LPR/ heartburn help, please
Posted , 4 users are following.
I started with LPR 3 years ago and started having heartburn too last Christmas. I have had 5 gastroscopies over the years and several ENT scopes. I am awaiting manometry which has now been cancelled. I have tried several PPIs and H2RAs and had adverse effects from all of them ranging from burning stomach, erosive gastritis, food sitting in my stomach for longer and causing reflux to shoot up the gullet and burn my throat and the usual headache, severe nausea etc The rebound from chopping and changing drugs has undone any good the medications could have done.
Life is a daily struggle and has become unbearable recently because Gaviscon Advance which has been the only medicine to help me along with the Acid Watchers Diet has started burning my throat and my gullet. I thought at least a Rennie would help but even those have started to burn my gullet and cause heartburn. The pain has been so severe that it has made me cry. Anxiety and depression very high. It is difficult to get a proper appointment with a doctor for obvious reasons and I am reluctant to go to A and E for the same reasons. I have been given Lansoprazole 30 mg to try again even though they caused my throat to get very sore and dry last time and caused ulcers in my mouth and I am worried this will exacerbate the problems I have with swallowing which are significant. Has anyone else had OTC antacids/ alginates cause severe burning in throat and gullet or been in a similar situation as me? I am pretty desperate, I feel that I have exhausted all forms of help and feel very frightened. Thank you.
0 likes, 12 replies
aniiiiila72787 Jeanne76
Edited
Hi jean76 sorry to hear about your problem. If you feel comfortable with it you could try applying coconut oil in your throat try swallowing it also and dont eat drink for half an hour. I have started to get relief since I started it. My throat has been killing me. lifestyle changes eating smaller meals, alkaline diet and avoiding triggers will help. Have you tried digestive enzymes ? reading your symptoms re minds me
Jeanne76 aniiiiila72787
Edited
Thank you so much for replying, aniiiiila. I have read a lot about coconut oil and aloe vera but my anxiety is so high that I have always been too scared to try anything new. I' ll give the things you suggest a go. Hope you find a way through this awful illness.
ray68221 Jeanne76
Edited
may I ask , does the gaviscon burn when you take it, and go away in a few minutes? Gaviscon does cause a burning sensation...perhaps it's the Gaviscon and not you!
Jeanne76 ray68221
Edited
Thanks, ray, lovely to hear from you. Gaviscon Advance Aniseed has been the only thing which helped for 3 years. Suddenly, it started burning firstly my throat but more painfully all the way down my gullet. Iam assuming the tissue is inflamed? It would help if I could get a definite diagnosis. The ENT says one thing the gastros say functional dyspepsia or acid reflux or maybe dysmotility. I have tried every variant of alginate and all the Gaviscon range. The burn lasts for about an hour but it is bad enough to make me scared of trying again. Have you had a similar experience with it? I admit that this illness has turned me into a nervous wreck scared to swallow food sometimes and the medications have made things worse. Hope to hear some success stories but I expect if you overcome things you dont want to rake all the bad stuff up again. Thanks again.
ray68221 Jeanne76
Edited
I have always found the Gaviscon Advance to be rather caustic in my throat and gullet...but fairly effective. These reflux related maladies seems to be a chronic struggle for a lot of people. I am sure are knowledgeable about all the standard ways of coping with it. I have found the no eating or drinking 3 hours before bedtime particularly important.
Jeanne76 ray68221
Edited
Thanks, ray sounds daft to say I am glad you found it a bit caustic but it's nice to know I am not alone. It was brilliant until it started burning and now I feel like I've lost my best friend. When the Rennies started doing it as well I couldn't cope. Don't know what to do really. Yes, like all of us, I expect I've read all the books followed all the forums and spent a fortune on cures and seeing soecialists. Got nowhere just ramped up my anxiety to uncontrollable levels. The not eating after 8pm thing I have found helpful but I gave up with the wedge and now sleep sitting up. It's not as bad as it sounds I stick on an audiobook to drown out the tinnitus and I'm off. Only problem is it"s a bit hard on the old coccydenia!! Especially since I 've lost so much weight. Thanks so much for responding. If I can help you at all with my Dr Google knowledge please let me know !
ray68221 Jeanne76
Edited
Being cooped up in the house trying to avoid this Corona virus raises my anxiety to epic levels. This has to be a significant factor with this reflux thing. Do you use alkaline water?
Jeanne76 ray68221
Posted
Hi Ray, yes I know exactly what you mean, it's a very difficult time for everyone and you feel a bit selfish going on about your own problems at a time when so many horrible things are going on, don't you? I only drink water. I use the best I can afford but the ph isn't optimum. I was given a jug thing at Christmas which is supposed to make tap water alkaline. It's still in its box! I shall give it a go. Anything is worth a try although I 've read that the pepsin in the throat is too deep down in the tissues to be affected but who knows? Hope you find ways to keep busy and as happy as possible at the present time. Have you found water useful or anything else for that matter?
ray68221 Jeanne76
Edited
like everything with this malady, the alkaline water seems to help a bit but isn't a "cure" I cant get the proper foods right now at my local grocer because of the present situation. All this junk food is really aggravating my symptoms. Hope all is well with you....I think you are in the U.k.
Jeanne76 ray68221
Posted
Thank you, Ray same to you. I hope things get better for everybody soon. Shopping's a bit hit and miss at the moment isn't it? I"m just panicking because my throat has got severely sore suddenly and all I did was try a bit of bread! It's hard when medical help is so tricky to get at the moment. Can I ask how you get by day to day? Do you have throat symptoms and have you tried any medications that work or didn't make things worse? Any comments would be helpful. Many thanks.
ray68221 Jeanne76
Posted
chronic throat clearing is my number 1 symptom. I do get throat irritation sometimes from that. again, I am sure you have had the camera down the throat exam at some point. Did your ENT say anything about vocal cord. irritation from reflux? sometimes contact ulcers or granuloma can form causing irritated feelings these are begnine but bothersome.
Jeanne76 ray68221
Posted
That sounds tricky to deal with. How do you cope? Have you found any PPI etc that does the trick? I 've had quite a few scopes ENT and the Gastro ones. ENT saw post glottal oedema and inflammation but ,strangely enough ,he looked again when my symptoms were even worse and he could see nothing so I suppose damage is at a deeper level? I was due to have a six monthly scope the day lockdown happened and it is postponed indefinitely. Throat cancer runs in the family so I am anxious to catch any ulcers or granuloma early. Sorry to hear that you have such a bothersome condition to manage. Good luck with it, ray.