PPIs during pregnancy or LINX before pregnancy

Newyork

New Member

Joined : May 2014

Posts : 8

Posted 6/27/2014 7:54 PM (GMT -5)

Dear group,

I'm in a dilemma. I've been recently diagnosed with GERD. My symptoms have been very silent for many years. Cough, terrible nausea, and only recently I started feeling the bitter nasty taste in my mouth, along with occasional burning in the mouth. They now see Grade A inflammation, along with chronic mild gastritis.

I just had my PH test done and manometry. The results of the PH test are not good.
Esophagus had 8% of acid during the 24 hour period, where as the normal should not be higher than 4%. I don't have exact numbers (doctor will send me on Monday) but doctor said I refluxed over 50 times, and the acid reached all the way up to my throat. Lots of refluxing through the night & early morning especially. Bottom line, I definitely reflux ACID A LOT. However, every time I pressed the button to record, I was not actually refluxing at that moment. I was experiencing slight nausea, with slight solar plexus pain. I think there is a food intolerance going on as well, plus I have a HH.

Monomatry showed all normal swallows, with an estimated HH of 1.1. Again, I don't have the numbers yet, but doctor said the LES was on the LOW-end of normal function. So, I have true GERD. I am definitely refluxing acid, but it's SILENT. There isn't really any heartburn. Doctor said the LINX is very new. Only 2 years old.

The dilemma, is that I really wanted to get pregnant this fall, and I have no idea what to do. Should I wait for surgery until after my pregnancy? Will I be exposing my esophagus and throat for too long to the Acid? I already have Grade A inflammation. I will most likely have to be on pills for some time during the pregnancy, if not all the time, which is obviously never desired.

What would you do in my situation?
If anyone can share their thoughts I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you

speden

Regular Member

Joined : Oct 2009

Posts : 175

Posted 6/29/2014 9:32 AM (GMT -5)

I wouldn't be in a hurry to get surgery. None of the available surgeries is guaranteed to work, and sometimes you end up with worse symptoms, or benefits that only last a few years. The surgery usually only reduces heartburn symptoms and likely wouldn't improve nausea.

If you're only recently diagnosed with GERD, then the first step is to try all the possible lifestyle changes to minimize your acid exposure. It can take years to figure out the most effective lifestyle changes that work for you, so now that you know the source of the problem, you can start making slow improvements in your symptoms.

The best lifestyle changes for acid induced cough is raising the head of your bed (by 8 inches or more), getting on a timed release PPI, not eating any meat or slow digesting foods for dinner, sleeping on your back or left side, and avoiding any pressure on your stomach (from excess weight, elastic waistbands, etc.)

If you're planning to get pregnant then I would definitely hold off on any reflux surgery since the pregnancy will make changes in your body and may change your reflux symptoms. You can take PPI medication during pregnancy if needed, but of course it is best to avoid all medications while pregnant if possible. Probably if taking a PPI you'd want to take vitamin supplements to make sure you don't have any vitamin deficiencies during pregnancy.

The Linx is still quite new and the long term outlook isn't clear yet. Then there is the less invasive endostim procedure which is even newer and not available in the U.S. yet.

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