Inhaling acid whilst asleep - Acid Reflux

Anyone and everyone taking PPI'S (proton pump inhibitors ) to help /reduce stomach acidity /reflux /GERD etc., should seriously read up on WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE TOO LITTLE HCL ACID (stomach acid )....you will be shocked. ...all or most people that suffer with acid reflux /GERD has TOO LITTLE stomach acid, not too much acid.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STOMACH ACID; 1.) food cannot be broken down properly or absorbed properly without enough stomach acid.

2.) When improperly digested /broken down food sits in your intestinal tract, IT FERMENTS.

3.) Fermentation causes EXCESSIVE GAS.

4.) Gas causes bloating /distention.

5.) Bloating /distention = IAP, which is INTRA ABDOMINAL PRESSURE!

6.) PRESSURE PUT ON THE LES (lower esophageal sphincter, the valve that opens and closes for food to go IN!) causes the valve to malfunction, thus opening when it shouldn't, allowing stomach acid to reflux upwards, where it does not belong. ...

ACID REFLUX IS CAUSED BY TOO LITTLE STOMACH ACID, NOT TOO MUCH!

please pass on this information if you feel so inclined. ..

Tracey. ..I suffered for far too many years with severe GERD. I've just become aware of this information and am going to adjust my life /diet /habits accordingly to get better.

OMG..I just woke up and couldn't breathe...I thought I was going to die.  I think I asperated mucus because I am still coughing it up out of my lungs.  I hope this never happens again...This scares the bejeepers out of you.  I take a prilosec every morning and antacids, but I really think it is sinus mucus....Anyone have any suggestions....thank you...

I wonder if perhaps your not accidentally inhaling saliva from the mouth while sleeping?  I have a tendency to inhale stomach acid into the lungs and it is not something that goes away in a minute.  It burns long & deep, causes awful breathing problems and you can taste the acid in the lungs and it burns like crazy!!!  A lot of people have never really considered it or thought about it but most people do have a sense of taste in the bronchical tubes and lungs.  To a lesser degree of your tongue but they are there.  A good example is having a bad chest cold or lower respiratory infection and often times when it is bad and has been going on a bit one can actually taste how the mucous or production can get stagnet and nasty tasting.  I can every time and usually it is worse in the morning because everything has just been sitting in the lungs all night.  If a person inhales stomach acid into their lungs there is absolutely no mistaking it, you will have zero doubts!  Not only will you taste how nasty it is but like with me the really bad burn sensation goes on for 1.5 to 3 hours.  Even after 24 hours I can feel that I took a substantial burn.  Also, when you cough and are trying to clear the lungs the pain increases because now that acid is continuing to get stirred around to many airway surfaces.  It makes you not want to cough but you know you haft too!  The nasty taste also increases as you cough.  It is so important that the lungs get cleared asap!!!  The longer the acid sits the greater the damage.  You can get raw airway surfaces that bacteria can easily enter.  There is also the risk of aspiratation pneumonia and this can be deadly!  People with risk factors like auto immune diseases, poor health, immuno suppressant therapy, HIV and asplenia (lack of spleen function or those having under gone spleenectomy) are at greater risk of this!  People having spleen problems or lacking one are naturally predisposed to contracting a pneumococcal virus anyway and keeping up to date with pneumovax every 5 years is a must!  There is a new vaccine recently introduced, if you have not had it you need it at any time, first chance, asap regardless of the duration of the last pneumovax.  I myself try and not eat to late and avoid foods that promote GERD problems and try to sleep in a reclined, not all the way flat position if I think I am going to have problems that evening.  And of course ant acid medications.

Actually let me back up just a little bit.  Perhaps your catching any acid inhalation promptly and with the first little introduction of it.  This would explain why the burning only last for approx. a minute.  I just don't see how a person could very much at all and not notice that awful, awful, awful, nasty taste!  I think with me I have bouts of a reasonable amount of stomach gas leave the stomach and when it does a fair amount of acid comes up with it, basically like when your standing up and burp.   Sometimes you can feel the acid come quite a ways up the esophagus.  When your laying down and sleeping this problem dramatically worsens.  I suspect the longer the lower esophageal sphincter is open or leaking the worse it is, probably tends to worsen with age for most without intervention.

Boy, I just had this happen to me.  I have GERD and take a generic of nexium.  I've been fine for a long time with no issues then tonight BANG.  I had just turned over in bed and in a couple of minutes felt the acid going up my esophagus.  I jumped out of bed and some of the acid went into my lungs.  Terrible pain and now I'm rattling when I breath.  I quick took some milk and that settled it down a bit.  I don't know if I should take a stomach acid tablet because the nexium directions say not to.  Do I suffer with the pain or take a couple of tums?  I have no liquid acid relief.

I'm sitting on my couch right now at 2:30am having had the same experience as you. I'm in my 40s and 40lbs or so overweight. I've been on prescription strength lansoprazole for 15 years to control daily heartburn. It's only been the last year or 2 that I've started experiencing the night time aspirating. It truly is awful. It rips me out of a deep sleep and I dash out of the room to avoid waking my wife. I then proceed to cough violently for 20 to 30 minutes as the acid burns my lungs and throat and tears run down my cheeks. It has happened 15 times or so over roughly 2 years. It does appear to be related to what I have eaten or how late. The best advice I've read that doesn't require medical intervention is the advice to go to bed with a dry, empty stomach. I will also add to that. Be mindful what you had for your last meal because certain foods can be triggers even 6 hours before bedtime. Many times I've gone to bed knowing I might have an "episode" because my stomach was over-full and gurgly. That's the second thing. Try not to overeat. I've found that too big of a meal as the last meal of the day will surly trigger it. I need to be much better at taking my own advice because here I am in the middle of the night. I feel that the end of this road is triumph or tragedy. The triumph is losing the weight and staying devoted to a healthy eating lifestyle. The tragedy is 50 more awful nightly episodes and an eventual irreversible lung condition that resulted from the repeated damage caused to the esophagus and lungs. Good luck!

For the last 8 years i have been waking up choking and only just found it's from acid reflux i have had ct scan to look for something else and they found i had emphysema changes on my lungs and was told it more likely from acid splashing in my lungs. I have also had a barium swallow and was told i have an small hiatus hernia but they think the acis problem is the valve so got to see a surgeon to see if they will fix it, but i do worry about more going in my lungs all the time.

I am not over wieght and eat any rubbish foods cut them all out over the last 12 months.

What was going on was that I had very stringy post-nasal drip pulling up the stomach acid. He prescribed Montelukast, to clear up the stringyness (is that even a word?), and I have great success with this, combined with a PPI and waiting a few hours after eating before bed.