You may not have acid reflux if it acid never gets into your throat. I have at least a yearly episode of waking up choking and the epiglottis is stuck shut protecting my lungs from acid. It's horrible to wake up like that but am always fine after the episode and yet every time it happens I can't shake off the sheer panic I'm in. I could say I got used to it and yet when it happens it's horrifying.

wow, I have the same issue but not related to acid or GERD. mine is triggered by water or saliva. My throat would close up, and I couldn't breathe. It has a name, and on YT, you can see a video of an episode happening. it looks and feels like an asthma attack. And even though I'm always fine, I still fight back the panic. I have gotten better. I can quickly close part of my throat before the water or saliva touched the part of the throat that triggers it. I also learned not to fight it. do not try too hard to breathe, especially through the mouth. instead, I breathe slowly and gently through the nose. I then relax and maybe let out a cough or two, then I can breathe again.

There's degrees. For many years, I'd sometimes have a pressing pain somewhere on the left side of my chest. For years I wondered if it was something with my heart or my lungs, but it turns out that's what it feels like if stomach acid enters your oesophagus. It doesn't have to get all the way up to your throat to be a problem, though that also sometimes happens recently.

Took years for me to get this diagnosed, but now I take pills to reduce stomach acid production, I eat less in the evening, and maybe I'll add this training now.

Why don’t you get proper medication to deal with this as opposed to antacids? I also had bad reflux and Omeprazole took care of it pretty quickly. OTC antacids were no help really.

Proton pump inhibitors and friends have their own side effects. Protonix, for example, made me shaky for some reason.

There aren't any proper medications that I'm aware of. Proton pump inhibitors have documented long term downsides.

Those downsides are better than Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer.

Very fair point.

Taking a PPI (I think it was generic protonix) truly cured very severe heartburn I'd developed from eating a funny diet. After a few months, I got my doctor to prescribe me a half-size pill, then tapered off and I've been permanently free of heartburn. Maybe footnotes to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor#Indicati... explain why. But I remember reading that the PPI permanently shut down a bunch of acid production in your stomach, so after a while, you may be in a good state.

I took omeprazole and similar derivatives for extended periods and while they annihilate symptoms, after a couple weeks of not taking them, symptoms always come back. Also it gives me itches in the long run which is part of the list of side effects. I probably have work to do around diet and need to consult a doctor, definitely (they are prescription medicine where I live and it's not always easy to get an appointment).

You should be taking omeprazole rather than antacids.

For those not in the know, antacids control the acidity levels. Omeprazole signals to the stomach receptors to reduce/stop producing the acid in the first place. The difference is that, when your body senses a pH change upon taking the antacid, it provides some intermediate relief, but eventually the body senses the reduction and produces more acid to compensate for the shortfall, resulting in an even greater amount of acid. This can turn into a very vicious cycle very badly.

Ideally, you should be taking both Maalox with each meal and omeprazole on a regular basis every day, till your physician directs you to change course. 4 Maalox a day is actually a lot.

Stomach acid exists for a reason. I worry a lot about the long term effects of suppressing it. Gallbladder problems are often mentioned.

Proton pump inhibitors like Omeprazole does have issues, but trying to mitigate GERD symptoms with antacids and failing to suppress it fully cauaes worse issues. It takes massives doses to significantly suppress the stomach acid - typical doses just reduces it a bit.

If you need PPIs for extended periods of time you absolutely should talk to a doctor to rule out potentially serious possibilities, though.

Yeah, I did and this is what he prescribed me. PPI is one of the most prescribed drugs, if not the most.

That's why this article is really interesting

Me too. I take pantoprazol to reduce my acid production, but messing with it too much sounds like a bad idea. Training these oesophagus muscles might be a better idea if it works.

That's why I said, as per the physician's guidance. The Maalox-Omeprazole duo is the best route to suppressing reflux, but the dosage you need to take them is as per the physician's recommendation.

I replied to another sub-thread.

Doesn't maalox cause your stomach to generate more acid? That is counterproductive.

I had acid reflux from the time I was 15 years old. By the time I was 22 it had eaten holes almost through my esophagus, so I had Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication surgery. They basically wrapped part of my stomach around the valve and it tightened it up. No more heartburn.

On the down side, I no longer can vomit, so there's that. (Confirmed after the not-so-smart decision to try every booth at a chili cook-off.)

So what happens when you'd normally need to vomit?

Nature finds a way :) (Door #2)

I suppose if it was an alcohol poisoning situation or something like that, I have to get my stomach pumped.

Food for thought. A few things work for me. First, eat your last meal early - we eat dinner around 6 and are in bed anywhere from 10pm to midnight.

Second, natural apple cider vinegar... If you are getting that terrible burning feeling that isn't subsiding, take a small sip of apple cider vinegar out of the fridge. Rinse or brush your teeth right away as it's hard on them. I feel like as with everything else this should be done in moderation.

Another thing to add for me personally is no alcohol a couple hours before bedtime, especially bourbon/whiskey/etc. And absolutely no spaghetti or red sauces anywhere close to bedtime.

Good luck and I hope it gets better for you.