After a string of mishaps and detours, I finally ate at Yoshinoya Cupertino. On Friday, August the 5th, I ordered an orange chicken and original beef combo bowl with a large Mountain Dew on the side.
Indeed it was a hearty meal. However, that $15 lunch completely violated GERD. From the caffeinated soft drink to the fried chicken pieces to the large amount of oily food consumed, I knew I was taking a risk. To compensate, I took several Tums and one famotidine H2 blocker after getting home. I also stopped eating and made sure to drink plenty of alkaline water throughout the rest of the day.
At first, things looked good. There was a minimal amount of stomach bloating. The caffeine from the Mountain Dew pumped me up and I had a super productive Friday afternoon (solved several work tasks that had stumped me all week).
Just as I started leaning towards being lenient on GERD (aka trying out the 85C Sea Salt Coffee deal with my mom), things turned sour. On Friday evening, due to all the fluid in my throat, my neck felt extra clogged and I had trouble burping out air. All throughout the weekend, my saliva was thick and white. I also started regurgitating large amounts of fluid.
I took a 24h intermittent fast on Saturday, but what seemed to help the most was a 25min run on Sunday. Even on Wednesday, the symptoms were still there, but I had barfed out enough fluid that things were much better. Amazingly, all that clogging did not result in any seizures, but I had learned my lesson: don’t cheat too much at once when it comes to GERD.
