GERD & Heartburn Support Group
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is defined as chronic symptoms or mucosal damage produced by the abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. This is commonly due to transient or permanent changes in the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach. If you are afflicted with GERD or heartburn, join the group and find support.
Hi all
Im new to this whole thing but I’m in desparate need of some support. Here is my story. I have been coughing since December. Went to the doctor in Feb. He sent me for X-ray which came out fine. He gave me some puffers and sent me on my way. I came back in a few weeks telling him cough is getting worse and can’t sleep. He gave me a cough syrop and told me to go for a blood work. Blood work all normal. Cough was getting worse. Then I started feeling heartburn and some stomach cramps and indigestion. I went back to see him 2 weeks ago and he told me I have acid reflux. He didn’t send me for any tests. Just gave me prescription for PPI. (Can’t rememwbr the name of the pills. Something Dexal.. 60mg). I have been taking those pills for about 7 days and heartburn is a bit better these last 2 days but my cough is out of control. It was dry and now it’s mucusy and wet and I can’t function. Just now I had a crazy coughing fit to a point where I almost threw up. I can’t help but wonder that cough is something else. Of course I goggled it and it says cough is a symptom of lung cancer.. I have anxiety and I think because of that my doctor doesn’t really take me seriously. My question is has anyone struggled with the cough? Was it really bad? And how long does it take to improve after you start taking your meds? I have read up on diet and started eating less and more often and avoiding trigger foods
thank you for your support !
I have a severe cough with my GERD. I am going for my GI testing in July.
I found the information below on HealthCentral.com. I hope this helps.
Info from HealthCentral:
Diagnosing a reflux-related chronic cough
Coughing is an automatic reflex of the respiratory tract that your body uses to clear your upper airways. Besides acid reflux, a chronic cough could be caused by exposure to cigarette smoke, environmental pollution, asthma, bronchitis, or allergies just, to name a few. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common causes of chronic cough (Irwin, 2006).
Understanding the connection between coughing and reflux can be very complicated because even when GERD causes coughing, there may be no gastrointestinal symptoms. This actually happens in the majority of cases (about 75 percent of the time). This can be very confusing to some doctors and most patients, especially if the doctor is suspecting that GERD is the cause of the chronic cough, but then the patient answers "no" when asked if he or she has experienced the more typical symptoms of acid reflux. Or, sometimes a pH monitoring test can come back negative, even though the chronic cough is related to reflux. These inconsistencies can make treating a chronic cough related to acid reflux a real challenge for the doctor and the patient.
I was first put on omeprazole,but not long after i stopped taking them,due to side effects.
I am now on famotidine.this medication has lessened my cough.but ive been feeling tired.i have been off work over 5 days.
I am seriously considering quiting work,as i cant work like this.i hope you start to feel better.at the moment im taking one day at a time.
Also my cough was that bad that i would sometimes vomit.it was unpredictable,and it was like having a coughing fit.
Most heartburn remedies only treat your symptoms. They do nothing to address the underlying cause of acid reflux. If you don't fix what's causing the problems, your symptoms will keep coming back. I drink aloe vera juice because it contains powerful anti-inflammatory compound and I drink actavia smoothie drinks or the yogurt cups as probiotics. to boost the mucosal lining of my stomach, hoping to reduce damage and prevent inflammation and curb the symptoms. If it comes down to it, I will opt for the Laparoscopic antireflux surgery which is not 100% guaranteed to work, but its worth a try when you deal with so much from having this issue. I am not over-weight, so you don't have to be to have it, I hope help can be found to ease all this discomfort we endure.
I am struggling with Silent or Airway Reflux (LPR, is medical acronym.)
This was onset after a bad URI (maybe Covid-19; no testing at time) and I have been struggling with chronic cough/throat-clearing, breathlessness and a host of other symptoms for TEN MONTHS now, and struggle with seeing no end in sight.
The anxiety kicked in back in April, and almost took me down. I am in counseling weekly due to it, found the anxiety forum on this site and that has helped too.
Ive been looking for reflux sufferers to stay actively engaged with, so I hope we can stay avtive on here for brainstorming and helping find solutions.
First of all: coughing can be a sign of vagal neuropathy OR a sign of silent reflux alone. You may be refluxing into your airways and sinuses and this irritates your cough reflex and/or lungs. Even if you ARENT getting heartburn (like me) it can be pepsin (a digestive enzyme) that is becoming gaseous, pushed up by normal or abnormal acid reflux, and then creating havoc for you.
First off: you MUST buy or check out Dr. Jamie Kaufman's "Chronic Cough Enigma" and that will get you caught up on whats probably going on. Leading authority in the field of aero-digestive medical issues. It will probably blow your mind like it did mine.
Add me as a friend and message me anytime. Ive been deeply researching this for 10 months. 95% I know more than my doctors do on these issues. And that becomes maddening.
Hang in there. Reach out.
Also: reflux up past your upper esophageal sphincter is probably also aggravting your vocal cords. All of this irritation in this area AMPS UP production of mucus, which also causes/exasperates cough. It's all a vicious cycle.
You're on the path, but stay patient. Its all a lot of trial and error. Everyone has different reactions to pharmaceuticals, OTCs and diet changes.
Diet and lifestyle changes are integral though. Some can cure themselves JUST with these changes.
I personally have had no such luck. But mine was post-viral onset, and I think I have Silent Reflux AND some neuropathy in there somewhere.
Im on Famotodine too, EK. How many milligrams a day are you taking and for how long?
It makes me tired too. So many of the pharma solutions have sleepiness as a side effect. It sucks.
I think a lot of those silent reflux symptoms develop at night while sleeping flat on the bed. Hoarseness and throat clearing often are there in the morning. Most people with GERd benefit from sleeping on a wedge at night. You need it to rise up 7 to 12 inches depending on how bad your symptoms are.
I have a small sliding hiatal hernia. I am way more prone to reflux and heartburn. I have managed it with a careful diet for years. I stay away from some things. Rarely used a ppi etc. Once the esophagus heals and you stick to a careful diet you can start eating more foods again but you will always have to be careful with certain foods. You can treat yourself but not eat those foods regularly. That is reality of GERD. Once you have it you are prone to having it come back. As it gets better it keeps getting better. It just takes a lot of work to get to a good place. It took me two years. Now I rarely have symptoms but propping up at night is something that you need to do if you want to heal this and not take a ppi regularly. Its a lot about diet, anxiety and determination. I also tried chiropractic and osteopathy. Was totally skeptical but it made a difference for me. Now GERD is a non issue for me. So there is hope. Figuring out what you can and cant eat is key as well and everyone is different with the food and beverage part. Use a food journal. . Hang in there! This can get way better.
Thanks for your response. This forum tends to get quiet really quick.
I have just now been experimenting with elevation at night. I guess I didnt give it much creedence, as I dont really feel like I reflux at night. With LPR, this is typical. But, as I am on another go of strict low-acid dieting and journaling, I've been experimenting with other things like sleeping with head elevated, bicarbonate gargling/neti pot and Gaviscon Advance w alginate.
I am really finding it tough to find my triggers with journaling, but I am keeping with it.
Mental health is a HUGE issue for me and sometimes it's tough to decipher where the reflux ends and the anxiety begins! :)
They both feed on each other so much. Ugh.
Thanks for your input.
I finally found someone about 3 hours from me that uses Restech Dual Ambulatory pH monitoring, so I'm lined up for this in the immediate future.
Crossing fingers.
This new site is not near as busy as the old site was. Once they changed it everyone stopped using it. There were some very experienced people on the old site. Giving great help.
Yes. Mental health has a big impact on this issue. It makes it more challenging. It complicates the GERD problem. You are not alone with this problem.
You are working hard at this. It is a practice in patience. Stay determined. I found with the food journal I removed most foods and stuck to a lot of oatmeal, bananas, plain chicken, rice, plain pasta and cooked spinach or carrots. Keep it real simple and only a few food types. It all has to be plain food. Then you add one new item only every few days. I only drank soy milk or water. I lost weight but you have to stick to a few foods only to start. Try not to drink much fluids with food. It takes longer to digest the food that way. I reduced how much I ate as well. Keep it small.
I did use Gaviscon tablets. With the seaweed cells too. It works when you are upright but not lying out flat. The foam sits at the surface and when you lie down it doesnt block the esophagus well.
If you have throat clearing or coughing after you eat in the morning it could be night time reflux. Just watch for symptoms after your first meal of the day. It does continue throughout the day but is worse in the morning. Even after you drink something hot. That can do it too. Raising your head up night might be enough but might not be. You will know for sure if you prop up at night and symptoms get better. I have had atypical symptoms often in the past like throat clearing and being hoarse. Propping up made it way better. I rarely had heartburn except early on.
The ph monitoring will give you an idea of when acid is coming up each day.
This is a tough issue to deal with on a few levels! You think it will never stop but determination gets you to the end. So stick to what you are doing. Dont settle. You will get there .
Whoa! What a fantastic reply. I really, really appreciate it.
Part of the problem for me is finding people actively dealing with this or ones that have conquered it, and being able to engage with them. It feels like you are the only one in the world, at times. Especially when you've been to 6 doctors and really not making any headway. I've tried this board, Healthboards and HealingWell and there are just very few people active and engaging.
To go along with this for me, is I actually haven't been properly diagnosed from any of the doctors. The best I have gotten is my latest doc has diagnosed me with 'Globus Sensation', and is sort of "humoring me" and going along with my somewhat educated (from 10 months of reading and researching) guess that I have airway reflux of some sort. Potentially with neurogenic throat-clearing. Or just throat-clearing from reflux. Tough to say, as these are all symptoms that came on from a bad URI last Feb (yup, I'm now 12 months in) and never went away.
Anxiety from the discouragement and medical disconnect just makes it worse.
To clarify, medical where I am at is brutally limited. I'm in a smaller town, and between Covid-related hurdles, lack of choices in medical care (only 3 ENTS and 0 G.I. docs) and overall lack of cutting edge talent and technology, there is a ton of disconnect and letdown from the medical community.
I added you as a friend in hopes to ask a couple questions pertaining to a few of the details in the response.
If you get throat clearing after you eat or drink something hot, then it is very likely you have reflux. The esophagus or throat can get fairly inflamed. Once something passes through there it gets annoyed and you get the symptoms. A harder texture you have swallowed can do it as well. Stress can do it too. The stomach moves up when you are anxious or upset. In the past that would cause my symptoms to come back for a few days. Atypical reflux is the result of eating or drinking or lying flat out at night or stress. If you get the symptoms and havent eaten or drunk anything for a long time that may not be reflux unless you are having anxiety. It is good to track your symptoms.
Keep working on it. This is a trial and error process. Be persistent and determined. you will get to a better place. Really pay attention to when you get the symptoms. Try and work on the anxiety part and realize you may have to do the work to figure a lot of this out. The doctor may not be too helpful.
Hang in there!