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LPR: What Helps you?

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Posted 8/25/2011 3:18 PM (GMT -5)
I have recently been diagnosed with LPR and I have tried Prilosec 40mg and Zantac 150 and neither have provided too much result. Does anyone have any other suggestions for things I could try? I have a lot of throat clearing. It comes and goes but when it's bad, it's completely uncontrollable and uncomfortable. It's very annoying.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Posted 8/25/2011 3:35 PM (GMT -5)
There are other medicines to try out there: Dexilant (sp?), nexium, carafate. I was on 80mg of nexium and 300mg of zantac before the doctor reccomended the surgery. I had the throat clearing problem too. Nothing seemed to help me, hence the surgery. What does your LES is look like? Do you have a hiatial hernia?

Other things to do:
raise the head of the bed
go on the GERD diet
eat small, frequent meals
Don't eat for three hours before bedtime
Posted 8/25/2011 3:47 PM (GMT -5)
Based on my experience, I would say the severity and the nature of LPR can vary a lot ...

- Standard "treatment" for LPR seems to be "double dose" of PPIs / day for 6 months. Treatment is in quotes because it is really treatment/control of symptoms not a treatment of the root cause.
- Some people do not improve on PPIs/H2s/antacids, but a majority of people do.
- A minority of people (myself included) can not tolerate the side effects from the PPIs/H2s and are left trolling these boards :)
- Plus, one needs to drastically change the diet (bland/healthy foods) and lifestyle (no late night eating), raising the bed etc.

I guess "the cause" needs to be identified - to identify the right treatment and a prognosis:
- Did it start "suddenly" or over a period of time became worse?
- Is it 'cause of physical issue (hernia), low LES pressure. If not, it is likely due to transient relaxations of LES - in which case it is harder to treat (as in my case).

In your case, I would say give double dosage of PPIs some time and it will get better. There are also some people who would first recommend that one tries out the natural way so that one doesn't build dependence on the PPIs if one does not have to. However, 24hr acid suppression is very important to resolve the laryngeal symptoms (which is why double dosage of PPIs).

Hope you feel better soon.
Posted 8/25/2011 4:45 PM (GMT -5)
I do not know what LES means. I went to an ENT a few weeks ago and complained for throat clearing and she said i have LPR. She said I had irritation in my throat too. The symptoms have been coming on slowly and they have gotten worse over time. I've been using the PPIs for a few months now and I don't feel like I've very much success with them at all. Some days I am fine but other days, it feels like my throat is coated with milk or something and it just won't let up. Sorry to gross you out. Even if I am able to loosen something in the throat, it always gets congested again and i have to cough. So terrible. It makes it hard to sleep many nights.
Posted 8/25/2011 4:56 PM (GMT -5)
Don't worry about grossing us out notsosicklygirl. We are all no strangers to how gross this illness can be. I have LPR, and totally understand the thick mucussy throat and I belch like a docker all the time. Not squeamish anymore lol! I also have the wheezy cough.

I don't want to be negative, but I haven't yet found anything that works with this for me. The gavsicon advance is the best thing, but I had to drink it a lot, and I didn't like it, I worried that it would do me harm in those quantities. Also, I feel absolutely wonderful when I have a cold. It seems that the mucus protects the throat from the enzymes and it has a chance to recover. i love having a cold lol!

The LES is the lower oesophageal sphincter, or the valve that joins the gullet to the stomach. It can sometimes be weak which means that acid can escape into the gullet and come up again. This can be tested for.

Liz xx
Posted 8/25/2011 6:21 PM (GMT -5)
I think I have what you guys describe. I am sure with my luck it's the worst case scenerio.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think I will ask my GI if I can do some testing to find out what exactly is going on. Whatever it is, it's not normal and it's very annoying!!! I hate having this coating on my throat and trying to clear it all the time.
Posted 8/25/2011 7:48 PM (GMT -5)
zantac is useless by itself for LPR..

you need to take strong PPI a dose in am and dose in pm.



avoid the following:

fats,
caffeine
all dietary acids like OJ, soda, tomato sauce, etc.


Jesse
Posted 8/26/2011 4:48 PM (GMT -5)
I too have suffered with this for years. I recently had surgery, but was on double dosage of PPI's and H2 Blockers for many years. They improved my symptoms a lot, especially in the earlier years. I found that only Nexium would work for me. If the Prilosec does not help, ask your doctor to try another PPI. Each person's system reacts differently with the different PPI's. It may just be a matter of finding the one that works for you. Good Luck.
Posted 8/26/2011 4:53 PM (GMT -5)
The only thing that helped my LPR was the surgery. :(
Posted 8/27/2011 12:04 AM (GMT -5)
i agree with all the suggestions above

and would add

no wine, no distilled spirits, no carbonated beverages

sorry, if you are a drinker with LPR...you are soon to become an ex drinker if you want to stop the burn
Posted 12/30/2011 8:30 PM (GMT -5)
Gosh, my LPR has been so bad the past few weeks I can hardly get any sleep.

I have been very bad, I stopped taking the PPIs for the longest time because I thought it wasn't "that bad" but it seems to have come back with a vengence. I went and picked up 40mg omneprozle (sp) and I've been taking it daily for about 2 weeks. I think I will try adding another PPI in the evening as per the recommendations i've received here but 6 months is such a long time to see results. I hope it's much sooner. I guess I will be sleeping with my head elevated and hoping something positive happens soon because I don't know how much more coughing I can take, it's starting to make my throat feel scratchy. I don't want to go back to the ENT but I think this needs further investigation.

Does anyone ever have a tickle in their throat from this & it makes you cough on top of the coughing from the phlegmy stuff? What a horrible thing to deal with. I am sorry to everyone who has this cough. The worst part is that my BF keeps getting angry at me for coughing. As if I am doing it for fun...

I will try drinking through a straw with my head tilted forward. I will try anything at this point!

Posted 12/31/2011 4:05 AM (GMT -5)
I have LPR, too.

Just a couple of things I noticed in your post. When you sleep on an incline, don't just raise your head with extra pillows. That can crease your torso in just the wrong way, and make the reflux worse. Either tilt the entire bed frame, or buy a foam wedge designed for reflux sufferers.

And don't drink through a straw with your head tilted forward! That will inject a lot of air into your stomach, and cause you to have to burp more than simply swallowing normally. These burps will carry more reflux into your esophagus, increasing your exposure.

Gaviscon before bed is something that helps many who have GERD. IMO, if you have LPR, you want to get the regular strength tablets (available through Amazon, and other places), and not the liquid. The tablets foam in your mouth and coat on the way down, whereas the liquid doesn't do much for the throat. At any rate, don't have super-high expectations for Gaviscon, as it only lasts maybe three hours or so, but it does make those hours in bed not quite as bad.

Best wishes!

-Bruce
Posted 12/31/2011 11:00 AM (GMT -5)
Thanks for the info Bruce. I am going to try my hardest to get this under control but it seems like there aren't too many options :(
Posted 10/6/2016 10:47 AM (GMT -5)
I was diagnosed with LPR about a month ago and I'm soon going to be fitted with a new FDA approved medical device called the Reza Band. This device was designed for LPR sufferers. It fits around the neck and closes the malfunctioning sphincter valve that causes LPR. The success rate is very high and the cost is about 300 dollars. There is a list of doctors that provide this device at this web site.

https://www.rezaband.com
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