Asthma and GORD

[Kashwi]

Recently been told that i suffer from GORD after a recently hospital admission due to a flare up of asthma caused by a chest infection. Anyone else who suffers from GORD noticed that it seems to make their asthma worse?

[Alliecat]

I have asthma and GORD too.. I take omneprazole for it... though I can't eat a bit meal.. I never finish a meal when out for dinner.. but my friends and family understand this.. when I get to a point where I feel full and feel like if I eat anymore I will be sick.. then I stop end of!...it doesn't make my asthma worse but it does make me feel sick sometimes.. which can make me cough which leads to wheezing.. though that doesn't happen often

[Hidden]

My profound sympathies. I suffer from reflux issues, and it has caused problems (read confusion) with my asthma in the past. About four years ago I spent a couple of weeks fighting breathing problems: upping my steroid inhalers, taking ventolin (which was not particularly effective) and eventually, when I was at my wits end because my usual strategies were just not working, making an appointment to see a doctor at my local surgery. I already had a history of stomach problems which, to his credit, the doctor (a locum who I had never met before) spotted. There were a couple of features about my breathing problems that gave the game away: 1) aerobic exercise actually helped, it didn't make it worse, which was very unusual in someone who is known to be an exercise induced asthmatic. 2) the breathing problems always kicked in between half an hour and an hour after eating. The doctor put me on a short course of lanzoprazole (which I had been on before) and it worked.

It has caused confusion since, but these days I think I now recognise which is which (the real clue being the timing of breathing difficulties - do they crop up shortly after eating meals) but this may be different for you.

There are things you can do to help with reflux (apols if you already know all these): certain foods are known to cause problems, notably spicy or fatty food, caffeine and mint isn't good either. After eating resist lying down, bending over or slouching for about an hour; doing so puts pressure on the lower oesophageal sphincter muscle at the top of your stomach potentially causing reflux. Allow three to four hours between eating your evening meal and going to bed to give your stomach time to empty before going to bed, and finally raise the head end of your bed about six inches to keep your oesophagus higher than your stomach. Don't rely on pillows, believe me, you'll slip down off them during the night.

Hope this helps.

[starveycat]

Hi Kashwi I to have gord but just thought it was a touch of indigestion although it has damaged my vocal chords.I like Maggie raise the head of my bed, I have cut out all citrus ,onions pineapple tomatoes and wheat , which seems to help even though I did not get much pain hope this helps good luck

[Hidden]

One other thing: if you ever need to go on oral steroids for your asthma, it would be a good idea to remind the prescribing doctor that you have GORD, the reason being that oral steroids can sometimes cause digestive issues as well. The last time I went on oral steroids my GP put me on a short cause of lanzoprazole at the same time to counter any problems they might cause. I was also told not to take them at the same time. If I remember rightly I took the lanzoprazole first thing in the morning and the pred at lunch time. I was only on a short course of pred but I certainly didn't have any problems during that course.

[Katt-37]

Asthma is pretty stable at the moment. The gord isn't. Taking pantoloc, dr taking about a gastroscopy. Hoping that it gets a bit better and I get away without having one. It's pretty easy to confuse the symptoms though of the two.

[Hidden]

Yup! Although I only feel GORD symptoms when I exercise. Interestingly if I stop or reduce my omeprazole my asthma worsens.