I can totally identify....... I was diagnosed with GERD in the mid 90s and was prescribed every single little pill available. It didn't help.
To make a long story short, I refused to have any laparoscopic fundalpicacion or any other invasive procedure and they just shook their heads and told me I would just have to live with it.
After many years of having to sleep sitting up and not being able to eat garlic, tomatoes, oranges, all the good stuff, what did finally help was reading the book "Grain Brain" by David Perlmutter M.D. Grains can affect some people in horrible ways and I'm one of those people. Many docs try to solve the problem by prescribing the latest and greatest meds which not only do they not work but they bring on other problems.
I stopped eating any type of grain and eventually the problem went away. I do sometimes cheat (because who can resist pizza once in a while!) so I take an Omeprazole and it helps with
coffee bar.
It may not work for everyone but not eating grains has been beneficial to my mental acuity, my physical endurance, my look (now I have a flat belly) and of course what goes on in my stomach and esophagus is no longer a pain in the arsenal.
And to top things off, I enjoy Trader Joe's Dark Roast coffee that seems to have low acidity and a ridiculously low price to boot with no ill effects other than the caffeine making me talk too much in the morning. I guess I just proved that.........