Question: My elderly mom is sick with GERD. She has only had it for a month with a few attacks per week, plus a few attacks in the recent past. She is in pain. She doesn't know whether to go to the hospital. Does she need to go to the ER first or can she just go to the hospital? What can they do? She has been on rx Prilosec for 2 weeks but it doesn't help. She has changed her diet to healthier but is still getting attacks. She tries to sit up a lot. She had xrays (normal) and a blood test showed slightly high neutrophils and low EGFr at 57. At 86, is she a candidate for surgery? If they do an endoscopy at the hospital does she need to do the whole prep and not eating thing first or could they do it right away? I I want to know if she should go to the ER. And would they keep her overnight? Might the EGFr indicate a kidney infection? The doctor who did the blood test didn't mention anything.

Thank you. She's asleep now, so if she stays asleep til tomorrow I will take her then. If she wakes up I'll take her tonight. She took a sleeping pill. Her symptoms are pain in the stomach, nausea, she can hardly eat anything. She also makes a vocal noise when she breathes, she said it's voluntary and helps her, and it doesn't always mean pain, but she only does it when having an attack. She also sighs loudly. I have never heard her make noises like that, like groaning and grunting. Zantac helped her a lot at first, then it stopped and she got on Prilosec. The Prilosec never helped. I got her to cut down on wheat and sugar, seems it gets worse when she eats those. Can you tell me what the hospital can do, so that she won't suffer so much? Can they put her on an IV so she gets nutrients? Can they stop the pain? Would they do surgery on someone that old? The GI doc didn't even really want her to have the endoscopy or colonoscopy but said she could if she wanted. He thought she was too old for the risks.

Thank you, that is very helpful.