Soooo painful to eat

You should notice it working within ten hours or so and then it settles down and becomes normal after a few days. If it is painful now then probably the pain goes away, which is half of the point of taking the medicine. If FOR ANY REASON you dont get on with this medicine there are others you can tru.

Just agreeing with Carmel. If you don't get on with the lansoprazole ask to try Omeprazole or esomeprazole. Also try lifestyle mods, small meals frequently, no caffeine, no fizzy drinks. Elevate the head of your bed with bricks, and no eating within 2 hours of bed. Also have you tried an alginate. If you have reflux it will help too.

Toast did not seem like a good idea to me. I would try something soft and wet.

Have you tried sleeping propped up with pillows to stop the acid coming up. Many people prop the back of their bed up with bricks.

Lansoprazole will take a few days ro help. You should ask your doctor for Gaviscon liquid to take at night.

Manuka honey (expensive) taken a while before meals either from a spoon or on toast helps put a lining on your oesophagus. You can google that. 

Hi there Big maz - have faith, I was like this last December , it's rotten,painful and scary and seems endless, it will improve but it just takes time.

If you can get some water from Tesco it has a ph of 8.2 which helps with the sore mouth and throat- all to do with taking alkaline to dilute the acid.

i eat about 6 almonds a day and take almond milk , these are acid destroyers.

try reading water for life - it's all about having an alkaline diet to destroy the acid

i do still cough but nothing like as bad or violent as it was.

Chewing sugarfree gum helps moisten your mouth, drink decaf drinks and stay away from fizzy drinks 

my period of reflux began after a really nasty upset, which caused me a lot of anxiety and stress ----both these can cause the acid reflux to come on - I use meditation which helps - as the reflux and coughing is stressful on it's own.

get better soon - stay positive it will improve , I tried lots meds, but what works for me best is the alkaline diet, Gaviscone extra with taking ranatadine 150mg night and morning- I didn't get on with the emsoprazel , lamprazol - we are all different with this problem different things work for different folks - it's finding what works for you

Read as much as you can on this sight - it's marvellous it has helped me and continues to - we help each other.

Im going to ask other forum users if anyone has tried Losec as my GI consultant wants me to try this med, I'm not sure as I don't get on with any of the others as I'm very sensative to meds 

Good luck and stay positive ---Wilfie 

There's lots of good advice written so far. PPIs do take a few days to work properly. This is because they do not act as healers, rather they stop further damage by reducing the acid, allowing the oesophagus to heal itself. Stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) is one of the most acidic substances known - even stronger than suphuric acid (battery acid). In order for your oesophagus to heal itself it needs protecting from that acid either by blanketing the oesophagus, but mainly the stomach helping physically preventing the acid coming up into the oesophagus (Gaviscon - very effective but unfortunately very short-lived), or reducing the ph of the stomach contents so it is no longer acidic (PPIs or H2 blockers). In all tests PPIs are the most effective at doing this but they don't agree with everyone.  I hope you manage to find one that agrees with you. Thin soup would be your best bet at the moment but one without tomatoes in it.

Thank you everyone for your input. Very helpful. I really don't know what I am going to do short term regards to eating. It still really really hurts. Does everyone else just fight through the pain? I cannot. After a mouthful, I am really struggling.