New to acid reflux symptoms

Buy the Acid Watcher Diet book by dr. Aviv. You will find all the explanations there. Facebook support groups are useful at the beginning then it might just create more anxiety. Discuss with your doctor about it. Ask for a referral to ENT, gastroenterology and pulmonary diseases. Treat it seriously. The GP dont know much about this disease. The healing takes time. Expect months. Some people get better some don't. Stay mentally strong and be prepared to fight this.

Ah.... One more thing. Google "LPR NHS" you will find a lot of official information there as well.

That's exactly how mine started, was I'll for 6 weeks constant tickley cough had bloods ,xray, eveything cam back normal , i coughed so much hurt my ribs.I was already on lansoparazole they put my dosage up to 60mg and take gavascon advance after meals and before bed , things have improved but not 100% but a lot better hop this helps.

Mine also began after a bad cold with a cough, but I didn't realize what was happening for months later as it took that long for me to realize that it wasn't allergies. And my biggest symptom is still coughing. Mostly in the morning, after heavy laughing, a little at night at bedtime, and a little after eating sometimes.

I'm doing much better than I was since I was at my worst in June. But I seem to have somewhat stagnated in my recovery, so I'm back to doing more research.

But what did help was reading from a website called refluxgate.come

I learned a lot from there, including how PPI's rarely help with lpr, because the coughing is caused by the fumes created from the acid that then irritate the lungs. I also learned about pepsin and its dangers if it lingers in the esophagus from the acid backing up into the esophagus. That site explains it much better and you might want to take a look at it.

What seems to help me the most is the combination of A) several hours of moderate to vigorous activity. i.e. I tend to do a lot better after a day at work where I work in laundry at the hospital and have a lot of physical activity. Or if I walk over 2 miles at a moderate to fast pace. Or if I have a spring cleaning day at home. Or if I do some kickboxing, as long as it's at least 2 hours after I've eaten. And B) eating smaller meals, more often if necessary. But smaller meals really seems to make a difference. It's challenging though since my stomach has gotten used to larger portions, so it takes more to make me feel like I'm not hungry anymore. But I'm learning. I try to remember that our stomach is supposed to be only about the size of our fist. And C) The Gaviscon Advance helps when used properly. This has also been challenging because you want to take it about half hour after eating, and then avoid eating or drinking afterwards for a couple of hours if possible. When I've been able to do that, I feel pretty good. But that means that I have to remember to drink plenty of water before my meal to get myself hydrated well so that I don't get dehydrated during the 2 to 4 hours after taking the gaviscon advance.

Anyway, we're all different and it's a process. Including finding which are your trigger foods and which ones help you. I don't have an issue with fresh citrus fruit, but spicy foods/peppers and chili powder are huge triggers for me. And some of the healing foods like bananas and oatmeal really help alot. As well as yams and sweet potatoes.

I also bought some high alkaline water to help neutralize the pepsin in my throat. I tried drinking it some too to see if that helped, but I haven't noticed any difference. So I just take a few swigs to coat my throat and neutralize the pepsin whenever I've had anything acidic to eat or drink.

Just a few of my experiences. Hope that helps. Good luck and let us know what works for you once you've had a chance to experience more. Thanks.

Irene