LPR/Silent Reflux - desperately in need of a miracle. Has anyone recovered from this?

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Hi - I'll be as brief as possible. For almost a year I have had symptoms which have worsened, starting with throat clearing and progressing to regular spiting out of white, frothy stuff, post nasal drip, lump in throat or sharp sensation, streaming or blocked nose and hoarseness. These are all unpleasant and irritating but because I talk for a living my work is becoming badly affected so it is now making me depressed and anxious as well. I was referred to ENT, had the camera up the nose and down the throat to rule out anything sinister and was given Omeprazole and Gaviscon Advance. No advice, no explanation. I had to find it all out myself. (and I'm not confident/assertive with docs, either).

The drugs haven't helped, I'd go so far as to say the reflux significantly worsened. I had faith in the Gaviscon Advance having read how it works but that hasn't made any difference either. I have monitored everything I eat and drink and can't find anything that triggers it with the possible exception of bread, and I may be grasping at straws there. Certainly coffee, alcohol, spicy food etc don't trigger it and ginger, acidophillus, apple cider vinegar don't help. It does seem to be cyclical - I'll have a week or so of decreased symptoms then it gradally works up again to two or 3 weeks of hell. No heartburn, and the reflux is almost always upright, no problems sleeping...just the other 17 hours a day! The ENT was brusque on my return visit and said that, aside from speech therapy, there was nothing more he could do for me. This can't go on, though. At it's worst it makes me tearful and desperate at work and speech therapy isn't going to stop me spitting up into a whole toilet roll each day, or reduce the other symptoms. I'm also worried my teeth will rot and I fear for my job. Has anyone experienced this with the same pattern/lack of triggers etc? I would love to hear any positive experiences that don't just repeat the same old same old, ie, raise the bed 6 inches, dos and donts with food etc.

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  • Posted

    I see, Alex. Sorry, my mistake. We were both defending him but I misunderstood.
  • Posted

    irene i tried aloe vera liquid and tbh did nothing for me. I pop aloe vera gel tablets now along with vit d high dose, cucumin and some other minerals. I dont know if they work they just give me a sence of comfort. (i still have the problem)

    At the momment I have started to feel better. Not fully but definatly im seeing changes and my thoughts really are turning to deslradinum allergy tablets im taking.

    I drank something today and my thorat has never felt better Its like i remmebr what it felt like to be normal again.

    Im going to ask my doc about alergies. It was pure fluke my chemist gave them to me for a sore throat as strepsils were killing me.

    Anyone else know abou thte connection between LPR and allergies it is new for me I found a thread about it on google but i dont know if i can post that here

    let mne know

    Greg

  • Posted

    sorry spelling is bad kids got something under the keys

  • Posted

    PND = post nasal drip. Sorry, I should not have been lazy and should have written it out.
  • Posted

    Hello Alex & Greg

    As you may or may not know HH or Hiatial Hernia is the stretching of the aperture that the oesophagus passes through just above the stomach.

    As the tissue stretches thehole is made larger and a portion of the stomach can rise through the hole with

    discomfort for the patient. and gives rise to reflux symptoms

    HH is often a simple repair where sutures are used to close the hole to its original size.

    LINX was originally not available to HH patients but that has changed recently and several implants have been performed with an HH repair at tha same time.

    Best Regards JPT

  • Posted

    That's good because i was worried it was the dreaded Fundoluplication (bad spelling im sure).

    thanks.

    Still having good days all with my allergy tablets. Even had a pizza today and cup of coffee with very slight pain in chest all day.

    I think im having reactions to the ppis because took another one today and now have a tight ball feeling in my throat.

    I think this and the reaction to it in my throat were causing the sore throat. 4 days till i see the doc have so much to ask him

    hope you are all fgeeling a bit better today or completly better my thoughts are with you all

    Greg

  • Posted

    Greg, if the hernia is 3cm or more, it is highly unlikely that you have any surgical option other than fundoplication.
  • Posted

    Reflux affects quite a few family members including myself. For me, it produced a lot of 'heartburn' and after I mentioned to my pharmacist that none of the 'over the counter' medicines worked, she suggested I get tested for helibacter(?) by my GP. I got tested and it confirmed I did have the infection. A course of two anti-biotics sorted out the problem and the heartburn went away.

    However, about three years ago I developed a persistent cough which would not go away even after six months. Anyway, to keep it short, I saw a Consultant (privately) and after trying various rememedies he said that we should go for Omeprazole as he thought my cough was down to reflux, not nasal drip nor a post-viral cough. I took 40 mg per day for a month, 30 mg for a month and now a maintenance dose of 20 mg a day. It worked after a couple of weeks and the cough disappeared. I tried to do without the Omeprazole for a couple of days but my stomach fought back with intense indigestion so I went back to 20 mg per day and am OK. No cough. The Consultant explained to me that most people who have a reflux proglem don't know it because they simply don't feel any of the stomach contents coming back up the oasephagus(?).

  • Posted

    PAPPU I think it is easy to make alkaline water at home. Youtube how to make alkaline water.

    Are there any symptons for HH. I have started to get chest pains after 16 months of my ordeal but really they are very weak and not like the dibillatating pain some folk talk about on here.

    My other symptoms have just been sore throat and earache which have been very bad.

    I am seeing a specialist this tuesday so hopefully he can shed some light.

    I really dont want a hernia cos the FUndoloplaction is not gonna happen in my body.

    I had a barium xray they didnt see any leakage and endoscopies only showed a slight opening of my LES so we will have to see. (I know they can tell anything formo these but heres hoping.

    Greg

  • Posted

    Hi Everyone- I posted for the first time a little over a week ago- I was new to LPR and HH....but my list of symptoms were pretty bad at the time- including the vomit in sleep a few times, really hard time breathing and intense pain around the bra line of chest....and asthma like breathing- which is what i first thought it was.

    anyway- i doubt it will be popular on this forum but i want to at least put it out there because it is helping me a lot.

    I went to a chiropractor- but specifically one is has experience with HH and reflux.....he was able to fix the HH- and in his opinion- that is the cause of most people with lpr or ar....I stopped taking the ppi i was given and took his digestive supplements.

    Its only been a few days but i feel a big big improvement. It takes a few times. ...and i wouldn't go to just any chiropractor without making sure he isnt very experienced with this sort of thing but i do think its worth a try. I don't gain anything from this- its just my suggestion that its worth looking into .

    i do still have the cough and have burped once in my sleep since then- but no where near the pain i was in just over a week or so ago.

    He is now working on the diaphragm now...so i will give it a couple more times and see if that last big goes away.

    for me- i am glad this way is helping- since i prefer natural way of healing and even though i had to pay for several visits its still cheaper than a regular MD...and i also feel with natural docs you get more one on one attention and can ask questions.

    i should add that since i first went to the first MD who suggested I had LPR (then later with my own search i realized i prob had HH too)....i changed my diet drastically- no big meals -down to around 1500 calories a day for me (a woman-so taht is low cal but i need to lose weight anyway)....and the dr k diet is what i have been following...and also not eating at least 3 hrs before bed.

    this part won't be popular here either....but i did at first get some high ph water and i think it might have helped but then since going to the natural doc- he is against that pov - so i stopped that and i still feel fine.

    so- that is what seems to be helping for me so far. I still want to see if the symptoms go totally way- but i feel pretty close.

    thanks

  • Posted

    Hi All!

    My misery started last Feb. I decided to go on a 10 day water fast in Jan for health reasons (big mistake) I had no LPR or so I thought at the time. about 1-2 weeks after the fast I noticed I was having to take deep breaths a lot of the time, and it seemed to progress, this went on for a few months before I gave in and went to the doc which was a horror story, they sent me for a lung function test which didn't show much then they sent me for an ultrasound for my heart, which came back with left sided heart failure, I was shocked I am 54 to young for this right? anyway I went to a heart doctor who ran his own tests on me which came back that thank god my heart is normal so the idiot doc that read the ultrasound was mistaken and caused me a lot of mental suffering. So I went back to the Lung doc who suggested I had silent reflux and to go to an ENT. this doc stuck the camera down my throat and said yep you probably have reflux it was all red.

    My only symptom is the breathing problem, I am taking Prilosec 20mg morning and night. It has helped but I still have a breathing problem that is driving me nuts, I can feel it get worse as soon as I bend or drink or eat it is ridiculous. here I go on a water fast to improve my health and end up doing more damage I cannot figure out for anything why the fast would have done this, do any of you have any idea's? I want to get rid of this, I worry about my lungs being ruined, I do have Asthma but very mildly which I have had since birth. and this for sure is not my asthma. I read somewhere that with asthma you have a hard time exhaling with reflux you have a hard time breathing in. I went back to the ENT a few weeks ago and the redness in my throat is gone, it all looks normal again but I still have the breathing issue he wants me to come back in mid Jan, He thinks we are on the right track but I am not convinced because I feel I should be breathing better, he did tell me this takes a long time to resolve. He says it's a Marathon not a sprint.

  • Posted

    hi everyone To Donna25713, what you said about your chiropractor is really interesting to me and is why I even stopped to look at this forum. I swear all my symptoms started with major tension issues, so bad so my jaw dislocates itself whenever it feels like it, like in the middle of a conversation...lol ( imagine the look on someones face when you jump and grab your jaw while talking.) I kept telling my husband the worse my tension got the worse my reflux symptoms got, could I be so tight that it is actually pulling on my sphincter? Try mentioning that one to a Dr. They will up your psych meds, thats for sure. What I would like to know is anyone else have tingling lips, itchy ears and throat, pain in bottom flesh of chin, oh and how about TENSION?

  • Posted

    hm, yes, i think i get itchy ears but not sure if it is related.

    as for the chiropractor- yes, for me it seems to be helping but its specific chiropractic work for the Hernia- which in the end will help the stomach and other organs align again and I HOPE to work property- I think there are even some youtube videos about hitial hernia and chiropractic..

    also- not sure how much himalayan salt has been discussed here but for me that is working to help symptoms. Google it if you don't know much about it- google himalayan salt acid reflux.

    I think it might be a mask - and i don't want to do something very long that mask issues but for now- I am taking it.

    As i said i am seeing big improvement with the chiropractor- but today I did have the cough still so i tried the sale water brime and it worked. I want to add that to my list of questions for the dr. as to why it works because i want to know if i can fix the underlying problem.

  • Posted

    I agree completely, I am so tired of masking everything. I used to have a steel stomach, and then a whole bunch of traumatic things happened and now I have nothing but digestive issues. The Dr's just say here is an anti depressant and an anti -reflux med. come back in 3 months.... I just want to feel good for more then a day at a time... So when all these ridiculous symptoms started about a week and a half ago I just felt the depression swoop over me once again.... It started with a lump in my throat that bothered me only when I drank something cold, then it went to feeling like i had a bunch of peanuts stuck in my throat, along with an incredibly itchy throat, then my throat became raw and red, and I started to have pain in my neck almost constantly with twinges in my voice box, all the while the tension in my shoulders and face was progressing to the point of jaw dislocation, so I started googling my symptoms and came across lpr and of coarse lots of cancers which just scares the heck out of you, so anyway, what I am trying to say, is I think your chiropractor is on to something incredible, I am going to start with some professional massages and see how it goes from there...

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