Just got diagnosed with laryngopharangeal reflux or LPR, silent reflux.
Doc wants to put me on PPIs briefly but i dont trust that class of meds.
Any thought or alternative? Looking at alginate containing antacid like Gaviscon
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I am not a medical pede, but as someone who has suffered from severe GERD for my entire life, and has had surgery to treat symptoms, and spent more than 20 years on PPIs before learning the truth and weaning myself off of them, I can tell you that choosing to take them is the worst possible decision you can ever make.
The problem with reflux is that the LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter), the ring of muscle at the bottom of your esophagus that opens to let food into the stomach, and closes to prevent the stomach contents from flowing back up into the esophagus, is not functioning properly. For decades, nobody understood what made the LES open and close; but now they do. The sphincter opens and closes based on the acidity of the stomach. If your stomach has a pH level of 2.0-2.5 or lower (EXTREMELY acidic), then the sphincter will close. If the pH level in your stomach is higher than that, the sphincter will open. This means that by neutralizing all the acid with constant antacids, or worse, preventing the stomach from producing enough acid in the first place (this is what PPIs are designed to do), you are actually causing the LES to remain open all the time, which allows acid and food to back up into the esophagus. It also prevents you from digesting your food properly because you don't have enough acid in your stomach to do the job properly.
As for the PPIs themselves, the FDA released a major warning a few years ago that says you SHOULD NOT take PPIs for more than 3 consecutive weeks, and no more than 5 weeks out of each calendar year. This is because long term use is addictive, and dangerous to your health. They can cause damage to your vagus nerve (possibly the most important major nerve in your body, it controls the entire digestive system as well as several other important functions), and it can cause many other kinds of PERMANENT damage to your body. I dodged a bullet because I took them for over 20 years and was lucky enough to not have any permanent damage.
Once I found out about all the dangers, I quickly weaned myself off of them and have refused to ever again take them again. Since that time, my reflux problems have improved quite a bit. Weaning yourself off of them can be very difficult for some people since you can experience severe rebound effects when you do. Don't start taking them in the first place. Also, keep in mind that most of the OTC acid blockers are PPIs, just at lower non-prescription doses. Stay the hell away from them at all costs. They are nothing more than massive money streams for doctors and for big pharma, just like statin drugs are (which are just as dangerous long term and just as worthless and pointless).
I had surgery for a hiatal hernia, worst decision I made in my life. PPIs were the second worst.
I recommend getting off the PPIs ASAP. Don't stop cold turkey though, research how to wean yourself off them so you don't get rebound effects.
Had a hiatal hernia repaired and reflux is completely gone, going on 2 years now.
Mine was effective for 5-6 years and then began to lose its effectiveness. By then it was no longer reversible. That was well over 20 years ago though, hopefully they have better techniques these days.
Thanks for that history. Will help a friend of mine.
Also I quit smoking in February and I'm trying to manage stress but as a single father with custody it's hard.
Congratulations on quitting smoking! You will be very glad that you did as the years go on.
My biological father was a 2-3 pack a day chain smoker, and I developed COPD when I was in elementary school from the constant exposure to second hand smoke. I've been living with that for nearly 50 years now. I'm glad you stopped smoking not only for your personal health, but for your children's health as well. Think about them every time the cravings get tough to resist and that will help you make it through.
I smoked for about 14 years, half a pack a day or less. Haven't had any issues since quitting re: cravings. My son asked me to quit one day so I did. I never smoked inside or even around the kids and never in the car either. I was always Very conscientious about it. Sorry you have aftereffects from your dad's habit.
You're a good dad to quit for your son. Stay strong and you'll both be glad you did.
Yeah, when I was a kid, there was no such thing as no smoking in buildings/cars/houses/restaurants. A lot more people smoked, and they did it anywhere they wanted, all the time. Things are a lot better these days as far as people not being able to smoke in public places. The smoking is ultimately what killed my father.