Probe approaching; questions and concerns

There's been some good news since my last post. I have a Restech probe in sight for the near future, although I will probably be paying out of my own pocket for it, it's totally worth every penny. In the meantime I need to ask a few questions on my mind, before the probe begins, so I can make it as accurate and worthwhile as possible.

1) Just today I found myself burping up acid after simply drinking water. The last time this happened in such a big amount, I spat the resulting sputum into a Peptest pot, and it said "no reflux detected." (although I didn't have water when it last happened!). This makes me wonder; what do I do if I have my reflux symptoms during the probe, and it STILL comes back negative? You can't deny the possibility...

2) What kind of things am I allowed to eat/drink during the Restech probe? I of course want to encourage reflux - for the first time ever - but I don't want to accidentally mess up any recordings.

3) Yesterday my symptoms were related to huge amounts of throat mucus and shortness of breath. Today they're about stuff I keep burping up, a mini lump-in-the-throat, fatigue, burping and nausea. How come my symptoms keep doing U-Turns? Will that affect my probe results if the wrong symptoms happen in those 24 hours?

4) How much reflux - whether it is into the esophagus or the mouth - is normal? I know I used to "vurp" even before getting LPR symptoms, so I'm very curious about this, especially since I bring up stuff even when I take Gaviscon Advance, including the G.Advance itself!!

5) Do Migraines have a true link to reflux? Those have come back since my reflux has worsened and since stopping Mirtazapine. Burping seems to make them worse..!

6) At what level is pepsin really denatured? Some people say values as low as ph 6, others as high as ph 8.8. I'm worried my own saliva may have denatured my pepsin in my spit tests, and therefore made them false-negative.

Oh, and one more thing... is this gonna hurt?! I was terrible when taking my endoscopy, so I can only imagine this being equally 'hurty,' but I think I'd better ask everyone here for such advice! Thank you all again, here's hoping I get some answers from all this running around.

EDIT: Secretly I hope the probe comes back negative, but would that alone rule out LPR/GERD? Would the test detect non-acid reflux or bile?

Post Edited (Daxter) : 3/25/2014 1:31:46 PM (GMT-6)

I had the Restech probe and it was uncomfortable but not as bad as some other tests ive had. You can eat whatever you want. Do you have a hiatal hernia? I burp alot too and have developed sinus and migaines to go along with the horrible voice pain for the past year. My Restech probe malfunctioned so make sure you look at your moniter and if the numbers arent fluctuating call the place that put it in right away. Mine was a complete waste of time because the catheter didnt work.

You are supposed to just go about your normal activities with the probe in. Its the least invasive test for silent reflux there is. Far easier than an empendence test.

I don't know what type of test I had. My doc just called it a probe. It was attached during my endoscopy. I had to carry a small recorder around for two days and it had to be fairly close to me or it would squeal. It measured ph levels. Normal is 14, mine was a 48. I could feel it in the back of my throat, a little, but it wasn't uncomfortable, just different. I had to keep a journal of when I began eating or drinking, and when I stopped. I also had to record when I laid flat and when I got up again. The most troublesome part of the whole test was having to stop the ppi's. I found the manometry test far worse.