RefluxDoc | Treatment: Basic Lifestyle Changes

Over the past 20 years we have seen an explosion in the amount of information about reflux as a disease. Reflux has become one of the most common diseases that we face. The mission of RefluxDoc is to provide an up-to-date and in-depth understanding of the disease based upon evidence found in medical literature.

[gina]

Wow I can drink a cup of coffee with some creamer. I glad to know that it doesn’t need to be super restrictive and some room to wiggle.
It’s been depressing to cut all the tasty food and coffee and alcohol
I can live without wine but not without a cup of coffee

[jamest]

In addition to the diet and lifestyle changes the doctor mentioned, what part do PPI's and h2 blockers play in treatment. At what point should they be taken during treatment, if at all. Some places I read that high dose PPi's are needed with LPR and elsewhere they say the problem is low stomach acid, not too much stomach acid.

[medeaendor]

4-5 hours before bed stop eating? I thought 2 hours are okay

[cecya]

DR BUT I HAVE TO DRINK WATER EVERY NIGHT AND I GET ACIDE REALLY FAST AND IF I DONT EAT FOR SO MANY HOURS MY STOMACH STARTED PRODUCING ACIDS FAST WHAT DO I DO ???

[Intoxicatedmeta]

So first let me detail my symptoms start to finish then ill detail what I have done and go from there.

Symptoms:

very VERY seldom dry cough(like uncommon) I also cough up clear phlegm time to time.
Red throat(which a doctor said resembles cobblestone)
Very random shortness of breath that I have actually experienced off and on for 3 years now its not a shortness of breath that makes me feel like i cant breathe as much as it feels like a quick uncompleted breath if that makes sense.
Anxiety is through the roof, i'm on 30mg of buspar a day for almost 4 weeks now, feeling slightly more level headed I guess.
I wake up sometimes feeling like I'm gasping for a breath or something is caught in my throat or like I have to roll to my side to quickly gain my breathing back
during the initial onset of all this I had an almost constant globus feeling and it felt like food was getting caught this comes and goes and lately has been mostly gone.
NOW the biggest and scariest symptom I have had for about a month now which fluctuates a lot is I will go to eat food and it feels like sometimes it requires more force for me to swallow properly or like I have a tired swallow. I can drink liquids with pretty much no issue, and bigger foods cause me more issue like bigger bites. Last night I had a salad and fried okra, I ate all the okra and most the salad, towards the end my throat felt tired and sore and I started having that sensation that swallowing was requiring more effort, Throat felt tired and sore for a bit after that and it slowly starts being less sore. I usually take a pepcid after or eat popsicles or drink ice cold water to help.


Medicines I'm on

Buspar 30mg for 4 weeks
Omeprazole 40mg a day for 5 weeks recently switch to Pantroprazole 40mg once a day. I've been told to sip Cold water before eating and to take pecid every night before bed and to not eat 4 hours before laying down and I'm also using an elevated pillow which kills my neck but i'll do anything at this point.
I had an endoscopy about 5 weeks ago, mild gerd in my lower esophagus, everything else they indicated in my esophagus was fine. I assume GI doctor did not check my Larynx or voicebox.
Another Doctor which is a close friend of my wifes told me its textbook LPR and is the one that prescribed me the medicine changes and things to do. So thats what i'm currently doing.
I'm also going to try and start eating a lower acid diet to see if it helps, but thats so difficult for me.

I know this is a lot of information but I'm really trying to see if this is similar to what other LPR sufferers dealt with. Because most of the stuff I read they just talk about sore throat and breathing, I don't see much about swallowing problems. Is it anxiety in combination or does LPR cause the feeling of more effort to swallow to certain degrees? The problem seems to ease at times and worsen at others.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my story!

[shylocounts]

What your Dr is not going to tell you is that your BP medication is also weakening the sphincter.... because they want you to keep taking it no matter what side affects it's giving you...

[RichRich]

Would having lots of water in the stomach worsen reflux? I drink 1l when I get up and drink 2l more in the next 6hr.

[fadraba]

I feel thirsty just before going to bed. I can drink a litre of water, why is that?

[medeaendor]

Memo: 8 ounces of coffee are okay. I am glad I only drink espresso, that's like 8 espressi I guess

[maggiewhiteside]

I've been drinking water with a drop of peppermint oil in it for years. Not every day but every week for sure. Now I am struggling with a lump in my throat, sleep apnea. I am wondering if I have damaged myself with peppermint. I thought it was good for digestion.