To ask about your acid reflux symptoms (with TMI alert)

[Flowerpower36]

If anyone else suffered with acid reflux, and if so, how does it affect you? And what has worked in terms of treating it?

my symptoms are:

bitter taste in my mouth especially first thing in the morning

lump in throat feeling / globus sensation

throat spasms after eating, leading to occasional vomiting of saliva (sorry)

excessive saliva production

waking up coughing in the night with water in mouth :(

can anyone else relate at all??

Had an endoscopy not long ago which was normal. Symptoms have been put down to reflux. I’m really struggling!!
been on omeprazole for years but it’s never been this horrendous before, this has recently been changed to lansaprozole.

I can relate. I’ve been woken up at night with what feels like my stomach contents sliding down my throat. It’s incredibly scary. I’m concerned I’m going to choke on my own vomit and die one night.
However, I also see it as a massive wake up call, to do more about my health and lose some weight.

Yes I’m currently going to bed terrified each night :/

In addition to your symptoms was eventually waking up with bad chest pains. I thought I really was in trouble.

I went on the GERD diet but did it for a month strictly and covered a big settee back cushion with a duvet cover and used it to sleep sitting up ish. Pillow in the small of my back and one behind my head to give it all a chance to heal.

I have to avoid the main triggers now but it's pretty much sorted.

Same symptoms as you OP.

I started on Omeprazole on Thursday after an emergency appt with GP.

Have propped myself up with an extra pillow for a couple of nights, but last night after 2 hrs I ended up going downstairs and sleeping/napping in an armchair.

Do you drink a lot of tea, particularly peppermint or chamomile? I used to until my doctor told me to stop as these teas exacerbate reflux. Same for blackberries. I stopped and the reflux really settled down.

I've only eaten plain yoghurt for the last 4 days.

Gaviscon double action is your very expensive friend.

I’ve been having similar issues (I’m on cancer treatment). It was getting to the point where it was really affecting my day to day life. I started taking a daily multi probiotic pill and within a couple of days I was 95% better

I second this, my life would be far worse without it

You have my sympathy, I switched (over a few days) to decaffeinated tea and coffee. That was a quick fix that really helped. I chew my food far more than I used to, eat smaller meals (used to wolf down big meals), absolutely cannot eat after 7pm or I would wake in the night with acid contents in my mouth. I know it is worse if I am stressed so worked on that by finding ways to unwind, more so at difficult times. I had gastroscopies that always showed inflammation and previously been on Omeprazole and Lanzaprozole and now don't take anything other than peppermint oil very occasionally. I hope it settles down for you soon

Second gaviscon double action and also a pillow to raise your top half up like this:

www.amazon.co.uk/Paragon-Foam-Orthopaedic-Elevation-Breathing/dp/B09PJS6TX5/ref=sr_1_7?crid=652J0PXVD37N&keywords=prop+up+pillow+for+bed&qid=1665834095&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI1LjI4IiwicXNhIjoiNS4wOSIsInFzcCI6IjQuMTkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=Prop+up+oillow%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-7

Avoiding all caffeine is really helpful for me. I also take Esomeprazole and if I miss a tablet I know all about it so that definitely makes a difference. Gaviscon didn't help me at all unfortunately.

I read the Dummies Guide for Acid Reflux and the lists of permitted food were very useful. They divide foods into green (eat freely) amber (be careful) and red (avoid). I ate a very restricted bland diet for a month - white bread, white rice, plain chicken, natural yogurt .. so boring but absolutely worth it as it gave my throat a chance to heal. I then reintroduced trickier foods very slowly. And continued to swallowea few tablespoons of natural yogurt after each meal which also seemed to help.

The feeling that your throat is closing up is very scary. I really sympathise and hope you feel better soon.

Oh, and I put bricks under the top legs of the bed too.

which one do you take? I’m desperate to get some relief from this :(

There is another drug you can add to the mix called famotidine. It's a H2 blocker and only available on prescription.
Raising the head of the bed makes a massive difference at night and for many people, cutting out gluten makes a difference.

Nutrizing multibiotics

I am into my 40th year of GERD, I used to think everyone got it.

I have recently, since retiring, changed to have my main meal at lunchtime with just a snack for tea and that has helped immensely. I am on Lansoprasole and Amitriptylene and if I stop either it makes me ill.

40 years? Wow!
Have you been on PPI that whole time?

How much omeprazole/lansoprazole do you take? I had a relative who was prescribed 20mg omeprazole, upped to 40 (20 morning, 20 evening) and that improved things significantly.

I don't buy Gaviscon double action, but I do take omeprazole and then on top take the generic equivalent of Gaviscon, which is much cheaper. I am also careful not to drink once I have taken Gaviscon so that my throat remains coated in Gaviscon.

No - I think I first had Omeprazole about 10 years ago. I used to buy a huge pack of rennies every other week and one day as I chomped my way though a sheet of orange flavour, my OH said 'You know that's not normal, right', and I went to the doctors and apparently it isn't! I've had it since I was 14.

What symptoms do you get with yours?

I had a 24 hour pH test which is 24 hours with a tube up the nose and into the stomach. The usually high is 50 odd incidents and mine was over 900. I have everything. From chest pain when it is bad, not able to even lean over on my right hand side, if I lie on my left I get constant burping, acid up the throat, and used to wake up every night with food coming back up into my throat. Coughing with it and if it catches I can cough until I am sick and it can bring on asthma attacks. I have had many nights where I've not slept just because I can't lie down. It's been that bad some days I've bought cider apple vinegar and drunk it neat to try and get the reaction of the whatever at the top of my stomach to close up. I know that sounds wrong but the theory was that there isn't enough acid to trigger the action but no idea if that is true or not. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't.

If I don't take PPIs I can't even keep water down and get very ill and shaky. I had to come off it before the pH test and it was a week of absolute agony.

Do they know what's causing it? @alisondonut ?
I'm guessing you has the camera down to check?

Yes @Flowerpower36 I had all of that. Currently I’m on 40mg Esomeprazole twice a day and 10mg of Amitriptyline. I’ve found that with Acid reflux that causes all the throat problems, you need a much higher dose of PPI. The Amitriptyline has also made a massive difference.

I’ve been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia (seen during a gastroscopy) and reflux. I was also waking in the night with stomach pain.

I saw a consultant some years back: he said to put bricks under the legs at the head of the bed, making the bed as steep as you can without you sliding down to the bottom of it when you sleep.

He said his wife had reflux and that’s what they do.

He also recommended I don’t eat after 6pm, and prescribed Ranitidine and Amitriptyline to be taken at night.

I was also taking 20mg of Omeprazole in the morning, but Ranitidine is unavailable now, so I take 10mg of Omeprazole in the morning and 10mg at bedtime. I now normally sleep well and without gastric pain.