New with lots of questions -- silent reflux, sleep apnea

[beth0277]

I appreciate everyone's responses. I am at a bit of a stand still as to how to treat my issues. I am getting set up with a sleep study, but I haven't had any of the apnea symptoms since I started on my PPI.

I developed severe postpartum depression and anxiety after having my son. It was 2 months later that I had my Upper GI that showed the reflux, but I had never, ever felt heartburn or any other issues. During this time I was being treated with a few different SSRI's to manage my depression/anxiety. It was 1 year later that I had the endoscopy showing esphogatis and at the time I was weaning off of my SSRI's and went on to the PPI. During this time I also gained about 30 pounds.

So...was my reflux caused by my SSRI, which then caused me to have some apnea and is now all clear because I am no longer on the SSRI?

Was my reflux caused by my weight gain which caused me to have some apnea but now that I am treated the reflux, the apnea has gotten better?

Or...was my apnea caused by weight gain and that caused the reflux?

I feel so lost and confused. I am very afraid of getting Barrett's esophagus, even though I am on PPI treatment. After my Upper GI next week, so long as it is all clear, I will be getting off of my PPI for a few months and then having a follow up endoscopy to see if there is any damage. My GI does not seem to want me to stay on PPI's long term but I am very nervous about reoccuring damage.

I am working on losing weight, and have lost some already. I don't know if that will change anything...I feel so frustrated and nervous.

[VVV]

I am at a bit of a stand still as to how to treat my issues.

Wow! That statement appears to be totally false.

You have had an examination of your esophagus and are treating reflux with a PPI. You are having another examination next week.

Your obvious sleep apnea symptoms (heavy snoring and awakening with panic attacks) have disappeared.

You have a sleep study scheduled.

You are "working on losing some weight and have lost some already".

Far from being "at a bit of a stand still", I would say that you are a woman of action!

Next step is to stop worrying so much. You are doing the right things and showing progress.

It sounds like your reflux was brought on by the pregnancy so you have not had it for very long. It takes years of untreated and severe reflux to develop Barrett's esophagus. You have a diagnosis, you are treating it, and you will have followup exams. It is very unlikely that you will develop Barrett's esophagus in this life.

So relax!

I am getting set up with a sleep study, but I haven't had any of the apnea symptoms since I started on my PPI.

Since your heavy snoring and nightly panic attacks have disappeared, a good question is why have a sleep study.

Here are the reasons for having a sleep study:

I feel so lost and confused. I am very afraid ... I am very nervous about reoccuring damage.

...I feel so frustrated and nervous.

These type of feelings are often caused by sleep-disordered breathing.

If you sleep on your back, try avoiding it entirely until your sleep study. It may help with night breathing and reducing the nervous feelings.

All the best,

[beth0277]

Thanks, V. It really helps to read that, especially coming from someone who seems to know exactly what he is talking about. I am the first to admit I have severe health anxiety issues, so I sometimes worry about things getting much worse than they likely will. I am certainly a "take action" kind of gal...to the extent of annoying my doctors.

It is just scary to read on this site about people who have ended up with Barrett's and not known it and that sort of thing...I guess there is a reason my therapist told me to stop doing internet research.

[Ticman]

I have reflux sitting straight up if I fall asleep without my CPAP after ingesting dairy. So raising the head of the bed didn't work for me.

Janknitz,

I am curious to know if you left your bed head elevated as precaution. I haven't had problems in a very long time and my wife and I are discussing whether to normalize the elevation of the bed head.

We also had a discussion about the possibility of the elevation negatively affecting circulation of blood in the legs and maybe even having a negative effect on RLS.

For now the head remains elevated but I wonder if this is the best thing to do?

V, my wife and I both suffer from GERD. We always travel with two 4x4 blocks of wood to elevate the bed. We recently stayed in a condo and we couldn't use our blocks. We slept on a flat bed for four nights. Both of us had our GERD return. Once we got back home to a raised bed it went away after a few days.

Now when I first started having problems I was in pretty bad shape. My gastro Doc said it might take some time for the raised head board bed to work. He was right, it took over 6 months to get completely well. I never sleep on a flat bad unless I have too.