Sphlinter Question

Sorry you are having this problem, NO P.

There's nothing I know of that fixes the lower esophageal sphincter. (Not a doctor, of course!) You can't do exercises with it. Lots of things can go wrong with it. I'm not sure if I was born with a bad one or if it was polio that wrecked mine. Viruses can damage it.

I can only suggest seeing a real doctor, preferably a gastroenterologist, who can look down there and also prescribe some tests. Barium swallow is a nice one (as tests go), non-invasive.

If the valve is not too bad you can just go on acid-reducing meds.

One other possibility for self-help is to keep a food journal to see if there is a specific food trigger. Do you have reflux all the time, or is it just after certain meals? It's possible to acquire a sensitivity to foods containing certain chemicals. Avoiding trigger foods won't cute a bad valve, but it can stop a lot of what I call "refluxing" or stomach heaving.

Hi

I think sometimes people are just born with a weak valve and get used to the sensation of reflux until it gets very bad. I have had mine from birth I've since found out and suffered terrible reflux as a baby. My symptoms were made a thousand times worse from taking ibuprofen for a while for another condition. I was told that the valve is like a "saggy knicker elastic" and the only way to tighten a significantly loose one is by surgery. If you can manage your symptoms by diet and medication then fantastic but unfortunately in some cases the only solution is to try surgery.

Lots of luck