Reflux -please talk me down

[Adifferentstory2]

I’m currently suffering from a really bad flair of GERD - been going on 3 weeks and no sign of any control despite doubling my PPI and antacids. I’m scared and feel (probably overly) emotional about it. Symptoms are discomfort in upper oesophageal, burnt throat each morning, coughing fits, can’t speak much / throat sticks, feeling like something is stuck in the top of my stomach, feeling every bit of a tablet as it goes down etc. It’s there every hour of every day and I feel utterly miserable.

I’m late 30s two small children, a busy full time job and fairly severe (high functioning) anxiety. My reflux is stress / anxiety related and there is a strong family history of reflux. I don’t drink, smoke and my BMI is 20ish. It started whilst pregnant with my first 5 years ago, was managed with PPI (which I came off straight away when I’d had my baby), then nothing for 2 years and then it came back nearly 3 years ago. Put on PPI again and have never come off. Usually a flair up comes under control after 5-10 days and doesn’t make me feel anywhere as rotten as this. The throat, cough, constant burning lower down are unusual.

I’ve tried - sleeping upright, eating nothing past 6 (and even then bland, small meals), increasing meds, gaviscon etc.

I’m rambling sorry - I guess I would love some positive GERD stories from people who have felt the same and managed to control it. Please tell me how. I haven’t been back to my GP yet and I haven’t had an endoscopy. I am thinking of oesteopathh as that seems to work wonders for everything . I’m also freaking out about permanent damage to my throat and long term use of PPI. How can it be so bad so young and how on earth do you control it without medication? I have tried to come off but life without (before this flair) was unbearable. The whole thing is also affecting my work as I can’t talk without coughing.

Will stop now but any thoughts so appreciated.

Hello. I am entitled to Lansoprazole on the NHS but instead I pay for Nexium on Amazon on subscription. It has saved my life and given me back my quality of life. I tried everything, the natural route too and at times felt suicidal over it. Occasionally if I've been stupid & eaten chocolate late I get breakthrough acid reflux. I use bicarbonate of soda. Half a teaspoon in a glass of water. Nexium can be expensive in the supermarket sometimes £12 for 14 but on subscribe and save Amazon, it worked out just over £8.00 per packet this time. It really answered my prayers.

Meant to say I got it first when pregnant 35 years ago and it never left!

@Debbievdl I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant with my third baby and I've suffered with acid reflux ever since my first pregnancy 9 years ago. I've tried medication, pillows, diet changes, etc but nothing has significantly helped. Recently someone recommended drinking coconut water after meals and it has helped me so much it's unbelievable. I sleep propped up as well and the symptoms are now minimal. Just wanted to share that in case it helps you too

@Adifferentstory2 hi OP I know this is an old thread but your story sounds very similar to mine and I feel like I’m going mad!

Mine started last summer after a mild cold - my only real symptom is constant irritation of the larynx / throat clearing and sometimes excess mucus (grim). It doesn’t sound like a huge issue but the constant discomfort is driving me to distraction - and like you it affects work as it’s hard to talk due to my throat.

It has gone away a few times but always comes back.

I also have anxiety and it’s a vicious circle as not only does it probably trigger the reflux but I majorly catastrophise and work myself up about the reflux - that I’ll have this forever more and can’t cope, nothing will work, I’ll get throat cancer or the PPIs will damage me- argh!! It’s also so hard managing two very small kids as it’s hard to speak as much as I need and especially raise my voice haha! And like you say I can’t help but feel frustrated being relatively young and healthy how can this kind of thing start out of the blue and be so bad?!

Have you found any relief since your OP? I’ve been on omeprazole for about 5 weeks but no joy yet and it’s just not going. Gaviscon advance helps a bit.

To be honest I’m still not 100% convinced it’s reflux but my scope was normal. I think mine might be non acid reflux, so pepsin etc rather than acid causing the problem - which is probably why PPIs aren’t helping …

The ENT I saw also mentioned oesophageal hypersensitivity so I might try to get a prescription for amitriptyline- am desperate now!

@bumblenbean oh I’m so sorry to read this and for you. I’m no expert but I remember reading that there are two types of reflux - the silent type (burning throat / issues with speaking / swallowing and then the ‘loud’ burning type. Worth keeping in mind.

There has been a significant development for me. I had been on Omeprozole for 3 years after the reflux flared badly in 2019 (I’d previously been on PPI for my first pregnancy in 2016 and was fine and off them as soon as baby came). I was fairly stressed in 2019 and the flare just hit me and I couldn’t control it. It got really bad April time last year (coinciding with a return to work following baby 2). It actually became painful and burning rather than silent. I was referred for a scope in Nov and came of Omeprozole. Within a week of coming off it, the reflux had stopped. Totally. I don’t even get a burnt throat now!! It is the weirdest thing. My mum incidentally had a similar experience and swapped PPI (Lanzoprozole) - she is controlled now. If Omeprozole isn’t offering relief a few weeks in then it isn’t working. I would go back to you GP.

I feel so sorry for you - I honestly felt like I would live with it forever. Incidentally, I have anxiety and generally find the pace of life hard. I am increasingly suffering from physical manifestations of this - reflux, fungal skin issues which flare when I’m stressed, psoriasis and now a chronic UTI. Basically, it is causing inflammation in my body. Just worth a thought - we have a long way to go in these bodies. Something we are doing isn’t working for us.

I wish you peace from this horrible condition. I’m so sorry my experience is so random but honestly, I didn’t have it mildly or fleetingly, yet it is suddenly gone. There is hope x

PS my scope was also totally normal. Yet, I clearly wasn’t imagining it!! This is why there is something about the body physically responding to stress that I would love to explore. Physiologically there might be nothing broken, but pain is felt for some reason.

Did you ever get any relief?