Would you .......

I don't use my intercostals! I keep my ribs very still.

Lemons are ok. Apple cider vinegar burns as it goes down (diluted of course!) (been there done that)

I wish they could make their minds up whether milk is alkaline or acid. Apparently it is alkaline as it goes in, but turns to acid in your stomach. All too complicated.

Strawberries are acid. Raspberries are alkaline. Did you know that?

Jings I don't think that bellows breathing is the thing for reflux. It may or may not strengthen your diaphragm but all that violent pulling in of the upper belly could put pressure on the stomach and force acid backwards.
I think ana's got the right idea - strengthen your diaphragm with deep abdominal breathing (without using your intercostals).
It took me a few months ana to get the hang of it and that is when i completely cleared my symptoms. Keep going
As to the "acid diet" this seems to me to be the biggest load of nonsense Petra. Its a mish mash of oriental ideas about yin/yang etc that seems to have taken on a life of its own, using and abusing the scientific terms "acid" and "alkaline" in an apparently random way. Thus lemons and cider vinegar are "alkaline".
It just does not make a h'aporth of sense and there is no research to back it up. Same applies to all the random claims for cider vinegar.
Presumably those selling "alkaline water" add a chemical to it, similar to the chemicals used in antacids and sell it at a massive markup.

Yes. I do do it very vigorously! I will strengthen the those sodding muscles if it kills me!

You know lg, I'm not sure I care about any benign polyps I may or may not have/get. And please don't tell me they could turn cancerous cos I just don't want to hear. I'm 74. I'll live for today thank you.

Maybe that 'bellows' exercise you're doing's a bit too fast? I don't think the ones in Jess's book were like that, will have to check...I'm just doing the belly-breathing (slowly) and trying to do that back thing but can't seem to get the hang of it!

petra the highest ph water I could find is Evian. Bought some, and then daughter told me, as our water is hard our tap water will have a high ph anyway. Looked on Thames Water website. No info at all on ph of the water they supply.

All too confusing. Even my breathing exercises seem to pump acid fumes up and then I get bad throat and cough and sneeze. And get snottie.

Every website I go to on Google seems to be marked, "you have visited this site xxx times". Yes. I know! I'm desperate!

Always a good idea to take probiotics; can't do any harm anyway and might just do some good. Also a fan of Aloe Vera for the same reason. I do try to eat kale or spinach most days.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17059515

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stomach-polyps/basics/causes/con-20025488

Here are a couple of links jbf. There are loads of references to them on the net. The guy who did my gastroscopy said he had never seen so many polyps and recommended that I go off the medication, which I did. I manage with antacids, ginger tea, careful diet, grazing rather than eating big meals etc. I occasionally take an omeprazole when I know I will be eating fattier food than I am used to. But I do not think my symptoms were anything like as bad as yours.

I did a mass of reading last night on the benefits of an 'Alkaline' diet.
A lot of people are getting good results from gargling Alkaline water and drinking it. The water should be 8.8PH, but it seems that's difficult to get in the UK.
The same with Cider Vinegar, liquorice and probiotics. I'm going to go back to juicing. People are getting good results from juicing Kale, Spinach, melon.
Kale and Spinach are anti acid foods.

I'm going to read up on this man on Facebook. His handle is jpt and if you put in 'justpassingthrough' there is a mass of info on this subject.

I don't feel so bad now after reading about people who have lost their job because they have lost their voice and people who have to use a puffer because they can't breath.

You're probably right - just clutching at straws here!

Sounds like it's more for IBS. I'm not at all sure it could help acid reflux, which in older people is likely to be a physical thing rather than anything digestive.

Thanks - it seems difficult to get hold of, though, and very expensive!

Sorry allowed the supplement is called Symprove.

Yes it is allowed on a thread like this - please tell us morethan2, it might help someone on here.

I will definitely be telling my doctor that I've been taking an alternative medication. Mind you she should know by looking at my repeat prescription information which has more than halved. For years Ive had problems with what was thought to be ibs or didivdilocus to make matters worse I then started to get terrible heartburn and reflux. ( my doctor said these symptoms often go hand in hand.) We've thought it was stress, anxiety a food intolerance. As well as being painful and at time embarrassing it also affected my confidence. At times I felt ashamed, thinking I was a hypercondriac, or had some underlying mental health problems. Thankfully I never once thought it was cancer or serious. I tried lots of exclusion diets. Some working better than others but never quite clearing things up completely. I've practically got a library of books about the subject. All to no avail. Then 4 months ago I read an article in (I think) the telegraph about probiotics and their finding were that water based bacteria gave better results. I was sceptical but desperate so I gave it a try. I've tried almost every alternative medicine under the sun so I knew I wasn't too susceptible to the 'placebo effect'. To my complete astonishment my symptoms improved in three days. Including the reflux and heartburn which was a complete surprise. I still get the occasional symptoms but there's been a 90% improvement. I no longer need to carry clean underwear in the glove compartment, ( my grandchildren found this very amusing) I can sit comfortably in company, without making an excuse to go for a 'windy' walk under the guise of stretching my legs. Now if there's a horrible smell it's definitely the dog. The supplement isn't cheap but worth every single penny. I'd tell you the name but I'm not sure it aloud.

Has anyone gone up as far as 40 mgs of omeprazole? I thought about giving that a quick try. You can buy it OTC now.

Re GP's not understanding the condition much, when I have yearly revues for Meds I will be asked about blood pressure tabs and statins but never about the Lanzoprozole they churn that out on a repeat scrip with never a query.

I have been taking Lanzoprazole for several years now after a gastroscopy showed a large hiatus hernia. I am currently on a maintenance dose of 15 mgs but also have to use Gaviscon Advance twice ( at least) a day . I have the dry cough and choking and also the sneezing bouts which, before reading this thread, I had not thought was connected. It makes life very miserable at times and I personally think stress makes it worse.

When the 'clug' as I call it, gets bad I find a really strong chewing gum clears the airways (see what I did there, 'airways') I find it works for a while.

Yeah. I get the dry coughing too. And the sneezing. I have to keep a packet of Halls extra strong lozenges in my handbag in case I get an attack in a shop. Only thing that helps.

I bought a tonge scraper. Just tried it. Not good. I nearly choked from the acid fumes!

Is this TMI for anybody?

Sometimes I wonder about some sort of allergy - quite often when I get a dry-throat coughing fit I sneeze a lot too!

As you say, Greyduster, GPs (or most of them) seem clueless and obviously can only prescribe what's been recommended for any sort of reflux problems and hope for the best...

I don't think GPs have much of a clue either where this condition is concerned. I've suffered with acid reflux for over ten years. At first I was told that an allergy was causing my breathlessness and hoarseness, and then late onset asthma. Then I was sent for an endoscopy and I was put on omeprazole. It was effective for quite a long time and then, when it stopped working I was put on lamsoprazole, which made it worse. I am now on ranitidine, which works most of the time, though there are days when I get really terrible reflux. My doctor gave me to understand that it was not likely that I would ever be able to stop taking this drug in some form or other. But I would never fall back on alternative therapies either.

Oh yes. You said benign.

(that was to Luckygirl of course)

Well, I've never heard about the polyps - apart from when you've said it on here before. Can you put a link up? They would probably be harmless, even if they did exist.