Don't depend on Carafate to protect your throat...

Are you not able to take PPI's, or are you getting these symptoms even on them?  Did the Carafate suspension seem to work better?  If you've read any of my posts, you'll know I'm a big proponent of Carafate suspension, and find it helps my reactive stomach tremendously.  Since my wrap is created out of my stomach, it also becomes easily irritated, and the Carafate coating really makes it feel better.  I've never heard of Carafate as a solution to acid reflux, but I know it's the drug of choice for bile reflux.  It was originally developed to protect the stomach lining while ulcers healed. 

Carafate and Gaviscon are very different.  Carafate has no antacid properties.  It's meant to coat your stomach period.  The suspension does do a good job of coating the esophagus as well, and the advantage is that it lasts up to 6 hours, where Gaviscon and Maalox products are much shorter-acting.

I've taken Carafate tablets in the way your doctor suggested, and while they work some, it's not at all as good as the suspension, which coats evenly. 

What you're describing almost sounds like a reaction to the drug.  Could you be sensitive to it?  Perhaps the more you used it, the more it irritated the throat tissue?

As far as sleeping goes, raising the head of your bed 7 or 8 inches by putting something under the legs is far superior to a wedge.  The wedge allows you to slide down, and actually puts your stomach in a position that promotes reflux, because you're kind of bent in the middle. 

While some seem to find it unpleasant to sleep on a "hill" like that, it's something that can be adjusted to with time, and it is very beneficial.

Refrain from eating 4 hours before bedtime to be safe. 

Have you tried a liquid Gaviscon or Maalox product?  You might find it even more soothing than the tablet form.

I hope you find a solution to your problems.

Best wishes,

Denise

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling, and the things you're trying, aren't helpful.  Have you looked into the possibility of a Nissen surgery?  I understand that GI docs aren't thrilled with recommending the surgery to those of us with atypical symptoms, but while the % of success is a bit lower, I know many who have been helped, including myself.

I wish you the best of luck in finding an answer.

Denise

The Nissen procedure is not something to consider without thorough research and exhaustion of all other options.  I agree that a second opinion at Mayo is an excellent idea.

I put off surgery for probably 7 or 8 years, and I can blame my GI doc, but I was not all that excited about pushing the issue.  The last four years before I finally realized there were no other options, were the worst and most damaging to my long term health.  (By that time I was taking very high doses of steroids to keep my lungs operational, and I now have adrenaline insufficiency, and skin that bruises and tears easily.  I've been told it's the skin of a 90 year old.)  All this damage was done in the last four years as my GI doc resisted the idea of surgery, and I was fearful to push the issue.

You are the only one who knows if the surgery will be worth it to you.  I went forward not knowing if it would improve my lungs.  I just had no other options.  I had to try it, and at least rule out that cause.

Thankfully, it worked well for me.  It's a difficult recovery (easier than some of the gastritis/esophagitis recoveries I'd been through), and there are some changes in your GI tract that you'll need to adjust to.  That said, for many of us these are very small inconveniences in light of the improvements we have experienced.

Good luck with your appointment.  I'm glad you've joined the forum.  I'm sure your search for answers will benefit many others in the same quest.

Best wishes,

Denise

Thank you again, everyone, for your thoughts and comments.  Like nearly everyone else here, this condition has really ruined my life, and I understand and empathize with everyone's experiences.  On one hand, I'd be willing to do just about anything to return my life to the way it was before, but on the other hand, I have concerns that I might be one of the "bad" Nissens...

Belljar -- it sounds like your doctor was describing the TIF procedure to you...which I had in August.  It reduced my reflux episodes into the "normal" range, but since I have LPR, that's still too much, and I still have debilitating symptoms.

As do many of you, I'm sure, I wish I could have the money back spent on false hopes...

-Bruce