Anyone have acid reflux?

[Christine]

Thanks for all your advice and opinions. The absolute worst symptom of all this is that lump in my throat. I can't stand it.

This is definitely caused by the acid refluxing up into your throat. It is a terrible feeling, I know. I get it off and on and times.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My family doctor is the one who is still running the tests on me to try to figure out what is wrong. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for all your advice and opinions. The absolute worst symptom of all this is that lump in my throat. I can't stand it.

You need to see a specialist. One test and you will be done.
Important!!!
Have you changed your diet?

 

[SillyMe]

You need to see a specialist. One test and you will be done.

I have an appt with my doctor next week for my barium swallow results. He did tell me that if they don't find anything he will send me for an endoscopy. Thank you for your help. At least I feel like I have a direction to look now.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What about your diet??? We can talk about this. Let me tell you...I am having a rough time adjusting to it.
I HAVE TO give up coffee and I don't want to!!!
Can't eat after 7pm. Man that is a hard one too.
No tomato, no salsa, no caffeine.

Also I am noting what else bugs me and then not eating it again.

 

[Pixiedust34]

The killer thing for me to give up would be no summer tomatoes. I live for those July and August tomatoes. And, I like spicy food. The hotter it is, the better it is. Bland food is just plain old.....bland.

I have an appt. with my primary care dr. next Thursday and I'm hoping she'll give me a referral for reflux testing and that I can get it scheduled soon.

Sillyme, I hope your appointment goes well! All the best to you, and to everyone who posted.

BTW, Is decaf coffee OK? (I know, why bother? )

 

[SillyMe]

What about your diet??? We can talk about this. Let me tell you...I am having a rough time adjusting to it.
I HAVE TO give up coffee and I don't want to!!!
Can't eat after 7pm. Man that is a hard one too.
No tomato, no salsa, no caffeine.

Also I am noting what else bugs me and then not eating it again.

Soda. I have cut out certain foods and have been paying attention to see if there is a connection, and have noted that there is. I drink soda from morning to night normally...caffeine free. I stopped drinking it last week and noticed the symptoms ease. That's my biggest downfall. That and pasta with sauce and garlic. Two weeks ago I had garlic mashed potatoes and steak at Chili's. I thought my stomach and throat were going to explode for 3 hours after I ate.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The killer thing for me to give up would be no summer tomatoes. I live for those July and August tomatoes. And, I like spicy food. The hotter it is, the better it is. Bland food is just plain old.....bland.



BTW, Is decaf coffee OK? (I know, why bother? )

Here is the thing...
You have to heal yourself first. So you need to cut out all spices, all tomato products, no coffee, no soda, NO CITRUS includes orange juice.
No pizza, no spaghetti with tomato sauce, no salsa, no nothing!!!
It SUCKS!!!!

The soda is a killer. It is the carbonic acid. Oh yea, I was a morning to night drinker.
We switched to Diet soda, since we hate it, and now if I am dying for a soda I have a diet soda. Really cut down on the soda I drink.

 

[grimley1968]

My mom had GERD for probably most of her life, and it resulted in her getting esophageal cancer, which in 1995 had a nearly 100% fatality rate. She found out much too late, about both GERD and how it can lead to esophageal cancer. What's amazing is (fast forward 10 years or so), my cousin, who has had GERD much of his life, also developed esophageal cancer. He was able to survive what was merely a decade ago almost a death sentence. He's doing quite well now. Of course, he takes lots of anti-reflux medications, but that sure beats the alternative.

Unfortunately, I inherited my mom's tendency for GERD, as did my brother and sister both. We all do different things for it. I'm able to take Prilosec OTC to control mine for the most part for a few days at a time. Then I'll stop and I'll go back on it later to get it back under control. I prefer to not be on any medications on a daily basis, if possible. Finding out what foods aggravate acid reflux helps, too. For me, anything really "sugary" really spikes the reflux, and I'll have to grab some Tums right away.

I want to thank the OP for posting this thread. GERD can cause a ton of problems, and much was not known about it until the 1990's or so. A lot of related medical conditions can be alleviated or even eliminated if people realize they have GERD and treat it a little with the right diet and maybe some medication if required.

 

[chris1gill]

I was a guinea pig for reflux diagnosis in the 90's... it wasn't fun...

For the OP, esophageal endoscopy will not show if you have reflux or not, it will only show damage done in the esophagus.... even if you have reflux, it doesn't necessarily mean anything will show during the scope.... Seems to me you really have to up the Prilosec & see a gastroenterologist... you really don't need to suffer with this!!! I suffered far too long, and I know that lump in the throat feeling is just absolutely awful... My heart goes out to you until you resolve this!

 

[SillyMe]

I was a guinea pig for reflux diagnosis in the 90's... it wasn't fun...

For the OP, esophageal endoscopy will not show if you have reflux or not, it will only show damage done in the esophagus.... even if you have reflux, it doesn't necessarily mean anything will show during the scope.... Seems to me you really have to up the Prilosec & see a gastroenterologist... you really don't need to suffer with this!!! I suffered far too long, and I know that lump in the throat feeling is just absolutely awful... My heart goes out to you until you resolve this!

Thank you. So, will the barium swallow show if it's reflux? I thought an endoscopy would too.

grimley1968 I'm sorry about your mom.

 

[grimley1968]

grimley1968 I'm sorry about your mom.

Thank you. However, my point in bringing up her cancer was not for sympathy. We all try to focus on the 55 great years she had rather than the terrible last half year - not to mention the fact that the then-experimental chemo drugs she tried to use may have possibly saved my cousin's life a decade later. My bigger point was to show one of the potential effects of GERD, if left untreated. If it's something chronic with you, please don't ignore it for years like my mom did. Esophageal cancer is not known to be genetic, but caused by prolonged trauma usually, in our mom's case by GERD. It is probably one of the most easily preventable cancers out there, if you take care of the GERD and keep on top of it.

 

[arminnie]

I have GERD and didn't even know it!! No heartburn or reflux back then - just asthma that wasn't under control. My great pulmonary doctor (mid 90s) realized that some acid could be seeping into my lungs without other symptoms.

Here are the tests I've had:
Endoscopy - put you in twi-light zone and look down your esophagus to see if any damage or obstructions are present.

Test Number Two - Don't know what this is called, but a tube is put through the nose down through the esophagus to just outside the stomach. A computer monitor tracks (usually for 24 hours) if any acid is coming up and how much. I had to keep a list of what I ate and when. I was encouraged to eat spicy foods. This is the real "acid" (pardon the pun) test for GERD. The really fun part of this test was how gross it looked taped across my face. My boss who was one of those suspicious people everytime someone stayed home was totally grossed out that I came to work like that. Didn't bother me at all.

Test Number Three - Same tube through my nose and down to my stomach, but I was in the office and lying down - slightly tilted back maybe?? I had to drink a sip of water and they measured how much came back up. They moved the tube up an inch or so and I repeated the sip of water and measurement. This went on for about 8-10 times.

I had surgery for the GERD but the stapler broke. My doctor told me that it might not hold. Sure enough I had to have it redone a year later.

A couple of years later I had to go back on meds -aciphex. I made a mistake and ate two chocolate turtles before bed in January and was up for an hour trying to get the acid up out of my lungs.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

According to my GI doctor--an endoscopy is just to see whether you have any damage to your esophagus or stomach (damage from the acid reflux, or possible cancerous lesions, or whatever). Other than that, there's no need to "prove" you have GERD-you just take the medications, and feeling better is proof enough.

Where I work, we sometimes do a ph probe (described by Arminnie) on children to test for GERD, but even that isn't considered "proof," necessarily. If the child is having GERD symptoms, many physicians will start them on medication for GERD even if the pH probe is negative. However, the pH probe is still considered the gold standard. It's invasive and unpleasant though, and is not done routinely. I'm not sure what is "routine" for adults though since I'm a pediatric nurse! My own doctor did indicate that extensive testing was not necessary as long as meds were helping.

 

[DisneyStar006]

Occasionally I get the painful lump in my throat feeling, but for me acid reflux feels like an almost unbearable constant sharp ache (thats the best way I can describe it)through my chest and back and down my arms. I do not take any meds, but know what food/drink causes it and leave them out of my diet.

 

[Nik's Mom]

My doctor suspects GERD with me. I have been feeling like throwing up for the past 2 years (since gall bladder was removed). I just kept telling myself that it was all in my head, making up all kinds of excuses for not feeling well. It got to the point that I just wanted to be home since I felt so sick. So I went to the doctor. I'm having an upper gi done next week. How disgusting is that drink? Did any of you get sick on it?
I'm a major soda drinking. Guess I need to cut that out.

 

[SillyMe]

My doctor suspects GERD with me. I have been feeling like throwing up for the past 2 years (since gall bladder was removed). I just kept telling myself that it was all in my head, making up all kinds of excuses for not feeling well. It got to the point that I just wanted to be home since I felt so sick. So I went to the doctor. I'm having an upper gi done next week. How disgusting is that drink? Did any of you get sick on it?
I'm a major soda drinking. Guess I need to cut that out.

The drink wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I only had to drink about 1/2 of the bottle though. I just kept chugging and tried not to taste it too much. I didn't get sick at all. I felt a little nautious, but I think that was partially because I was starving and partially because of my nerves. It's really not that bad.

I'm also a big-time soda drinker. Truthfully, I'm having just as hard a time not drinking soda as I did when I quit smoking 7 years ago. I love soda.

 

[SillyMe]

Got my results back and I do have reflux, but otherwise my UGI didn't show any other problems. He told me to double up on the Prilosec and come back in 4 weeks. If my symptoms persist I will need to have an Endoscopy. He said my symptoms sound like a hiatal hernia, although it didn't show up on the UGI.

 

[Blondie]

I guess mine's not too bad as Pepcid AC chewables work fine for me.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am sorry to read about everyone's problems here, but I have to say, it's been helpful to know I'm not the only one.

I've been dealing with my issues, though, for 3 years now. I've had all of the tests mentioned here, some more than once, and because of my history of cancer they've thrown in even more fun tests like MRIs, and bone and CAT scans for good measure - all of which have been negative so far, thankfully. We still don't know what's causing my pain. We were hoping it was gallbladder so we could take it out, but even the HIDA scan was negative.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here at all which I stumbled across myself recently, is that sometimes statin drugs can cause a lot of GI complaints. If you're on a statin and having GI issues, it might be worthwhile doing some research into them and considering whether to try something different for lipid management. I came off lipitor on Memorial Day weekend, and my pain has improved quite a bit.

I also wanted to mention that when my mother was younger, she had ulcers, at one time they bled. Back then (in the 70's), the best they knew how to treat them was to recommend a diet of cream - yup, cream. No PPIs back then. These days, we've come a very long way with diagnosis and treatment.

BTW, my GI doc recommended I take my prilosec 1/2 hr before I eat in the morning, and if I need a second dose, to take it around 4pm, or 1/2 hr before supper (ideally, on an empty stomach). Sometimes I take maalox tabs, too (chew and drink 1/2 glass water). I'm a pro at this now!

I hope Silly Me and everyone else finds resolution to their problems!

 

[mum4jenn]

I had the endoscopy for my reflux back in April. I had a stricture so the Dr had to stretch the esophogus a bit. He did a biopsy on a couple of spots and they came back negative and so far I don't have Barretts but it is a possibility in the future. I take Nexium and it has helped a great deal. I was also told I have a hiatal hernia. I might have to have the surgery in the future but for right now as long as the Nexium works I will do that.

I had gone so long with the symptoms that it had developed into a situation where sometimes food would not even go down into my stomache. Even things like mashed potatoes and even water would get stuck in the esphogus and just sit there and then I would have to make myself throw up to get any relief.Some things went down fine and others would get stuck.