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

    Hello Alex. I have dealt with your exact symptoms seems like my entire life. It's terrible. Have you found anything that works? I have praying for years for a cure.

  • Posted

    I don't know if anyone reads this anymore. But i was able to cure mine. I was suffering from silent reflux for a while. I tried everything the doctor suggested. All kinds of prescriptions, over the counter medicine, diet change, elevating the bed, baking soda. Not a single thing worked but i found something that cured it 100 %. A chiropractor. Originally i went because of my back pain. On my first visit he took x-rays and for my follow up, after he examined the x-rays, i was very surprised when one of the first questions he asked was " do you suffer from reflux? ". I never told him about my reflux before yet he was suspicious of it just from my x-ray. It took a few months of adjustments, just like he said it would, before i no longer had it. I no longer had to take medication, no more diet change, no elevating the bed. I felt normal again. Eventually it became pricey and i stopped going. It only took about a month before the reflux came back. I ended up going to my doctor for something else but I told him about my experience. He didn't buy into it. He and most doctors believe that chiropractor is a scam. He even tried to explain why it can't work but at the same time admitted he didn't know much about the practice. Very typical pride i say. Probably because he couldn't fix my problem and some other profession could. I wanted to tell my doctor that " I don't care what you say. I may not understand it but here's what I do understand. With you i was on a strict diet and all kinds of medicine and nothing worked. With the chiropractor i was on zero medicine and backed to my old diet and i felt great . " i went back to my chiropractor and after some adjustments my silent reflux went away again. I can't say it will work on everyone but maybe many of you out there can be cured this way.

    • Posted

      That's awesome, Brandon! So happy you found relief through chiropractic. Chiropractic is amazing. My husband is a chiropractor and he has situations like this all the time! He sees and helps many desperate patients for whom the medical route has failed. In turn, his patients can be somewhat zealot-like. Ha! And yes, many MDs are derisive towards chiropractic, but there are many who are supportive, too. Chiropractic has helped me with countless things and it's helping MY reflux as well. Thank you so much for sharing!

    • Posted

      My doc was the same when her meds have done nothing - a 2 hour session with a Kinesiologist saw it off - then had a second and it is so much bettter.  I could not tolerate even chemical smells or hair laquer spray, deodorant, petrol fumes - everything.  But I can now after my two sessions.  My doc wont have it though and puts it down to coincidence.  I have read of many people who have been helped by a chiro.
    • Posted

      Hi Katrina!

      In a nutshell, the nerves that come out of the spine go to every part of the body. If you have an impingement of those nerves that are going to the esophagus/stomach, etc you can definitely have symptoms there. The adjustment opens up those nerve pathways. This is what chiropractic is based on and where they excel. There are other things as well. For instance if you have a hiatal hernia you are much more likely to suffer from reflux. A chiropractor can, with a fairly simple maneuver, pull the hernia back down, thereby offering relief. For more information definitely google chiropractic and reflux or chiropractic and hiatal hernia etc. Keep in mind that obviously the results are going to depend on why you are getting reflux. Chiropractic can definitely help a lot of cases but not all. For example, if your diet is super bad and you're eating a lot of processed foods obviously you arent going to probably get relief through any means. Anyway, hope this helps and best of luck to you!

    • Posted

      Hi Brandon, how are you now? Did the chiropractor really healed your lpr reflux? I am really desperate and I am looking for a way to fix it!

  • Posted

    Hi All.  I have had the exact same problem since Sep 2016. One test result showed 212 refluxes in a nights and all the other symptoms. 

    I seem to sleep ok most of the time, however after lunch it starts with the throat clearing again!!!!!!!  All this has caused me to develope what seems a hernia in my belly button, which I now have to push inward everytime I cear my throat or cough.  I never have heartburn, but sometimes experience a breathing in of some kind of odourless fume which irritates my throat and often theres a soft like pin prick bugging my throat.  It seems to have dried out the membranes in my nose, and now it feels like little fever blisters in there.  Tissue Oil calms it for a while, but it comes back again.  I find that I can't pitch notes when trying to record vocals, and sometimes it is difficult to swalow.  This is a horrible place to be in.  I'm going to seek other medical attention, as my doctors' don't find anything wrong with me. 

    Kind Regards. 

    Graham - South Africa

  • Posted

    Hi,

    I'm 14 years old and I've had this condition for about 8 months. It's literally ruining my life and I'm not sure what to do -_- . I've tried every medication you can list

  • Posted

    I love to sing and I speak to patients as a dentist. I don't sing to my patients.

    For the past year I was regularly loosing my voice and could barely sing.

    I had two scopes by different ENT's and a stomach biopsy by a GI doctor with positive signs of LPR. My doctors put me on two different meds and they didn't help much or at all.

    I hated the idea of taking meds and I wanted to modify my lifestyle. It worked!

    I raised the head of my bed by 4 inches, stopped drinking milk in cereal every day, and I stopped eating dinner after 7:00. It worked and I am so psyched. I am fifty years old and my voice is back after being out and in for a year.

    Scientist don it know the long term affects of medicine, especially combined with your specific body chemistry. I take no meds and I wanted to share my success. Try it!

    • Posted

      Just curious Terrys409, from the time you made the change, how long was it before you started seeing results? How long before you felt completely better?
  • Posted

    I would love to get a compilation of the people that have figured out how to beat this. Reading these post of what does not work is quite depressing. Like others, I have been to multiple doctors and they just send you home with Prilosec or Prevacid and tell you to have a good life. I refuse to stay on medicine that will eventually lead to other problems.
    • Posted

      I'm with you on the meds. My last visit to the GE I was given a script for 120mg Dexilant and 300 mg Renitidine. After a month and no improvement but severe constipation I have ceased the meds and will look to more lifestyle changes. I have not seen anyone with LPR here that had success with the usual medications.

    • Posted

      I beat it. Now i am not claiming it will work for everyone. I did the usual routine of doctors, test, over the counter and prescription medicine. Elevated my bed, changed my diet. Nothing worked. Doctor kept saying take more medicine. I ended up going to a chiropractor because of my back. First day he took xrays and I went back for my follow-up. First thing he asked me, if i suffer reflux. I never told him about my reflux. He came to that conclusion just from my xray. It took a couple of months of going 3 times a week ( just like he said it would because it takes time to treat ). And then it was gone and I was going only once a week. After some time i stopped going ( chiropractor is expensive ). It didn't take long. Month later my silent reflux came back. I tried the doctor one more time and of course tons of medication and diet change and not an ounce of it helped. Went back to my chiropractor and he told me to stop taking the medication and start taking probiotics and digestive enzymes. Within 2 days there was a huge difference because of those supplements. And after about 6 adjustments my reflux was gone again ( i cured quickly the second time around because there wasn't much of a gap between the time i stopped and started again ) Didn't have to change my diet either ( although i should ). The problem with silent reflux is that your body is not making enough acid to digest your food in time. Which is the opposite of the common reflux. Research that. Its why the medicines don't work ( actually makes it worse ).

    • Posted

      What type of digestive enzymes do you take? I'm very interested in trying them!!

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