In search of GERD

Two posts in one day after not posting for a year but I felt that if I didn't write this down now I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight so here goes...
after leaving here earlier I went to some of the other sites that I have used in the past for getting motivation and on one of them I found a support group for acid reflux...but before I go into that let me back up here and tell why I was looking for such a group....

I have been sick for a while now with what I thought was a chest cold..in fact I have been struggling for over 2 months with it...a nagging cough and difficulty breathing are only a couple of my symptoms...it has gotten so bad that all my friends and family pressured me into going to the doctor last week...who listened to my lungs, took my blood pressure and temp and said that my lungs didn't sound all that bad but gave me a steroid shot and antibiotic prescription and told me to take Mucinex DM...I felt great the first day, probably the steroid shot but since then it just doesn't seem to be getting any better.
So I've been doing some thinking and remembering the trouble I had years ago when I weighed over 250 pounds and used to go to doctors all the time.... back in 1989 I had this nagging dry cough from a tickle in the throat and alot of heartburn...the cough got so bad that it was like coughing up a lung..finally went to a gastronenoligist who told me that I had a Hiatal Hernia which was causing me acid reflux, he put me on Zantac (at that time you couldn't buy it over the counter) and told me that I needed to lose weight by changing my diet..well at that time I didn't lose any weight but did learn to eat alot of Tums...I also gave up fried foods and soda which seemed to help...I still got heartburn but wasn't coughing...and after I lost my weight and got fit I didn't even have the heartburn so I figured that I was cured (lol)...I remember when I didn't even have any Tums in the house...and believe me I can eat them like candy...
Anyway back to today...about a month ago after taking some Thera Flu my acid reflux started to acting up but I didn't want to admit to myself that my eating habits were the reason why I was so sick...after all my chest was congested and I was and still am coughing up alot of phlegm (yech) so I figured I was dealing with a couple of things here (and that's still a possiblity). But after reading this article http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/gastroesophageal-reflux-disease.html about GERD (Gastroesophagel Reflux Disease) I am totally convinced that this is my problem and the good thing is I know what I have to do to get better (what a relief) and to keep it under control since there is no cure for it... it won't be easy but in some ways it will make what I want to do which is get back to eating healthy and exercising easier...since I know that if I eat certain things (like processed sugar and chocolate) I will have problems with the acid reflux (which I truly do not enjoy)....I know that if I don't get this under control I can (if I haven't already) get COPD a progressive lung disease...now that's down right scary....it has been scary anyway having trouble breathing...

so here's my list of some of my symptoms which I've had for awhile but didn't' think anything of them since it only happens every once in a while (until lately)
heart burn (which as gotten worse in the last month, at night especially)
Stricture which is difficulty swallowing food (I've had this problem for about a year now mostly with bread. I remember my Mom having the same problem when she was here years ago...)
acid taste in mouth and back of throat (it causes a tickle which isn't any fun)
waking up with a choking sensation (this one is scary)
top these with the coughing and congestion but no fever and not feeling sick otherwise I have came to the conclusion (just call me Dr Sue) that I have found my GERD and now I'm going to get serious and figure out just how I can control it with out going to a doctor and getting on medications...I firmly believe that there must be a way....and I'm determined to find it...

First I will make a list of foods I know that cause me heartburn..sugar being the biggest culprit and I will find an alternate that I can tolerate....
I will find a way to eat healthy on a budget....true sugar is cheaper than honey but not if it causes me to have to take prescriptions....

second I know that exercise helps me keep the stress down and also will build the muscles around my stomach so it can tolerate me wearing clothes that aren't baggy...which I hate but have to do for now..(I noticed the other night when I was wearing my pants which have gotten tight on me that I was doing alot of coughing and having trouble getting comfortable)...

I will keep looking for ways to make myself healthy again...I really liked that feeling!!!

I will start this one day at a time as I did before but I will get it under control...