Acid reflux for life?

livinglife1212

Welcome to Healing Well.

From your post I sense this is causing a lot of anxiety also. This in itself can make your symptoms worse.
First off this doesn't have to be a meds or surgery only disease. This is very important to know. There are a huge amount of people who control this with diet and natural remedies. Please take time to read the resources thread at the top of the threads.
Now, it is important to not eat ay least 3 hours before going to bed. Elevating the head of your bed about 6 inches will help keep things down where they belong also. Don't just use pillows under your head this will make it worse by putting more pressure on your belly. They do sell some very good wedge systems now instead of raising your bed, but be sure it's large enough to raise your whole upper body. If you would like some info about that please email me and I can give you some info I have on a good one.
There are several meds available today and not everyone responds the same to these. It may take several tries before you find the right one and dose. It also can take a few weeks before it starts to help. That being said there is also a few surgical options available. I can only really comment on the oldest, the Nissen Fundo. I have had this since '06 and it has helped me tremendously, but it's not for everyone. Before you opt for surgery you should have a few tests done to be sure it's right for you.
you should at least have a PH study and manometry. It is a good idea to maybe also have a barium swallow and a stomach emptying test also. There are a few threads on the linx surgery on the forum also and this is a newer surgery that is showing promise.
If your GI only believes meds and surgery can help you I would get a second opinion as there are many new ideas about this disease and some of the older GIs aren't up on these.
Feel free to email me anytime if you have any questions about the nissen, my email is on my profile and under my user name, the envelope.

Take care,
Bill

Life, deep breaths can be very relaxing, so there could be a connection. Have you considered some form of meditation?

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  Glad you've found our online community. It’s a great place to connect with others traveling the same road...you'll find much support, encouragement and advice from others who understand.

Many people are surprised to learn all the ways that stress impacts their health and bodily functions. Both your immune system and digestive system can react to increased stress levels. During heightened periods of stress your body creates more cortisol, which inhibits digestion and could prompt acid reflux and heartburn. Since your body pumps more blood to the arms and legs to fight stress, less blood goes to the stomach and this results in slower digestion, which could cause regurgitation and heartburn—especially if you eat a large meal.

Stress affects everyone differently, so it is hard to say how much stress you would need to be under to experience this type of reaction. Some people only experience physiological reactions under extremely stressful situations, but others will react to even small stressors like a hard day at work.

If you notice that your heartburn and reflux act up during times of stress, then it is a good idea to develop better techniques to manage your stress before it becomes overpowering. ( Check out the resources in the Anxiety and Panic Forum - top of the page)

Here are a few tips that can help reduce your sensitivity to reflux during times of stress:

Don’t overeat. A lot of people take to comfort eating to reduce stress. However, if you have GERD than eating too much can trigger reflux. Stick to your GERD eating plan and keep your snacks small, even when you are stressed out.

Take deep breaths. Sometimes when you are stressed out it becomes difficult to breathe, and a lot of people start taking short and shallow breaths, but this will just elevate your heartbeat more. Take big deep breaths to calm yourself down.Stress isn't always a cause of acid reflux, but if you are a patient  with GERD it may make your heartburn worse - Talk with your Dr.  

Hi. From my own personal experience, I too had a lump feeling in my throat at times. By way of background, I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux 2 years ago and have been lucky enough to be able to control it with diet, sleeping with a wedge pillow, not eating late at night, things like that. But the lump in my throat - after going to 3 doctors - was finally diagnosed as IBS - irritable bowel syndrome - which in turn was bringing on acid refllux attacks. The IBS -- according to my specialist - causes the lump feeling in my throat. He said my stomach goes into spasms and this in turn causes my throat to spasm and hence the lump feeling. He suggested anti-spasmatic meds but I really didn't want any more meds, so he told me to do what you are doing -- Take deep breaths, try to relax. Stress can be a contributing factor to IBS -- not the sole cause but makes it worse. So at least from my experience -- it's all related.

are you all better now? could it be my acid reflux causing IBS or is it the other way around?

Well, in my case, according to my GI (yes that is correct abbreviation), I have both. I have IBS and Acid Reflux. Both are separate. However, my IBS can aggravate my acid reflux (weak LES, heartburn symptoms). So if I get my IBS under control, it seems I have less Acid Reflux problems. I would never even think of telling anyone to stop any medications without doctor approval so please don't try to treat yourself without doctor approval! Here's what happens to me. If I eat something really spicey, I get a stomach ache and diarrhea (IBS symptoms). I also get heartburn and lump in throat sometimes from the Acid Reflux. Other times, I only get heartburn and no IBS symptoms. So from my understanding, they are 2 different conditions but both are aggravated by the other -- spasms in the stomach, problem with digestion. What I did was to concentrate on getting my IBS under control (finding out what I could eat and what made me sick) and that in turn lessened my acid reflux episodes. Hope this helps you!

Lilred08

Yes, you can have both and GERD can trigger the IBS, this what happens when the stomach doesn't digest food fully and sends it through to the small intestine too quickly. GERD is more complex than just heartburn type symptoms. This is also known as dumping.
I too have IBS with divertuculosis and have had it about as long as GERD. Having my gallbladder removed severely multiplied my IBS due to bile induced D that I have gotten under control for the most part.

Take care,
Bill

Livinglife, I know the feeling. im only 26 and GERD completely dominates my life. You can at least take comfort in the fact that your symptoms are quite mild and you should have no problem leading a normal life once you get the hang of managing your GERD. If I've managed it Im sure anyone can.

You should really avoid eating directly before lying down. Either that or raise the head of your bed so that you are lying on an angle. Your throat should feel better in the morning.

These things do get better, but it does take a long time, and one mis-step seems to put you back were you started. You soon learn that symptoms come and go you just need to try to manage them and not let it get you down too much (easier said than done!).

Medicine for the rest of your life is a possibility, but it sounds worse than it is. All the medicine does is reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. If you're stressed out a lot it will be producing too much anyway.

The globus sensation is a bit annoying but you will soon get used to it and can live a normal life with it. I've had it for pretty much a year and now I find it really easy to just forget about it, you sort of get used to it, so worst case scenario isn't the end of the world.

I also have constant heartburn which is much harder to get used to so count yourself lucky :p x x