How Many of Us Have GERD?

Lee Lee · Post by **Lee Lee** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:40 pm

I have a horrible case of GERD, with Esophagitis and a Hiatial Hernia. I take tons of medicine to control it, and it still rears it's ugly head.
I'm becoming more convinced every day that my OSA is caused by these conditions. I've noticed a lot of people on this board have it, too.
I just wonder how many of us? And how it contributes to sabotaging our therapy.
Has anyone been able to conquer this? I'd be interested in hearing your story.

catbirdgirl · Post by **catbirdgirl** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:20 pm

I do.... and have you looked at food allergies?

also, do you have a wedge pillow?

these two disorders go hand in hand but I don't know which comes first- its been said that when the air gets blocked the acid comes up in the throat like a siphon....

Shari · Post by **Shari** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:29 pm

My GERD went nuts when I started CPAP. I was told that this is very common also. I didn't fully understand, but it was explained to me that many patients with severe OSA the GERD has always been there, but our OSA had masked it or something. Once the OSA is controlled the GERD becomes worse.

I do know that I had occasional bouts of heartburn before CPAP, after I MUST take an acid reducer every day or I am in agony.

HeatherN · Post by **HeatherN** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:00 pm

Both of the hose heads in my family have GERD. Hubby has it pretty bad(he aspirates into his lungs) but his is pretty well controlled with medication. Hannah on the other hand is all over the place with it.She seems to do ok with meds for about a month and then she starts having severe GERD again. We have actually considered nissen surgery but are trying to hold it as a last resort.I am hoping and praying that the CPAP will help. I wonder a lot though which came first- the GERD or the apnea. They definitely are related in a lot of ways though.

Lee Lee · Post by **Lee Lee** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:08 pm

I've read that the acid that comes up into the throat causes the tissues in the throat to become inflamed, swollen and damaged. This causes breathing to be obstructed.
I wonder (everyday!) if the surgery helps.
The meds that I take to inhibit the acid also seems to inhibit the absorbing of vitamims, as well. I am so low in Vitamin D, that I'm having stress fractures in my feet.
Has anyone had the Nissien prodedure?

robbieh · Post by **robbieh** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:11 pm

I used to take meds everyday then it went away until I started cpap. About 2 weeks into it, it came back and bugged me about the same time of day whether I ate or not. Then it disappeared again but as I'm typing this, I have heartburn again ugh. I thought cpap made it go away and that it was caused by the struggle to breathe.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:11 pm

I have a hiatal hernia and GERD. Take daily meds. Had vocal cords scoped by an ENT and was told there were changes consistent with GERD. Also have had my esophagus stretched by the gastroenterologist. While I still have occasional symptoms such as reflux and heartburn, they are much less troublesome than they used to be. Don't know whether to credit the acid blocker or the xpap.

John_M · Post by **John_M** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:56 pm

kteague wrote:I have a hiatal hernia and GERD. Take daily meds. Had vocal cords scoped by an ENT and was told there were changes consistent with GERD. Also have had my esophagus stretched by the gastroenterologist. While I still have occasional symptoms such as reflux and heartburn, they are much less troublesome than they used to be. Don't know whether to credit the acid blocker or the xpap.

Sounds like me Kathy. A long time ago, I developed occasional throat blockages , couldn't swallow anything for about an hour, lots of mucus, helped by taking nitroglycerine. Went and got examined , got told I had a hiatal hernia. Did nothing cos it wasn't too bad and it usually went away. Seemed to be correlated with stress.

Then went on CPAP. Found I kept on waking up about every hour or tow.. Throat blockages got worse so bit the bullet and had the throat expansion.
NO MORE BLOCKAGES SINCE.

But while he was expanding the throat found ulcers. Dr said I had a ulcerated lower oesophagus or something and prescribed Esomprzaole.
Wake-ups in the night almost completely went away.
Except I ran out of Esomprazole the other day and the wake ups have come back.

I had no clue that I had GERD. Only once did I experience an acid taste in my mouth. But I got real suspicious after reading the stuff on this board.

The bad news about GERD as far as I am concerned is they say that chocolate ain't good for it and I am still trying to stop eating chocolate.

Yes I got the wedge pillow. So now its a mask over my face, wedge pillow, computer by my bedside to read SmartCards and, my new toy, finger sensors to read Heart Rate. Its a wonder if any wants to share a bed with me at night.

Seriously though,it is easier than Peritoneal Dialysis with machines pumping and wheezing next to my bed sloshing water in and out of my belly during the night. So I feel blessed.

So its another one of those strange bedfellows, Sleep Apnea and GERD.

Anybody have any ideas about the causal connection?
Tel me and I will post it on a wiki http://seedwiki.com/wiki/dreamsharing/sleep_apnea?t which is trying to explore and document these connections.

John M

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:10 pm

if you have a hiatal hernia, you need to be seeing a GI specialist and get it fixed, not a ENT. If I had a Hiatal Hernia, I would get it fixed with an endoscopy procedure. I don't know of any medication that will fix that. I had 3 hernia's repaired, 2 in the groin area and one behind the belly button, was only off work for 3 days, first day was a bit blue and painful but not bad.

http://tinyurl.com/2ccpz5

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:36 pm

Snoredog,

Gosh, I must really be behind times. When I worked in a hospital (very long ago), hiatal hernia surgeries didn't have a good reputation for lasting success. (Not unlike some apnea surgeries now.) They used to open the upper abdomen and put a pessory ring around the hernia to hold it down. The object looked like one of those babies gel teething rings.

So it's done by endoscopy now? Wow. My doc never suggested repairing it, but if it's damaging my esophagus and my vocal cords, and it could be repaired during endoscopy, I'd consider it. Was supposed to reschedule an appointment to get scoped (slept thru last one) and while it's fresh on my mind, I will reschedule first thing tomorrow.

BTW, I have a cousin whose reflux is so bad, it ate the enamel off her teeth.

John,
Sounds like your condition is much worse than mine. Please stay on top of it.

Kathy

John_M · Post by **John_M** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:49 pm

Snoredog wrote:if you have a hiatal hernia, you need to be seeing a GI specialist and get it fixed, not a ENT. If I had a Hiatal Hernia, I would get it fixed with an endoscopy procedure. I don't know of any medication that will fix that.

Well I did see a gastro-enterologist. If he read my chart he knew he had spotted a hiatal hernia before. He did an endoscopy, ballooned my throat and gave me some medication which seems to be working.

I work on my diseases serially. Now that sleep apneas seems to be being treated well (AHI 0.4 Leak Rate 34 lpm last night) I have decided to work on my feet. So far I haven't been able to connect their situation, fallen arches, with Sleep Apnea but I am looking for a connection (Joke)

The GERD etc seems to be better if I am taking my meds.

if anyone is interested in looking at pictures of my oesohagus, let me know and I will post them.

John M

Yoga · Post by **Yoga** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:11 pm

Lee Lee,

A private message has been sent to you.

LyleHaze · Post by **LyleHaze** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:08 am

Yup, I have had GERD for years, getting steadily worse. I tried the usual medicines, they helped, but not enough. It was worst at night, and I would wake up choking regularly, often more than once a night.
I went for surgery. I don't recall the name, but they basically tied my esophagus, so that NOTHING can come up. This cured the choking, but there was still a lot of acid happening. The downside of this surgery is that I can no longer burp, so ALL digestive gases are passed by a more offensive route.
Anyway, since CPAP (about seven weeks now) I've had no acid problems, and I suspect I'll be coming off the rest of the meds soon. I wonder if I could have avoided that surgery by getting on CPAP sooner? I know it had to be done, but I really don't like passing gas wherever I go. It's not the image I want to project when people think of me.

Yes, it makes aerophagia even more regrettable, too.

LyleHaze
[edit] June 21st, see this link:
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/index.html

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, aerophagia

john44077 · Post by **john44077** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:17 am

Wow. I guess we all have the same issues. I have been fighting GERD also. Had the scope done and of course found a hiatal hernia. It comes and goes (the heart burn). I admit i dont always take my Nexium or whatever OTC i buy. SInce i started CPap in March it has not been bad. Maybe 2-3 times.

John

match8 · Post by **match8** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:38 am

I must be weird or something! I would wake up choking and coughing with this at least every other night before my cpap. After starting my cpap, over a year ago, the only times I have had acid reflux upchucks were the nights I was unable to use my machine due to camping without electricity. It has virtually eliminated any signs of acid reflux at night for me.

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