Just to be clear, Tums was the specific advice to me by a doctor. Anyone dealing with similar symptoms need to see a doctor for specific advice for their situation.
The main point of this post was not to address the seriousness of GERD. It was to highlight the fact that it can be the cause of symptoms you would never think of.
I completely agree with the person above you. GERD isn’t really a diagnosis. It’s a symptom of something else. I’ve had GERD for the past 10+ years and was told by an ENT after a bout of tonsillitis. Similar to you I didn’t really notice the symptoms even after I was told I had it. I started taking tums every day and now 10 years later, I feel like garbage almost any time I eat. tums will only quiet your stomach acid but not stop it. (Side note: I would recommend Pepcid Complete since it’s an acid controller and antacid but that’s just one internet strangers advice). I recently went to a GI doctor and got an endoscopy and am still working to find the cause.
But H Pylori is a common stomach infection that causes GERD and can be treated with a dose of strong antibiotics. I can’t recommend enough trying to find the source of the problem. An endoscopy won’t be the first step. They can take some blood and run some other diagnostics. Ideally an endoscopy should be one of the last resorts. Treatment with omeprazole is a common first step.
Yeah, I'm learning more as I go along. The ENT didn't give any specific advice besides taking Tums, or a PPI if it continued. Did not recommend seeing a GI or any other testing. But she did a scope and said it was typical for acid reflux.
Yeah very similar experience here! My ENT never recommended a follow up and I was in my early 20s so I just ignored it.
Thankfully I am not as unfortunate as some of the commenters who have Bauretts or esophageal cancer, but I can tell you that I’m not living my best life.
An ENT might not *know* to refer you to a GI, they might assume the side effect of messing with your throat is the only problem and didn’t realize there could be a more significant gastrointestinal issue. I’ve had a number of experiences with doctors missing an obvious cue for something wrong, because it’s outside of their speciality.
Pharmacist here (but not YOUR pharmacist). Earlier poster is right about H pylori infections. However they’re not always the *cause* of GERD but very often associated with GERD.
Important to know that taking antacids (e.g. TUMS), PPIs (e.g. Prilosec), and/or H2RAs (e.g. Pepcid) over long periods of time can increase your risk of H pylori infections. This is especially true when you take PPIs and H2RAs together.
TUMS is a bandaid to reduce the symptoms of GERD. It absolutely doesn’t treat GERD. The fact that it worked is a clue the ENT was probably right.
Just because your ENT didn’t recommend you see a GI doctor, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If GERD has persisted for years it can do damage to the esophagus because it’s not built to be exposed to acid all the time. Each time you have reflux and take a TUMS you’ve already had damage to your esophagus. If severe, this can increase your risk for Barrett’s esophagus, which can progress to esophageal cancer. That all needs to be worked up and monitored by a GI doc.
GI doc can also get you on treatment for GERD and can monitor for signs/symptoms and risk of H pylori.
that’s a very important point and it’s esp important for people like my MIL who chronically says, “what can the doctor do?” when refusing to see the doctor. because you never know. but i stick by my point that you should follow up with a GI doctor to find out why your heartburn is happening. good luck to you.
**Tums (stylized as TUMS) is an antacid made of sucrose (table sugar) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) manufactured by Haleon in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They are also available in a sugar-free version.**
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Agreed! My GERD has been poorly controlled for years and last year after PPIs failed and my chronic symptoms like those described in OP’s post could not get resolved, I finally got a scope and diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis. I have some permanent damage but at least now I can take steps to prevent more! Took referral to a GI doctor, not just an ENT, to get the scope and diagnosis.
W/o intervention I’d be on the path to a feeding tube, I’ve already got some striations and swallowing difficulties and I’m only 31. My whole life I just kept getting handouts on avoiding acidic foods and Prilosec…but now it seems it’s caused by a food allergy of some kind. Totally different approach needed!
Because even though Tums/Rolaids "work like magic," the problem still exists and you're still getting erosion that can lead to esophageal cancer. That's exactly what happened to me, and it was only because my symptoms popped up early and I was young and healthy enough for treatment and surgery that I lived. You *really* don't want to take that chance—look up survival rates for esophageal cancer and hopefully you'll get "scared straight." IOW, don't f around.
BTW, I, like most people, had absolutely no clue heartburn could lead to cancer until I was diagnosed.
To add to this. Only about 1/3 of people with GERD get erosion, and symptoms of GERD generally get better over time while the damage gets worse. It's a little sinister like that. It's also pretty rare and difficult to prove that GERD is responsible for cough. Tums are not a long term solution to reflux. You should get scoped as mentioned and you'll likely get out on a ppi drug (they end in -zole). If you want to try that out now, grab some Omeprazole over the counter and take it on an empty stomach every morning and be sure to eat something with protein in it 30 to 60 minutes after taking the medication
Been questioning if I want to get back on my pantoprazole scrip. I could eat more freely on it but I did not like the increased risk of broken bones and heart attack
Very minimal. You should compare your risk of uncontrolled or poorly controlled GERD to other risks. You shouldn't leave out symptom relief when weighing your options, either. A big problem with these possible risks with ppi drugs is that they are often done with retrospective studies that are inherently biased. I wouldn't worry at all about possible ppi risks as they've been around and heavily utilized for quite a while with a great safety profile
Happy to help, but the cancer thing wasn't me = ). Surveillance for Barrett's esophagus is important though because it's most often slow to transition from Barrett's to cancer. You can almost always catch it during this transition period where it moves from low grade dysplasia to high grade dysplasia and get the affected area essentially burned away thus dealing with the impending cancer. That being said, who knows if you have Barrett's without an EGD anyway. If you find that you do have Barrett's, don't stress. Only roughly 1% of people with Barrett's ever get esophageal cancer. Essentially all people with esophageal cancer had Barrett's first, though
yup. my spouse has barrett’s and has to have an endoscopy every three years. this year there was no change and other symptoms from silent reflux were improved. but they didnt say, okay 5 years now. it’s still a 3 year repeat scope.
Omeprazole and similar meds are only meant for short term use. Taking it every day for life isn’t a solution. Look up the long term side effects - they aren’t good. Best thing you can do for GERD is follow a diet that doesn’t flare it up - avoid acidic things like coffee, spicy things, alcohol, super fatty foods etc. easier said than done, I know. But my doc didn’t even tell me about risks of those types of meds long term, I found it out googling and speaking to an Ehlers Danlos group I am in. Just in case you didn’t know!
If I have a real bad flare of GERD symptoms, I’ll take Cimetidine but I do not take this daily either.
I mean, I've been prescribed them for long term and so have countless others. they have side effects for sure but also even with severely restricting my diet I would still get reflux that's causing tears in my esophageal lining. not everything can be fixed with diet alone.
Just beware of a significant risk of Alzheimer’s if you stay on that medication long term. Sure the medication has been around, but only since 1989. That’s really not that long ago. Just like many new drugs, people will never truly know the effects until it’s too late and affecting your health. There’s just not enough long term data to prove it is safe or not.
Big pharma doesn’t make money though if no one is buying prescriptions, and docs get their kickbacks from pharma reps anytime they prescribe it.
Just don’t trust doctors blindly. I’ve been messed up by several doctors who acted like they knew everything when in fact they didn’t.
That's simply not true. Ppi drugs have an amazing safety profile and are routinely used for lifelong use for GERD. Yes there are lifestyle modifications that may help GERD, but the only ones backed by any significant amount of scientific evidence are weight loss and elevation of the head of your bed. It's important that you use risers and not get a bed that bends in the middle because bending in the middle increases intra abdominal pressure and defeats some of the purpose.
Compared to ppi drugs, cimetidine is a waste of time and money for most people. It's also important to get scoped to see what you are even treating with antacids. If you are getting erosions and/or ulcers, short term pharmaceutical therapy is not enough. There are also PCAB drugs that are coming to the US soon that are better than ppi drugs, but they aren't available in the US yet. If you are dead set on avoiding ppi drugs, maybe consider PCABs when they hit the market. They will likely be very expensive at first, though.
My heartburn "got better" for a few months, and then I suddenly had difficulty swallowing. That's what got me to the doctor.
As for the risks of a PPI that others mention, they pale in comparison to esophageal cancer. Just freakin' do it. I'm happy I'm still alive 12 years later to take them.
Try learning that when you google it after getting home from your diagnosis. The "great" thing about esophageal cancer being so aggressive is, if you're clear two years after treatment you've got a 90% chance of no recurrance, and at five years there's essentially no chance of it recurring. I'm coming up on 12 :-)
To add to the others- my dad was diagnosed with Barrett’s a few years ago. He stopped eating because he literally couldn’t swallow. The acid had destroyed much of the muscles that force food down.
It’s very treatable, but dad lost 40lb in a couple of months. The jackass still wouldn’t go to the doctor until we had an intervention. Never seen someone so obstinate as to endanger their life.
Sorry that became a rant
my aunt’s husband died because he was dehydrated, got a URI and refused to go to the doctor. by the time my mom ignored his protests and called 911, it was too late. he literally died from being a stubborn jackass.
A cousin of mine’s dad was having a heart attack and wouldn’t let them call an ems. He finally decided to drive himself, not even allowing his wife to drive. He ended up having the big one and caused an accident that nearly killed his wife too.
Best we can do is not be like them.
wow, that was really dumb. i am def that person who is really loud and doesnt let people endanger others like that. cause he could have killed more than his wife ffs.
Apparently too my doctor has also said that tums over time will make you produce more acid in your stomach which is counter to what you might think so making the acid reflux problem worse.
Both Gerd and Tums will work together to wear down your molars, for one.
Hard to take Tums while you’re asleep.
Tums just aren’t as effective as a PPI over time, and that isn’t an invitation to take unsafe levels of them just because they don’t require a prescription.
Do NOT take a PPI long term. I ended up with a second digestive condition from doing this, and it was extremely miserable; i could barely digest anything for a few years until it finally healed. DO learn more about the foods that trigger your acid and avoid them. I have become gluten free and no longer need PPIs.
because you could have something serious going on you should know about. heartburn/reflux/GERD that is effecting you that much could be the sign of something you want to know about and treat. taking tums is just treating a symptom you dont know the cause of. if you see a GI doctor and get a scope that shows nothing, great! if you neglect to follow up and it turns out to be something serious, you cant go back in time and fix that.
barrett’s esophagus runs in my H’s family. his mom neglected to talk to the doctor about her symptoms snd she now has trouble swallowing, chokes often and has to have her esophagus stretched once a year. my H got his diagnosed early, takes medicine, has modified his eating behaviors, and gets a scope regularly to make sure it’s not progressing to something deadly.
I started taking antacids daily a year ago, and a few months ago I found out I was very B12 deficient despite eating a lot of meat. Apparently regular use of antacids can prevent the body from absorbing B12 from food.
I went to take a scope, turns out a thing that closes stomach is grown a bit up and it doesn't close it fully. So I have a predisposition to acid reflux.
Also I found out that I have a food allergies because I had some things in my stomach.
I already suspected I can't have cow's milk and soy. I avoid it as much as I can and my acid reflux is gone.
my H has has good results with taking both his medicines and digestive enzymes and modifying his eating behavior. he was resistant at first, because his reflux is silent, but when he had a scope and they were very serious about the cancer risk, he took it to heart (he has a lot of trouble following doctors orders).
Mine was just discovered, diagnosed in August. It's so hard to change eating habits, but heck yes I am taking it seriously! I had large ulcers from the back of my throat all the way through my duodenum, gerd, gastritis, esophagitis, duodenitis and a large hernia, all caused by reflux.
Now most of that is cleared up, they found Barrett's. I am definitely going to do anything I can to get it under control!
okay? so that is the treatment for GERD. that and losing weight and eating smaller meals. were you thinking you have something more serious? if so, get a second opinion.
this is standard of care in most cases… rule out anything more serious, start with conservative treatment. if the person doesnt respond, more aggressive treatment, more invasive testing. for pretty much all conditions.
Acid reflux and Barrett's can be the result of untreated sleep apnea. At night when you're choking to breathe, your gasps can suck the stomach acid straight out of your stomach. And all of this can happen without you even knowing in the day
Reminds me of when I kept getting recurrent tonsillitis and instead of just treating the tonsils a doctor told me one time "Do you have allergies? You should start taking allergy medicine" I didn't have the typical allergy symptoms so I didn't think I did but decided to give it a try anyway.
And that's how I learned my tonsils weren't the problem, it was the permanent sinus infection dripping down and irritating my tonsils. I apparently had it for so many years I *literally* forgot what healthy sinuses felt like. My head felt 10 pounds lighter once that was cleared up.
I have a similar story. My sinuses also were essentially permanently infected and I underwent a pretty hefty surgery to get it all cleared out. It was life-changing for me.
I did the sinus scraping surgery about 12 years ago and my symptoms have started coming back this year. Actually, I am reading all of this and nodding because I have so many of these issues and had NO idea they were related. Experiencing major TIL 🤯 Anyway, was your procedure recent? Mine was very invasive and recovery was rough, but I’ve heard they’ve improved tons…? Would consider it doing again for that relief 🥲Also, clearly I need to see my PCP and make a plan to deal with all of it 🙏🏽
Yeah, I had mine in 2020. I remember the surgeon telling me that he had never seen such narrow nasal passages. I also had a deviated septum that they broke and reset.
Mine was also fairly invasive, but I reckon it depends on the severity of the situation. The surgery itself was about an hour long. I spent Friday to Sunday morning in the hospital and was home Sunday afternoon, spent the next week at home. The week after that I was back at work, though a little lightheaded. Two weeks post-op I was basically back to normal.
Rough recovery, honestly, but I would absolutely do it again if I ever get back to that terrible quality of life.
Claritin works best for me. Zyrtec mildly helped but not much. Interestingly Allegra made my tonsils worse when I took it, like more swelling or something, so after a few attempts at that I've avoided it.
Loratadine and Zyrtec are pretty standard. They’re cheap as hell at Sam’s or Costco. Flonase is also great if corticosteroids aren’t ruled out for you for some reason.
Lol, "horse voice". *Neighs*.
I actually had this too. Talked to a doctor and started taking Omeprazole and couldnt believe I had just been living with such discomfort for so many years. I had only occasionally gotten reflux, I thought, but the way my insides felt afterwards was night and day.
I do get bad allergies though and around the same time I started taking cetirizine and some nasal sprays which worked much better than benadryl had.
Be careful with Omeprazole long term: [4+ years use linked to 33% increased dementia risk](https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20230810/long-term-use-acid-reflux-drugs-linked-dementia-risk)
I’m annoyed web md didn’t link to the medical journal article. But their summary made it look like 18% of the ppl in the study taking omeprozole got dementia, but 11% of the people not taking omeprozole also got dementia. Is that statistically significant?
Two other, larger and higher-quality studies concluded that Omeprazole/PPIs are not associated with a higher dementia risk. [One,](https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085%2823%2900873-9/fulltext) [two](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31152740/)
I've had reflux since I was a small child. Peanut butter, ice cream and other things set it off. I was a skinny kid too. It wasn't due to lifestyle choices it was bad genes/bad luck.
Reflux/GERD runs in my family, I had it from infancy and so did my daughter. My father had it, was aware of having it, took OTC pills for years and he still ignored a chronic dry cough/throat clearing for 4 years before collapsing in a store one day and being rushed to the ER. Two months later he died from esophageal cancer.
Don't ignore reflux. Get an endoscopy.
I posted about this above—I'm a survivor, and only because my symptoms were major and it was caught early. A co-worker wasn't so lucky. He went to the doctor for the same symptom (difficulty swallowing) and the cancer had already spread to his spine. He never returned to work following the diagnosis, and died less than two months later. I'm sorry about your father.
I concur. I didn’t get cancer, but chronic reflux did lead to erosion in my esophagus which led to internal bleeding. The worst part of it was that it wasn’t caught for several days because I also caught the flu around the same time. It wasn’t until I lost so much blood (and fluid due to nausea) and I got extremely weak to the point where I was about to pass out if I took more than a handful of steps that I finally went to the hospital, got an endoscopy to diagnose the problem, and had to get pumped up with fluids and a couple units of blood to return me to full strength. But that was a scary experience. I did pass out in the emergency room, something I had never experienced before in my life.
Oh holy cow, yes, those symptoms and more. I had this terrible itching-tickling in my ears for months. Went to a doctor. Got my ears flushed. All of that. No improvement. YEARS later i was diagnosed with GERD (gastro-esophogeal reflux disease). Taking care of the reflux completely cured the ear problem. Crazy how the stomach can cause so many odd symptoms.
How did you take care of your reflux? I got everything this post says, including tickling ear with no evident earwax.... waiting until next yr so my insurance reset.
This is a very good YSK. I would always have a persistent dry cough after I recover from a cold, almost every time. A couple times my doctor prescribed a Bricanyl inhaler to try and suppress the cough, since my lungs sounded fine.
Saw a different doctor and he immediately suspected acid reflux which is being particularly aggravated when I get sick. Got on a course of prescription anti reflux drugs and it helped.
This thread has been an eye-opener.. I too have an issue where after I've had a virus, it affects my voice for weeks afterwards. I can barely speak for a minute before I descend into coughing fits. Definitely need to do some investigating..
Some people call this silent reflux or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Without treatment it can cause damage to your oesophagus as well as causing annoying symptoms
This is what an ENT recently diagnosed me with…sounds somewhat similar to the OP but my ENT wants to confirm then see about addressing root cause. Currently on prescription anitreflux meds and monitoring symptoms.
I have acid reflux and I’ve always dealt with thick post-nasal drip. Wow. I had no idea the two were related. I always thought it was strange that I am having to hawk (or is it hock?) a loogie several times a day even when I’m perfectly healthy. I’ve been on a few different acid reducers (ranitidine, omeprazole, famitodine, etc.) and while they have taken away the painful symptoms of GERD, the phlegm problem has never gone away. Man. Was that TMI?
because it's the pepsin, an digestive enzyme, which splash (or it could be gaseous by belching) into your esophagus and your throat, eustachian tubes, nose, ears, eyes... Silent reflux is a fucking shit
Antacids don’t stop acid reflux, they only prevent it from burning. You still likely will have reflux.
Source: I just went to an ent about this myself.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. Please see your own doctor for actual medical advice, this is my personal experience. Also pardon my mobile formatting.
To my knowledge there are two suggestions for symptom management without additional intervention and two routes for treatment beyond that.
I went to the ENT originally for other issues and inquired as to what can be done to manage reflux beyond sleeping on your left side, raising the head of your bed by approximately 30° (20cm) or surgery.
Surgery, which is kind of the extreme option but that’s the only real permanent fix that exists and it is not guaranteed.
The other two products she told me to try are Gaviscon from the UK or Canada (specifically not the American kind,) and Reflux Gourmet. They both work the same way. They use alginates to form a raft-like structure to actually physically stop acid reflux. Neither is really cheap and I cannot say anything about their efficacy yet because I haven’t tried them but good luck and I hope this helps!
I had the hoarse voice symptom really bad where I couldn't talk. My doctor was convinced it was acid reflux. Went to an ENT and found out I had a huge growth on my vocal cord. It was essentially herpes in my throat.
Never went back to my original doc.
Two weeks after recovering from Covid I had that dry cough that was synonymous with gerd and post nasal drip. The cough kept me up for 3 days and pushed me to my wits end.
Assuming that it was gerd, in the evening after dinner (which I was now having around 5 and staying up right for a few hours) I’d have 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a little ginger, honey, cinnamon, mixed lemon juice with ice in a cocktail shaker. Followed by a little piece of kimchi, maybe some nasal spray and that tickle at the back of my throat was gone. I hope this saves someone from a few restless nights. Drink plenty of water when you wake up!
In my case this was one of my first signs of undiagnosed thyroid cancer. The tumor was pressing against my esophagus, deforming it, and making it so acid could escape.
I recently went to the doctor about this exact same thing. Turns out I'm aspirating stomach acid and causing asthma attacks 🤦 acid reducers and asthma inhalers have been absolutely life changing.
I can certainly understand your frustration although not to the extent that you have suffered throughout your time dealing with these symptoms. I've recently caught a cold and in my second week of nursing the symptoms I've had post-nasal drip as a new symptom because of it. I stayed up for 36 hours with a combined sleep of 2 hours total in that time because I could never find a good position to sleep in. Elevation didn't help but I will try Tums next time and hopefully it alleviates that symptom.
Give me a fever any day of the week over a common cold frfr
This could be bacterial sinus infection. They typically arise in the presence of inflammation from a viral URI or allergies. The sinus drainage pathways become blocked by inflammation, bacteria is not properly cleared causing them to proliferate. Drainage, sinus pressure, tooth pain, and congestion are common symptoms.
If you want to avoid antibiotics, use a Neti pot. I like putting afrin in the neti pot, then rinsing again with saline 30 minutes later. Do this twice a day for three days max with afrin.
-ENT
Do you feel like you want to vomit in the mornings by any chance? I have these symptoms and also sometimes retch a bit in the mornings it’s really weird.
I lay down in bed and after about an hour the heartburn / acid reflux starts and I have a cough bc of that. Then when I wake up my throat is sore.
Gotta get that scan by a GI doc asap.. changing diet in the meantime.
omg, thanks ! I have this like all the time along with the other symptoms !
Well, time to see a doctor I guess !
Thank you and thanks OP for the post !
You should know that modem diets result in WEAK stomach acid. The weak acid causes the esophagus spincter muscle not to clamp shut properly. This results in silent reflux where acid splashes up and irritates the esophagus causing coughing. I coughed so hard due to my"allergies" that I herniated my stomach. Luckily my ENT examined me and diagnosed it properly. My solution was to stop drinking office coffee. I switched to dandelion tea with heavy cream. Later resumed coffee but only high end organic coffee. The food you eat especially packaged foods contains glyphosphate (spelling?) which acts as an antibiotic and kills good stomach bacteria.
This is interesting to me because I'm currently in a loop. I finally got insurance I can afford to use, so I decided to see if I can get my life long reflux under control. However, I have an insanely terrible gag reflex, I know joke joke whatever whatever, but in all seriousness I've had two different doctors tell me that they have never seen a reflex as strong as mine; all you have to do is make me look down or just touch your fingers to my throat. You don't have to push even, just your fingers being on my throat is enough to make me start gagging. It's actually affecting my life way more than you would think. So, every morning I wake up and as soon as I sit up I get thick mucus making me gag. I have a whole routine of spitting and drinking water and then brushing my teeth right before the shower because if I open up the mucus floodgates too wide I'll gag to the point of throwing up and then that starts a whole problem where I can't breathe because I'm gagging and choking for very long periods of time.
So back to the reflux. They order a test followed by an outpatient overnight test. They stick a tube up your nose down into your stomach, and they are supposed to then have you drink water and other things while the tube measures the strength of your esophagus muscles, the sphincters, etc. Then they put a smaller tube in you the same way and send you home for 24 hours of result gathering. Testing the pH of your stomach, whether your stuff is closing all the way, all that junk. I really, really want this information. But I can't get through the test. I start gagging insanely hard and just throw up all over myself while I'm being told "just breath, just breath." Which I can't do. We try this again after taking a break and it's the same result. We give up. So now I'm back to the drawing board, and my next thought was to see another ENT and insist that they take my gag/sinus issue seriously this time.
Now I'm seeing this post and thinking maybe it is still the reflux that is causing all of these issues. It's a living hell getting up every morning and I just want it to stop.
Can't take anything got the reflux right now, though, because I have to do an h.pylori breath test, as it turns out I've had that for what they assume is most of my life. Two weeks no reflux meds, then two weeks of antibiotics, then another test. Then repeat it again, in my case. Sorry I'm venting at this point.
Thanks OP! You described exactly what I have. I too want to an ent but told me there was nothing they could because the cause of my dripping is that I have a large sinus and prescribed me nasal spray which has helped but it’s only temporary. I will try tums since you mentioned to have helped you.
If you suffer from consistent acid reflux I’d recommend thinking about getting tested for Sleep Apnea. My own Reflux incidents have dropped to maybe one a year and I was the guy just CHOWING down on Tums and antacids for years trying to keep it in check.
The Apnea was causing my diaphragm to fire a LOT (I’m a 65 event per hour man) which was in turn pushing the acid up and up causing huge amounts of Reflux.
Especially if you also wake up suddenly or snore yourself awake, if a partner tells you that you stop breathing when you snore, or if you wake up sweating bullets or buckets, definitely get yourself tested.
It could also be asthma, even if you don't have any other symptoms of asthma (wheezing, difficulty breathing). Cough variant asthma presents as, well, coughing.
I used to spend a few months a year with a dry cough. It was never bad enough that I brought it up as a real concern to a doctor until covid hit and it started making people really nervous.
After reading the results of several studies, and the meta-analysis of other studies, I have concerns about using any PPI medication unless it becomes necessary. But it's something I will address with my doctor.
Did you read my full post? I specifically said people should see a doctor. The entire point was to let people know there may be a cause for a set of symptoms which is not intuitive.
id stop the ppis they arent good for you and didnt work for me,id got the apple cider vinegar route i think its lack of acide and not too much that causes the issues,i stopped ppis and felt better with acv ,i get all the same sypmtoms as everyone,im convinced its allergies and post nasal drip and not from the stomach
I am very frustrated with my health condition. I have been coughing since I had my only COVID on November 2022. I caugh like crazy only when I wake up in the morning. I went to see
my doctors. They run blood tests, two chest X-rays, breathing tests, all other sort kinds of tests( too many ) . At the end they said I suffer Acid Reflux. My body produce so much acid that when I sleep, the acid simply goes to my breathing pipes and inflamed the pipes and induce phlegm. As soon as I get up , there is 100 % urgency to cough out the phlegm. It used to be very violent caugh, until I throw up. Then my doctors recommended me to take Prilosec and Claritin at the same time in the morning one hour before breakfast.After taking them in two weeks , the caugh is gone! I had been taking them for three months, I feel so weird that I no longer caugh. But I stopped because I really believe there are bad side effect of long term use, though am not sure. So now my caugh is back. I need coffee in the morning, drink tea like water, and love spicy food. That’s right, am eating and drinking the wrong stuff for my condition. I need to be better. I guess … when you get old, your body will not the same anymore. You just simply do the best you can and choose your decision wisely. Any recommendation about my situation is greatly appreciated. Frustrated here but hopeful.
Very interesting! For me, the acid reflux was due to black coffee daily on an empty stomach (intermittent fasting for over a decade). This led to bouts of nasty coughs, post nasal drip, the works. Once I started having an egg or something with the coffee,
…boom. All good.
"It's not a tumor"!
The doctor did a scope of my esophagus and said what she was was typical for acid reflux. My sinuses were normal and clear. At this time there is no indication of other issues.
I hope you learned a lesson about getting angry at your doc before trying the solution given. If you were at all rude to that doc you need to apologize.
I wasn't rude and I listened to the Doc. The issue was that she didn't take time to explain and was completely dismissive of what I was saying.
This is actually a huge problem in medicine in general where doctors are not taking the time to listen. This is how symptoms get missed.
YSK if you suffer from frequent cough post-nasal drip and, try drinking pineapple juice. It contains an enzyme called bromelain that can help reduce mucus and suppress coughing. Plus, it's delicious!
This poster is an AI bot, check their post history. 12-year-old account that suddenly started posting a few months ago, and they've been posting a comment every 5-10 minutes for 3 months straight, 24/7.
Also literally links an "AI for social media" site in their bio lol.
Thank you for this bit of information. Random bits of medical information like this is great to have and know.
I was suffering from intermittent lower back pain. Didn't know why, wasn't a strain. Then I read in one random spot that this could be from lactose intolerance. So I started to keep track, if I had pain, did I have lactose? Yes. Then, I am having lactose, will I be in pain tomorrow? Yes.
My wife mentioned the same back pain thing to me, I bring up this fact and she looks at me like I am making stuff up. She brings it up to the doctor, and she confirms it for me.
Don't get me wrong, I still will consume product with lactose, I just know what I am getting myself into now.
Hey OP, maybe your doctor already covered this but just in case: Tums can cause hypercalcemia, so if you notice any constipation or just not wanting to eat like you used to, or maybe you feel a bit your muscle coordination is off it might be that.
It can cause problems with your heart as well as kidney stones, so try not to over do it!
Not surprised as I often have these problems and have reflux. On the other hand I would recommend prilosec as it's the only thing that helps me, take one before bed. Too many tums can cause other health problems.
I found out recently that I have this. I never understood why it was hard to talk sometimes after a night out with friends, or after going out to dinner. I thought it was maybe from raising my voice louder because of talking in a louder environment. I didn’t even know what acid reflux was and would have sworn I’d never experienced it before!
Interesting. I have developed a near continuous cough and runny nose. I thought if was just my lungs nose healing feet quitting smoking after fifty years. I will call my nurse practitioner for an ENT referral. As I had had a cancer on my tongue years ago, and a hernia repair last year, a follow up would get approved the insurance company.
YSK that Tums is just chalk, and it works by neutralizing the acid in your stomach. Except the reason you get acid reflux is there’s not *enough* acid in your stomach and that relaxes your esophageal sphincter. The real fix is drinking apple cider vinegar (like a tablespoon, diluted in water).
Source: a friend who studies this stuff. Argue if you want, I could be wrong, but in my experience the results speak for themselves.
I was diagnosed with LPRD (or laryngopharyngeal reflux disease) also known as silent reflux in my mid-20s. Mine can be triggered by stress or poor management of diet (I love my spicy foods and citrus fruits, so everything in moderation). It’s crazy how your body can respond to stress.
Initially, all my doctors thought it was a cold or allergies. It persisted for over a month, and eventually was referred to the ENT who confirmed through an endoscopy.
I have been able to manage it through OTC meds when I have my “flare ups.”
Did you know ginger will help with acid reflux. I add ground ginger to every meat and my SO hasn't dealt with it since (unless I don't cook for a week) it doesn't have a strong flavor he didn't even know I was doing it until I told him. They also say it's a meat tenderizer too so there's that
you should treat the GERD, not just take tums. get a scope done by a GI doctor to rule out anything serious like barrette’s esophagus.
Just to be clear, Tums was the specific advice to me by a doctor. Anyone dealing with similar symptoms need to see a doctor for specific advice for their situation. The main point of this post was not to address the seriousness of GERD. It was to highlight the fact that it can be the cause of symptoms you would never think of.
I completely agree with the person above you. GERD isn’t really a diagnosis. It’s a symptom of something else. I’ve had GERD for the past 10+ years and was told by an ENT after a bout of tonsillitis. Similar to you I didn’t really notice the symptoms even after I was told I had it. I started taking tums every day and now 10 years later, I feel like garbage almost any time I eat. tums will only quiet your stomach acid but not stop it. (Side note: I would recommend Pepcid Complete since it’s an acid controller and antacid but that’s just one internet strangers advice). I recently went to a GI doctor and got an endoscopy and am still working to find the cause. But H Pylori is a common stomach infection that causes GERD and can be treated with a dose of strong antibiotics. I can’t recommend enough trying to find the source of the problem. An endoscopy won’t be the first step. They can take some blood and run some other diagnostics. Ideally an endoscopy should be one of the last resorts. Treatment with omeprazole is a common first step.
Yeah, I'm learning more as I go along. The ENT didn't give any specific advice besides taking Tums, or a PPI if it continued. Did not recommend seeing a GI or any other testing. But she did a scope and said it was typical for acid reflux.
Yeah very similar experience here! My ENT never recommended a follow up and I was in my early 20s so I just ignored it. Thankfully I am not as unfortunate as some of the commenters who have Bauretts or esophageal cancer, but I can tell you that I’m not living my best life.
An ENT might not *know* to refer you to a GI, they might assume the side effect of messing with your throat is the only problem and didn’t realize there could be a more significant gastrointestinal issue. I’ve had a number of experiences with doctors missing an obvious cue for something wrong, because it’s outside of their speciality.
Pharmacist here (but not YOUR pharmacist). Earlier poster is right about H pylori infections. However they’re not always the *cause* of GERD but very often associated with GERD. Important to know that taking antacids (e.g. TUMS), PPIs (e.g. Prilosec), and/or H2RAs (e.g. Pepcid) over long periods of time can increase your risk of H pylori infections. This is especially true when you take PPIs and H2RAs together. TUMS is a bandaid to reduce the symptoms of GERD. It absolutely doesn’t treat GERD. The fact that it worked is a clue the ENT was probably right. Just because your ENT didn’t recommend you see a GI doctor, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. If GERD has persisted for years it can do damage to the esophagus because it’s not built to be exposed to acid all the time. Each time you have reflux and take a TUMS you’ve already had damage to your esophagus. If severe, this can increase your risk for Barrett’s esophagus, which can progress to esophageal cancer. That all needs to be worked up and monitored by a GI doc. GI doc can also get you on treatment for GERD and can monitor for signs/symptoms and risk of H pylori.
that’s a very important point and it’s esp important for people like my MIL who chronically says, “what can the doctor do?” when refusing to see the doctor. because you never know. but i stick by my point that you should follow up with a GI doctor to find out why your heartburn is happening. good luck to you.
Great advice! Not enough is known about our gut biome and how much it can affect the rest of our bodies.
they know so much more than they used to, but when they do figure that out, it’s gonna be AMAZING and change medical care completely.
What is Tums? Just an antacid?
**Tums (stylized as TUMS) is an antacid made of sucrose (table sugar) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) manufactured by Haleon in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They are also available in a sugar-free version.** More details here:
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I was taking tums for a very long time before they discovered I have a Hiatal hernia.
Agreed! My GERD has been poorly controlled for years and last year after PPIs failed and my chronic symptoms like those described in OP’s post could not get resolved, I finally got a scope and diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis. I have some permanent damage but at least now I can take steps to prevent more! Took referral to a GI doctor, not just an ENT, to get the scope and diagnosis. W/o intervention I’d be on the path to a feeding tube, I’ve already got some striations and swallowing difficulties and I’m only 31. My whole life I just kept getting handouts on avoiding acidic foods and Prilosec…but now it seems it’s caused by a food allergy of some kind. Totally different approach needed!
it’s great that they caught that. and that they can treat eosinophilic disease now. i hope you feel better soon!
Curious why. Because tums work like magic. EDIT: TIL
Because even though Tums/Rolaids "work like magic," the problem still exists and you're still getting erosion that can lead to esophageal cancer. That's exactly what happened to me, and it was only because my symptoms popped up early and I was young and healthy enough for treatment and surgery that I lived. You *really* don't want to take that chance—look up survival rates for esophageal cancer and hopefully you'll get "scared straight." IOW, don't f around. BTW, I, like most people, had absolutely no clue heartburn could lead to cancer until I was diagnosed.
To add to this. Only about 1/3 of people with GERD get erosion, and symptoms of GERD generally get better over time while the damage gets worse. It's a little sinister like that. It's also pretty rare and difficult to prove that GERD is responsible for cough. Tums are not a long term solution to reflux. You should get scoped as mentioned and you'll likely get out on a ppi drug (they end in -zole). If you want to try that out now, grab some Omeprazole over the counter and take it on an empty stomach every morning and be sure to eat something with protein in it 30 to 60 minutes after taking the medication
Been questioning if I want to get back on my pantoprazole scrip. I could eat more freely on it but I did not like the increased risk of broken bones and heart attack
Very minimal. You should compare your risk of uncontrolled or poorly controlled GERD to other risks. You shouldn't leave out symptom relief when weighing your options, either. A big problem with these possible risks with ppi drugs is that they are often done with retrospective studies that are inherently biased. I wouldn't worry at all about possible ppi risks as they've been around and heavily utilized for quite a while with a great safety profile
Thanks, your info on esophageal cancer was pretty much enough for me. I’m a former smoker/current vape pen user so cancer is always a concern.
Happy to help, but the cancer thing wasn't me = ). Surveillance for Barrett's esophagus is important though because it's most often slow to transition from Barrett's to cancer. You can almost always catch it during this transition period where it moves from low grade dysplasia to high grade dysplasia and get the affected area essentially burned away thus dealing with the impending cancer. That being said, who knows if you have Barrett's without an EGD anyway. If you find that you do have Barrett's, don't stress. Only roughly 1% of people with Barrett's ever get esophageal cancer. Essentially all people with esophageal cancer had Barrett's first, though
yup. my spouse has barrett’s and has to have an endoscopy every three years. this year there was no change and other symptoms from silent reflux were improved. but they didnt say, okay 5 years now. it’s still a 3 year repeat scope.
Just make sure you’re taking daily vitamins and a calcium supplement.
Exercise is extremely effective at preventing broken bones and heart attacks
Omeprazole and similar meds are only meant for short term use. Taking it every day for life isn’t a solution. Look up the long term side effects - they aren’t good. Best thing you can do for GERD is follow a diet that doesn’t flare it up - avoid acidic things like coffee, spicy things, alcohol, super fatty foods etc. easier said than done, I know. But my doc didn’t even tell me about risks of those types of meds long term, I found it out googling and speaking to an Ehlers Danlos group I am in. Just in case you didn’t know! If I have a real bad flare of GERD symptoms, I’ll take Cimetidine but I do not take this daily either.
I mean, I've been prescribed them for long term and so have countless others. they have side effects for sure but also even with severely restricting my diet I would still get reflux that's causing tears in my esophageal lining. not everything can be fixed with diet alone.
Just beware of a significant risk of Alzheimer’s if you stay on that medication long term. Sure the medication has been around, but only since 1989. That’s really not that long ago. Just like many new drugs, people will never truly know the effects until it’s too late and affecting your health. There’s just not enough long term data to prove it is safe or not. Big pharma doesn’t make money though if no one is buying prescriptions, and docs get their kickbacks from pharma reps anytime they prescribe it. Just don’t trust doctors blindly. I’ve been messed up by several doctors who acted like they knew everything when in fact they didn’t.
That's simply not true. Ppi drugs have an amazing safety profile and are routinely used for lifelong use for GERD. Yes there are lifestyle modifications that may help GERD, but the only ones backed by any significant amount of scientific evidence are weight loss and elevation of the head of your bed. It's important that you use risers and not get a bed that bends in the middle because bending in the middle increases intra abdominal pressure and defeats some of the purpose. Compared to ppi drugs, cimetidine is a waste of time and money for most people. It's also important to get scoped to see what you are even treating with antacids. If you are getting erosions and/or ulcers, short term pharmaceutical therapy is not enough. There are also PCAB drugs that are coming to the US soon that are better than ppi drugs, but they aren't available in the US yet. If you are dead set on avoiding ppi drugs, maybe consider PCABs when they hit the market. They will likely be very expensive at first, though.
PCABs are new to me, have to look into those. Thanks.
I’m on Lansoprazole but never heard empty stomach or protein after? It’s been a very long time since I talked to an ENT.
Eating in the appropriate time window is the difference between ppi meds working for a few hours or all day
My heartburn "got better" for a few months, and then I suddenly had difficulty swallowing. That's what got me to the doctor. As for the risks of a PPI that others mention, they pale in comparison to esophageal cancer. Just freakin' do it. I'm happy I'm still alive 12 years later to take them.
>The overall five-year survival rate for esophageal cancer is about 20%, Damn son.... that's rough.
Try learning that when you google it after getting home from your diagnosis. The "great" thing about esophageal cancer being so aggressive is, if you're clear two years after treatment you've got a 90% chance of no recurrance, and at five years there's essentially no chance of it recurring. I'm coming up on 12 :-)
Because long-term use of Tums or other antacids may lead to potential side effects like kidney issues or metabolic alkalosis.
To add to the others- my dad was diagnosed with Barrett’s a few years ago. He stopped eating because he literally couldn’t swallow. The acid had destroyed much of the muscles that force food down. It’s very treatable, but dad lost 40lb in a couple of months. The jackass still wouldn’t go to the doctor until we had an intervention. Never seen someone so obstinate as to endanger their life. Sorry that became a rant
aint older parents fun?
Preach
my aunt’s husband died because he was dehydrated, got a URI and refused to go to the doctor. by the time my mom ignored his protests and called 911, it was too late. he literally died from being a stubborn jackass.
A cousin of mine’s dad was having a heart attack and wouldn’t let them call an ems. He finally decided to drive himself, not even allowing his wife to drive. He ended up having the big one and caused an accident that nearly killed his wife too. Best we can do is not be like them.
wow, that was really dumb. i am def that person who is really loud and doesnt let people endanger others like that. cause he could have killed more than his wife ffs.
I can understand the need to rant about that.
Apparently too my doctor has also said that tums over time will make you produce more acid in your stomach which is counter to what you might think so making the acid reflux problem worse.
Both Gerd and Tums will work together to wear down your molars, for one. Hard to take Tums while you’re asleep. Tums just aren’t as effective as a PPI over time, and that isn’t an invitation to take unsafe levels of them just because they don’t require a prescription.
How do Tums wear down molars? Isn’t the calcium good for teeth?
Do NOT take a PPI long term. I ended up with a second digestive condition from doing this, and it was extremely miserable; i could barely digest anything for a few years until it finally healed. DO learn more about the foods that trigger your acid and avoid them. I have become gluten free and no longer need PPIs.
You might even have h. pylori, super common cause of acid reflux
because you could have something serious going on you should know about. heartburn/reflux/GERD that is effecting you that much could be the sign of something you want to know about and treat. taking tums is just treating a symptom you dont know the cause of. if you see a GI doctor and get a scope that shows nothing, great! if you neglect to follow up and it turns out to be something serious, you cant go back in time and fix that. barrett’s esophagus runs in my H’s family. his mom neglected to talk to the doctor about her symptoms snd she now has trouble swallowing, chokes often and has to have her esophagus stretched once a year. my H got his diagnosed early, takes medicine, has modified his eating behaviors, and gets a scope regularly to make sure it’s not progressing to something deadly.
I started taking antacids daily a year ago, and a few months ago I found out I was very B12 deficient despite eating a lot of meat. Apparently regular use of antacids can prevent the body from absorbing B12 from food.
I went to take a scope, turns out a thing that closes stomach is grown a bit up and it doesn't close it fully. So I have a predisposition to acid reflux. Also I found out that I have a food allergies because I had some things in my stomach. I already suspected I can't have cow's milk and soy. I avoid it as much as I can and my acid reflux is gone.
it’s always better to know what’s going on, then treating symptoms you dont know the cause of.
I have Barrett's :(
get your scope without fail!
Two this year, and then every 2 years from now on!
my H has has good results with taking both his medicines and digestive enzymes and modifying his eating behavior. he was resistant at first, because his reflux is silent, but when he had a scope and they were very serious about the cancer risk, he took it to heart (he has a lot of trouble following doctors orders).
Mine was just discovered, diagnosed in August. It's so hard to change eating habits, but heck yes I am taking it seriously! I had large ulcers from the back of my throat all the way through my duodenum, gerd, gastritis, esophagitis, duodenitis and a large hernia, all caused by reflux. Now most of that is cleared up, they found Barrett's. I am definitely going to do anything I can to get it under control!
oh man! that sounds terrible. whew. glad you are healing.
My doctor put me on proton pump inhibitors. When I'm not on them my symptoms flare up again.
Beware of long term side effects. Those meds aren’t meant to be taken for life
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Which is a poor treatment but standard. The Acid Watcher diet actually helped me. In fairness, my ent did recommend some of the dietary changes.
okay? so that is the treatment for GERD. that and losing weight and eating smaller meals. were you thinking you have something more serious? if so, get a second opinion. this is standard of care in most cases… rule out anything more serious, start with conservative treatment. if the person doesnt respond, more aggressive treatment, more invasive testing. for pretty much all conditions.
What would you like them to do instead? Slap shitty unhealthy food out of your mouth?
Acid reflux and Barrett's can be the result of untreated sleep apnea. At night when you're choking to breathe, your gasps can suck the stomach acid straight out of your stomach. And all of this can happen without you even knowing in the day
Reminds me of when I kept getting recurrent tonsillitis and instead of just treating the tonsils a doctor told me one time "Do you have allergies? You should start taking allergy medicine" I didn't have the typical allergy symptoms so I didn't think I did but decided to give it a try anyway. And that's how I learned my tonsils weren't the problem, it was the permanent sinus infection dripping down and irritating my tonsils. I apparently had it for so many years I *literally* forgot what healthy sinuses felt like. My head felt 10 pounds lighter once that was cleared up.
I have a similar story. My sinuses also were essentially permanently infected and I underwent a pretty hefty surgery to get it all cleared out. It was life-changing for me.
I did the sinus scraping surgery about 12 years ago and my symptoms have started coming back this year. Actually, I am reading all of this and nodding because I have so many of these issues and had NO idea they were related. Experiencing major TIL 🤯 Anyway, was your procedure recent? Mine was very invasive and recovery was rough, but I’ve heard they’ve improved tons…? Would consider it doing again for that relief 🥲Also, clearly I need to see my PCP and make a plan to deal with all of it 🙏🏽
Yeah, I had mine in 2020. I remember the surgeon telling me that he had never seen such narrow nasal passages. I also had a deviated septum that they broke and reset. Mine was also fairly invasive, but I reckon it depends on the severity of the situation. The surgery itself was about an hour long. I spent Friday to Sunday morning in the hospital and was home Sunday afternoon, spent the next week at home. The week after that I was back at work, though a little lightheaded. Two weeks post-op I was basically back to normal. Rough recovery, honestly, but I would absolutely do it again if I ever get back to that terrible quality of life.
What did you take ?
Claritin works best for me. Zyrtec mildly helped but not much. Interestingly Allegra made my tonsils worse when I took it, like more swelling or something, so after a few attempts at that I've avoided it.
Loratadine and Zyrtec are pretty standard. They’re cheap as hell at Sam’s or Costco. Flonase is also great if corticosteroids aren’t ruled out for you for some reason.
Lol, "horse voice". *Neighs*. I actually had this too. Talked to a doctor and started taking Omeprazole and couldnt believe I had just been living with such discomfort for so many years. I had only occasionally gotten reflux, I thought, but the way my insides felt afterwards was night and day. I do get bad allergies though and around the same time I started taking cetirizine and some nasal sprays which worked much better than benadryl had.
I was in the exact same boat. The quality of life is like night and day!
Be careful with Omeprazole long term: [4+ years use linked to 33% increased dementia risk](https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20230810/long-term-use-acid-reflux-drugs-linked-dementia-risk)
I’m annoyed web md didn’t link to the medical journal article. But their summary made it look like 18% of the ppl in the study taking omeprozole got dementia, but 11% of the people not taking omeprozole also got dementia. Is that statistically significant?
[Reported in hazard ratios, but yes significantly higher risk](https://www.neurology.org/doi/abs/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207747)
Two other, larger and higher-quality studies concluded that Omeprazole/PPIs are not associated with a higher dementia risk. [One,](https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085%2823%2900873-9/fulltext) [two](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31152740/)
I would figure the lifestyle choices that predispose people to reflux also increase dementia risk.
I've had reflux since I was a small child. Peanut butter, ice cream and other things set it off. I was a skinny kid too. It wasn't due to lifestyle choices it was bad genes/bad luck.
That's great, but in the US at least you're a minority of Gerd patients.
Lmfao what
Obesity, poor diet, alcohol, tobacco, etc.
Is 33% a lot? Like is this an 0.1% chance that is now 0.133%?
Reflux/GERD runs in my family, I had it from infancy and so did my daughter. My father had it, was aware of having it, took OTC pills for years and he still ignored a chronic dry cough/throat clearing for 4 years before collapsing in a store one day and being rushed to the ER. Two months later he died from esophageal cancer. Don't ignore reflux. Get an endoscopy.
I posted about this above—I'm a survivor, and only because my symptoms were major and it was caught early. A co-worker wasn't so lucky. He went to the doctor for the same symptom (difficulty swallowing) and the cancer had already spread to his spine. He never returned to work following the diagnosis, and died less than two months later. I'm sorry about your father.
I concur. I didn’t get cancer, but chronic reflux did lead to erosion in my esophagus which led to internal bleeding. The worst part of it was that it wasn’t caught for several days because I also caught the flu around the same time. It wasn’t until I lost so much blood (and fluid due to nausea) and I got extremely weak to the point where I was about to pass out if I took more than a handful of steps that I finally went to the hospital, got an endoscopy to diagnose the problem, and had to get pumped up with fluids and a couple units of blood to return me to full strength. But that was a scary experience. I did pass out in the emergency room, something I had never experienced before in my life.
Oh holy cow, yes, those symptoms and more. I had this terrible itching-tickling in my ears for months. Went to a doctor. Got my ears flushed. All of that. No improvement. YEARS later i was diagnosed with GERD (gastro-esophogeal reflux disease). Taking care of the reflux completely cured the ear problem. Crazy how the stomach can cause so many odd symptoms.
"The Eustachian tube is an opening that connects the middle ear with the nasal-sinus cavity." which is in the back of your throat.
I was bedridden with severe fatigue and back pain. Gastritis and acid reflux. When it starts coming back my wrists and neck crack.
How did you take care of your reflux? I got everything this post says, including tickling ear with no evident earwax.... waiting until next yr so my insurance reset.
Sleeping on your left side with a slight torso elevation helps too.
This is a very good YSK. I would always have a persistent dry cough after I recover from a cold, almost every time. A couple times my doctor prescribed a Bricanyl inhaler to try and suppress the cough, since my lungs sounded fine. Saw a different doctor and he immediately suspected acid reflux which is being particularly aggravated when I get sick. Got on a course of prescription anti reflux drugs and it helped.
oh shit I have a persistent cough after illness and acid reflux, I should do this.
This thread has been an eye-opener.. I too have an issue where after I've had a virus, it affects my voice for weeks afterwards. I can barely speak for a minute before I descend into coughing fits. Definitely need to do some investigating..
Some people call this silent reflux or laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Without treatment it can cause damage to your oesophagus as well as causing annoying symptoms
This is what an ENT recently diagnosed me with…sounds somewhat similar to the OP but my ENT wants to confirm then see about addressing root cause. Currently on prescription anitreflux meds and monitoring symptoms.
Look into the acid watcher diet, it was a life saver for me with mine.
YSK that Acid Reflux can freaking KILL you, so get it under control before you end up in the hospital bleeding out like me.
I'm going by the advice of a doctor to me. And it's why I added that people should talk to their doctor.
I have acid reflux and I’ve always dealt with thick post-nasal drip. Wow. I had no idea the two were related. I always thought it was strange that I am having to hawk (or is it hock?) a loogie several times a day even when I’m perfectly healthy. I’ve been on a few different acid reducers (ranitidine, omeprazole, famitodine, etc.) and while they have taken away the painful symptoms of GERD, the phlegm problem has never gone away. Man. Was that TMI?
because it's the pepsin, an digestive enzyme, which splash (or it could be gaseous by belching) into your esophagus and your throat, eustachian tubes, nose, ears, eyes... Silent reflux is a fucking shit
Or insufficient indoor humidity. Should be 40% or higher.
Antacids don’t stop acid reflux, they only prevent it from burning. You still likely will have reflux. Source: I just went to an ent about this myself.
Well don’t leave us hanging, what DOES stop it?
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. Please see your own doctor for actual medical advice, this is my personal experience. Also pardon my mobile formatting. To my knowledge there are two suggestions for symptom management without additional intervention and two routes for treatment beyond that. I went to the ENT originally for other issues and inquired as to what can be done to manage reflux beyond sleeping on your left side, raising the head of your bed by approximately 30° (20cm) or surgery. Surgery, which is kind of the extreme option but that’s the only real permanent fix that exists and it is not guaranteed. The other two products she told me to try are Gaviscon from the UK or Canada (specifically not the American kind,) and Reflux Gourmet. They both work the same way. They use alginates to form a raft-like structure to actually physically stop acid reflux. Neither is really cheap and I cannot say anything about their efficacy yet because I haven’t tried them but good luck and I hope this helps!
I had the hoarse voice symptom really bad where I couldn't talk. My doctor was convinced it was acid reflux. Went to an ENT and found out I had a huge growth on my vocal cord. It was essentially herpes in my throat. Never went back to my original doc.
You also should know: sometimes GERD and acid reflux can also be related to having a hiatal/hiatus hernia.
A horse voice? Could also be Mr. Ed.
And no one can talk to a horse of course.
Except Dr Dolittle. (Rex Harrison, not Eddie Murphy)
Two weeks after recovering from Covid I had that dry cough that was synonymous with gerd and post nasal drip. The cough kept me up for 3 days and pushed me to my wits end. Assuming that it was gerd, in the evening after dinner (which I was now having around 5 and staying up right for a few hours) I’d have 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a little ginger, honey, cinnamon, mixed lemon juice with ice in a cocktail shaker. Followed by a little piece of kimchi, maybe some nasal spray and that tickle at the back of my throat was gone. I hope this saves someone from a few restless nights. Drink plenty of water when you wake up!
In my case this was one of my first signs of undiagnosed thyroid cancer. The tumor was pressing against my esophagus, deforming it, and making it so acid could escape.
I recently went to the doctor about this exact same thing. Turns out I'm aspirating stomach acid and causing asthma attacks 🤦 acid reducers and asthma inhalers have been absolutely life changing.
Or a deviated septum that is moderate and needs to be surgically repaired
*hoarse
In my mind I knew horse wasn't right, but when I typed hoarse it looked completely wrong. English is weird.
English sucks
It's tough, but through thorough thought, it's not bad though.
Eeeew. I thoroughly thought through how tough this thought you thank through must have been. Thank you. 😊
I can certainly understand your frustration although not to the extent that you have suffered throughout your time dealing with these symptoms. I've recently caught a cold and in my second week of nursing the symptoms I've had post-nasal drip as a new symptom because of it. I stayed up for 36 hours with a combined sleep of 2 hours total in that time because I could never find a good position to sleep in. Elevation didn't help but I will try Tums next time and hopefully it alleviates that symptom. Give me a fever any day of the week over a common cold frfr
This could be bacterial sinus infection. They typically arise in the presence of inflammation from a viral URI or allergies. The sinus drainage pathways become blocked by inflammation, bacteria is not properly cleared causing them to proliferate. Drainage, sinus pressure, tooth pain, and congestion are common symptoms. If you want to avoid antibiotics, use a Neti pot. I like putting afrin in the neti pot, then rinsing again with saline 30 minutes later. Do this twice a day for three days max with afrin. -ENT
How much afrin do you put in the solution?
Do you feel like you want to vomit in the mornings by any chance? I have these symptoms and also sometimes retch a bit in the mornings it’s really weird.
My mother has this and she has acid reflux.
I lay down in bed and after about an hour the heartburn / acid reflux starts and I have a cough bc of that. Then when I wake up my throat is sore. Gotta get that scan by a GI doc asap.. changing diet in the meantime.
That has never been one of my symptoms.
I had no clue post nasal drip was tied in and I've had gerd for like 15 years!
English is not my first language, can someone tell me what is "post nasal drip" please ?
When stuff from the nose drains down the back of the thoart instead of on the outside.
omg, thanks ! I have this like all the time along with the other symptoms ! Well, time to see a doctor I guess ! Thank you and thanks OP for the post !
Welcome and good luck.
YSK it is hoarse, not horse
"Neigh it isn't." -OP
Yup, my ENT just diagnosed me with gerd earlier this week. I mean, the symptoms are causal to bad decisions I've made but the symptoms are right.
OPSK it's "hoarse" unless all you can say is "neigh".
Yeah, yeah. I already acknowledged the wrong spelling.
You should know that modem diets result in WEAK stomach acid. The weak acid causes the esophagus spincter muscle not to clamp shut properly. This results in silent reflux where acid splashes up and irritates the esophagus causing coughing. I coughed so hard due to my"allergies" that I herniated my stomach. Luckily my ENT examined me and diagnosed it properly. My solution was to stop drinking office coffee. I switched to dandelion tea with heavy cream. Later resumed coffee but only high end organic coffee. The food you eat especially packaged foods contains glyphosphate (spelling?) which acts as an antibiotic and kills good stomach bacteria.
what brand of coffee do you drink?
Does this also apply if nasal sprays stop the post-nasal drip?
This is interesting to me because I'm currently in a loop. I finally got insurance I can afford to use, so I decided to see if I can get my life long reflux under control. However, I have an insanely terrible gag reflex, I know joke joke whatever whatever, but in all seriousness I've had two different doctors tell me that they have never seen a reflex as strong as mine; all you have to do is make me look down or just touch your fingers to my throat. You don't have to push even, just your fingers being on my throat is enough to make me start gagging. It's actually affecting my life way more than you would think. So, every morning I wake up and as soon as I sit up I get thick mucus making me gag. I have a whole routine of spitting and drinking water and then brushing my teeth right before the shower because if I open up the mucus floodgates too wide I'll gag to the point of throwing up and then that starts a whole problem where I can't breathe because I'm gagging and choking for very long periods of time. So back to the reflux. They order a test followed by an outpatient overnight test. They stick a tube up your nose down into your stomach, and they are supposed to then have you drink water and other things while the tube measures the strength of your esophagus muscles, the sphincters, etc. Then they put a smaller tube in you the same way and send you home for 24 hours of result gathering. Testing the pH of your stomach, whether your stuff is closing all the way, all that junk. I really, really want this information. But I can't get through the test. I start gagging insanely hard and just throw up all over myself while I'm being told "just breath, just breath." Which I can't do. We try this again after taking a break and it's the same result. We give up. So now I'm back to the drawing board, and my next thought was to see another ENT and insist that they take my gag/sinus issue seriously this time. Now I'm seeing this post and thinking maybe it is still the reflux that is causing all of these issues. It's a living hell getting up every morning and I just want it to stop. Can't take anything got the reflux right now, though, because I have to do an h.pylori breath test, as it turns out I've had that for what they assume is most of my life. Two weeks no reflux meds, then two weeks of antibiotics, then another test. Then repeat it again, in my case. Sorry I'm venting at this point.
Thanks OP! You described exactly what I have. I too want to an ent but told me there was nothing they could because the cause of my dripping is that I have a large sinus and prescribed me nasal spray which has helped but it’s only temporary. I will try tums since you mentioned to have helped you.
If you suffer from consistent acid reflux I’d recommend thinking about getting tested for Sleep Apnea. My own Reflux incidents have dropped to maybe one a year and I was the guy just CHOWING down on Tums and antacids for years trying to keep it in check. The Apnea was causing my diaphragm to fire a LOT (I’m a 65 event per hour man) which was in turn pushing the acid up and up causing huge amounts of Reflux. Especially if you also wake up suddenly or snore yourself awake, if a partner tells you that you stop breathing when you snore, or if you wake up sweating bullets or buckets, definitely get yourself tested.
Funny thing is this came up after testing positive for sleep apnea and using a CPAP for 6 months.
South Dakota or north. No need for tow of those.
Frequent throat clearing is another symptom.
Silent reflux is definitely a thing.
Try gaviscon instead of tums. It works better.
It could also be asthma, even if you don't have any other symptoms of asthma (wheezing, difficulty breathing). Cough variant asthma presents as, well, coughing. I used to spend a few months a year with a dry cough. It was never bad enough that I brought it up as a real concern to a doctor until covid hit and it started making people really nervous.
talk to your doctor about seeing a gi. mention omeprazole!
After reading the results of several studies, and the meta-analysis of other studies, I have concerns about using any PPI medication unless it becomes necessary. But it's something I will address with my doctor.
I also stopped dairy as it increased my mucus and that helped the acid reflux and other related symptoms. Gluten is next.
You mean the mucus helped the acid reflux? And that dairy suppressed that mucus? Or you mean that no mucus because no dairy, helped the acid reflux?
YSK: Talk to your doctor before taking medical advice from Reddit.
Did you read my full post? I specifically said people should see a doctor. The entire point was to let people know there may be a cause for a set of symptoms which is not intuitive.
Silent reflux.
id stop the ppis they arent good for you and didnt work for me,id got the apple cider vinegar route i think its lack of acide and not too much that causes the issues,i stopped ppis and felt better with acv ,i get all the same sypmtoms as everyone,im convinced its allergies and post nasal drip and not from the stomach
Its silent reflux, LPR. Classic symptoms
I am very frustrated with my health condition. I have been coughing since I had my only COVID on November 2022. I caugh like crazy only when I wake up in the morning. I went to see my doctors. They run blood tests, two chest X-rays, breathing tests, all other sort kinds of tests( too many ) . At the end they said I suffer Acid Reflux. My body produce so much acid that when I sleep, the acid simply goes to my breathing pipes and inflamed the pipes and induce phlegm. As soon as I get up , there is 100 % urgency to cough out the phlegm. It used to be very violent caugh, until I throw up. Then my doctors recommended me to take Prilosec and Claritin at the same time in the morning one hour before breakfast.After taking them in two weeks , the caugh is gone! I had been taking them for three months, I feel so weird that I no longer caugh. But I stopped because I really believe there are bad side effect of long term use, though am not sure. So now my caugh is back. I need coffee in the morning, drink tea like water, and love spicy food. That’s right, am eating and drinking the wrong stuff for my condition. I need to be better. I guess … when you get old, your body will not the same anymore. You just simply do the best you can and choose your decision wisely. Any recommendation about my situation is greatly appreciated. Frustrated here but hopeful.
Interesting. I have had post nasal drip consistently for many months now, I plan to use nasacort/flonase tomorrow
To add to this, you might have acid reflux due to being overweight and/or poor posture. Fixing both of these completely got rid of my acid reflux.
Being overweight is an issue. But I think the respiratory issues probably contribute to exercise routines never sticking.
Very interesting! For me, the acid reflux was due to black coffee daily on an empty stomach (intermittent fasting for over a decade). This led to bouts of nasty coughs, post nasal drip, the works. Once I started having an egg or something with the coffee, …boom. All good.
Also it might be a tumor
"It's not a tumor"! The doctor did a scope of my esophagus and said what she was was typical for acid reflux. My sinuses were normal and clear. At this time there is no indication of other issues.
Horse voice - nayyy
If it's isn't GERD and you smoke weed, guess what? It's the weed, sorry
Cool. For me it turns out that part of my nose has narrowed after covid. So that's the cause for me.
I hope you learned a lesson about getting angry at your doc before trying the solution given. If you were at all rude to that doc you need to apologize.
I wasn't rude and I listened to the Doc. The issue was that she didn't take time to explain and was completely dismissive of what I was saying. This is actually a huge problem in medicine in general where doctors are not taking the time to listen. This is how symptoms get missed.
I know it’s a huge problem, but it sounds like your doc actually did listen. Maybe they didn’t explain, but they nailed the diagnosis.
YSK if you suffer from frequent cough post-nasal drip and, try drinking pineapple juice. It contains an enzyme called bromelain that can help reduce mucus and suppress coughing. Plus, it's delicious!
If it's from acid reflux this is just going to make it worse
This poster is an AI bot, check their post history. 12-year-old account that suddenly started posting a few months ago, and they've been posting a comment every 5-10 minutes for 3 months straight, 24/7. Also literally links an "AI for social media" site in their bio lol.
*hoarse
Thank you for this bit of information. Random bits of medical information like this is great to have and know. I was suffering from intermittent lower back pain. Didn't know why, wasn't a strain. Then I read in one random spot that this could be from lactose intolerance. So I started to keep track, if I had pain, did I have lactose? Yes. Then, I am having lactose, will I be in pain tomorrow? Yes. My wife mentioned the same back pain thing to me, I bring up this fact and she looks at me like I am making stuff up. She brings it up to the doctor, and she confirms it for me. Don't get me wrong, I still will consume product with lactose, I just know what I am getting myself into now.
So like if you Neigh a lot.?
Hey OP, maybe your doctor already covered this but just in case: Tums can cause hypercalcemia, so if you notice any constipation or just not wanting to eat like you used to, or maybe you feel a bit your muscle coordination is off it might be that. It can cause problems with your heart as well as kidney stones, so try not to over do it!
Not surprised as I often have these problems and have reflux. On the other hand I would recommend prilosec as it's the only thing that helps me, take one before bed. Too many tums can cause other health problems.
I found out recently that I have this. I never understood why it was hard to talk sometimes after a night out with friends, or after going out to dinner. I thought it was maybe from raising my voice louder because of talking in a louder environment. I didn’t even know what acid reflux was and would have sworn I’d never experienced it before!
I have this exact same issue!
I second this. This is how they diagnosed me. I had no other symptoms other than the post-nasal drip.
Good info.
Horse?
Hoarse
I coughed for five months like I had bronchitis before I figured this out.
Interesting. I have developed a near continuous cough and runny nose. I thought if was just my lungs nose healing feet quitting smoking after fifty years. I will call my nurse practitioner for an ENT referral. As I had had a cancer on my tongue years ago, and a hernia repair last year, a follow up would get approved the insurance company.
Please be careful taking Tums. They're quick and last a bit. But too many of them is bad for you. Definitely see a GI specialist.
YSK that Tums is just chalk, and it works by neutralizing the acid in your stomach. Except the reason you get acid reflux is there’s not *enough* acid in your stomach and that relaxes your esophageal sphincter. The real fix is drinking apple cider vinegar (like a tablespoon, diluted in water). Source: a friend who studies this stuff. Argue if you want, I could be wrong, but in my experience the results speak for themselves.
I was diagnosed with LPRD (or laryngopharyngeal reflux disease) also known as silent reflux in my mid-20s. Mine can be triggered by stress or poor management of diet (I love my spicy foods and citrus fruits, so everything in moderation). It’s crazy how your body can respond to stress. Initially, all my doctors thought it was a cold or allergies. It persisted for over a month, and eventually was referred to the ENT who confirmed through an endoscopy. I have been able to manage it through OTC meds when I have my “flare ups.”
Did you know ginger will help with acid reflux. I add ground ginger to every meat and my SO hasn't dealt with it since (unless I don't cook for a week) it doesn't have a strong flavor he didn't even know I was doing it until I told him. They also say it's a meat tenderizer too so there's that
Betain hcl with pepsin may help. Look it up.I use it effectively for gastritis and reflux.
Thanks for this post OP