Reflux

I recently posted on your discussion that you started ~ 9 months ago, and wondered if med's/dietary changes had improved your symptoms, particularly the breathlessness?

Sorry, appears i may have missed your comment. Without jinxing my current health, i would say my symptoms have improved a great deal. I don't think it's one factor that has helped, but more a combination of things such as Nexium (twice a day at first now down to 1 tablet a day), wedge pillow which i researched first and bought from the internet, cut out all caffeine including dark chocolate, alcohol and spicy and fatty foods and eating smaller portions. I am now able to have chocolate, caffeine and alcohol but in small quantities. Bearing in mind i first started getting the breathlessness in September 2013 and have just got to this stage over 12 mths later, it's been very hard. When i start getting the breathless feeling, i now try not to over breathe, i.e yawning or sighing to get the breath back in as i find the more i do this the more breathless i feel. It slowly clears after a while, usually when i wake up in the morning.

Have you tried any dietary/lifestyle changes? How severe are your symptoms?

Thanks for replying (wasn't sure if you still read the other post, apologies).  My breathlessness symptom was severe enough for my work colleagues to call an ambulance during an "episode" in the office, and I've been into A&E in two further occasions through self admittance.  I've had more bouts than this, but have rodent out at home as they mostly occur through the night, although those during the day were always after a cup of strong (caffeinated) coffee.  I've been on omeprazole (20mg twice a day) and Gaviscon Advance for 5 weeks now.  It was an A&E Doc rather than my own GP surgery who suggested in lieu of the other tests being OK that it may be acid reflux. I've got a follow up laryngoscopy in 3 weeks to check my vocal chords which are damaged due to reflux (ENT's diagnosis, and he recommended y med's on a 2 month trial), which has resulted in a prolonged voice hoarseness for 4 months now.  I have had most of the symptoms that you mentioned in your original post. 

I've gone completely cold turkey on known bad actors - caffeine, spicy food, etc, and generally am making a conscious effort to eat healthier (and less acid forming foods).  Otherwise I considered myself generally healthy and fit - 6' 2" male, 14 1/2 stone.  A general observation is that there appears to be a lot of conflicting information online as to what foods will help and hinder our situation and it depends on the context of how the food info is being presented (either what pH the food is naturally undigested, and secondly what effect is has when it's digested, as even then I've seen foods at each end of the scale depending where I look); there doesn't appear to be an "acid reflux bible", so this far I've tried to focus on what I think are the obvious do's and do not's. 

I think the sleeping wedge is the next step having experimented with pillows for a few weeks to replicate the incline (the cost of the wedges is OTT in my opinion, so being stubborn thought it would be worth a go). 

I guess I'm just hoping that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Cheers.