# Silent Reflux.....think i have it



## towzer (Jan 29, 2018)

i was diagnosed 3 yrs ago with gerd and kept it under pretty good control with Prevacid and digestive enzymes etc

just had a bout of the cold 2 weeks ago and had a really bad cough with terrible sore throat and post nasal

I went to see my Doctor who listened to my chest and asked if I ever had asthma .....no i havent

He then gave me 2 puffers and also a nasal spray for the post nasal

9 days later nothing has changed

Here are my symptoms:

Clearing of throat

Realy tickly cough ....will just come out of nowhere but at night its not allowing me to sleep

Sometimes its just dry other times i cough up phlem

When I fall asleep i am awakened by a coughing fit.....i am exhausted as I have not slept well since this came on

I finally went back to the doctor today who did a chest Xray and it was normal so he is trying me with some antibiotics

I have a feeling they wont make a difference

I am sitting here typing here in a coughing fit again

I have an appt with Gastro in 2 weeks and I am sure he will send me to see an ENT to confirm

Can anyone recommend anything for this ....ACV, Honey ??....i have never been this frustrated and have slept in spare bedroom to allow my wife some rest


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

hi

i was dx'd with GERD about 10 years ago. i've keep it under control with diet.

this summer i developed post nasal drip which is very annoying and also makes me cough a lot. like you, i sometimes cough up phlegm. i went to my primary care doc and she told me to take guaifenesin to help thin out the mucus that is causing the pnd and told me to use cough syrup (nyquil) to control my cough at night. she also prescribed cough syrup with codeine in it but codeine makes me itch so i haven't been taking that. during the day i control my cough with Tussin DM (robitussin) which has guaifenesin and a cough suppressant in it. it's non drowsy. she also prescribed the nasal spray ipratropium bromide to help reduce the amount of mucus.

drinking lots of water also helps thin mucus.

i've heard that honey can help with a cough but honey doesn't agree with me so i don't use it. acv would absolutely kill me. with my reflux, i can't have anything acidic.

i also sleep on my back with my head on a pillow wedge with another pillow on top of it to elevate my head so as to help keep the mucus from pooling in my throat and making me cough.

i sometimes take sudafed during the day to help dry up the mucus. i take benedryl at night to help dry it up.

my ENT doesn't think i have silent reflux--just pnd.

i found the following article helpful:

https://www.goodrx.com/blog/six-ways-to-get-rid-of-cough-from-post-nasal-drip/

and yes, all this sure is annoying. i really sympathize/empathize with you. good luck. hope you can find some relief.


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## Vixter27 (Feb 15, 2017)

It does sound like silent reflux. If I'm honest, the very first thing I would recommend is to stop taking the PPIs. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but they're awful things and they wreck your digestive system when they control the acid production like that. I know I sound like one of the people I'd normally roll my eyes at but I promise you I'm speaking from experience here. I had NO reflux until I was put on omeprazole. I was diagnosed with silent reflux after a year of being on it. I have had increasing, worsening problems since then to the point I HAD to stop taking the omeprazole because I developed severe reflux that it did nothing at all for but it was giving me gastroparesis because it wasn't letting me produce enough acid to digest my food properly and THAT was making me ill as well. I slowly decreased the dosage I was taking over several months, quit completely in March and I'm still suffering so badly that I barely have any voice at all. I stopped under guidance from my doctor who was horrified I'd been left on it for years - she told me it's meant to be a short-term drug only.

Right now, I'm afraid I have no answers. I am terrified every single day that this is going to kill me and I can't stop it. But I can tell you that you might be early enough in symptoms and treatment to avoid the same path as me.


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