Silent acid reflux..do you suffer from this?

I don't think you will get a referral unless it's long term and not responding to medication, but yes it's good to badger them.
Just fishing for the full story really.

 

Thank you everyone for sharing I am very grateful for the response I really didn't expect so much and so quick too.

I can now tell you more of when it started . It was when I was speaking to a friend from whom I had met on another forum .Never actually met but have got to know each other very well over the years. Early on in the year I'd had a funny throat it felt like I was coming down with cold etc. My friend while talking on the phone commented I'd got a husky voice.
So me being me answered back with ' Yes im taking on a new vocation training my voice ,
"Rod Stewart watch this space "

I made spoke to the nurse at our surgery . She too said it was very hoarse . After her checking me over she referred me to the hospital for having camera down . The consultant I saw put a camera up my nose , checked up with what I ate and drank and told me cut down on citrus fruits, grapes ,tea and coffee. Then told me I had acid reflux. I already ate and drank healthily apart from tea and coffee . Told me to stay on lansaprazel which I'd had for over 20 yrs and prescribed Gaviston for night time.

I was shocked as this is what started my mums cancer of the asophagus. we lost her last year. This is All I could think of .

Taking Gaviston didn't make much difference, the more I read on the Web on what to eat the more I was confused . They all contradicted.

Went to see my doctor . He looked at the report and told me that this was the out come of looking after mymum her last 3 years. He said last year had been particularly bad for me. Said it was nothing to do with what I ate or drank what has caused this , but it was the outcomen of stress that had brought it on. Stress apparently can over ride anything such as this. I find certain foods won't go down like bread ,pastries chicken and beef. have coughing fits until I vomit. But I don't get heartburn.

He is referring me back to the hospital for what I should have had , the camera DOWN to check my Asophagus.

I just see myself as starting with my mums problems I am now trying to do everything I can for my family ......just jn case.

Apart from everything else Thank you all again I take ALL your advice on board.

 

I think you know if you have acid reflux, I still dont understand the "silent"part?

 

As soon as I went to my GP with acute heartburn she referred me for an endoscopy and they diagnosed the Hiatus Hernia. No need for badgering.

 

All sorts of things can cause acid reflux, and the remedy/management of it is different for every individual. I went through the same process of reading everything I could find and it is contradictory. It's contradictory because everyone is different. I could share my own experience but there's no point, because what works for me might aggravate matters for someone else.

The only thing I would say is that stress can be the route of all sorts of problems, so finding a way to manage that will certainly be a good starting point. How you do that is again down to the individual. I get tremendous stress relief from my martial arts sessions, where I routinely get thrown to the ground, and knocked about. Or riding my mountain bike right at the very edge of my ability, knowing that any misjudgement might result in the odd broken bone or three. Someone else might do tai chi (lots of people love it, I tried it but couldn't relax into it), different things for different people, but the end goal is the same. To unwind.

Some people think stress is purely an emotional state. I'd like to dispel that myth. Stress is a natural part of our survival mechanism, and comes with very physiological effects. Our cortisol levels go up, and adrenaline follows. Adrenaline does many things. It stimulates the internal organs, raising blood pressure and numbing nerves. Basically preparing us for fight or flight as folks call it. But it does another thing which is very relevant when it comes to the digestive tract. It signals the body to divert blood from the digestive tract, to the muscles. It's essential in an emergency, to make you extra strong and energetic to deal with, say, an encounter with a predatory animal that wants us for dinner (sounds ridiculous, until you consider how recently in our evolutionary history that was a threat). But chronic stress is bad, because all those physiological effects stick around permanently, unless we find a way to properly unwind. How you do this is down to the individual. For me, controlled high stress situations like martial arts and mountain biking probably get it out of the system so to speak. For others it might be candles around a hot bath with a glass of wine (although anecdotally, the few people I know that talk about such things also tend to be the most stressy people I know).

You don't always know. You can become desensitised to it, and acid reflux can be anything from chunks of half digested carrots coming back up, to just a few fumes that are enough to cause irritation over time, but not even enough to cause any perceptible taste or smell. When I had my chronic cough after the big fire, I had no idea it was acid reflux that time. I'd had problems with acid reflux in the past with very different symptoms. Even the doctors were clearly leaning towards lung damage from the smoke. It was only through a chance discussion with a different GP that we ended up investigating the acid reflux line of enquiry.

 

You seem to have a very good doctor, one who looks at a person and not just symptoms, and, crucially, also takes action. I trust your camera examination will give reassuring confirmation.

In any case, learning to sleep in a semi- upright position is doable and can make the nights much more comfortable and improve the sleep quality, which in itself is important for wellbeing.

Take care, all the best wishes for you @Purple Streaks

 

I actually put some blocks under the top end of my bead for a while, only about 4 ins higher.
Not sure if it worked much but it certainly didn't make things worse.

 

I was surprised to find so many people on this forum suffer from acid reflux - like I do! I didn't need an investigation as when I explained my symptoms to our doctor he immediately said "Gastric reflux"! We looked it up as soon as we got home & I certainly seemed to have all the symptoms (no, I'm not a hypochondriac!) but I do try to take care of myself.

I was given Ranitidine for a couple of years but that didn't seem to be working all that well & I spoke to a different doctor who prescribed me Omeprazole. That seems to have worked better.

I still get it from time to time but since we've stopped eating anything after 8pm I don't feel so bad. I still take citrus fruits, an orange practically EVERY day after lunch. I no longer drink normal coffee but take decaf (instant coffee) 1 cup a day half semi milk + half water. Haven't taken sugar in several years either except 1 day a week after church. We have a sweetener in our drinks.

@Purple Streaks I hope you find some help & a solution to your problem soon.

 

I started out having an endoscopy every 2 years, which soon went to every 1 year and now every 6 months. My last endoscopy showed a change to the cells within the Barrett's Oesophagus.

My medication dosage has now been doubled, on 80mg of Pantoprazole in the hope that things will settle down. Next endoscopy should be anytime soon, I get sedated now otherwise I will be rough for a week.

My dentist told me to avoid mint, especially peppermint, which tends to be in toothpaste. Peppermint can actually relax the sphincter muscle resulting in stomach acid coming back into the esophagus which can make heartburn even worse, especially when lying down.

I brush my teeth with toothpaste a good 3 hours before going to bed but still give them a brush without prior to bed as I will always have had something to nibble or drink.

 

Hi gks
The toothpaste , now that is very interesting as when I went for my annual check up I was asked if I spat out the toothpaste and rinsed with water?
Or did I just spit out the toothpaste and not rinse?
When I said I rinse with water and spit out I was told I was wrong , I couldn't understand what he was getting at.
It was explained that as I use a flouride toothpaste I should not rinse.
So from there on I have not rinsed.
As I don't eat within the 3hours before going to bed I'm going to try the rinsing and spitting out and the same as yourself the 3 hours before bed.
I'm so pleased that I wrote into the forum I am getting lots of very good advice to try. I shall also be speaking to my doctor again Monday.

 

Hi Selleri yes I do have a really good Doctor.He is Indian and has been my doctor for over 20 years since we moved back to my roots.
He gives me a hug as soon as I get through into his surgery and shakes husbands hand.the same when we leave.He is very much a father figure ive confided in him many times.he was the one their for me through both mum and dad's end of life . If it wasn't for him I don't think I could have coped for mum until the end. He knew everything was on my shoulders .

Pete, I will also try your suggestion of the bed,I'd been trying to sleep with extra pillows to see if this helped. But with back problems I've found sleeping with no pillow helps my back .this was suggested during a stay in hospital 30 yrs ago.
Thank you all once again .
X

 

I can't imagine brushing my teeth and not rinsing!

 

Last time I went to the dentist she told me not to rinse.
I think it is because I use the toothpaste for sensitive teeth.

 

I always finish with mouthwash.