Diagnosed with GERD & Laryngopharyngeal Reflux. Feeling Sad. Have Some Questions.

[Jack Barnes]

Hello again. I recently got diagnosed with GERD and LPR on the 12th by an ENT. A few days before that I began having some crazy heartburn, sore throat, and warm fluid would fill my ears every time I burped, ate, or drank anything. It sucks because I was in the middle of having a 2 week break from my usual ear fluid when these new symptoms struck. Now It feels like I'm getting alot more of it in my ears than usual and my tinnitus seems to be getting worse.

On one hand I'm happy to finally get an answer that explains my chronic ear fluid, some of my tinnitus, and horrifying sinus infection-like symptoms which tend to come and go(I did have a CT scan which ruled out sinustitis). But on the other hand I feel really depressed knowing that LPR is most likely permanent and will probably cause lots of ear infections down the road. I also have no doubt that the stress from my ear issues have played a massive role in causing the GERD & LPR to develop. I've made progress with the anxiety and stress for sure but I still experience them at some point every day.


I have a few questions and would appreciate any and all advice greatly.

1) My ENT wants me to take Zantac before bed, but from what I've seen online it can cause tinnitus in some people. Are there any safer medications for GERD/LPR?

2) Does anyone else get a loud rumbling noise when they burp that feels horrible? It's not painful but it feels like air gets forced into my ears and causes damage. My ENT said it was caused by acid reflux, but I'm not sure I believe that. Anyone know why this is happening?

3) Can stomach acid in ears worsen tinnitus permanently?

4) Have you or someone you know had success in "curing" LPR? If so, how did it happen?


Thanks so much
Jack

 

[glynis]

Use extra pillows at night to stop the reflux coming up.
Its not a cure but will help along with not eating in late evening and eating spicy food late also.
Love glynis

 

[linearb]

my best advice before taking drugs for this, especially for any long period of time is to read this series:
https://chriskresser.com/what-everybody-ought-to-know-but-doesnt-about-heartburn-gerd/

I think doctors are way, way too quick to throw drugs at this problems when in many cases the drugs are directly counterproductive, have problematic side effects, and this can be resolved through lifestyle changes.

As to your #4 I still get flareups but I haven't used anything stronger than apple cider vinegar or digestive bitters to deal with them in years. I do not trust PPI drugs. Also when I get flareups it's usually the result of doing something dumb like having a huge meal late at night and chasing it with a bunch of booze.

 

[Kita1]

Hi Jack I've had reflux for a long time and through a lot of trial and error have it under control without medication. The best advice I ever got was to give up wheat and dairy, it really works and there are really good alternatives now in the supermarkets. I don't drink caffeine and any hot drinks I have them luke warm as very hot drinks will irritate it. Sleep upright and don't eat after 7pm at night if you can help it at first until it settles down. Liquorice tea soothes the oesophagus. Have it in moderation though. Fizzy drinks I only have occasionally too. Selenium is good for repairing tissue damage too so good to take this vitamin too. Manuka honey is also v soothing. Hope that helps. All the best.

 

[Jack Barnes]

@glynis Thank you for the advice!

@linearb That was a very interesting read. I've been eating under 1000 cals per day and stopped taking supplements(NAC, zinc, magnesium, vit c) for over a week now and have only had minor improvement, but I'll definitely try to manage this through diet before going to drugs. Thank you so much for the information! I've heard good things about apple cider vinegar, I'll get some asap.

@Kita1 Thanks for the advice and recommendations! It does help me alot.

 

[Jack Barnes]

I found the answer to my question #2 by searching around the forum! It's called middle ear myoclonus. Below is a post made by ZZZK that led me to some great info. I encourage anyone else suffering with this weird problem to visit the thread he linked. I'm also gonna try and write my personal experience with it there when I get the chance.

Please see this thread:

This is middle ear myoclonus and I experience the exact same symptoms after burping. Although it sounds like you just get a thump and it doesn't turn into a series of thumps every few seconds the way some of us do:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/for-those-with-middle-ear-myoclonus.16222/#post-296064

I think this is the Eustachian tube slapping together and not actually the stapes/tympani fluttering.

 

[Kste Adams]

I agree with @linearb and @Kita1. I took anti-GERD medication for only 3 weeks, and it turned a barely-noticeable condition (no heartburn ever, the dentist spotted some erosion on my teeth) into a raging case of heartburn, all day every day, reflux so bad I was afraid I'd upchuck in public, lost 25 pounds because I couldn't eat much of anything, and it destroyed my teeth. Not only that, proton pump inhibitors don't just turn off the acid in your stomach, they turn off other proton pumps in your body, causing other potential problems. Many people who have GERD actually have too little stomach acid, not too much, so taking medication actually makes the problem worse.

GERD medication is appropriate for people who have something like esophageal cancer. But as @linearb noted, doctors are way too quick to prescribe a powerful medication for a problem that could be better managed in other ways.

I found a nutritionist who prescribed the following:

• Eliminate all dairy products. This also includes lactic acid and other products derived from dairy products, so read food labels. Oddly enough butter is OK, because it is pure fat.
• Eat your smallest meal in the evening, no food or drink after about 7 PM.
• Cut down on sugars also. Many cases of GERD are the result of taking antibiotics, which results in your gut flora being out of whack. In my case sugar seemed to feed the "bad" stuff and made heartburn worse. The nutritionist also recommended pre-biotics to help feed the good flora, but in my case the pre-biotics made things worse. Everybody is different.
• Unsweetened cranberry juice was very helpful. It seems to straighten out my stomach and eliminate bloating. I also used some herbal supplements (traditional Chinese formulas) that the nutritionist recommended. These did me far more good than any "medicine" that is prescribed for GERD.
  
• Sleep with your head higher than your feet. Pillows don't work because your head will slide off them while you sleep. I put a couple bricks under the front two legs of my bed.

Good luck! My doctor refers to "Gruesome GERD" and he isn't kidding - it can be miserable.

 

[Jack Barnes]

@Kste Adams Wow. My case is very mild compared to what you were/are going through. I'm very sorry to hear about that. Thanks for the warning. I'll avoid taking drugs for this unless it's absolutely necessary.

I actually took a course of Amoxicillan a couple months back. It did nothing for me as the symptoms returned shortly after, only twice as bad. Maybe it messed up my gut causing silent reflux to get in my sinuses.

Thank you so much for sharing the nutritionist's plan! I'm gonna get on this diet asap and I can't wait to try out the recommendations everyone has given me.