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

I still have this condition after 14 months. Came on suddenly and has remained constantly although some days not so bad. I have gone off all medications and watch what I think triggers it off more. Talking, airconditioned rooms, fans that causes dryness. I am ok when my throat is lubricated.

Eating late is a no no for me as laying down without a few hours between meal time I can ensure lots of swallowing and coughing at night. My specialist gave me a list of things to not eat for two months which I did strictly...fats, chocolate, tea/coffee, alcohol, any fizzy drinks, spices, salt/pepper, dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurts, butter). I did not think this made a big difference however fizzy drinks and chocolate are two items that I know will bring it on for me. I have two valves apparently that don't close and diagnosed with Silent Reflux (LPR) but know when I will have problems as I can feel them when I have to swallow heaps and know I need to watch what I eat at that time. I was much worse in winter. I will continue to monitor what may cause a trigger. Good luck. I choose not to use medications as so many are already causing me health issues far worse than the original conditions. (But I am heading to 60!) If you have a Dr you feel confident will keep following up on you that is good.

 

I would switch doctors to one who will listen. I’m a healthy 50 year old female and eat a pretty normal/healthy diet. I’ve been suffering from GERD/LPR since 2004. I’ve had 2 scopes and have been on most prescriptions out there (both over the counter and prescribed). My symptoms come and go. When I was thinner (I could lose about 15 pounds right now) my symptoms weren’t bad and medicine worked. Lately, I’ve had to go back to my doc since my symptoms are worsening despite doubling up my medication (omesperole). My doc switched me to Dexilant ($250 due to my high deductible) which worked great for a month. Symptoms are back and my doc mentioned getting tests done thinking it’s due to a hiatal hernia. She thinks stress could be a trigger too. 

Wish someone could find an answer for those of us who suffer. I’m sick of taking medication that doesn’t work. 

I agree. I have been suffering for years. Since 2001. I have been on every and anything. When you gain some pounds, your symptoms get worse. I had about 4 scopes done. I am on dexilant now. Really not working. I need a miracle. I eat right. Then I'll cheat here and there. I stress about it. Then I try not to think about it. Food feels like it's stuck in my chest. I'm considering the surgery

Hi Laura, I’ve seen two different doctors now who insist on given omerprozale out like smarties..the doctor I seen recently said he thinks it’s more worry than anything else I wish he could experience it and then say that...i’ve had No relief from omerprozale twice a day they do not work for me at all. I will demand an appointment at ENT when I go back in the next week or so. I’m not over weight I’m 5.6 and 8 stone but have psoratic arthritis diagnosed last year. It may be my medication and steroids that has caused this or the naxproxen I was prescribed but never have I experienced this in my life is so frightening. I just keep thinking I’ve cancer or my throat is damaged beyond repair. Typing this now and my throat is so tight - I do get slight relief when I’m eating which is strange then it comes straight back. 

Agree when I  eat or drink my throat feels better but then the “something is stuck in my throat” feeling comes back.  It’s definitely an inflammation of the throat so I try to drink chamomile with honey to soothe it.  Sometimes it helps. 

I know the  feeling like someone’s choking your throat. I have it right now and all I had was water with my dexilant and I did drink a decaf coffee but I can eat 1 Cheerio and have this feeling. I feel like crying most days because it’s so frustrating and I worry because it feels like my throat is closing. 

I'm so glad I’m not imaging this then. It’s so awful and it’s ruining my life at the moment. Any tips on coping? You’ve had this for years, I’ve only had it for 6 months nearly but more continuous of late. I’d hate to think I may be stuck with it..... xx

Like I said, sometimes the medication worked. It’s been about a year and half that it’s pretty continuous. Sometimes baking soda and water has worked. Sometimes my symptoms are having to burp to relieve pressure in my esophogus and that helps. Eating apples also has helped. I also take digestive enzymes (papaya chewable pills) and a probiotic to help with my digestion. It’s weird I feel like the food has trouble going down my esophogus but the scopes have showed it’s clear that’s why I feel it’s so sort of inflammation but not sure what’s triggering it. You can write a good diary and see if any food is triggering it. My doc also feels stress can trigger symptoms, which who doesn’t have stress, so I work out 3-4 times a week but it’s really no better. 

I wish I had better answers for you but know that you aren’t alone. Experiment to find what works best for you and please share if you stumble across something. I’m hopeful for answers too. 

Hi there, 

I totally understand how it might feel at the beginning as it is so uncomfortable that makes you anxious, but it can be all onlfor the time being....I have got first symptoms in 2013 and I have to reassure you that I am almost okay now with no digestive issues apart heavy mucus from time to time for reason unknown. SO ONE IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT IT CAN GO AWAY - YOU ARE NOT STUCK!

sorry for the capital letters, but what used to make me very anxious and gave me the sensation of being stuck was my GP telling me this would be forever and I would have to take PPIs ad gaviscone lifelong. I had fragmented sleep for 3 years from anxiety and Gerd...a year on PPIs which never seem to have helped me until I decided to quit everything as I was so exhausted physically (as because of the PPIs I was not even digesting what I used to eat) and mentally (because of no sleep and of how all that seemingly not a grave condition was affecting the quality of my life - both professional and personal). I even took lorazepam to get some sleep, lifted the head of my bed advised by my gp and since the blood would go down to my legs had to take pills for blood pressure in the morning...all kind of unwanted side effects. my ferritin, calcium and b12 levels went drastically down thanks to PPIs, gaviscon and lorazepam ...so there were too many side effects that would make it worse than would help.

To cut the long story short I was really lucky to discover one simple thing - often it is a mechanical issue when it is a silent reflux- so I did not have high acidity in my stomach and PPIs were totally unnecessary. more they would make me feel worse as they would lower acidity level to the point that I would not be able to digest even boiled vegetables and rice...so I quit them gradually in a period of 10 days I was off them.

- not lying down during the whole day and drinking lots of water helps to dilute the acidity if you have got it a bit high- better than PPIs and onside effects...

- a rigid diet for 3 months gave me better  results than all the theory of one year - no dairy, no gluten, no red meat, no caffein, no chocolate - I am neither allergic to those nor vegetarian, but these are hard to digest so I gave my body a holiday from difficult to digest stuff and time to tap into its inner immune system to recover

- I found a good acupuncturist- I took 10 sessions, and my body felt that I was finally feeling I could get rest mental and physical. really recommended even though it can cost. if you find it too expensive, couple of sessions with a good osteopath and yoga classes can be a cheaper alternative.

- a good homeopath who prescribed me a personalised therapy considering the very reasons why I got the issue- as in many cases silent reflux is psychosomatic. 

- a good osteopath who helped me to relax my diaphragm - which is often tense when we suffer reflux and pulls down the whole digestive 'tube' including esophagus. so that was actually fantastic experience. then I started yoga classes instead as it was cheaper and you can keep a relax diaphragm through yoga breathing and asanas. in any case both are super - those experiences were belong me hugely!

- I got some good probiotics as well as spirulina helped me to get back my iron level. also in it there is tryptophan than is the materia prima for serotonin which can be also transformed into melatonin - that will help to fight anxiety bt also insomnia.

- reduced stress with engaging into activities that would give memore positive emotions and practicing regularly mindfulness meditation-  kabat-zinn videos you can also find on youtube

I can't say in the end what was more effective, but all together it helped me to reduce the condition to something really minor- like something that would not bother me anymore that much in just 6 months, and before that I was suffering almost for 3 years everyday non stop- just literally eating pills and not sleeping...and I wish I would have known all these and not trusted my gp and not gone the PPI pathway for years...

Anyway, here is my story and I am hoping this will give you some hope. The day when my homeopath told me - no , you are not stuck with this, it will eventually go away, was the first day in three years that I could sleep for 8 hours without waking up- something extraordinary for me back then...today I can claim I am 90percent back  

I know all these is very individual as the reasons wy we get it at the first place are unique to us too. Keep looking for stuff that will work for you and I assure you that it will go away  

Sonya

Thank you so much Laura, I will try your suggestions and of course keep you updated if something works for me. I really hope so.

Thank you so much for this Sonya x

Thanks for your suggestions. Glad you are feeling better!

One last thing guys - the importance of not being focused too much on the issue help. I'll explain why:

I actually was so focused on my issue that I kept on reading literature - orthodox medicine and alternative, I spent lots of money on lots of supplements and seeing specialists privately just to hear the same - you have this and this, take PPIs. Apart above all mentioned things ( the diet and I again would encourage you to go and see an osteopath for the beginning and learn how to breath with a diaphragm so you can massage your inner organs and get rid of the tension!) I guess not focusing too much on the issue was the final crucial step.

As I said I got much much better after 6 months of trying out the above mentioned. I would eat almost anything with almost no digestive issues, but my sleep was still so and so, and I had the lump on and off coming and going and mucus. my gastroenterologist told me that the walls of my stomach were thicker than in case of a the one of a healthy person. 

I realised that the last drop to get rid of the reflux was when I started a very demanding job and was totally gone mindwise with it - I literally had no time to think about anything than work, including my reflux  symptoms that would manifest from time to time and I would just ignore it - I mean I was not suffering acidity and I was kind of okay, but I would not think about the lump in my throat and that I was not sleeping well. and miraculously even though they say with the stress our symptoms get worse, I got better - it was kind of healthy stress that would just distract my attention and my mind was hijacked with other things. 6 months later my gastro told me my stomach walls were back to normal, and guess what- I was sleeping much better.

So an unpleasant chronic condition as mine could hijack our minds. According to cognitive behavioural therapy - our body feels what we think- it's a loop in case of a chronic condition. the body gives you dicomfort, the mind thinks thoughts to reinforce the anxiety and the body reacts newly to those thoughts...so getting our of the loop is essential. 

Get better soon! xx