I have been trying to figure out for a while now, what the most effective way to sleep is to prevent overnight reflux.

I could be wrong, but I have been trying now to sleep on my left side for the past two weeks...and it seems to make a difference. Has anybody had similar or different experience than this?

Before I started PPIs, the only way I could stop coughing (I have LPR) was by lying prone on my right side. After having taken the meds for 3 years, I am still sleeping on my right side, as this position still seems to minimize my residual coughing.

I'm not surprised that there is a best "position" for each GERD/LPR sufferer. I mean, if acid is somehow moving northward all the way up to a larynx, there is clearly some path that it is following, and maybe these prone positions help stop the acid in its path.

How does acid get that high anyway?

I was wondering if anyone else had any of these symptoms. I started getting nausea really bad then my throat started burning. I have tried aciphex which did not help. Then Nexium once a day which took the nausea away but my throat still burns all the time. Then my insurance did not cover the Nexium so I tried protonix today which I had nausea really bad. So I am going to maybe just end up paying for the Nexium and taking it morning and night. Now you guys that take the Nexium 2 times a day are they the 40 mg ones? Also does anyone else have the throat burning problem like me? I don't smoke, drink alcohol or coffee. I am on a strict diet and am not overweight but the burning in my throat will not stop. I hope that by taking 2 Nexium a day it will help. Also if it does end up helping how long will I have to take these medicines? Please help : )

left side is supposedly best, but i wonder if always sleeping on the same side would be good. cause it'd get the brunt of the damage.

Andra31,

Welcome! It sounds like you have a bad case of laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR) if your throat is burning. Unlike GERD, LPR requires that you take 2 PPIs per day, at 40 mg each, for a total of 80 mg. Nexium is the only effective PPI that works for my LPR and I have previoulsy tried Protonix and Prevacid, with poor results. Nexium has given me excellent recovery. I take 2 Nexium first thing in the morning, and wait about 20 minutes before I eat anything. At night,before bed, I take 2 OTC H2 blockers, such as Xantac or Tagamet, for a total of 300 mg of that H2 blocker. It is cheaper for me to buy it as a generic prescrition (the generic form is called ranitidine - your GP can write a scrip). Ranitidine is cheap, so your insurance company won't hassle you.

Please search this board for discussions on LPR - I think you'll find it quite interesting and helpful.

Zoot, I've had reflux for about 20 years now and left side is definetly good
for me. Have no idea why, just feels better.

Zoot also the best way to sleep is head elevated with a pillow wedge or some people lift the front of their beds from the bottom. I can't seem to sleep like that though.

oh yea I forget to mention I sleep on my left side, and my bed is elevated at about 10 degree angle.

Aswander,
Did you have the throat burning and nausea? How long have you been taking the 2 Nexiums? Do you know if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for people with LPR? How long does it take to be healed to where we won't have to take the Nexium anymore? I think mine started from stress and taking to much Motrin. Mine started in the beg. of November, which is when I started taking the aciphex, then Nexium in the morning with a previcid at night (didn't work for the burning in throat) then yesterday the Protonix which made me really have nausea. So now they want me to take 2 Nexium one in the morning and one at night with mylanta in between. I am glad you answered me back. You seem to have alot of knowledge on this : ) I am new to this site and trying to figure it out :)
Andra

Andra,

Regarding:
Q: "Did you have the throat burning and nausea?"
A: I had terrible throat burning, severe coughing, and misery. I wasn't made nauseaus by the LPR though.

Q:"How long have you been taking the 2 Nexiums?"
A: I've been taking 2 Nexium a day for 3 years.

Q: "Do you know if there is a light at the end of the tunnel for people with LPR? How long does it take to be healed to where we won't have to take the Nexium anymore?"
A: My doctors (David Katz at the University of Pennsylvania and Eugenia Vining at Yale University) have both told me there is no cure for LPR. They have both told me that I will likely need to continue taking Nexium for life. There is a surgery that may help, called the Nissen Fundiplication, in which a piece of your stomach is wrapped around your esophagous to tighten it up. My doctors call this surgery "highly imperfect" and if you read posts on the board from the other people who have had it done, it doesn't look like a great option. Both doctors strongly suggested that I stick with the Nexium for the next 5-10 years and wait for the newer surgeries to be perfected. There are other procedures that are in the experimental phase, but I sure wouldn't go near them yet until more is known about the results.

Your best bet for "a light at the end of the tunnel" is managing this condition to the best of your ability with PPIs, H2 Blockers and dietary and exercise modification. I consider myself at 95% recovery, which is pretty darn good, considering that I was literally considering ending my life 3 years ago, because the condition made it impossible to life a fulfilling life, pre-treatment. I have great sympathy for all LPR and GERD sufferers.

As I have had great success with treating my condition (and I've had to experiment over the last 3 years), I'm happy to pass on my "best practices" to you:

1. Get a prescription for Nexium, 2x a day. Each pill contains 40mg of the drug, you will be taking a total of 80 mg a day. Take the pills together in the morning. Despite the advertising claims that it's 24 hour relief, all PPIs on the market only last for 17 hours. You will need to supplement the Nexium before you go to bed with either 1) more nexium (expensive) or 2) a 300 mg dose of Ranitidine. Ranitidine is active drug in the OTC meds Xantac and Tagamet. SInce you'll be taking such a large dose, it's cheaper to get a prescription for it. If you buy it OTC, make sure you take enough pills to equal 300 mg. Dr. Katz put me on the Ranitidine in addition to Nexium and it has been very effective.

2. Make dietary changes. This is very personal, as many things upset some people that don't upset others. But the two big ones are 1) do not eat any fried foods (especially stuff like egg rolls and potato chips). Guaranteed increase in coughing, sore throat and reflux. 2) Eat smaller meals, and more frequently. You can eat every 3 hours as long as you keep the meal to about 300 calories. This has been a huge part in eliminating my residual coughing, because every time I eat a "normal size" meal (in American normal sized ways) I wind up hacking. Smaller meals prevent the acid from getting up to my larynx.

I personally eat all sorts of things that people with acid shouldn't eat - like chocolate, coffee, ice cream, etc. But I eat very little of it when I do, and that makes the difference.

3. Don't eat before bed. You'll really pay for it.


Remember - you might need to modify my plan, but this is what has worked for me, and I'm living a pretty normal life again, and am very grateful for every "good" day.

P.S. The doctors who know the most about this condition are always associated with major university hospital programs, and will be either otolarygologists or gastroenterologists. Screen your doctors before you go - make sure your doctor knows about and has treated LPR before your waste the money or time on a visit.









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Hi zoot i too have been doing that for a few days now and do notice a big difference, i drank a shake last night and then went to bed and slept on my left side and no reflux!

i read soewhere it said that if you sleep on your left side, acid wont bother you as much, i will try to find the article to post it here, i am glad you posted that though that might help many people on here.