Hi All. I have been reading the boards for a few weeks and finally decided to post. Please bear with me because I have several questions.
Approximately 10 years ago I was waking up at night with burning in my throat. Went to my PCP and he put me on nexium and sent me to a gastro. The gastro scoped me and said I had strictures in my esophagus and stretched it and said I had a hiatal hernia. Told me to keep taking the nexium and come back in a year. Over a few years time I had no symptoms so my gastro said to take the nexium every other day unless the symptoms came back. I was able to take the nexium every other day with no symptoms until sometime last fall I started having some symptoms while exercising so I started it back every day.
February of 2011, I had a bad upper viral infection with a bad cough that lingered on for several weeks. After I got well, I still had problems with hoarseness and then in the spring around May started having the lump in throat feeling that comes and goes. I went back to my gastro and he said not GERD related. Being frustrated because I had already found some info about LPR on internet, I went to ENT who did the nose scope and said LPR. This was 2 ½ weeks ago. She told me to add 40 mgs prilosec in the afternoon along with the nexium in the morning. I started out at 20 mgs prilosec because I am very sensitive to meds. After about 5 days I increased it to 40 and after 3 days started having bad anxiety so I stopped for a week and called her. She called in carafate and said to take 2 times a day along with nexium. So 4 days ago I decided to try the prilosec again but only at 20 mgs. So far so good. Guess I just can’t take 40 of it without the side effects. So I am using the nexium in the AM, carafate at noon, prilosec before dinner and carafate at bedtime.
I don’t like taking all these meds so I am hoping the diet will help me get off the prilosec and cut back again on the nexium at some point in the future. I am petite and thin and already have mild osteopenia so worry about my bones.
So my questions are:
- has anyone ever taken carafate for LPR and does it help?
- how long before bed can we eat or drink milk? I exercise at night and am pretty hungry after a hard cardio and weight session. I also was drinking milk before bed because it helps me sleep.
- how does one wean off the PPI’s without the horrible rebound acid getting the tissues all inflamed and messed up again?
I also read last night about chewing gum helping LPR. The kind that has sodium bicarbonate in it. I found some at Walmart last night that is called Orbit White. It also has aspartame which I try to avoid at all costs but it is less than 2%. Does anyone know about the gum theory and if it really helps. On the website that was talking about it, it said to chew after meals and before bedtime.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 
Thanks!
Gingin