acid reflux and breathlessness

This is an exceptionally old thread being revive, Might it not be better to start a new one?

I have a hiatal hernia. I don’t take any meds for it other than Tums if I get a bad reflux/acid attack. It had been getting really bad and I was having trouble sleeping due to solar plexus pain and nausea. I avoid bending, I am careful with what I eat, I follow guidance on sitting upright especially after eating. I have now started exercising with an iQoro and after only 2 weeks I’m noticing a big difference. It is quite expensive and isn’t currently available on the NHS though NICE are now looking at it as it is cheaper than long term medication and surgery.

I have the feeling of something being stuck in my throat, breathlessness,hiatus hernia and even though I don't often have heartburn doc says it's reflux. Prescribed Omeprazole ... and after about 10 days got a really sore tongue and upper palette. Anyone else get this from Omeprazole??? Suspect I take a reaction to any medication with azole ...eg fluconazole, anti fungal medication.

Good progress, wills. It does wonders to have someone give you a diagnosis and advice on how to deal with the problem.

I used to teach self hypnosis for various complaints. Also used hypnosis for local anaesthesia

Fingers crossed!

Btw low blood sugar can make me wobbly. Don't go too long between meals!

the specialist told me to take Gaviscon after each meal and immediately before bedtime. Also, to do steam inhalation twice a day. I always felt that I perhaps had a touch of sinusitis so I went out today and got some hayfever type nasal spray. Today, I have felt better. Can breathe better, can swallow better....best day I have had for weeks and weeks. Can this be the start of something good?

My husband used to see a speech therapist because of problems with not being able to talk properly.
After all the breathing exercises, etc., he was given a cd or dvd about mindfulness. It might be worth looking that up on the internet.
Lots of the things on it reminded him of the self hypnosis that he practised from his GP. Some GPs do self-hypnosis with patients.

That could certainly be part of the problem, willsandco - I used to get panic attacks years ago and the dizziness and wobbliness was really frightening. As soon as I knew what it was, and had medication on hand just in case, it became manageable.

been a good day - havent felt dizzy at all! Mind over matter perhaps, but when I do get wobbly it is really frightening. Could well be anxiety though - never thought about that!

That's good news, wills. The consultant seems to have done a thorough job. I found the course of voice therapy very helpful and still do the exercises if I feel my voice going. I do them in the car where nobody can hear the strange noises I make. You will need a working voice to say those marriage vows!

I wonder if the problem of your running out of breath before finishing a sentence is making you over-breathe (a sure way to get dizzy). I'm a bit surprised the doctors haven't suggested a bit of anxiety in there. You obviously have nasty acid reflux, but I wonder if a bit of stress is creeping in. What with the wedding plans and everything.

But I'm no doctor!

Good luck with the wedding plans btw.

hello all. Just an update. Went to ENT specialist yesterday. He put a camera up my nose. He said that everything was clear i.e. sinuses, throat, vocal cords and larynx. That was good news. Anyway he said it was possible that acid reflux was causing my problems so I have to inhale steam, take gaviscon regularly, especially at night, continue with the diet, continue with the bed wedge to raise my head - and to go back in 2 months to see how my voice was going on - oh yes, and he referred me to a speech therapist to get the breathing right again - and he checked the chest xrays done last week and they were clear. So we will see how it goes. What is real and true is that I cannot go on feeling this peculiar week on week. Lets hope that this is the end of all the trouble. I dont ever think I worry much about stuff but perhaps the dizziness I have had is psychological............! wait and see, eh? I have been driving my poor OH mad - we are trying to arrange a spring wedding and all this has been a real complication. I wonder sometimes why he still wants to marry me at all! Onwards and upwards, eh?

I blame NSAIDs - Diclofenac to be exact. I started it over 20 years ago for a 'squash' elbow and it worked like magic; then I got a frozen shoulder, so kept on with the tablets. Eventually I had a hip replacement and a partial shoulder one - still using the diclofenac to keep the pain under control, which it did. However, I also got diverticulitis which the doctor thought was an effect of the medication; then the laryngopharyngeal reflux blew up and finally a hiatus hernia. I am not now allowed to use diclofenac. But I reckon that the damage has been done, though I cannot blame it for polymyalgia rheumatica - as far as I know!

Yes will do. I just need to know what is going wrong. If I have to pay for a second opinion, I will do but at the moment GP isnt sure which one to consult. She is starting at the beginning and working through, which I suppose is the sensible thing to do. When I eventually feel normal again, which I hope I will, I will never complain about anything again!!!

Sounds like you need an old fashioned jack-of-all-trades medical diagnostician but they are very specialised these days - there is so much more they know and can do. I had my larynx looked at once. Bit like a dental exam and he showed me the pictures. Let us know how you get on.

thanks everyone. I have seen GP today, she sent me for an chest Xray, booked me into ENT specialist Monday next. If that comes up with nothing, it is the respiratory specialist, then perhaps the gastro intestinal man, then perhaps the neurologist - and then I will be ready for the psychiatrist!! The complication which is baffling them is the fact that I can no longer properly enunciate my words.....cant get oxygen to get to the end of sentences........! trust me to get something that confuses the medical profession. I am 66 now and am very rarely ill! Darned nuisance.

Acid can sometimes spray into your trachea if you get reflux, feels as if you have chest infection. I stopped taking ppis because I had been on them years and was probably depleting essential minerals and vitamins. I find Gaviscon at night works quite well if I am propped up too. I have a hiatus hernia and discomfort is an on-going problem

Proton pump inhibitors remove vitamin B12 from your blood, so that could be why you feel like you have a lack of oxygen. Try a B-complex tablet before you go to the specialist.
If you find it's a B12 deficiency they'll put you on injections every 3 months.
Speaking from my husband's experience.

thanks for that, ladies. I am being prescribed proton pump inhibitors, eliminating all the chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, using a bed wedge to raise my head in bed. But I just feel as if my voice has lost its projection and sometimes it just fades away before the end of the sentence. It seems like I have a lack of oxygen. Plus I have had a recurrence of lung infections over the last few weeks and had antibiotics and steroids - and inhalers. Going to go to GP to get results of blood tests on Wednesday and she is going to refer me to a specialist although I dont think she knows yet which one she is going to refer to! (depends on blood tests, I suppose) This is dreadful for me cos I am never ill! Complete nightmare.

Oh anno thanks for that info..will take a look on NHS website before i see GP again!

Laryngopharyngeal reflux is known as silent reflux because you don't have the usual symptoms of reflux. I had severe laryngitis until an ENT consultant did a laryngoscopy and prescribed all the usual anti reflux medication and I got my voice back.

Apparently it is standard procedure Jess, my niece said she is now seeing an allergist/immunologist. The Australian Society of Clinical Immunology And Allergy explains it very well. Apparently it was originally thought to only affect children and young adults, now they believe it also affects adults.

I don't think I could tell whether omeprazole is giving me wind or not.

Hi I used to suffer from bad stomach bloating (not gut) and also had 2 x endoscopy exams. 1st found H-pylori and that was treated with anti-biotics almost 20 years ago. I had gall bladder trouble and had it removed 5 years ago but bloating issues continued. 2nd endoscopy found nothing untoward. I had a York intolerance test and excluded yeast/wheat/gluten from my diet and have been so, so much better. A change of energy & well being and life has been good! 2 years ago!

That is why I was surprised when GP said reflux ..I thought I got my digestive issues under control!