Hi everyone.....my Gerd started suddenly also, just all of a sudden I felt this squirt of acid come up in my esophagus almost 2 years ago and I've had it every since. I have no hernia that they can see so I still don't know why it happened. I'm 62 and the doc says that it's a mechanical failure of the Les junction for some reason...with no hernia, it is even more of a mystery WHY!
Spiritsup....I've tried all the alternative stuff out there and the one that works the best for me is called Heartburn Free from Enzymatic Therapy. Get it online and it's less expensive otherwise in a health food store it's $30 for 20 day supply. I also take Nexium which doesn't work as well as it used to...our bodies begin to build a tolerance to these drugs...at least I do. I know some people who have been on one Prilosec or Prevacid for years and it does the trick.
The most important thing is to change your eating habits..figure out what your trigger foods are and stay away from them...biggies are caffeine, alcohol and sugar products for me. Elevate the head of your bed or sleep on a foam wedge to keep acid down, don't eat 2 or 3 hours before bed and sleep mostly on your left side which keeps the stomach lower than the esophagus. Stay away from all the hype fixes that you hear about, they don't work usually.