ongoing pneumonia

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charski

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Was hospitalized in July and August for pnuemonia acquired while on a cruise. As it is mid October and am still coughing doc thinks i have aspirated stomach acid due to GERD. I do not have heartburn. I have had barium swallow & it is normal, brochoscopy and it showed nothing but irritated lung, it was only on left, now moved to right as well. I am so fed up with coughing and shortness of breath and wheezing. Any suggestions? Gastro doc wants to do 24 hour test to see when acid is refluxing am I on the right track? What happens to this acid, if indeed it is acid in my lungs and how does it get treated? Thanks
 
It is quite possible to have reflux with no heartburn. I have had reflux for years with a chronic cough as my primary symptom. A 24 hr pH test is a good test for detecting reflux, GERD in particular. Typically treatments for reflux include lifetyle changes, diet changes, and medications such as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI's). There is also the surgical option, but it is an absolute last resort.

Have you also been assessed for asthma? What type of doctor are you seeing? Have you been to a Pulmonologist and a Gastroenterologist?
 
Thanks for replying. Yes I have been to a pulmonologist a for the bronchoscopy, the gastroenterologist for the barium swallow and now some specialist is being sceduled for the PH test. In the past I thought I had allergies and went to an allergist he said i had asthma, although I had no symptoms until this cruise. Still have a productive cough and have been careful with my diet as I had a bowel resection 10 years ago.
 
I've diagnosed w/ GERD for about 2 years now. I have not had the burning associated w/ heartburn since my early-mid 20s, 38 now. I only had pressure, bad enough I've been to the ER several times thinking I was having a heart-attack. They told me it was GERD.

Tests done thus far:
Barium swallow
endo-scope
2-chest x-rays
head-neck cat scan (mostly due to dizziness, ruling out stroke/brain blockage)

My biggest complaint now is the mucus and cough with acidic taste in mouth. My insurance has dropped the use of nexium which I cannot afford on my own, so I now also have burning which, like mentioned before, haven't had for many years.

To my understanding, one treatment is to use PPIs to reduce the harmfulness of the stomach acid that may be getting aspirated into the lungs. This alone will not stop the actual refluxing, only the harshness of the acid. I think that only changes in life style and stress levels can reduce the actual refluxing.

By personal experience I have noted that my biggest contributor to my reflux-related problem is stress levels. Then you start thinking that something more serious is wrong with you, feeding the stress of an already stressful situation, it turns into a very viscous cycle that is hard to break.

Hang in there and keep plugging away at different things 'til you find what works for you.

-Noggin
 
thanks for the info. In case you did not know you can get the prescriptoin omeprazole which is the name for prilosec. It is only about 4 dollars for a months supply twice a day. Also ranitadine is the name for zantac, also can be obtained for about the same price =. If you buy either one as over the counter brand name you csan go broke!
 
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