Hello everyone,
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post. I was hoping to get some advice as to my current situation.
For a little background, I am 38 years old, I am not overweight, I do not have any conditions that may relate to my current issue that I know of. I developed reflux problems about
2.5 weeks ago, seemingly out of nowhere. Admittedly, my diet is pretty terrible (I eat out a lot and it's almost always fried foods of some kind or pizza) so I'm sure it was just a matter of time before that caught up to me but I still found it strange how quickly it seemed to come on. To make it stranger, I don't believe I have experienced heartburn at all (as in no pain) just that horrible feeling where you can feel the (presumably) stomach acid like a lump in your throat and, very occasionally, some regurgitation.
So, I went to a walk in clinic, the doctor talked to me for maybe a minute and a half and prescribed me a month's worth of Lansoprazole which I have been taking (30mg, 1x daily). It seemed like the first day or two it may have helped but I am still not finished the prescript
ion and am pretty much back to feeling how I did before I was on it.
I do understand that dietary changes are the best way to deal with these types of problems and I am doing my best in that regard (I ate out once since the problems began and it brought everything back tenfold). I have also purchased a bed wedge. Based on what I have read and at the risk of self-diagnosis, my symptoms seem to fit into the LPR camp more than anything. As I say, I have never really had heartburn or pain and I have definitely experienced the "lump in throat".
I have made an appointment with my family doctor but the earliest I could get in was March 7th. I plan to ask him about
getting an endoscopy as much as the thought of it terrifies me.
So, apart from any general advice or suggestions anyone may have (which are MORE THAN WELCOME as I am feeling very desperate these days!), my main question is regarding the PPI. After doing some reading on these things, I'm starting to think it's not a good idea for me to be on one. As I say, it doesn't really seem to be helping with my problem and I worry that the longer I'm on it, the worse it will be when I come off (i.e. rebound symptoms). I feel like PPIs as a long term solution are not a good idea for me so I'd might as well get used to not being on them sooner rather than later. Do you think it is safe to just stop taking the Lansoprazole?
I'm sure to many suffering from GERD and related issues, this all sounds like pretty mild stuff and I can only imagine how horrible things can get. This is all rather new to me and I just want to do what I can to take care of it before it gets worse.
Thanks again,
Chris
Post Edited (Chris168) : 1/24/2016 4:36:32 AM (GMT-7)