I don't know what to do anymore. After 2 weeks on famotidine, the pain on my throat is still there. I have been on PPI's and they made my throat more sore. Famotidine decreased the pain but how long will it take to resolve the LPR symptoms completely? Help!
LPR symptoms are more to do with reflux than acid. Whereas H2 blockers like famotidine and PPIs reduce acid they may not be as effective at reducing reflux. Even in reducing acid, the drugs can take a few weeks before you begin to see the effect - since some of the symptoms will be from oesophagitis which needs to heal.
Hi Shugirl
The one thing I have learnt from the problems with LPR and Oesophagitis is that you have to have Patience as the healing process is very slow but hopefully we shall all get there some day.
Thank you barretts and rob. I'm just frustrated because I have already made major changes on my diet and have finally found a med where I do not have an adverse reaction to yet the improvement on my condition is barely there. I hate it when my neck tightens everytime I eat or drink.
Ask your ENT about taking Sucralfate and Dexilant. After about 6 years on PPI's that didn't seem to help, I went to another ENT and he started me on these Meds and so far they seem to be helping. Of course not everyone reacts the same to Meds. But you got nothing to loose for asking about em. Get off foods with acid. Have patience, and Good Luck .
Try eating slower and try not to take in so much air when you swallow. Chew your food really well before swallowing. It's the every day simple things we tend to take for granted.
Take care,
Mack
Thanks mack. Some days are better but today, the throat pain is just terrible. And its not responding to gaviscon when it normally does. Today is a letdown. I was so hopeful yesterday because I was 90% asymptomatic. I don't know what went wrong. I duplicated everything I did yesterday.
Hi Shugirl,
I also experienced most of my reflux symptoms in my throat. The acid would inflame the tissue and constrict my esophagus. One treatment that helped was dilation of my esophagus during an upper endoscopy. I also recently had a nissen fundoplication to tighten the esophageal sphincter and prevent acid from refluxing into my throat. I am so sorry that your symptoms have such an impact on your quality of life. I hope you find just the right treatment to resolve your problems.
Don' t get discourage we all have days that are better than others. I've told my wife on occasions " I think I've got it whipped I feel really great". The next day it's back to the same o same o. But I'm still going at it strong and I know I will win this battle. I didn't get this way over night and It's not going to be cured over night. I've probably done everything wrong most of my life and now it's just caught up with me.
Mack
Don' t get discourage we all have days that are better than others. I've told my wife on occasions " I think I've got it whipped I feel really great". The next day it's back to the same o same o. But I'm still going at it strong and I know I will win this battle. I didn't get this way over night and It's not going to be cured over night. I've probably done everything wrong most of my life and now it's just caught up with me.
Mack
Did the nissen fundoplication help at all. I have fought this for 6 years and now I'm taking Dexilant and sucralfate which seems to help. My throat seems raw much of the time and I always feel like there's something in the back of my throat. I also have to keep clearing my throat especially when I'm laying down. When I wake up in the mornings its my throat that wakes me. Also I have this grulging in my throat when I swallow. I'm not giving up though but always open to suggestions. Crazy to me why an ENT hasn't gotten on here and given his or her opinion on some of these issues.
I took Famotidine for 2 weeks and had to stop it because it was increasing my anxiety so I changed to Ranitidine. So far no PPI or H2 blocker has worked on me and I appear to have LPR as well.
Thank you for your messages. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in this. Have any of you tried the breathing exercise to strengthen the LES and the shaker exercise for UES? Does it work? I feel like I need to try every possible solution.
I need to suggest this to my GI. Maybe it's also the med that is making me so desperate.
What do we do to reduce reflux then? My nexium doesn't seem to be working anymore.
Same thing with me...I think I am getting better, then the next day I'm back to the same bloat, stomach hurts, sore throat, and it makes it hard to swallow or eat and drink anything. My PPI and Gaviscon don't seem to be working anymore either. Endoscopy and colonoscopy aren't until the 10th of May. Hope I can't make it until then.
Yes, interested to know if your procedures helped you? Also, I'm having an endoscopy next month. Can I just ask for a dilation while they are doing it?
Ranitidine helping? My PPI doesn't seem to be anymore
Reflux really needs to be managed by lifestyle. Drugs probably won't help (except to make the reflux less damaging).
That means losing weight if necessary, stopping smoking if applicable, avoiding overfilling your stomach by eating little and often, avoiding exercise after food that will compress the stomach, avoiding tight clothing leaving at least 3 hours between last meal and going to bed, raising the bedhead 6 to 8 inches on blocks.
See the section on Reflux in the www DownWithAcid org uk book/website.
If all else fails and you cannot reduce reflux, there is reflux reduction surgery.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate it. I have been sick since January, and have lost almost 40 pounds since then. I quit smoking last year, can hardly eat anything, but I'm sure I could be eating better than I am, it just seems everything makes me sick now. I do sit straight up after eating, and don't sleep for hours afterwards. Still getting sore throat and bloating anyway. This is scaring me to no end, can't control it. My PPI does seem to be cutting it anymore, having to take other things with it. Any suggestions?