acid reflux GONE!

Yes. I'm convinced losing a bit of weight would fix mine. Just can't do it. Love my food too much.

Sadly, even on the strictest diet my reflux problem continues; it's a health problem that goes way back in my family history. My sister was the first adult in the world to have a particular kind of surgery to replace her oesophagus. Fortunately mine is not as bad as hers was, but I cannot do without drugs to control it.

Yes GA, I understand it won't help everybody to lose weight, and you have a long standing and genetic pre-disposition to this problem. However, for a lot of people, a diet could be the first port of call, rather than the doctor. It's worth a try, and I am so glad that I did.

I agree that losing a bit of weight and just eating smaller meals has cured my heartburn. The only time I have needed an indigestion tablet since Christmas is when I had a large pizza and beer. (We had been digging the garden - I deserved it!) I find that alcohol together with a largish meal are just not a good idea any more. (It's only taken me forty years to work that out!) However, I realise that it wouldn't cure a more serious condition. Sorry GA!

Good for you both. Very pleased that adjusting your diet has worked so well for you, rosesarered and rockgran. Well, I've lost over a stone in the past year, am watching my diet - no caffeine, no chocolate etc. - and I'm still suffering. I was on Lansoprazole for four months, then went onto Ranitidine - my choice as I didn't want to stay on a PPI - but, although I've improved since last November, I am still hoarse occasionally and some days feel better than others. I don't have heartburn, it's silent reflux and the acid damage is in my larynx, not my oesophagus. I have read that PPIs like Lansoprazole don't work as well with this type of reflux. Don't know whether that's true or not. My GP is still trying to sort me out.

Sorry to hear that Gen you obviously have quite a different problem to the common one that can be fixed by smaller meals.Hope that you will improve with new medication.I thought I would 'publish' my findings as regards to myself as I was so delighted to have solved the problem.I think with age, the digestion, [like all other parts of the body!] just isn't as good, and we all need to adjust accordingly.In other words 'eyes being bigger than stomachs' needs to be sorted out.

I have a hiatus hernia and the symptoms are definitely worse since I've put on more weight recently (side effect of taking mirtazapine for depression). I'm back to taking Omeprazole. Mirtazapine makes me very hungry and I tend to put on weight very easily This despite struggling on with the 5/2 diet (DH is doing well on it but I can't stick to it, to my shame).

Glad your symptoms have eased, and I'm sure that would help me, too, if I had the requisite willpower!

Well done. Tummy fat is almost bound to make it worse isn't it. Squashes your stomach.

After having a bought of cold/sore throat, I was left with horrendous coughing fits, wheezing and croaky voice.

This went on and on although I didn't feel ill as such. I then started to wonder if there was some cause and started to cut things from my diet like wine and coffee to see if it made a difference. It did to a certain degree but it was still happening.

I then scoured the internet and came across Laryngopharyngeal Reflux or LPR for short. This is like acid reflux but higher up in the throat rather than lower down and the symptoms I had seemed to fit.

Anyway, someone suggested drinking alkaline water. You can make your own adding a dessertspoonful of lemon juice to a tumbler of water. I did this and the effect was nothing short of miraculous. The symptoms cleared.

I have always been very prone to coughing so I won't say I haven't coughed since but it is so, so much better.

There was a word of warning about drinking too much lemon juice, as though lemon is alkaline once entering the stomach I believe, it could be seen to harm the oesophagus but you can buy alkaline drops to add to water to counteract the acidity.

Lemon is an acid. It might have made your throat better. But it is an acid.

I think overthehill was acknowledging that in her last paragraph, Jess, but when lemon juice has been fully metabolized and its minerals are dissociated in the bloodstream, its effect is alkalizing, apparently.