Hi from new member and query re Silent Reflux

[O2Trees]

Hi, just joined but wondering if any people in this community have silent reflux? I have this with very few GORD symptoms. Unlike GORD, I do not cough at night, neither do I have heartburn. GORD and Silent reflux (LPR) are quite different in their presentation even though both are caused by leakage of stomach acid, bile etc. My symptoms are choking, asthma, lots of throat mucus and a huge amount of daytime coughing often in uncontrollable spasms.

I also have copd, asthma and bronchiectasis which complicates the picture.

Any help finding best forum to deal with this would be appreciated. Hope everyone is ok or as much so as possible.

Jean

[O2Trees]

Ah, I have found some older posts but not many. Hearing from people with similar would be nice

[O2Trees]

Thank you liem2013

[Jumpey]

Welcome. I share your symptoms and more and also have interstitial lung disease. So I empathise. X

[O2Trees in reply to Jumpey]

Thank you Jumpey

[hjskev]

The doctor tells me I have silent reflux. I'm not aware of it happening. The main symptom is a burning mouth and a horrible taste. I only have an occasional cough though but once I start it's difficult to stop. The dentist has prescribed me a high fluoride toothpaste because I'm worried about the effect of acid on my teeth.

[O2Trees in reply to hjskev]

You often arent aware of it - its quite different to standard acid reflux. The coughing is a nightmare and with asthma and laryngospams it gets so the air cannot go in or out. Thankfully that only lasts for about a second but it seems ages.

You are right to be concerned about your teeth - mine are broken into bits. Because I felt so little in relation to what I understood to be reflux, I never thought about acid damaging my teeth. Sipping water through the day will help I think. All the best

[ZiggyDiego]

I also have issues with my lungs and nose (due to vasculitis), aggravated by reflux. At times it has been more typical reflux but now it is silent. I take pantoprazole & peptac & have various strategies with food. The choking got dangerous so they were keen to try and help. What did help was stopping any drug that has a dry mouth as side effect and seeing a speech and language therapist. I also switched ramipril for amlopidine (drugs for hypertension, also caused by vasculitis) which eliminated the dry cough (but not the wheezy one from my lung damage. I’ve found my GP to be really helpful & I book in with him regularly to review my medication and symptoms.

[O2Trees in reply to ZiggyDiego]

Great you've got such a great GP ZiggyDiego, really important. I actually see a gastro consultant (over the phone!) who manages other conditions too (I have haemochromatosis, =iron overload). I take lansoprazole 15mg at night but have been told different timings. Ive reverted to taking it an hour before evening meal and it seems to be working so far. My cough isnt dry though - I produce quite a lot of both runny and sticky mucus which I understand is something the body does to protect the airways. Also I have a sour taste in the mouth which is new. Take care

[ZiggyDiego in reply to O2Trees]

thanks: my reflux was initially investigated via respiratory at the hospital, as I have lung damage from vasculitis. That’s how I got speech and language therapy . But I agree my GP is great. I produce a lot of mucus too, have to keep an eye on it as I’m immunosuppressed so have back up antibiotics ready for infections. But once I’ve cleared it, I seem to be ok. Glad you’re finding your way through.

[jjohnson62]

I was diagnosed with silent reflux about 4 years ago. My biggest problem was constant ear pain in my left ear but ENT doctor said it was silent reflux. I already had GERD and was on pantoprazole 40 mg per day for that. The ENT had me start taking the pantoprazole 2X per day for about a month and that helped. Finally last year I got the LINX procedure done and that fixed my GERD and silent reflux. I would check into that if I were you. Talk to a gastro doctor to see if you are a candidate.

[O2Trees in reply to jjohnson62]

Thanks for being in touch jjohnson62. I have thought about the LINX procedure - think I will enquire more about ossibility of having that. Cheers!