Hi...I just found these boards and have been reading through a lot of the threads. I'm surprised to find people describing the same symptoms that I try to describe.
I had an EGD in January '06 where the GI doc found gastritis and diagnosed GERD. She put me on Zegrid (yuck!), then Protonix (which didn't seem to work). I followed up with my primary care doc and she recommended Prevacid. I guess it worked- I don't remember- but it wasn't covered by my insurance and I couldn't justify the cost. So she recommended I just take Prilosec OTC. That was in August. I just saw an ENT doc because my throat is always on fire. He did the camera through the nose, said he saw inflammation at the "root" of my tongue and voice box, and handed me a pamphlet on LPR. He also said we'd do a more rigorous treatment with Protonix 40 in the AM and Zantac 75 at bedtime...(Oh, I also had been waking up choking on some sort of mucus or spit or something, which has basically stopped with the PM Zantac). Well, here I am, just as miserable as ever.
There are days- like yesterday- when the acid was so bad that my tongue felt "fat" at the back, my taste buds are swollen, and my lips were even tingling. I popped a Zantac and, boom, the symptoms were gone.
Also, on a regular basis, I have tons of mucus, LOTS of saliva, clear my throat, have a sore throat, and tonsil problems (not the extremely painful tonsillitis, but sore tonsils, which I'm having removed next week...)

I don't believe the GERD diagnosis was right as I don't have any heartburn and pain doesn't wake me up at night.
I do believe the LPR diagnosis is right...but now what????:confused:

In a different search online, I read about "biochemic nat phos 6x" and I was wondering if anybody on here had experience with it.
1. Is it safe?
2. Is it sold in the US?
3. Does it work? Consistently?

What are some other methods being used for relief? I'm curious because, clearly in my case, the PPI'$ are not working...Zantac does, but as much as I've read about these medicines, I don't necessarily like the drawbacks of them either.

If you've made it this far in my post, thank you for sticking with me...

I would appreciate any suggestions and would like to know what other people are going through.

Hi

It seems to be that different remedies work for different people. Our bodies are not all the same in regard to symptoms.

I started with choking acid reflux two years ago and progressed (or regressed?) to mostly throat and ear symptoms. The sore throat is constant and very annoying.

I am taking Nexium currently twice a day. Sometimes, I think it is helping and other times, it seems to not help at all.

I try to follow a alkaline diet, which does seem to help some. However, I have read that it doesn't work for everyone.

It gets depressing to think of living this way for the rest of life, but the fight continues on my part. I followed a closed thread on the Digestive Board here on the site, and begin taking Magnesium as per the information posted. I can tell that helps the cramping and muscle spasms in my esophagus. It seems others have had some success with it, too.

I wish you the best of luck in finding a treatment plan that offers you some relief.

Please share your personal remedies and thoughts as you try new things. :)

Ish

My symptoms are burning throat, tongue, lips, dry cough & burping. This is what helps me when I have bad spells...

Drink only Carnation Instant Breakfast (vanilla) & low fat milk for a couple of days. And lots of water. After a few days add bread & butter or pasta & noodles. Continue the breakfast drinks with each meal. (Carnation contains calcium, magnesium, vitamins & minerals).

When feeling better & the burning stops, I eat Cheerios, oatmeal, plain chicken, turkey, hamburgers, baked potatoes, vegetables, apples, and yogurt. And I have 1 breakfast drink per day.

Of course, everyone is different. This helps me. Hope others post what works for them.