Gastroesophageal Reflux

Something that should stay down is pushing upward. Stomach acid, which should be doing its work in the stomach, climbs back into the esophagus and burns its way along a path it was never meant to take. You feel it as acid regurgitation, as a burning pressure behind the breastbone, as a bitter taste that suddenly appears where something else was just a moment ago. Sometimes at night when you're lying down, sometimes in the middle of the day, sometimes after eating, sometimes out of nowhere.

Medically, gastroesophageal reflux is a mechanical problem: the sphincter between the stomach and esophagus no longer closes reliably. Treatment targets acid reduction, dietary changes, in some cases surgery. That matters, and it is real. But it doesn't answer one question: Why does what should long since have been digested keep coming back?