LPR Reflux issues! Nothing seems to work :(
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi! I'm a 26 year old male. It's been about a year since I started developing reflux issues. In this time I have never experienced any heartburn. My post nasal drip has worsened. However I know it's not solely post nasal drip, because my symptoms typically flare after meals or coffee.
I have stopped drinking coffee and this did help. However I still react to most foods. Dairy tends to make things worse and I think I might also be lactose intolerant. I tend to get gassy after having dairy. I noticed taking high doses of lactase is helpful prior to meals.
Basically the reflux is worst in the mornings and then next to this it flares most after meals. I'll be gagging, threat clearing and puking at it's worst. I have tried ranitidine 150mg twice daily and I tried a PPI as well. They both negatively impacted my ability to digest foods and didn't help with lpr.
I saw an ENT about 6 weeks ago. He suggested I try ranitidine again at 150mg but 4 times daily. I did research into this and studies do show this to be more effective at reducing acid when compared to 300 mg twice daily. So I recently decided to try this. I eat 4 meals a day so I take it before meals. It's been 2 weeks and for a week and a half I had the relief of waking up in the morning without major reflux! However I developed a cough during this time. Not sure why, but I hadn't had a cough last that long for awhile, and I didn't appear to be sick. Now in the past few days my reflux has worsened and my ability to digest certain things has worsened. I have more gas, but this could've been because of these lentils and chickpeas I was eating raw.
So now my plan is to stick with raintindine, and my diet will be very low in fiber. I'm going to switch to white pasta and bread. I will also decrease carbs a bit and increase fats and proteins slightly.
I'm kind of at a loss as to what I can do. I'm going to commit to ranitidine for 12 weeks before quitting. I basically want to determine if it's worth trying. Or if I should give up completely on it. I will try diet and lifestyle changes throughout to see if this can also help.
Lastly, I have tried increasing my acid through hcl and pepsin. This didn't help and made things worse it seemed. So I don't think lack of acid is the problem. Who knows though.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! This has been causing me a lot of stress
1 like, 31 replies
david_95455
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Oh I also want to mention that I have seasonal allergies and asthma.
Recently my asthma has been much worse. Although it's not too bad. By much worse, I mean I use to basically never notice it and now I notice some symptoms reasonably often.
Gillian1956 david_95455
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Gillian1956 david_95455
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david_95455 Gillian1956
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Thanks for the reply. I will look it up, but from your experience what's the difference? Or what exactly does it do?
terrie27149 david_95455
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You have globus..ck out the globus forum. Great info. Have you tried apple cider vinegar? This really seems to wrk 4 me. I too have globus/acid reflux. My ENT put me on nexium. Was on for a month but didn't help. I got off due to possible side effects..so now I take a tumeric capsule (good for inflammation) and b4 my meals I take 2 tsp. Acv to a half cup of water and this really seems to help..ck the med you are on for the side effects. Wondering if yr new symptoms are caused by yr med..this is all trial and error. Try different things and c what wrks for you. Hope ya feel better..
david_95455 terrie27149
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Hi terrie. Thanks for the reply.
I have tried apple cider vinegar in the way you described and got no relief from the reflux. I just noticed my throat was more sore because of the acidity from drinking it.
I haven't heard of globus. I'll check it out.
terrie27149 david_95455
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You may or may not have globus! But alot of ppl with acid do. Gerd is what just acid reflux is. So many ppl 2day are having these issues it's unreal. Can't help but believe it derives from fast food and processed foods..if we could just go back to eating home cooked meals like grandma used to make, i believe we would all be so much better off. Hope ya find some answers. Miserable I know..
david_95455 terrie27149
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Thanks for the information terrie.
I'm going to try something unconventional as the digestive issues and cough that seem to have come from ranitidine are a bit too much to handle right now.
I realize I might get a rebound effect with acid for awhile too.
Here's what I will try:
-Baking soda, salt, distilled water sinus rinse morning and evening (this has always been helpful for post nasal drip)
-guaifenesin (mucinex ingredient) 400mg prior to each meal (4 meals per day. Max dose per day is 2.4 grams I believe)
-150 mg of lactase prior to food and with a lot of dairy
-50mg lactase prior to meal with small amount of dairy
-1 tsp of acv prior to meals
This might seem like a lot but it really isn't difficult for an introverted person like myself haha
terrie27149 david_95455
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DMP1391 david_95455
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I don't know why you'd think it'd be a good idea to eat white pasta or any refined carbs for that matter. These aren't good for your health and are a close culprit for acid reflux.
Sounds like you need to be more disciplined with your diet. Don't eat dairy or refined carbs. Heck choose your carbs very carefully and only occasionally. Your best bet is to try a low carb diet, no bread or pasta or sugary stuff at all. Just eat fresh meat and eggs with veggies for a few days. That will help with the bloating and reflux. Also take slippery elm after meals as it seals your stomach and stops reflux. Using digestive enzymes before a meal tend to help a lot for me as well.
david_95455 DMP1391
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I have tried a no carb no dairy diet and found no improvement. Actually worsened during the time I removed carbs and dairy lol.
However I am open to trying again. At some point though it seems like I'm reaching the point of insanity :p.
I'll look into slippery elm and digestive enzymes though. Next time it'll be better to reply without assuming I hadn't tried what you suggest. Saying "I don't know why you'd think.." I think we all come to learn what impacts us most negatively. For myself it's high fat meals or large meals in general that encourage reflux most. I could eat a strictly carb and dairy small meal with very little reflux. However when I have a high fat (e.g. Bacon) small meal in I immediately get terrible reflux
david_95455
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terrie27149 david_95455
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david_95455 terrie27149
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I'm going to try 650mg betaine hcl, lactase amount depends on dairy involved, digestive enzyme and probiotics before every meal to see how that works
terrie27149 david_95455
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david_95455 terrie27149
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Yeah all the changes are from the research today haha. Definitely need a change from acid reducing drugs seeing that things have gotten worse. Making sure I have enough acid and giving my digestive system things it likes to help break things down seems like it won't hurt :p.
terrie27149 david_95455
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terrie27149
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I like to go as natural as I can. I read where You can take 1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda in 6 oz water on an empty stomach if you burp after 2-3 mins I think you have sufficient acid, if it's before that time then too much acid, if you don't burp at all, then little acid!! I'm going to try this. I truly believe I am one with low acid. I have soled acid reflyx with lots of phglm in my throat. B4 doing the apple cider vin ear I was cinstantly clearing my throat, hoarse, aggravated throat and of course globus started as well. But I seem to be doing pretty good now..hallelujah!
but whn I feel the phglm again building, i do the acv again and it cuts it..
DMP1391 david_95455
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How long did you try low carb for? What were you eating during that time?
I had very servere reflux and Barret's. After about a year of eating clean it got a lot better. Occasional low carb days, cooking with coconut oil which helps digestion and bacteria, probiotics and most importantly digestive enzymes before every meal. Worked wonders for me, but as I said I strictly tightened down on my diet - absolutely no processed or packaged junk food, no chemicals or artificial preservatives, no cheap vegetable oil, no deep fried food, no high salty stuff etc.
Slippery elm works well taken after meals when you feel you're most likely to get reflux...some people straight after meals, others up to 20 minutes or so later. Mix the powder (not capsules) with a little warm water and make a paste and swallow it, it coats your stomach and stops acid spilling back up.
Following all this I don't think you should still be experiencing harsh symptoms.
terrie27149 DMP1391
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Wow, thanks for info on slippery elm. I'm Goin to try tht. I am doing all the above with my diet and when I slip, which I do more often than I should, I can sure tell it..Surprisingly, peanut butter really gets to me as well as bananas. But so far, I haven't had alot of problems with dairy...
terrie27149
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