsen GERD include:

• Anticholinergics such as oxybutynin (Ditropan) prescribed for overactive bladder and irritable bowel syndrome

• Calcium channel blockers and nitrates used for high blood pressure and heart disease

• Narcotics (opioids) such as codeine and those containing hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Lortab, Norco, Vicodin)

• Progesterone

• Quinidine

• Sedatives or tranquilizers, including benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium) and temazepam (Restoril)

• Theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theochron)

I'm now convinced that pain killers contributed greatly to me getting GERD, along with my diet, and my way of eating.