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Is this really Acid Reflux i'm experiencing?

Posted , 101 users are following.

Tinkerbell32
Tinkerbell32

Hi, for the past 4 months I have been suffering daily severe symptoms with breathlessness, burning and pressure sensation in my back and chest, pressure in my throat which makes me want to cough, burping and most recently tiredness. These don't necessarily occur after food, i have the breathless and pressure feeling all day every day.

I went to a private hospital for tests under my medical insurance as my NHS GP couldn't give me all the tests i wanted for peace of mind as i'm an extreme worrier and after Googling my symptoms i was in tears! So 2 weeks ago i had blood tests, allergy tests, a CT scan on my heart and lungs, a lung function test and an Echocardiogram. I had the results last week which thankfully shows my heart is absolutely fine but i have mildly inflamed airways in my lungs and the doctor advised the most likely cause is Acid Reflux and this is causing the breathless feeling. The doctor has advised i take Lanzoprasole 30mg daily and a steroid asthma inhaler to reduce the inflammation for 3 months.

To be honest, i'm concerned that this isn't caused by acid only because most of the threads i have read on here are from people who only experience symptoms from food. As soon as i get out of bed and start walking around i start to get the pressure feeling in my chest and i've just had enough of it. Does anyone else have symptoms like me? I'm constantly thinking about what i could have wrong or if it is acid, what damage it is doing to me! I know it's only been a couple of days on the medication so shouldn't expect it to work straight away but can anyone tell me of any other self help medications that i could take to make it go away quicker? I'm really at my wits end and it's all i think about.

Thank you

10 likes, 256 replies

256 Replies

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  • gallee
    gallee

    Posted

    Hi Tinkerbell32, have you been checked to see if you have hiatus hernia. That can cause all the problems you describe. The hernia pushes up into the chest cavity and it can also affect the vagas nerve which can result in a range of symptoms. The pyloric valve at the top of your stomach normally sits in line with your diaphragm. When it's pushed up into the chest cavity it can't close correctly allowing acid to pass. The acid then causes gastritis which I think causes the excess gas, bloating etc. the original reason for me taking the enzymes is because I suspected I had low stomach acid which has identical symptoms to excess acid. However since relieving the pressure round my waist I,ve been free of all symptoms.
    • emerald55
      emerald55 gallee

      Posted

      How did you relieve the pressure round your waist? Losing weight?
    • gallee
      gallee emerald55

      Posted

      I wore a broad leather belt but found out that researchers in Scotland had caused an hiatus hernia in healthy adult volunteers by fitting a tight belt. I now wear braces which allows me to loosed my waistband further when I,m relaxing. I,m trying to loose weight and eat much smaller meals.
  • Tinkerbell32
    Tinkerbell32

    Posted

    I had an echocardiogram and the nurse looked for hiatus hernia but said it was fine. I do have some gallstones though so could this be making my symptoms worse? I don't get any acidic taste or regurgitation of food but i suppose this disease comes in different forms. At the moment, I'm willing to give anything a try just to feel normal again hence maybe trying the digestive enzymes again, i cant remember what that feels like! I definitely know that overeating causes the breathlessness to get worse and i cant wear any belts or tight clothing for long periods of time.
  • gallee
    gallee

    Posted

    Hi, I think that the hiatus hernia can come and go. I think it causes gastritis which causes gas and bloating. I agree that over eating and wearing tight clothes is bad news. The vagas nerve that I mentioned runs right up the abdomen and up the side of the neck. When I had a neck problem the bloating in my stomach had me in A & E with a suspected heart attack. Is it possible that your gall stone problem is affecting the vagas nerve. Just a thought.
  • Tinkerbell32
    Tinkerbell32

    Posted

    Hi Gallee, I will mention this to my GP when i see him for a follow up if i don't see any improvement with the meds. I also went into A & E just before xmas because the feeling of choking and not being able to breathe made me think i was having heart problems too! The doctor obviously didn't find any problems with my heart but mentioned gastritis and spasming of the oespahgus which can also cause these feelings.
  • daisiedoo00729
    daisiedoo00729

    Posted

    Hi tinkerbell, I suffer from most of your symptoms along with a fe more, I've suffered for about 15 yrs and still can't find a cure. I had an endoscopy last year that showed 4cm hiatus hernia and erosive gastritis.

    I have tried most ppis out there but they all seem to make the problem worse, I suffer with the chest burning that goes through to my shoulder blades also pain and burning in lower stomach,, feels like my lungs are on fire, also tight neck feeling one sided sore throat and ear pain, when I'm having a bad flare up I have an increase in throat mucus that makes me want to cough an gag all day, then my sinuses get bunged up have constant postnasal drip.

    I was wondering if whenever your having a bad flare up do you ever feel lightheaded , as I feel like I have a hangover everyday.

    I feel like I'm never going to get better

    • Guest
      Guest daisiedoo00729

      Posted

      I have all of your symptoms daisedoo and I have yet to get tested.  All I know is that it hurts!!!  I have been told in the past I have silent reflux and was put on prilosec which I am allergic too apparently and found pepcid complete helped me a bit.  It does make me nauseaus.  The only thing I can add to your symptoms is weight loss. I've lost quite a bit of weight due to this issue.    I am also a smoker which does not help but I cut down big time because it instantly triggers my reflux.  I have silent reflux so I rarely feel a burn but sometimes I do.  I have awful post nasal drip and had the worst sore throat known to man the other day.  I have an appointment this week and hopefully will get to the bottom of some answers.  
    • jay40m
      jay40m Guest

      Posted

      I have had a sore throat for 9 months now. I have been on ppis for about 1 month. At first I was skeptical and still am but will try to stay on them for 3 months like the doctor ordered.
    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 jay40m

      Posted

      Also have a slight sore throat recently. And get days where I feel very very cold. Anyone else have that?
    • ndanswrs46580
      ndanswrs46580 daisiedoo00729

      Posted

      I get acid reflux right away when I wake up even when I have not eaten anything and of course I do feel light headed at the same time my tongue is always yellow from the acid that's shooting up from my stomach I don't know why all this began one year ago I've tried all the enzymes and the teas prevacid doesn't work. I had my gallbladder removed and still nothing. I'm starting to think that some of this is due to stress because when I'm sleeping everything is fine it all starts when I wake up doesn't matter what I eat although large meals do make me sicker. some of you might try organic foods because I know nowadays our food is processed and tampered with. and I know when people get older everything you've done in your younger years catches up to you so now we all just have to figure out how to fix it. I'm trying to figure this out and I am finding that stress does make the matter worse as well. so I think there is more than one contributing factor in this acid reflux mess. I will keep searching for answers and keep everyone posted. oh one more thing tagamet does help a little during the day but not enough that I have time to heal.
    • manblurr
      manblurr daisiedoo00729

      Posted

      Hey try to find a good chiropractor had a session tpday feel instant relief and unburdening of my chest n heart...tho the gastritis n esophagitis is still there im sure God willibg that too shal go..hoping and praying you find a spln to tpur problem..best regards.ay God blesa
    • ihave13378
      ihave13378 ndanswrs46580

      Posted

      Hey there, I've been chasing for the solution for years (at least 3) or even the name of this condition, and doctors even makes it worse they confuse the cobdition with idk other conditions(at least in developing counties) and you were right when you said stress increases it, and at times the whole condition combined, takes u from working out in gym and gaining mass to "lets find a way to survive". Anyways a lot of people are understanding the patterns and trying their bits to get a hold on the condition but here, idk working out does help a lot and diet works too eliminate all the processed and oily and spicy and such food from your diet. But one thing in particular did help me with my situation. I moved to a place where it was less humid and eliminated the stress completely from my life for 1 year at least and it did improve but recently I underwent a lot of stress and lost like 10 kilos of muscle mass and I'm back to square 1, and I'm a bit worried about if we aged and this thing stayed it won't be a pleasant experience. I've also noticed keeping your bed a bit higher from the head side to improve it a little. Eating Aelovera flesh when heavily under attack does calm it down. Coffee tea and caffeinated stuff makes it worse so fast. There's one more thing that I would like to mention actually helped me " mulethi" its English name is something else I'm sorry I can't remember it right now it works wonders and might replace anta acids of morning. But nothing had stopped or reversed it so far it always came back during summer season and made me miserable. I wish somebody figure out its name and something permanent.

    • tina_marie555
      tina_marie555 daisiedoo00729

      Posted

      It's been over a year have you found any relief? I have had the same symptoms to include light headedness

    • tina_marie555
      tina_marie555 manblurr

      Posted

      Hello. Do you still have relief from the chiropractor? I plan to go to one next month I pray that this shall pass i pray that your are doing well
    • john94486
      john94486 ndanswrs46580

      Posted

      Hi ndanswrs! May I ask, how do you know it's acid reflux when you wake up? Do you taste something sour in your mouth? I've been a LPR sufferer from many years and would like to hear about your experience. 

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