tnmomofive

I am looking advice mainly for my 10 yr old daughter.Unfortunately,she started having reflux problems a few months ago.I was'nt sure what was going on at first and it scared the crap out of me.She came running to me one day saying she could not breath.Now of course I knew she was getting some air in otherwise shed of not been speaking but it was obvious her airway was somewhat restricted.She was coughing and so I just had her sit down and continue to cough and it eventually cleared up.I suposse what was going on is reflux shed panic and end up aspirating on the stuff.The doctor checked her throat seen it looked irritated and prescribedan anti acid called Ranitidine.So far it's been working great as long as she takes one of these pills every morning and evening no more episodes.This stuff does seem to run in the family my grandmother always had indigestion/reflux problems and used to pop rolaides like candy..my sister has problems with it and I myself had a horrible time with indigestion/reflux during my pregnancies and still sometimes now having to pop some rolaides or Tums.What im looking for is advice from experianced people on the best ways to control this ...will m daughter always have to take medication? and could that do her harm too? Is there also other ways to combat this? ..foods to avoid? I realize she should stay away from acidy foods/drinks anything else? She is also a bit overweight ,not much,would it help her to lose that bit extra?
thanks for your input