LPR Reflux: Light at the End of the Tunnel

Those of you who follow this blog probably know by now Mike's Health has been more or less on hiatus in 2012 due to my battle with acid reflux. It's been nine months of hell now; however I'm optimistic regarding my recovery, and expect to be relatively normal in 2013. But it's not over yet.  I still have to adhere to a daily routine that involves taking an antacid that contains alginate before every meal and bedtime, sucking on DGL licorice and slippery elm lozenges throughout the day, and sticking to small, low-acid, low-fat meals throughout the day rather than three normal-sized meals. As recently as a month ago, eating anything vaguely acidic resulted in immediate pain and swelling in my throat. Now I am able to eat a small amount of acidic foods, including a limited amount of fresh and cooked tomatoes, though I am instinctively avoiding citrus fruits and juices. I sleep on a wedge or, if I sleep on my side, only on my left side, which minimizes the chance of nighttime reflux. Some days are better than others, but there seems to be a very slow progression in the right direction. Only a few weeks ago, the slightest burp resulted in pain. Now that has mostly passed. Most days I feel pretty normal in the morning, but in the late afternoon and early evening my throat starts to feel a little lumpy and ragged- not quite the globus that used to present itself regularly, but not comfortable either.

One thing of which I am convinced: this is not the result of too little acid, as the health food store guru believed. I tried taking a supplement with Betaine HCl (that's hydrochloric acid, kids) and pepsin, wishing to test the theory that my reflux is caused by not enough acid being generated by my aging digestive system. My system reacted very badly, in fact wiping out all of the progress I had been making. I was starting to feel almost normal. In the aftermath of taking that pill, my throat was re-damaged and the globus came back on as worse as it ever had been. It's taken a few weeks to get the discomfort back down to a manageable level. So, be warned if you suffer from LPR and want to test the low acid theory: wait until your throat is fully healed before trying HCl supplements.

I am more convinced than ever LPR would not exist if it were not for the easy manner in which Americans, encouraged by the pharmaceutical industry and celebrity shills like Larry the Cable Guy, can take very dangerous acid suppression drugs like proton pump inhibitors. I have never had much trouble with acid reflux and certainly nothing at all like the throat damage that characterizes LPR before taking PPIs.  I was misdiagnosed with GERD, I now believe, when really what I suffered from was intermittent gastritis due to my atrocious diet. Ever since I was on the PPIs I have been struggling with a number of reflux-related symptoms. Now that I have been off of them for a month, my digestion seems to be normalizing, though the process is very, very gradual.

I am not out of the woods yet. Every day I experience symptoms which make me fear I might be slipping backwards. But when I calm myself and look back at the trouble I've had in the past, I realize I am a very slow road to recovery.