GERD is acid reflux that has become frequent or damaging
GERD — gastroesophageal reflux disease — is the chronic form of acid reflux. Doctors use two thresholds: reflux symptoms two or more times a week, or reflux that has started to injure the esophagus (esophagitis, erosions, mucosal breaks). Hit either and occasional reflux has become a disease.
Roughly one in five adults in Western countries meets the definition. Most don't know, because "a bit of acidity" feels too ordinary to be a disease. That was me.
GERD symptoms
- Heartburn — burning behind the breastbone, most days, especially after meals and at night. More →
- Regurgitation — sour liquid or food returning to the throat
- Upper stomach pain or pressure that becomes daily
- Difficulty or pain swallowing (a sign the esophagus is inflamed or narrowing)
- Chronic cough, hoarseness, throat clearing, lump-in-throat feeling
- Worn tooth enamel, bad breath, disturbed sleep
Full GERD symptoms guide → · What GERD pain feels like →
What GERD does to the esophagus
Inflammation of the lining. Painful swallowing, worse heartburn. Heals in weeks once acid exposure drops.
Areas where the lining has worn through — graded A to D by size. Mine was severe, right at the esophagus–stomach junction.
Scar tissue narrows the tube; food gets stuck. May need stretching (dilation).
Lining cells change type after years of acid. Precancerous in a small minority; needs monitoring.
My experience: "just acidity" for four or five years, then daily stomach pain. The endoscopy found a severe mucosal break where the esophagus connects to the stomach — diagnosis: GERD with esophagitis, K21.0. The doctor's advice was a food list and "eat slowly". The food list was easy. Eating slowly took an app. Read the full story →
How GERD is diagnosed
- Symptoms + a trial of treatment. Typical heartburn that improves on your doctor's treatment is often enough for a diagnosis.
- Upper endoscopy (gastroscopy). A camera looks directly at the esophagus for inflammation, breaks, strictures or Barrett's. Recommended when symptoms are frequent, severe, long-standing or come with red flags.
- 24-hour pH monitoring and manometry for unclear cases or before surgery.
GERD ICD-10 codes
GERD is coded under K21: K21.9 — gastro-esophageal reflux disease without esophagitis; K21.0 — GERD with esophagitis. You'll see one of these on referral letters and insurance paperwork. GERD ICD-10 codes explained →
What causes GERD?
The same things that cause occasional reflux, repeated daily until the valve and the lining give up: large, fast meals; late-night eating; trigger foods; abdominal weight; smoking; hiatal hernia. The full list → · Why acid escapes the stomach →
GERD treatment
- Heal the lining. Your doctor decides the treatment based on what the endoscopy found. What medicine can and can't do →
- Remove the pressure. Smaller meals eaten slowly and chewed well; nothing within 3 hours of bed; cut trigger foods; raise the head of the bed; lose abdominal weight; stop smoking. GERD diet → · Full GERD treatment guide →
- Review with your doctor once habits are solid — never change or stop treatment on your own.
- Surgery (fundoplication, LINX) for the minority whose reflux persists despite everything, or who have a large hiatal hernia.
- Surveillance endoscopies if Barrett's esophagus was found.
Can GERD be cured?
Doctors say "remission" rather than "cure", but in practice: fix the habits that keep pushing acid up, heal the lining, and GERD can stay gone. It took me two to three months to rebuild how I eat. Today I have no acidity at all and take nothing for it.
Get checked now if you have: heartburn twice a week or more for over a month, trouble or pain swallowing, food sticking, unexplained weight loss, vomiting, black stools, anaemia, or chest pain with sweating or breathlessness.
What to do next
If you recognise yourself here, start with the treatment plan and book the doctor's appointment you've been putting off. And if eating slowly is the step you keep failing at — like I did — that's exactly what the FixMyStomach app was built to fix.
This page shares personal experience and general information. It is not medical advice — please consult your doctor about your own condition.