Acid reflux

[Wendyhoz60]

Hi everyone I have been treated for chest infection this week but now being treated for acid reflux and I am really suffering!! Any suggestions anyone ?

[Hidden]

Hello Wendy

Maybe after steroids and antibiotics..I had so many of them that it ruined my stomach and the acid reflux has given me throat and ear inflammations over the years. Now I am on Omeprazole and Riopan Gel.

I haven’t found any natural remedies apart from camomile tea.

Hope it helps x

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Hidden]

Hi. Thank you I have just had the steroids and antibiotics I am now on Omeprazole as the feeling in my throat is horrendous I can’t even breath in without it hurting so just been to get done gaviscon to try and sooth it !! X

[Hidden in reply to Wendyhoz60]

You have good meds. It will settle down. Breathe to relax, inhale deeply, hand on your tummy pushing it upwards, exhale slowly like if you are blowing a candle. It will relax you and help with your stomach pain. Do it a few times.

Not eating late at night helps, at least 2 hours before you go to bed. Propping up your pillows help.

Drinking quite cold water after meals helps as well.

Some people find chewing gum helps.

Sucking glycerin sweets helps.

Honey in your camomile tea will help your throat.

Take care Wendy xx

[Phil36 in reply to Wendyhoz60]

I had Acid Reflux which resulted in Barretts Oesophagus. Originally I was on omeprazole but that made me feel really rotten so I was put on Lanzoprazole instead which is for life but is absolutely brilliant. I can eat anything, happy days!

Hope this helps Wendy, don't give up!

All the best.

Phil.

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Phil36]

Oh wow thanks for that next time I am at gp. I will ask for these 😊

[carp8888 in reply to Hidden]

Well as someone with terrible Gerd and having just made it through two bouts of terrible respiratory influenza which turned to pneumonia which led to intubation and two chest tubes and I'm now home and on oxygen I find that my gerd add significantly so the pains in my lungs it has no choice but to you have all that acid coming up and it's burning all up your throat so just makes your lungs feel 8 times worse only way I handle it it is just by absolutely not eating anything that's going to cause my stomach to get upset there's not much more you can do except I Find if you call your doctor's office enough they find better treatment options. good luck to you

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to carp8888]

Thank you for your reply 😊

[mrsmummy]

A recent tip on here was to sleep with the head of the bed raised up and I, among others, found this really affective.

[Shancock]

What medication are they giving you for it? I take Esomeprazole (Nexium) 20mg an hour before evening meal and Gaviscon advanced after meals and before bed, it does help a fair bit. Ranitidine is also very good lots of people find.

Eating early evening and never late and sleeping slightly sitting up helps. I find drinking warm boiled water with food and after dinner helps too. I also have natural yogurt everyday and a glass of semi skimmed milk. Aloe Vera juice hl ps to neutralise acid, you can buy it from holland and Barrett, it's pricey but lasts for ages as you only take 25ml a day.

Certain food will make it worse like citrus fruits and fatty foods and caffeine. I have decaf tea and coffee and also have camomile tea.

Everyone has different triggers though so if certain things make it worse Street clear. For a real diagnosis though your GP should refer you to a gastroenterologist (gastro specilaist). They will do an endoscopy and manometry and 24 hr PH test. These things are quite vital to see the extent of it and what to do about it. It mustn't be left untreated as the acid can enter the lungs and cause frequent infections, also can cause damage to the throat and larynx.

If they haven't reffered you please ask them to do so.

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Shancock]

Hi thank you for the reply I am on Omeprazole 20 mg in the morning and gaviscon through the day. It’s the dry cough that is killing me !!

[casper99 in reply to Wendyhoz60]

I've been having the exact same dry throat and dry cough, ever since the new year, with my reflux.

I've been on Lanzarapole for 14 years and never had any tests for it. Feels like my throat is on fire and tears stream down my face from the severe pricking in my throat. It's horrible. xx

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to casper99]

I know what you mean it’s the constant burning feeling and it feels swollen and nothing works. I’m ringing gp this morning for an app xx

[Shancock in reply to Wendyhoz60]

Omeprazole will only help if you take it 20 minutes before breakfast for reflux. I would ask the GP for double dose as it's perfectly safe to take 40mg of that one, so another 20mg 20 minutes before dinner. Although I found Nexium a lot better myself.

Green veg and berries are very good to eat, I also eat nuts not salty ones the health kind. Natural yogurt is soothing and it's a probiotic so good for the tummy. Lots of warm water too.

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Shancock]

Hi. I actually set my alarm for an hour before I get up to take it but it hasn’t took that feeling away of something being lodged in my throat . I think I just need to wait for it all to calm down and change my diet as you say. thank you 😊

[Hidden in reply to Wendyhoz60]

Hi, I'm in the same place as you. The lump in my throat makes me feel nauseous constantly, however I'm 2 weeks on Omeprazole now and it is subsiding finally! Lots and lots of Peppermint tea or similar helps too. Good Luck x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

When I was reading up about what you should not eat (an awful lot of foods). the two that surprised me were peppermint and chocolate, and that is apparently because they relax the sphincter at the top of the stomach and make reflux more likely.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I guess that's peppermint sweets etc. Basically, herbal tea without milk helps lots! Cicokate I can understand ......great pities!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Chocolate!

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Hidden]

Oh wow !! Love chocolate 😢

[Hidden in reply to Wendyhoz60]

So do I. I think it is a matter of working out what has a bad effect. I eat chocolate but smaller amounts. If you didn't eat all they said might affect you, you would have a very boring diet, no alcohol, tea, coffee, orange juice, curry, tomatoes etc etc..

I have a large hiatus hernia. I did a week of cutting out most things and then gradually introduced them to see how I felt. A week or so of a strict diet, also gives your gut a bit of time to recover, that might be helpful.

I have a pantoprazole a day, but take it before my evening meal. Don't have oranges, pineapple, or citrussy stuff, but have de caff tea, coffee, occasioal curries, chillis etc. Some choc and alcohol. Eat more apples,and pears. I have a swig of gaviscon at night, but mostly it has settled, with occasional bouts of croaky voice and sore throat.

[Pentreath Volunteer]

Lots of good ideas for you to try. I found that eating small amounts helped me. I still have three meals a day but small portions and then have a snack in between meals and one in the early evening. Problem is that everyone responds differently and you may find that as you recover from the chest infection that it will improve - let’s hope so.

[Hidden]

I found oral thrush contributed to my reflux acid problems ONCE I treated thrush my reflux acid subsided.

Upon reading further this bacteria that luv stomach acid and go’s on mad production drive

Might be worth asking doc if suffer from oral thrush

[joyce74]

Changing my diet has made a huge difference to me. Was in hospital early October with painful gall bladder problems and put on a low fat diet. Eat small meals often, no chip shop meals, plenty berry fruits and veg, not having to take Gaviscon now, Still have lots of gall stones but they don't bother me now and I don't get the reflux.

[MoyB]

I have been treated for reflux for years. I take Lansoprazole twice a day and this helps. Also, my chest consultant prescribed Metoclopromide and that seems to have settled it more than anything else. One reason may be that I cannot drink alcohol with this med. I wasn't a big drinker - one or two glasses of wine a week - but I think it may have been contributory. xx Moy

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to MoyB]

Thank you for your reply .... I don’t even drink so I can’t even blame it on that 😦 I have took an antihistamine and touch wood there is a slight improvement xx

[MoyB]

Glad you have some improvement. Reflux is miserable! xx Moy

[starskyd]

im on omeprazole too. does seem go help

[Lynzilou]

Hi

I have had a dry cough for years, and had numerous x rays, endoscopies, which showed inflammation in my larynx. Each visit to the docs or the chest consultant had resulted in the diagnosis of acid reflux and I had been given all the above mentioned medications. None of these have worked. A year ago, the chest consultant told me I had Interstitial Lung Disease which sounded terrifying, but she seemed quite matter of fact about it, and said it was something I had to live with. So I was not unduly worried.

However, in December 2017 we had a chimney taken down which resulted in a huge amount of sooty dust billowing into the lounge, despite the sheets they had put up to stop it, and about a fortnight later, my cough became extremely troublesome to the extent that it was keeping me awake at night, and I was noticeably more breathless during the day. I had a lung function test on 6th February this year, and during the wait for the follow-up appointment with the chest consultant, had a particularly bad night of coughing, and at the resultant emergency appointment with the gp the following day was told I have Pulmonary Fibrosis. This was the first I knew of it.

So..... I would double check with your chest consultant, that you ARE actually suffering from acid reflux. If I had known sooner, I might have been able to take steps to improve my health, or certainly would have gone away for the weekend when they removed the chimney!

Good Luck

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Lynzilou]

Thank you so much for your reply 😊 I have chickens and the ground was awful compacted straw and mud so I decided to move them and turn over the mulch and the day after it started ! I am convinced it was some to do with that as the smell was awful !!! I will definitely look into the pulmonary fibrosis!!

Thank you x

[Lynzilou in reply to Wendyhoz60]

There are four groupings for pulmonary fibrosis, and one of them is caused by bird feathers - so yes! check it out.

Regards

Lynne x

[Hidden]

Hi Wendy. I asked our friends here about reflux a few months ago as I was experiencing a sudden increase in symptoms, & got loads of helpful advice. I've put a lot it into practice but the two things I think have helped me most are, raising the head of my bed by 6", and taking a slurp of gaviscon the moment I feel a spasm coming on (I keep the "instant" ones in my bag too.) If you want to see the replies to my post, here's the link healthunlocked.com/blf/post...

[Wendyhoz60 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for your reply x

[lesley53]

I’ve had a similar problem , my chest infection turned to pneumonia. I had 5 rounds of antibiotics. I list my voice for 2 wks - it’s still very croaky and hoarse . I went to see an ENT consultant who gave me tablets and gaviscon advanced for my acid reflux which was damaging my vocal chords . I still take it now and try and control it with diet . It helps .avoid caffeine or any alcohol . Milk also helps and simple plain food . I too get the dry cough - mines horrendous! My ENT chap thinks I have asthma but I’m waiting for my chest clinic appt . I also have antihistamines too which help sometimes . And eating a little not big meals helps . Hope you feel better soon xx