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

Please does anyone here have bad breath with this acid reflux condition?

Thanks billdubya!

I think I may wait and see before I buy Gaviscon Advance. It sounds from everyone that this is best to be used at night but thankfully I don't have any symptoms at night so I may not even need this at the moment.

My symptoms start right after the food goes down the esophagus and irritates the larynx. And this is primarily feeling like something stuck on the back of my throat and needs to be cleared. I also, not always, feel pain in my throat but this becomes more with talking. The ENT told me that I have swollen & irritated voice box. I'm currently trying PH water and drink chamomile tea with ginger and lemon. I think the second one helps a bit more then PH water. I try to chew gum it helps too but it is all temporary thing until food goes down the pipe. Strange, and I noticed that other people also stated the same, that the same food can cause symptoms on some days but on the others it doesn't. Go figure...

Trying small portions and alkaline food, Bromelain for digestive tract, and Probiotics...that is basically all I'm doing now...not sure what else to do since meds don’t' work. I can't say that my symptoms are severe but even what I have bothers me on a daily basis. I guess I need to be patient and continue with what I'm doing in hopes that someday I will feel normal again...I just hope so for myself and other people who goes thru the same ordeal...

Hi All

I am new to this forum and thread and would like to share my symptoms. If anyone has had the same i would like to know your thoughts

Last April (2012) i had a bad chest infection/virus which gave me a chronic cough and breathing problems. It was so bad that my coughing was extremely strained to the max which may or may not contribute to the problem. Anyway after a course of anti biotics i recovered but then about a week or 2 later i started to get this constant need to clear my throat that drove me mad.

This has gone on now for 9 months . I have to say it’s worse in the morning and usually settles down but can trigger throughout the day.. I would not say it was constant it terms off all the time 8 hours a day for example but it does flare up randomly through the day. I also have this cough just a single cough again random throughout the day. Again not chronic

In addition i also get other symptoms like tightness and slight burning right in the middle of my chest in the centre at the base of my rib cage top of stomach. Also sometimes it feels like there is something lodged and this is the most horrible feeling. Its not pain or burning or sick its just a horrible feeling that really gets me down.

I have gone through severe stress and worry this year which again probably contributed to hit. I have also put a lot of strain on my body by golf swing practice for hours on end with stress involved i might add.

I have visited my doctor several times and he reckons its stress related. I am going to try the alkaline water regime as I have ordered several products and also the pep test

Any help appreciated

Pete

I just want to share something with all of you...this is only my experience and I'm just thinking that high PH water maybe the right way to go. Hear me out...

My problems started back in April of last year. I had a cold, nasty cough and, not sure if as the result of that, I started filling lump in my throat, hoarseness of the voice, cough only when I talk, because it irritates my voice box. I've been on various PPI's and H2 blockers - NO HELP.

Then in Sept of last year I decided to go to Czech Republic - Karlovy Vary. This is the place where people go with various digestive problems. This year was my 4th time I go there. Always helped with gastritis, IBS, GERS. This time it was different. What this place has is natural hot springs that people drink ( 200 gr) 45 min before meals 3 times a day. This place works for sure! Millions and millions people go there. This is a well-known spa resort and especially for Europe, not so much US.

I only had 2 week vacation and as I was drinking hot springs I felt better. What these hot springs is just good minerals that obtain healing power for GI tract and it’s high PH. I felt much better while being there. The only problem was that I didn’t’ have enough time to cure myself completely.

So, my point in all this is – I think the high PH water maybe a good solution for people with LPR. The only thing is they recommend to drink it before meals and not after. Actually drinking after meals is not so good, I heard and read, because it dilutes acid that we have in our stomach. And the new believe that people with GERD or LPR have not enough acid as opposed to misconception about having too much acid because it keeps rising in the esophagus.

i Yasha

I'm glad you have read my notes i sent you on alkaline water and the benefits it has in denaturing Pepsin and acid in the airways.

You don't have to worry about water of pH8.0 changing the acidity of the stomach, the stomach acid is around pH 2.0 and a gallon of alkaline water would change it.

We do indeed need stomach acid for correct digestion. It makes the pyloric sphincter work and opens it to allow passage into the duodenum.that is just one reason why PPI are so bad for us.

\

Regards JPT

hi JPT

Thanks for your reply to my questions. It all makes perfect sense.

What I've been thinking while this is all great that we're all in this forum sharing our experiences along with our symptoms but it looks like majority of these people are still not diagnosed and only assume that their symptoms are LPR related.

I live in US and here we have Voice Institute and Dr. Koufman sees patients and at some point I was considering to schedule one. A side from the fact that my ENT told me that I have swollen vocal cords, I have no other tests done to confirm my diagnoses. Several GPs' told me that if I don't respond to PPI's or H2 blockers then it's not Acid Reflux. Now I understand why they say this. They are thinking in terms of the traditional GERD and for that these meds work magic.

Having said this, Voice Institute oferes several tests that they claim will diagnose the patient correctly. My concern is - how conclusive the tests that Voice institute offers? When I called them to find out what this will cost me they told me that I need to pay up front $1600 US for the visit and the test they will do. They offer PH monitoring but I read in other articles that PH - Monitoring is not accurate for diagnoses of LPR amd you need to have PH monitoring with multichannel impedance. At this point I'm not sure if its' worth scheduling an appointment with this Voice Institute or better continue alkaline diet along with drinking PH 8 water. What would you advise? Is there anything besides the diet and alkaline water you recommend?

I'm considering and accupuncture - what is your opinion on this? My accupancturist told me that he helps with Acid Reflux...its a matter of restoring the right balance. There are so many sources and info just dont' know what is the right path for me at this point. Thanks in advance for your time and advices.

Below are the tests Voice Institute offers:

Transnasal Esophagoscopy (TNE). We are able to evaluate the esophagus in the office without any intravenous sedation or anesthesia. An endoscope similar to the small flexible instrument that is used to examine the larynx can be advanced into the esophagus just behind the voice box, and provide an excellent and quick screening examination of the esophagus. TNE replaces more complex, time-consuming, and unpleasant procedures. Immediately after TNE, people can leave the office, go home or return to work, drive an automobile, or eat a meal.

High-Definition Manometry. This state-of-the-art technology is used for measuring the muscle function and coordination of the swallowing mechanism. The Sierra Scientific manometry catheter we employ has 432 pressure sensors (located at 36 locations 1cm apart). The catheter is inserted through the nose after numbing it, and it is then positioned to measure dynamic pressures in the throat, esophagus, and stomach. In addition to testing esophageal motility, manometry is used to locate and evaluate the upper and lower esophageal sphincters. This information is essential for accurate pH monitoring. Normally, the sphincters prevent reflux disease by acting as one-way valves.

pH Monitoring. Ambulatory, 24-hour, double-probe (simultaneous pharyngeal and esophageal) pH monitoring is the best way to test the esophagus for GERD and throat for LPR. This investigation is performed overnight. A small flexible tube in placed in the nose and enters the throat and esophagus where (using a portable minicomputer) it measures acidity backflow in both the esophageal and the laryngeal areas. We have recently developed new software that analyzes the pH testing results across the range of acidity (from strong to weak acid).

Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES). Less commonly performed, this is a specialized examination of swallowing function, also performed using a flexible endoscopic instrument inserted through the nose. FEES evaluates the ability of the pharynx (throat) to propel swallowed material in to the esophagus. It also effectively evaluates nerve and muscle function and coordination of the larynx and tongue.

Yasha

You can get a new test from the UK by post...no pain. They cover the US with FedEX

You just provide three saliva samples. They have a breakthrough test that can measure Pepsin.

If its there you have LPR if not you done ...simple Google Peptest or RDbiomed.

I have used it many times.

It will also tell you if meds or surgery are working or not because you can test before and after.

Regards JPT

Thanks JPT

I will order this test. Since I'm on no medication at the moment then it will only show me what the current state with no comparison.

I don't think it is that simple re the Peptest. I had it done and it was negative but I have all the symptoms of LPR and confirmed by the camera in the throat. I also had a gastroscopy that showed I had gastritis. PPIs made me ill and did not cure my symptoms. I am now on an H2 blocker and Gaviscon Advance and these are helping (as well as low acid diet and alkaline water).

The condition fluctuates and I can't put this down to anything specific.

New to the forum my names Alejandro.. just recently diagnosed with LPR but started last year around August. .im Hispanic so i basically ate Mexican foods with a lot of spices I ate late at night then went to sleep right away ..drank beer etc.. One day I came home from work ate a chicken salad and I put a lot of Tapatio hot sauce on it..later that day all of a sudden I felt short outta breath..heartburn..I felt the globus sensation..and of course a fast heart beat and I started to panic I was like what heck is going on ..I rushed home and drank some passion flower tea for anxiety and I finally relaxed ..I headed to the hospital they did test and showed my lungs..heart were fine and said I was constipated..and maybe I had allergies. .went home I didn't feel comfortable I was pretty much terrified from the symptoms ..ever since I was younger I had gastritis due to poor eating as a kid only ate hot chips with sodas ..anyway I went to see my doctor and I asked him if I had H-pylori ..He laughed and slapped Me in the head ..I was Pissed because I wanted to get to the bottom of this and he wasn't taking me seriously. .ok so he gave me medicine omeprazole and an inhaler in case I had another short outta breath episode but a few months passed and no relief told me to go back in a month if I'm still the same and so i sid ..He then referred me to a gastroenterologist to perform an endoscopy they found gastritis and my esophagus had closed a little probably from acid irritation..so 3 months passed started feeling post nasal drip, wheezing, lump in the throat, short out of breath, my hands will get numb , dizziness, Throat clearing, ear aches sometimes and more ..I had my esophagus dilated again in 1/10/14 for the second time it's horrible feeling a few weeks later went to see the ENT doctor because my gastroenterologist doctor didn't know what a typical gerd, silent reflux, Laryngopharyngeal reflux was so i quickly made an appointment and went in ..they stuck a thin camera into my nose and down into the throat saw mild irritation and now I'm here prescribed me Nexium for gastritis and now to deal with LPR ..it's nice to know um not alone all my family and friends thought it was all in my head they were wrong

Drink allergy pills to get rid of post nasal drip and won't go away..im taking DGL Licorice to help coat the lining of the stomach and I'm taking Melatonin to help my LES (Lower Esophageal sphincter) close it's recommended by Doctor .Oz just recently in January ..there is probably a cure out there but I believe doctors give you the run around and keep you on meds that's how they make their money and pharmaceutical laboratories benefit from it as well Idk just saying