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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 8/25/2015 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
Okay so I've had burning lungs, swollen throat, which I know is from GERD. My question is this. Has your breathing been so bad that you couldn't exercise or climb stairs without being out of breath? Some days are better than others for sure but bad days I just want to sit still.
Posted 8/25/2015 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
I had the shortness of breath for years from GERD before I had my LNF surgery (and HH repair) on June 30th of this year. It is slowly improving now that reflux is not having free reign in my esophagus, lungs and vocal cords.

I was told that this will slowly improve now and will part of the long-term healing after surgery.

I'm sorry you are suffering with this; I know how scary and frustrating that is. I'm still walking frequently and finding my breathing is getting better, slowly.
Posted 8/25/2015 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
I don't get any actual problems with my lungs, but I get a tight throat sensation and feel easily out of breath when I try to exercise. I think there are other people on here that had lung problems because of reflux and the surgery sorted it out for them.
Posted 8/25/2015 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
I used to get this every day. It was shear luck that led me to tie the sensation to acid production. I personally wouldn't call it out of breath. For me it was more like trying to breathe through a straw. If I do get it these days, an antacid chewable or two will knock it down pretty quick, within a few minutes.
Posted 8/27/2015 10:15 AM (GMT 0)
I have had GERD for years and have taken Prilosec then Protonix 40. This flare up is worst than ever, I have had periods of near syncope even while driving everything started turning white and closing in,burning in my chest, throat tightness,shortness of breath ,skipped beats or something going on with my heart, major lightheadedness, nausea and stomach pain. I'm now on a heart monitor and have a echo coming up. After reading previous post, I believe this is all related to GERD. This forum is really opening my eyes, I'm not alone suffering with this disease. Someone mentioned previously not to eat for 12 hrs and drink 2%milk or water, I saw even apples, does this work?
Posted 8/27/2015 1:16 PM (GMT 0)

natchick40 said...
I have had GERD for years and have taken Prilosec then Protonix 40. This flare up is worst than ever, I have had periods of near syncope even while driving everything started turning white and closing in,burning in my chest, throat tightness,shortness of breath ,skipped beats or something going on with my heart, major lightheadedness, nausea and stomach pain. I'm now on a heart monitor and have a echo coming up. After reading previous post, I believe this is all related to GERD. This forum is really opening my eyes, I'm not alone suffering with this disease. Someone mentioned previously not to eat for 12 hrs and drink 2%milk or water, I saw even apples, does this work?

Stay away from milk, at least for awhile because it encourages acid production.  Also some people have problems with the protein casein in it.  

There are times not to eat, but that would depend on very specific situations.   For some people, not eating for long periods of time makes their symptoms worse.  In my case, as long as I eat frequent very small meals throughout the day, it helps keep my symptoms in check. 

Apples work for some people and it doesn't for others.

For me, organic red apples (peeled and cored) have been a Godsend.  I will eat several slices about 10-15 minutes after each meal and have found that it settles my stomach and helps with digestion.  I keep a stash of apples both at home and at work and eat them daily. 

Posted 8/27/2015 1:32 PM (GMT 0)

Warrior4Yeshua said...
Okay so I've had burning lungs, swollen throat, which I know is from GERD. My question is this. Has your breathing been so bad that you couldn't exercise or climb stairs without being out of breath? Some days are better than others for sure but bad days I just want to sit still.

Yes, I've had breathing issues before that were so bad that I would get dizzy.  Though now I rarely have breathing problems because of my new strict diet.  I can go for walks on my good days, but I'm still unable to go to the gym because my esophagus is still inflamed and gets agitated easily with certain exercises.

Certain exercises cause it to irritate the vagus nerve which causes my heart go beat really fast (SVT).   So for exercise I go for a bunch of short walks during the day.

Posted 8/27/2015 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Peabs how long has your esophagus been inflamed for? How long does it usually take to settle down?

I'm currently suffering similar I suspect, from some antibiotics but my whole esophagus and throat feels raw, pain wise the PPIs are doing their job mostly but I get this horrible nausea from the inflammation in my esophagus. It's been a month now since I finished the antibiotics and it hasn't gotten any better. Starting to lose hope :(
Posted 8/27/2015 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Andy1986, I had bad breathing problem few months back, June 14,2015 I was rushed to the emergency, also if you take your blood pressure this goes higher than normal due to your pain, breathing issue and other factor caused by GERD. But it's always safe to check with your doctor if the symptoms worsen, because GERD have similar symptoms with heart attack or blood clot. After my emergency trip they monitored me for a day/night and did all sorts of test. Praise God all came normal. After this I was given PPI 20mg. After a week my breathing issue got worsen. I am so scared that I will just pass out. My stomach was acting up, acid attack everyday. Then I rushed myself to Urgent care and my PPI was change to Protonix 40mg. Then my doctor intertwined my symptoms with anxiety. After 6 weeks taking the PPI, my breathing got worsen. Praise God, my blood test, Hpylori and CT scan was all normal. Then I did my own research. First I recalled, the reason why my GERD had started was when I was taking antibiotics. I might had silent reflux before but got worst with the antibiotic. I stopped my PPI (my own well/God's grace) July 24. I wean it and was taking Zantac 3 x a day. Then 2 then to one. Now it's been 10 days Zantac free and the breathing issue got better, Amen.

I change to a strict diet and become more organic. I'm taking Probiotics and Vi t. D supplement. I eat small portion, eat at least with 2 to 3 hrs. during the day. This had helped me. Every time I overeat and eat wrong food the acid attack comes back. I try to heal slowly but is improving everyday and most of all no more meds.

Now, I'm dealing with waking up at night, only have 4 hours sleep then I get hungry. I have to have warm Boost and a scope of rice so acid rebound can be prevented. This been an on process situation for me. I do meditation and prayers. This had helped my anxiety and breathing issue.

Anybody have sleeping less hours with GERD. please share. Thank you.

Hope you feel better.

God bless.
Posted 8/27/2015 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
I take a high dose Mirtazapine which helps me sleep through, though lately hasn't rly been working perfectly. I went through a very difficult period where I slept badly and became afraid of going to sleep, which meant I couldn't sleep at all from the anxiety. It was even worse than it sounds, I walked around wishing a bus would run over me, I'd rather die than go through that again. I was prescribed sleeping pills which gave me around 4 hours a night and kept me somewhat sane. Anyway the point of the story is I have had the worst sleep problems imaginable and the best thing I found to help it was Autogenic training. With that I managed to get off the sleeping pills and start sleeping through 8 hours. And it's safer than any drug, plus is great for anxiety.

I feel you pain with the antibiotics, when I started taking them I immediately noticed some discomfort in my esophagus which presented as nausea. It wasn't too bad though so I just pressed on and took it for 1 week 4x a day on an empty stomach as prescribed. I wish I had a time machine to go back and yell at myself STOP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! 4 weeks now since I finished and it feels like my whole esophagus and stomach are inflamed and haven't improved since then, in fact they feel even worse. I would love to just have heartburn but my heartburn at the moment makes me want to throw up which means its so debilitating. Nausea meds don't work, my usual ginger tea which settles nausea just now causes me even more irritation. What on earth have those antibiotics done to me!? I was on tetracycline a couple of years ago and that is supposed to be bad for GERD but the flucloxacillin I've just been on really makes it look tame!

Also I'd be careful with the vitamin supplements, lots of them irritate my esophagus and stomach so monitor how u feel after them. Vitamin d in particular give me bad nausea.
Posted 8/27/2015 7:01 PM (GMT 0)

Andy1986 said...
Peabs how long has your esophagus been inflamed for? How long does it usually take to settle down?

I'm currently suffering similar I suspect, from some antibiotics but my whole esophagus and throat feels raw, pain wise the PPIs are doing their job mostly but I get this horrible nausea from the inflammation in my esophagus. It's been a month now since I finished the antibiotics and it hasn't gotten any better. Starting to lose hope :(

Don't lose hope Andy.   The esophagus can take a long time to heal, depending on how much damage there is and if you have a normal, functional LES (lower esophageal sphincter), and your diet.  My GI doctor thinks I probably got my 2nd bout of a grade B erosive esophagitis many, many months ago, but I  probably aggravated it around February, after I went out with a friend and drank way too much beer, wine, and mixed drinks.  I've been suffering ever since then. 

My last trip to the emergency room was back around Mid-June of this year when I had really bad rebound reflux from trying to stop taking Zantac (Ranitidine) cold turkey.   Back in February, it took about 6 weeks for my esophagus to start feeling better.   And this time around, no surprise, it took about 6 weeks again for my esophagus to start feeling better.  

Antibiotics can cause a whole host of digestive problems because it can potentially kill off a lot of the good bacteria in your gut.  This is why switching to an all natural, organic diet is important because you want the least amount of chances of irritating your already irritated esophagus and digestive tract.   Taking in some daily probiotic is essential to restoring the flora balance in your gut.

A probiotic supplement would be helpful, though I prefer to get mine naturally from fermented vegetables.  If dairy does not cause you any problems, then organic kefir or organic greek yogurt are also good for this.  My personal favorite, though, is organic sauerkraut juice.

I hope you start to feel better.

Posted 8/28/2015 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all. One more question. I have almost no heart burn, just the other symptoms which leads me to believe it is silent reflux. Have any of you experienced a lot of palpitations and fast heart rate with this problem? It's really starting to scare me. It usually comes in waves, sometimes happens for a week. I take benadryl for my throat tightness, it seems to help but every time I take benadryl now, it gives me palps it seems like. I've been to the ER multiple times for this but every time they tell me nothing is wrong. I can't afford a GI doctor so, this is where I'm at.
Posted 8/28/2015 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Yes I always get a racing heart and palpitations from Gerd. One thing I found helped was cutting down my salt intake.

I hope your Gerd stays silent :), best to nip your anxiety in the bud as it won't be making the heart palps any better either.
Posted 8/28/2015 7:32 PM (GMT 0)

Warrior4Yeshua said...
Thank you all. One more question. I have almost no heart burn, just the other symptoms which leads me to believe it is silent reflux. Have any of you experienced a lot of palpitations and fast heart rate with this problem? It's really starting to scare me. It usually comes in waves, sometimes happens for a week. I take benadryl for my throat tightness, it seems to help but every time I take benadryl now, it gives me palps it seems like. I've been to the ER multiple times for this but every time they tell me nothing is wrong. I can't afford a GI doctor so, this is where I'm at.

A cardiologist diagnosed me with SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia) which is a specific type of rapid heartbeat.  In my case, it was caused by both GERD and esophageal spasms.  None of my doctors could really explain why but someone how it was irritating my vagus nerve which would cause my heart to race.  I had an ER doctor and cardiologist teach me some vagal maneuvers to get my heart rate back to normal (also known as "converting" oneself).

If your EKG is normal and you've had a stress test, then you might need to go see an electrophysicist to ensure that your heart's electrical impulses are firing correctly.  It may be your GERD and it might not be. 

Here's another thing to consider:  in my case my rapid heart beat was also caused by a reaction to sulfites or certain doses of MSG.  So you might have a food allergy or some other kind of response that might be causing this.

You mentioned you get "throat tightness" which is why I brought up my own food allergies.  That might be a culprit.

 

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