I'm sorry to hear of your illness. My sister is being tested right now for GERD--gastro intestinal esophogeal reflux disease (I have no clue if I spelled that right). One thing she will be relieved about, is that they find it, and she has an answer, and the proper medication for it. Gastrointestinal diseases run in my family on my mom's side, but it took them all a while to have any symptoms, my aunt having a terrible problem last year, resulting in 2 operations. You're lucky that you know what it is, and you can start treating it.
Also, if you have friends who would make fun of you for this, drop them--you don't need negative people in your life.