Acid reflux, eosinophilic esophagitis, and sternum soreness

[Eaglei22]

Hello,

I have had acid reflux problems since the last ten years, seems to have gotten a little worse the last three years with food getting stuck. I was on and off ppi's too. I did finally get an endoscopy when food started getting stuck. I was told I have, Eosinophilic Esophagitis and I had a ring in my esophagus which was stretched open. This was all a year ago.

I seem to get sandwhich chuncks stuck if I don't chew enough but it's tolerable as I was just happy I didn't have cancer or barrets esophagus. I have been trying to get off ppi's because one they give me brain fog if I take them everyday and two I hear about all these risk factors with them; like vitamin deficiency and now kidney diseas possibly. I take prevacid once every two or three days now and I tried everything. . Liquorice chews, Apple cider vinegar, probiotics.. nothing seems to really hrlp except the ppi. The liquorice and apple cider vinegar pills help for an hour or so then i start to feel burning. I have been takin zantac which helps a little but I feel soreness in my sternum on the right side. Like if I take my hand and push on it it feels tender just on the right side.. and this seems to only happen when I don't take prevacid often.. is this from the acid reflux? Looking at pictures it looks like the les and stomach tube are more towards the left.

I am so sick of this acid reflux crap, and I can't wait for a cure!

Any suggestions on what to do? Thank you!

[Fishmanpa]

I had Head and Neck cancer and one of the side effects from treatment is swallowing issues. It's gotten better but I always have to have a bottle of water around to get food down. It is what it is but at least I can eat pretty normally. In addition, both my wife and I have reflux and have been on PPIs for years (pantoprazole). We have to watch what we eat and occasionally even do a shot of Mylanta or chew a tums for breakthrough reflux/indigestion. My wife has had some success by adding a probiotic supplement (pill) to her diet.

That being said, the risks you mention are incredibly low concerning the meds and it's worth it to me not to be in constant distress.

Positive thoughts

[Eaglei22]

Thanks for the response fishman and I am glad to hear you have your symptoms under control. I also hope you're cancer free and stay that way.

Btw, gaviscon is pretty good if you need some additional reflux assistance.

[Fishmanpa]

Thanks :) April will be 3 years cancer free. I have appointments next month and I expect all will be well. The side effects are hell but it sure beats the alternative ;)

Gaviscon is good stuff for sure. We keep a couple of bottles of Mylanta handy as well as Tums but maybe I'll pick up a bottle of the "G" to try this weekend.

So yeah, reflux can really be a pain but it is manageable. The benefits far outweigh the risks concerning a PPI so do what you have to do to control it. Look into the probiotics. They really have helped my wife concerning bloating and gas.

Positive thoughts

[Eaglei22]

Great to hear! :) but at least you have the side effects under control. I use the gaviscon chewables extra strength from Wal-Mart.

I will look into the probiotics more. I tried it for a month and didn't really feel a huge difference but maybe I just need to give it more time.

I really enjoyed zegerid when I was on it maybe I will switch over to that again. It was newer than the others so I was hesitant to be on it long term but we'll see.

[Solidsimpson]

I have eosinophilic esophagitis too! My only symptom was problems swallowing. I hate PPIs too... After 3 months I got used to them and I really liked Protonix.

Maybe ask your doctor if you can take 2 Zantac a day instead? I really like Zantac.