barrett's esophagus
"I wish I could've been on this much earlier.  I first started getting acid reflux with my first pregnancy and it continued for over 20 years.  I never knew how dangerous it is...even though there'd be nights I wake up choking, coughing and feeling like someone poured acid down.  Two years ago, I started choking on poultry and larger pills.  After months of scares, finally saw a doctor.  After a few tests & endoscopy, my esophagus was actually closing up. The doctor had to widen it...the reflux had caused so much scarring, he said he could only open it up 2/3 of what it should be.  I always thought acid reflux was just an inconvience---never knew it could cause so much damage and potentially could have killed me.  Omeprazole really helped."