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

I often get bloated lately but was informed that it's the result of a haitus hernia.  Certain foods make it worse for me, such as wheat and dairy.

You might like to check out the Fast Tract diet mentioned on this thread -to tr and pinpoint what foods may be causing the bloating.

I started taking digestive enzymes a couple of weeks ago and am pleasantly surprised at how they have improved my digestion and LPR sysmtoms (much less mucus -even after drinking the odd coffee). 

The enzymes also help keep me regular, which helps too.  I take "Udos Choice Digestive Enzyme Blend".

I've personally avoided taking Omeprazole and prefer the the more natural route;  so I eat mainly vegetratioan food, avoid ice-cream and fizzy drink, do regular TM meditation to reduce stress and acid levels, plus I walk and cycle most days. And I sleep with a window open -which helps avoid a dry throat at night.  I used to take one or two teaspoons of Gaviscon Advance perhaps twice a week if the refulx was bad, but since starting on the digestive enzymes I havent needed the Gaviscon -touch wood.

So have you been diagnosed with LPR, or a haitus hernia, or both?

"1 or 2 coffees a day".  

I've never had the lump in the throat feeling. But if I did I'd personally avoid having any coffee, not even decaff.  Instead I'd stick to a low acid diet and try and reduce or come off the Omeprazole.  But thats just me.

have you had a camera/scope put up your nose? as you may know, this is the first step i'm told to verify if you have lpr.  it allows the ent specialist to look at your throat etc for signs of redness/burning.

if you've never been dianosed with lpr then perhaps you have rhinitis. or else perhaps just a simple allergy or excess mucus.

here's some useful info on foods to avoid if you have lpr or even just excess acid. google:- "10 things you should know about avoiding acid reflux".

  have="" you="" had="" a="" camera/scope="" put="" up="" your="" nose?="" as="" you="" may="" know,="" this="" is="" the="" first="" step="" i'm="" told="" to="" verify="" if="" you="" have="" lpr. ="" it="" allows="" the="" ent="" specialist="" to="" look="" at="" your="" throat="" etc="" for="" signs="" of="" redness/burning.="" if="" you've="" never="" been="" dianosed="" with="" lpr="" then="" perhaps="" you="" have="" rhinitis.="" or="" else="" perhaps="" just="" a="" simple="" allergy="" or="" excess="" mucus.="" here's="" some="" useful="" info="" on="" foods="" to="" avoid="" if="" you="" have="" lpr="" or="" even="" just="" excess="" acid.="" google:-="" "10="" things="" you="" should="" know="" about="" avoiding="" acid="" reflux".="">

have you had a camera/scope put up your nose? as you may know, this is the first step i'm told to verify if you have lpr.  it allows the ent specialist to look at your throat etc for signs of redness/burning.

if you've never been dianosed with lpr then perhaps you have rhinitis. or else perhaps just a simple allergy or excess mucus.

here's some useful info on foods to avoid if you have lpr or even just excess acid. google:- "10 things you should know about avoiding acid reflux".

 >

i'd be wary of taking ppi's for any more than a week or so, especially since you say you are taking 'double the dose'. 

google: "fda warns of fracture risk from acid reflux drugs -ppi antacids linked to hip, wrist, and spine fracture".

as long as your aware of the long-term side effects. i'd="" be="" wary="" of="" taking="" ppi's="" for="" any="" more="" than="" a="" week="" or="" so,="" especially="" since="" you="" say="" you="" are="" taking="" 'double="" the="" dose'. ="" google:="" "fda="" warns="" of="" fracture="" risk="" from="" acid="" reflux="" drugs="" -ppi="" antacids="" linked="" to="" hip,="" wrist,="" and="" spine="" fracture".="" as="" long="" as="" your="" aware="" of="" the="" long-term="" side="">

i'd be wary of taking ppi's for any more than a week or so, especially since you say you are taking 'double the dose'. 

google: "fda warns of fracture risk from acid reflux drugs -ppi antacids linked to hip, wrist, and spine fracture".

as long as your aware of the long-term side effects.>

I just had an endoscopy a week ago and have no confidence in this doctor but he's the only one from the Digestive Diseases Group I could get in to see fast. My initial meeting with him, I waited 20 minutes in the main waiting area, and another 40 or so in an exam room. He came flying in like a diva apologizing profusely yet with no sincerity, asked me a couple questions and flew out saying his office would call to set up an endoscopy test. I got zero time to ask questions or even go into depth regarding my medical history.

The day of the test I got zero time before the procedure, and after he came into the recovery room to talk to me...ME!...the guy who was still dazed and confused from the twilight sedation. Good thing my wife was with me or I wouldn't have even remembered seeing him. He said my throat was a little red and swollen and prescribed Prilosec (omeprazole), which he knew damn well I had already been trying with an OTC brand and that it was doing nothing for the horrible painful lump around my voicebox. Didn't care that it all started two weeks after major back surgery 6 weeks prior, amd represented by raw sore vocal cords and a lump on the right side of my throat that could be felt on the outside with palpation but hurt inside when food passed over it.

He never got to hear that for YEARS I had seen multiple specialists for sinus infections and acute allergy symptoms with no relief. All of them first threw antibiotics (Z pak, K pak, triple paks) allergy pills, hearing tests (????), was sent to a womans balance therapy class which I didn't go to (I'm a 6'4, 235lb man!) and eventually threw their hands in the air in defeat. 

Doctors have been creating a hypochondriac out of me just as sure as hair dressers were creating my comb over every time I got a haircut and begged them to just cut it short because I know it's gone! My poor wife started responding to my non-stop obsessing by looking at me like I was a whiney little wimp to the degree that I accused her of not 'getting it' because it wasn't her that was sick all the time with no answers to show for the years and thousands of dollars that got thrown at it! The needle on my Quality of Life 'O Meter was buried on the nil end of the scale. I felt pretty much alone with with this for years and seriously began considering that I was losing my flippin mind!

That is, until recently when I got GERD/LPR symptoms. The doc who did the endoscopy can go to hell, I know there's more to it all than "just a little red and swollen". OK genius, from WHAT?! How bout we find out what's causing it and fix the root cause; not just give me a scrip for Prilosec (more ameprazole). 

You're spot on regarding small meals several times a day. I know when I start to feel hungry that if I don't eat something I'm in for 5 or 6 hours of esophogial hell. His damn Prilosec doesn't do bupkus. I'm going to call today but I already know what he's going to say...double the dose to 80mg a day (40mg BID). Not gonna happen. Are we the patients the ONLY ones aware of the side effects and complications of using PPI's in large and small doses for anything longer than 8 weeks? 

I'm sick and tired of paying 'medical specialists' to fight me, and ESPECIALLY don't like being milked like some cash cow because my ailment isn't considered life threatening and therefore can be safely (used loosely) strung along. The better your healthcare coverage the more you can bank on being bilked.

I realize this is a rambling rant but the bottom line is, we the sick and suffering need, no, MUST take control of these complacent money grubbers and demand excellence. I just love how a so-called 'specialist' carries themselves like demigods but hide behind the smokey convenient terminology of "practicing". If I failed at my job, backed by a lifetime of training and experience I'd be canned in a heartbeat! They are the ONLY profession where inaccuracy and complacency results in guaranteed future earnings. That said, I realize people are all wired differently but their failure is all but guaranteed if they won't even gather initial meeting information. 

Hey Angie from Angies List....start a service related to the medical community. Maybe if we can publicly identify the losers it will send a message that we're sick and tired of being sick and tired; and being legally cheated out of already high healthcare dollars.

End of rant. :D

I have suffered for awhile with this, I have done all I can to try and figure out how to FIX this ... truth is , it is always gonna be a struggle for us i am sure. But trying to find out the triggers and the little fixes is what is really gonna work for us. I am glad I had a DR to sit down get close to me and act like she really cares how i felt and try to show me she cares,why does she care, Because she is "ONE OF US"  lol.... The best thing we Got really is each others Advice hold close to people who is going through the same thing you are. 

It is so heartbreaking to say the least when you walk in so HOPEFUL to a dr to get a answer to just walk out humilated. And feeling like noone really Cares. But there is people who cares like me , the ones who are suffering just as much as you are. The hardest part is Accepting and believing ok this is acid and How do i approach it , For months I said Ok this isnt acid and i would just keep researching for what I do have. Because it is silent and we dont have any of the heartburns etc we just think no this isnt my stomach causing these Problems.... But truth is YES it is. We have to find out what the triggers are and what helps us. What helps other people may not be our fix.... 

ere’s how silent reflux works: Ordinarily, your stomach makes enzymes that are activated by stomach acid to digest food. When one of those enzymes, called pepsin, travels out of the stomach as a result of your lying down or normal reflux, it can latch on to the throat and stay there. After that, any acid, from food going down or acid traveling up from your stomach, can activate those enzymes to eat away at the throat’s lining. Those enzymes cause your esophagus to swell, numbing the nerves that detect pain, so unlike “traditional” acid reflux, silent reflux doesn’t create the heartburn sensation in your lower chest to indicate the presence of acid.

Making simple changes to your diet can allow you to get your silent reflux in check. Here is a three-step prevention plan to stop silent reflux before it starts.

Step 1: Deacidify the Foods in Your Diet

By eliminating foods that create acid in your stomach or have a high acid content as they pass through your throat, you’ll reduce the chance of those stomach enzymes irritating your throat. Cut out acid-causing foods like chocolate, deep-fried foods, mints, and even certain healthy foods like tomatoes and onions. Instead, replace them with alkaline foods that actually reduce the amount of acid your stomach creates, like green vegetables, bananas, almond milk, and oatmeal. In just two weeks, the majority of your reflux symptoms should be reduced significantly.

Step 2: Eliminate the Four Cs

Caffeine, citrus, carbonated beverages (including seltzer), and cocktails all stir up acid in the stomach. And if you’re wondering what’s so bad about seltzer, stomach acid can essentially latch onto the carbonation bubbles, traveling up to your throat like a hot air balloon to activate the damaging pepsin enzyme!

Step 3: Send Canned and Processed Foods to the Trash

Cancer of the esophagus is up 850% since the 1970s, much of which can be attributed to changes in the American diet. So much of what we eat today undergoes a chemical acidification process in order to be preserved in cans or packages with ingredients like citric acid and ascorbic acid. When we eat those foods, we expose our throats to those additional acids, which of course can then activate the enzymes that eat away at our esophageal lining. Avoid canned and processed foods as much as possible, opting instead for fresh, delicious organic or all-natural foods. Your taste buds, and your esophagus, will thank you!