LPR: What works for you?

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chook439

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Hi,
I think i have LPR (i'm yet to speak to a doctor about this, but i'm pretty certain!). I'm going to the doctor very soon, to see if there are any medications i can take to relieve the symptoms. For the last year i've been experiencing constant mucus in my throat, post nasal drip, breathing problems (especially at night), and it's really not pleasant, as i'm sure you all know! What i really want to get rid of is the constant throat mucus. It gives me awful breath, and makes me pretty erabarrassed, as well as causing general discomfort and constant throat clearing.
What medications do you take for LPR/general reflux and does it work for you?
I've read some threaRAB that have made me a bit worried, that there is nothing that can help, and that i'm going to be stuck with the mucus for life. is this true?
Thanks so much :)
 
Hey Chook
Well the ear thing I think is from lpr my doctor told me its refer d pain form you throat!! So I agree with you on that!! I have been taking nexium for 2 weeks noticing something i think!! But thursday I was having a pretty good day did not eat anything I was not suppose to and thurs night my throat got sore on the left side ear hurt when I yawned and my throat hurt all day yesterday It is better today but I didn't even eat anything bad so go figure on the food thing, Yesterday i had a half of a glass of sprite cause I was well like i already feel bad so what the hell and it did not bother me at all so the whole food thing is durab I think It just takes a while for the meRAB to work and get it under control!! My pharmist told me not to worry about the food and to just eat!!! I would think the nexium would be doing more since I have been on something since the middle of Jan,but I guess it just takes a while to work! I'm seeing my doctor on Monday and I think he is gonna scope me!! Anyway last night I woke up and my nose was running and I have a cold now so I dont' know if that is why my throat hurt or not but it is a little better today! keeping my fingers crossed!! I'm not huge on caffine or soda choc or fatty food but I do eat them on occaision but who doesnt I was a smoker so maybe that cause it, but i quit a month ago!!!:) So maybe this will help!! Do you know anything about that!!!??? Hope you start feeling better!! I hate the whole food thing it makes you afraid to eat anything that is why they said just eat and the meRAB will do their job!! But in moderation!! talk to you soon!!The feeling of something in my throat is better it just seems a little smaller so I guess that is good!! Is that how yours was at 2 weeks on the med? take care
 
Hi Painter: Not any prescription drug for reflux now, as 24 weeks pregnant. I do take Tums and Pepcid as needed, which is nearly daily. Finding now that tums does not work as well as pepcid, I think your body gets a tolerance for these drugs and then you need more.
 
Right now, it's just taking the meRAB. I also get a kind of drymouth sometimes when I'm having an episode and I drink a lot of water. So far I haven't figured out any special technique to feel better.

I have a question: when you have breathing problems, what are they like? When I have them, I can't breathe through my nose but I can breathe through my mouth (like right now, heh). If I can get air through my nose, I can't seem to get enough through... almost like breathing through a tube.

Oh there is one thing! If I can't fall asleep in my bed, I go take my wedge pillow to the living room and try the couch. For some reason that helps although I have no idea why.
 
Thanks for your answer :)
My breathing problems occur mostly at night. Like you, i can't breathe through my nose, and have to breathe through my mouth, but this only seems to occur when i'm lying down. I've tried using extra pillows but it doesn't help, and i just end up with a very sore neck! I'm not really sure why the reflux makes me unable to breathe through my nose...but it only started when i got LPR, so i assume the two are related.
 
Get a wedge pillow - it will be more gentle on your neck than extra pillows and may help more because of the sloping. I got mine at a medical supply store for around $35, but if you don't mind spending the money I'd recommend something a little better (memory foam or something softer) that is a little bit more expensive, just because it's probably more comfortable than my foam wedge.
 
Thanks hoopoe, I'll definitely be looking into getting one of those pillows, and hopeully get a more comfortable nights sleep for a change :)

legaleagle01 - Thanks for your answer! I'm looking forward to getting rid of the mucus, but what i'm mostly worried about is the bad taste/smell. Maybe it will go away with time. We can always hope i guess! I think i'll ask my doctor about the medications you mentioned, as i've heard others say that they work as well. Thanks for your help :)
 
Yeah I'm totally with you on the food thing! I've tried cutting all sorts of different things out of my diet, and it's really had no effect. The reflux for me, is really unpredictable. I really don't think it has anything to do with what I eat, as sometimes it's really bad after I've eaten all the right fooRAB. And it's often worse when I haven't eaten anything for a while. The only thing that has helped, is not eating as much dairy products, as they seem to make the mucus worse. I'm don't drink much caffiene or soda either, and I generally eat pretty healthily, so I really don't think that drastically changing my diet will help.
Thats good that the feeling of something in your throat is a bit better! That's how I felt as well after about 2 weeks on the nexium. You're right, it really does take a while to start working well, I guess we just have to be patient! I think smoking can make reflux worse. I remeraber my doctor asking me if I was a smoker when I first started seeing him, as he said it can trigger reflux, and also make the mucus in the throat feel even worse. Well done for quitting!! Hopefully you'll start to feel a lot better soon, as it's possible that smoking was making your symptoms worse. How did your doctors appointment on monday go? I plan to start nexium again asap...I've just been way to busy to go to the pharmacy and pick it up! Good luck with everything!
 
chook
How are you feeling with your lpr? I notice that you haven't posted in a while so I am wondering if you have it under control and how long it took for you to feel better?
 
Chook439,

I have the same problem or had I guess. I have excessive mucus (caused by stomach aciRAB coming up into the back of my throat) it gives me a nasty taste and a nasty smell (from all the bacteria) at the back of my throat. I am takin Protonix and zantac and so far it's helped alot. I don't feel like I am fighting for air and its greatly slowed the mucus coming up but the breath is still bad so I am unsure how to tackle that...
 
Chook

Well my doctor app went well!! He said it would be 6 weeks before I notice a real improvement this Friday I will have been on my nexium for 3 weeks!! I have a cold now in my sinius and my throat stings so maybe part of my throat thing is form this cold!! I asked why i didn't have a problem after my tonsilectemy he didn't know but I was never treated for lpr so maybe now that I'm being treated it will get better!! I just keep waking up everyday hoping that I will feel better its had good days and bad!! He said to just hang in there!! Have you read the post what to do mucus had some good things to say on there,I don't know if he had lpr or gerd but he said prevcid worked awesome so maybe if the nexium does not work at 6 weeks I will switch to that!!?? Get the nexium and start it I'm sure it will work for you!! The only thing is that he did not scope me on Monday!!! But he said he didn't think he needed to so maybe he will march 22 my next app if im still having problems!!! Hope your doing well!! talk soon!! Did you have stinging in your throat I have noticed it more since starting the ppi? Wondering if its normal?
 
Chook..I wanted to send you a PM but it doesn't seem to let me. Nothing comes up that says "send Chook a private message". So I'll ask you here. You said you know a few people that got rid of their symptoms with 2 Nexium. What did they have and how long did it take for them to get better. If you can you can PM me please. I'm getting so depressed about this I need to talk to an optomistic person. Thanks,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Hi Bentleys,
I wish I could tell you that I have it under control, but unfortunately I don't. Not yet anyway! I was on nexium for a while, but had to stop as I needed to go into hospital for a surgery unrelated to lpr. And I wasn't supossed to be on any medication as I needed general anaesthetic. When I was on the nexium I did notice a small improvement. But the post nasal drip, and constant mucus in my throat did not go away, and that's what really bothers me. So I'm about to start taking 2 40mg nexium everyday and see if that works. I'm also thinking I may try apple cider vinegar, as it does seem to really help some people. Also, if anyone else is having problems with mucus, I recommend Fess Nasal spray. It's just a salt solution, which really helps break up the mucus and makes you feel a lot better :)
I'll let you know how my next attempt with nexium goes!
Chook
 
Hi,
When I first started nexium, I got a really bad cold as well! And it made it so hard to see if the nexium was working, because I didn't know what symptoms were caused by the cold, and what was lpr! So just wait until your cold clears up, and you might notice even more improvements! Why did you need a tonsilectemy? Did that have anything to do with the lpr? I was curious about that, because my doctor said my tonsils look a bit red but I don't have a cold or anything so he wasn't sure if it was because of the reflux or not.
I think feeling stinging in the throat is normal when starting nexium...I think it's because your body stops producing as much mucus to counteract the acid, so you can feel it burn more. At least that's what I hear! I'm not completley sure though. My doctor has never scoped me properly to look for signs of reflux. He did put a weird camera thingy into my nasal passage to look at my voice box and the back of the throat etc...that's what made him think it was reflux, as my voice box etc was red and irritated. I was thinking of trying Gaviscon next if the nexium doesn't work for me, as you don't need a prescription.
 
I'm in the same boat as all of you. I wake up with it coating my throat though and for some reason, my nose is filled w/ bloody mucus at night too. Very odd because I'm now sleeping inclined on pillows, not lying totally down, and this still happens. God forbid if I was laying down totally!

Anyway, lately, I've found that drinking ginger ale can actually help break up the junk in my throat. I find this odd, esp since its carbonated. But, its been helping. I don't stop gagging totally just thins it out for me. The nasty metalic tasting mucus sits in my throat all night and if I get up to urinate or move at all I begin coughing it up. It is sooo disgusting!
 
Hi Chook
Well I had my tonsils out because I was sick alot but they also thought that the feeling in my throat was because of my tonsils!!It went away for 3 months after tonsilectemy and came back in dec So it must be from the lpr!! My first ent did not say anything about lpr or didn't know anything about it!! so after seeing him and seeing him he was not giving me any answers I went to a new ent and he said silent reflux so at least I got a answer!! I even asked my other ent about silent reflux he said well if you want try meRAB we can, But I said I only want to try them if that is what it is!! Duh, So I asked my other ent why the other ent did not say anything about it>Hes said I know him and he does not like to do the hard stuff wish I knew that before I went through all of that!! But people say the ent I'm seeing is good and will figure this out!! He said It just takes time,usually people dont see good improvement until 6-8 weeks!!! I bet your tonsils are red because of reflux I have heard that before!!! My doc said most people will be able to eat what they want again after they get it under control! Have you heard that!!!??? I hope so!! About the stinging in my throat that is what I thought cause the phlem is not as bad so I thought maybe i have the stinging in my throat cause there is not as much mucus there protecting the throat and that is why it is stinging!! Hopefully that will go away soon!!! My doc said decaf coffee is ok so I'm drinking it only 1 cup a day!!! Talk to you soon !! It would be nice some of the people that have not been on these boarRAB that are feeling well would write and say how they are doing!! its like they fall off the face of the earth!! They must be doing well and living life cause they are not on here, When I get this under control I will write on here so people know that you can get this under control and live life again, and enjoy fooRAB for god sake that is why we take the meRAB!! I know people with gerd and they can eat the fooRAB as long as they take there meRAB, I know people don't want to take meRAB all the time but i feel like some people are on worst meRAB every day of their life !!! And at least you can live life!! I think people with gerd get relief faster and like my doc said it takes longer for lpr but it will get better!! Sorry to rarable on and on!! Talk to you soon have a great day!!!
 
Chook
so sorry to hear about what ur going through! I have been on nexium foe 2weeks tomorrow and starting to see some improvement hopefully it will keep getting better!! Let me know how u are doing?! My biggest thing was the feeling of something being stuck in my throat and mucus in throat, but it seems to be improving some the last few days!:) and my throat would feel hot sometimes and ear pain too!! Start nexium it should help?? How long were u on it before u noticed some improvement ?? Take care
 
PS: Wanted to add, I was on nexium 40mg twice per day for about 4 months. I did notice a minor difference when on it, when I'd miss a dose on accident though my throat would get irritated and burn and I'd have to clear my throat or cough a lot.
 
Thanks Bentleys, I'll definitely keep you posted as to how I'm doing :) I plan on starting nexium again asap so hopefully that will help! I'm also going to the doctor to get a blood test to check my hormone levels, as I've heard that can play a part in reflux, and I'm willing to try anything at this point! I think I was on nexium for about 2 weeks before I noticed some improvement. The feeling of the lump in my throat almost went away I think, and I was sleeping better. I also experience ear pain sometimes...my doctor doesn't seem to think it's related to lpr, but I think differently! Good luck with the nexium! I hope you feel better soon
 
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