Thanks Jennie! I actually ended up going to the ER Saturday, because I couldn't take more than two bites of food without it feeling like my esophagus was at capacity. GERD is no joke! But yeah, the medicines I was given at the hospital/prescribed aren't doing much, aside from throwing some new side effects into the mix.

I remember and love the peanut butter story! I'm gonna read it again after this. One of the reasons the GERD diagnosis freaked me out is that I've had that sensation since I was 10, and I've never been treated for it or even mentioned it to a doctor... I thought my current issues might be an escalation of that one. I didn't even know globus was a thing until I read Miranda July's The First Bad Man (it's one of my favorite books and I highly recommend, the main character has it).

I'm 100% down with acupuncture and herbal remedies and will give that a shot--thanks so much for the recommendation, and I'm so glad a Human Parts reader was able to help you out (and me, by proxy)! I'll report back and let you know how it goes :)