Um, you wouldn't be someone else on my PN thread, would you?
My dd2 had reflux, and it was horribly stressful to start with - my sympathies to your friend. Is her LO on meds? I found persistence vital with my GP; she didn't want to prescribe to start with, and we ended up having to go to the paediatrician back at the hospital dd was born at.
Everyone's experience is different, but: I found Gaviscon fairly useless - it constipated dd, made her throw up a bit less but did nothing for the pain/yelling/arching. Ranitidine and Domperidone did work, but took a week or two to kick in properly - though helped a bit straight away. We gave it to her in milk from early on, because she learnt to spit it out super-fast!
If those meds don't help, yell for the next step up - I think its Omeprazole, usually. Your baby, and you, deserve him/her not to be in pain.
We propped the head of her cot up on books, and put a towel under the head of the mattress so she was on a slope. We also had her sleep on her side, though this was partly for other reasons.
Don't pat on the back to wind - much better to stroke upwards, or just hold on shoulder for a while and pat under bottom gently. If you pat too hard on back, it encourages stomach contents back up the valve.
It does get better, I promise...some people find weaning helps (many do, I'm told). We didn't, though, so don't panic if it seems to come back/get worse when you start solids: that passes too.
dd2 is nearly 2, and has been off all meds for a few months now....and had no symptoms from about 8 months onwards, bar a tendency to throw up more easily than her sister ever had (coughs, colds, tummy bugs etc make her chuck up her milk easily).
And most of all, feel free to post any time of day or night to ask for support...it can be just as hard on you as on your baby, when you feel alone/overwhelmed with it all. Congrats on your new baby, and hope you get lots of posts here!