Acid Reflux?

I don’t know how I could have failed to say something about what may be a recurrence of acid reflux. This is an old problem for which we found a resolution two or three years ago. Since that time she has taken a prescription for Prilosec that had solved the problem. About six months ago, she experienced a couple of instances of the problem. I thought the problem had gone away on its own. Kate said she was eating more slowly which she believed helped to prevent a recurrence

I can’t recall exactly when, but she started using extra paper napkins at restaurants. This typically occurs before she has even eaten anything. As I reflect, it is something that occurs at various time during the day. She goes through lots of toilet paper which I now believe may be associated with this problem. Let me describe the problem as well as I can

Unlike her previous experience with acid reflux, what she is experiencing now does not involve exactly the same symptoms. When she has had the more serious experiences, she has to stop eating. She usually lowers her head slightly and appears to be trying to calm herself. With the current problem, she can continue to eat. As I have already mentioned, she will be having the experience before food arrives at our table

To me it appears that she is simply spitting up saliva. I do not see any visible signs that she is experiencing acid creeping up her esophagus. It is more like the normal salivation collects in her mouth, and she spits it out. I think one reason I haven’t mentioned it before was that it never seemed like something serious. In the past month or so, the problem has become more serious and seems to bother her. In fact, last night she had some difficulty getting to sleep because of it. I suspect it was more than an hour before she got to sleep after going to bed. She got up at one point. I heard her burping in the bathroom next to our bedroom. That led me to give her some Gaviscon. Before she was taking Prilosec, I gave her Gaviscon when she had a problem. It always seemed to work. I have tried it several times recently without the same success. I am not certain that it helps at all. I do know that she finally settled down and slept well during the night

About three weeks ago, I sent a message online to Dr. Reasoner, Kate’s doctor. She suggested that we try several things. She said we could take a second Prilosec in the evening. She also said if that didn’t work, we could try her taking an antihistamine. Finally, we recommended staying away from acidic foods and beverages. I tried doubling Prilosec and could not tell any difference at all. I dropped that. I then tried adding a Claritin with her morning medications. I have not been able to detect a change though I plan to continue to give it a fair chance of success. My reason is that I think her symptoms seem more like a post-nasal drip which sounds like an allergic reaction
One other symptom has made me think of the situation as more serious than I originally did. Within the past 4-6 weeks, I have noticed that she sometimes starts burping when she takes her pills. That made me think there might actually be a gastro-intestinal source of the problem. On the whole, however, I find it very confusing. What I know is that it has become a chronic condition that annoys her. It also concerns me that it might possibly be a symptom of something more serious. Unfortunately, Kate is unable to provide any kind of description. I am hoping that we might have a conversation with her doctor. I think her next appointment is in January or February

Kate does drink a lot of tea and Dr. Pepper. That would be the next step to try. That will be a hard one as these are long-standing habits.