GERD Update: Earthquake Arrives, Symptoms Return

On Monday and Tuesday, I noticed an upswing in my GERD symptoms: belching, food in throat (FIT) feeling, some acid feeling (not heartburn but I noticed "something" was brewing in my gut).  And, yesterday, on my afternoon walk to the subway, I had sudden nausea, something I haven't experienced in a few months.

DIET?

My diet was excellent yesterday in terms of the so-called trigger foods and portion size, though on Monday, my work colleagues held two birthday cake parties.  I got by with very small slices (one of which I did not entirely eat).  (I am ready to feign a "dairy allergy" to avoid eating cake and other dairy infused products at work.  People seem to respect "allergies" more than "I choose to not eat dairy.")  In any case, I had a few bites and felt immediately ill -- stuffed and refluxy -- that I think was more about the "richness" of the food.

On Tuesday, I ate an eggplant-chickpea-tomato dish I had cooked.  Too many classic GERD trigger ingredients?  (Do I even believe I am sensitive to them?)  I also had green tea in the morning and a black tea from the new Starbucks after lunch.

STRESS?

As for yesterday's nausea attack, and even Monday's FIT, there definitely seems to be a stress trigger going on.  I'm catching myself grinding my teeth.  I've been very anxious at work about the massive number of projects that I am responsible for getting done NOW.  There are other stressful office issues underway as well.  Coinciding with this is my excitement over possibly adopting a new cat or cats -- or the more likely possibility and agony that this is not a good time to do so and I'll delay adopting.  (Either way, I'm an emotional wreck about this.)   And, I'm healing from a minimally invasive procedure that has me in stitches and on antibiotics.   

EARTHQUAKE?

On top of that -- NYC experienced an earthquake Tuesday afternoon.   My desk, computer screen, chair all rattled!  I thought I was losing my mind until all my coworkers streamed in to the hall corroborating they had felt this, too.   A few people mentioned their bodies felt "scrambled up" and "hung over" afterwards, and maybe I know what they mean.

BANANA!

I bought a banana on my walk home yesterday, in the middle of the nausea, and immediately felt better after eating it.  It's possible I was lacking nutrients or didn't eat enough that day.

Looking forward to my morning walk (if I can squeeze it in -- I am running late)!