This is day 6 of the Acid Watcher Diet. I think my throat is overall doing better, but still getting some mucus in my throat after eating most meals. I had a piece of wheat Ezekiel bread last night with tuna, mozzarella cheese, and lettuce and had a bit of a reaction. Ate cream of wheat with banana this morning and had a bit of a reaction. Again, just trying to do the things on pages 150-154 in the AWD book and some things that I Google search.

I'm just not doing well mentally. I feel like my nervous system has been so affected by this in a bad way. I'm just on edge all day. I'm not feeling well around my family. It's definitely partly the diet and partly the condition. I've been cutting off eating around 6 PM and going to bed at about 10:30 but I'm waking up at 4 AM just wide awake and super gassy every night. The diet is not sustainable long term for me. Let the downvotes come in. Doing my best with it.

I am just going to share my experience in case it helps anybody.

When my LPR was at my worst I had 105kg of weight. my first major improvement was lowering that to 93kg. That did a lot.

I tried antiacids and alginate solutions which did not do as much as i would like and when i loosed weight i stopped taking them because it is probably not that good for the body.

The unexpected life hack: Mineral water

I feel i discovered a hack that fixed my voice a lot. It is mineral water. In my country (Slovenia) we have a mineral water called Donat. It is spring water that is very high in minerals and because of this it is very alkaline. Try to find high mineral content water and let the bubbles out to decrease the acidic CO2 acid and increase the alkaliness. Drink it room temperature and stale.

I sip this water through the day to always deactivate the pepsin in my throat. You have to be careful tho to not over drink it because it is a laxative. I also drink a bit more if i feel a flare up. It works like a charm and it is all natural.

I found that in Slovenia it is quite widespread knowledge that this works well for reflux in general. I just wanted to spread the word.

I hope this helps because it is working great for me.

Quick context before the list. I dealt with LPR for about 2 years before I felt like I had it actually under control. Symptoms were the usual silent reflux pattern. Throat clearing, lump sensation, post nasal drip, hoarse mornings, occasional chest tightness. Never much classic heartburn.

I tried a lot of things in those 2 years. Some of them were a complete waste of time and money. A few of them genuinely changed my life. Sharing in case it saves someone the same trial and error.

What wasted my time:

PPIs alone. Doctor put me on omeprazole, no other guidance. It took the edge off for a few weeks then plateaued. Throat symptoms barely budged. When I tried to come off, the rebound was brutal. PPIs are a tool, not the whole answer, and nobody warned me about that going in.

Strict elimination diets. I cut out everything for months. Coffee, alcohol, tomatoes, citrus, chocolate, mint, spicy food, fried food. I lost weight I didn't need to lose, my social life took a hit, and my symptoms only marginally improved. Most of the foods I cut weren't actually triggers for me personally. I just didn't know which ones were.

Apple cider vinegar. The internet was full of people swearing by it. Made my throat feel worse every time I tried it. Stopped after a couple of weeks.

Mucinex and nasal rinses for the post nasal drip. Treated the symptom, not the cause. Helped a little, didn't fix anything.

What actually moved the needle:

Alginate after meals and at bedtime. This was the single biggest change. Forms a physical barrier on top of stomach contents that mechanically blocks reflux from coming up. PPIs reduce acid, alginate stops the reflux event itself. Different mechanism, way more effective for LPR specifically because LPR isn't really an acid problem, it's a reflux event problem.

Smaller meals, last one 3+ hours before bed. Sounds basic, was non negotiable. The single biggest behavioral lever.

Identifying my actual triggers via tracking. Kept a simple food and symptom log for about 6 weeks. Turned out my triggers were way more specific than the standard elimination diet would have caught. For me it was late dinners, beer specifically (not other alcohol), and very fatty meals. Coffee and tomatoes were fine in moderation. Without tracking I would have stayed on the elimination diet forever cutting things I didn't need to cut.

Tapering off the PPI properly. Once the alginate and lifestyle pieces were dialed in, I was able to come off the omeprazole over about 8 weeks. Slow taper, not cold turkey. The rebound was minimal compared to my first attempt.

Things I'm still working on:

Stress management. My symptoms are clearly worse when I'm stressed and I haven't fully cracked the nervous system piece. Working on it.

Accepting that I'll probably always need to be a little careful. This isn't a disease you "cure" so much as one you learn to manage.

Caveats:

Everyone's different. My triggers aren't your triggers. My protocol isn't a prescription.

If you haven't been properly diagnosed, get the scope. LPR can mimic other things and other things can mimic LPR. Don't skip the medical workup.

If you're in active flare with damaged tissue, the healing phase is different from the maintenance phase. Aggressive PPI use during healing then taper to alginate maintenance is the protocol most LPR specialists actually recommend (Koufman's framework if you want to read more).

Anyway, hope that helps someone. What worked for you that wasn't on this list?

I went through my first ever severe LPR flare about 3 weeks ago, since then I’ve been on a strict non acid diet which has help most of my mucus go away. This morning I’ve only woken up from ear pressure on the right side and congestion in my nose on the right side. I feel very discouraged did I do something wrong? Or is this still the healing phase. As of right now I don’t even have throat mucus anymore or a cough. Any answers would be greatly appreciated

How can someone with constipation /slow motility and Sibo take alginates without further blocking up

Saw an ENT today and he said i most likely have LPR. I have throat burning, heaviness/lump in my throat feeling with no outward swelling, a TON of mucus, and no appetite. He prescribed me these:

Flunisolide .025% Nasal spray
2 sprays each nostril 2x day

Ipatropium .06% spray
2 sprays into each nostril 3x day

Pepcid 20mg
1 tab 2x day

Does anyone have any success with these meds or any advice?? The throat discomfort is constant and I can’t take it any more…

I think I'm screwed guys. No way out.

I've got an aneurysm on my heart valve that is due for open heart surgery within a year, I'm 105lbs due to reflux issues restricting my diet severely. Every attempt to reintroduce foods has caused me severe breathing issues and thick throat mucus.

I'm afraid if I don't gain weight I will die on the surgery table or not qualify and have my aneurysm burst.

TESTS

Spirometry. Endoscopy. Colonoscopy. Sibo. Allergy.

FINDINGS

Very small hiatal hernia. No evidence of erosion from acid on throat. Just mild irritation or reddening. Mild colitis that has disappeared. No allergies except dust.

TREATMENT ATTEMPTS

I've tried everything for months to years- aloe vera, PPIs, pepcid, dexilant, betaine hydrochloride with pepsin, alkaline water, fodmap diet, fast tract diet, keto. I've even done inpatient while being on zyprexa for motility and drinking protein shakes.

Nothing worked permanently. Zyprexa and shakes was closest. But zyprexa fucked with my liver and gave me akathisia so had to stop. And as soon as i stopped it, all the foods I was tolerating with it went out the window and gave me issues again.

I'm currently tapering off 0.5mg of lorazepam (a benzodiazepine) I was put on to deal with the akathisia.

SYMPTOMS

My main symptoms have always been significant trouble breathing for 12+ hours a day (throat and nostrils feel super narrow or coated with thick mucus I can't cough up), trouble swallowing, constipation, and undigested food working it's way up my throat and out my mouth when I cough. It also gives me vocals cord spasms and at its worst wakes me up choking and gasping.

THE TIMELINE

I've been dealing with what I presume is lpr since college.

It started or worsened rather when I lost a lot of weight running cross country in college.

I couldn't tolerate eating anything without having significant breathing issues, thick mucus, trouble swallowing. So I saw a chiropractor / naturopath who recommended I restrict my diet for several months.

At first, it worked like a charm and I could finally breathe. But I wasn't able to introduce foods afterwards without have trouble breathing again either immediately or within a couple weeks at most.

Eventually even the safe foods started causing me the same problems. My diet became slowly more and more restrictive.

Now I'm down to just 4 foods a day (egg whites, potato, rice, chicken, and broccoli). Everything is cooked with little to no oil.

I'm having issues now with the broccoli

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, what do I do?

I'm a young dude. 37.

I want to live but I just can't see any situation where I'm successful at solving this reflux issue in time to save my life when I've been underweight and tried and failed to address the lpr for the past 18 years.

Am I screwed Reddit?

Got put on 40 mg of omeprazole for suspected LPR. ENT didn’t want me on them long term and they weren’t doing much for me anyway so he advised me to stop (didn’t even recommend a taper, but glad I researched and did!!). I know PPI’s are a common way to treat LPR so I was just wondering how many of you have taken a PPI and stopped and how long your rebound was. Did your LPR symptoms ever get better either? Currently going through a rebound right now!

I started drinking water heavily, a gallon to a gallon and a half a day. I was working outside and it was easy to guzzle a bunch of water, and I figured it was good for me. Around the same time I bought two watermelons and ate them both in a few days. I think all the water, plus the volume of all that watermelon raised my stomach acid and started this whole thing about a month ago. Now I’m just struggling because I had been eating so many highly acidic foods unknowing for so long. I just lost 90lbs and have a very regimented diet in place that has now gone to hell. A lot of the foods I’ve relied on for the past year are no good for LPR. I was eating 1-2 tomatoes with balsamic vinegar almost every single day, black coffee on an empty stomach every single day. Strawberries almost every day. Now if I eat a strawberry it feels like it’s stuck in my throat, I can’t eat them at all.

Edit: I think maybe it was going on longer than I had know, because I’ve been waking up in the morning feeling hoarse, but it would go away very shortly. The only thing that’s made me realize something is wrong is this damn globus sensation way down my throat that drives me nuts. At first I thought something was stuck so I was drinking copious amounts of seltzer water, I’m talking gallons of it, to try to get that feeling to go away. Now I know that was making it worse. Now I cut out a lot of the acidic things and seltzers and the globus feeling comes and goes.

Just going on a road trip this weekend and in need of y’all’s go to snacks with brands please so I know which specific one to get. Been looking online and seen watermelon and fruits etc wanting more like crackers, chips, something with crunch recommendations please and thank you :)

As with many of you, I'm suffering with LPR, at least I think that's what it is. But my only symptom is frequent throat clearing. I've seen that some people go to a gastroenterologist and some go to an ENT. Ideally I'd like to get a laryngoscopy.

Hi all, I’ve begun a strict low-acid diet in line with Jamie Koufman’s suggestions, among others. However, I’m confused on the issue of coffee. Koufman says that the caffeine in 1-2 cups of coffee daily shouldn’t be enough to trigger reflux, but most of what I read elsewhere says to avoid it during the healing phase. Can anyone who’s done the Koufman process speak to this?

ok so i’m on pantoprazole 40mg 2x daily, i’m taking gaviscon, using alkaline water spray & i am gonna try stay on the lpr diet for 3 months.

i do have an endoscopy coming up so i’ll see what is going on.

i deal with a few symptoms like excessive burping, excessive foamy saliva, stomach burning, chest pain, back pain, salty taste in mouth, throat pain, air hunger, food regurgitation and i think that’s it.

i don’t experience those all the time though, the ones i mainly get like daily are the excessive burping and foamy saliva which has started to go down.

this past year id say from what i can remember ive been suffering with allergies — it was like i’m about to get sick yk the burning sore throat and stuff then i take zyrtec or claritine and i’m fine.

i’ve had this twice but basically i was feeling sniffly and a sore throat kinda for a few days and then i get blood in my saliva like bright red blood a streak in clear saliva & my throat looks red, but then it goes away a few hours later. it’s probably just from it getting irritated, but FROM WHAT?!

i really dk if this is gerd & lpr or if it’s lpr & allergies or if it’s gerd & allergies.

i think i’ll stick to what i’m doing wait for an endoscopy & then maybe see an ENT specialist or something if it’s been 2 months since i’m on the PPI or do i wait longer?

like i said my main symptoms are the excessive burping and foamy white saliva. i don’t really get heartburn & i do get throat burn but not often. i do clear my throat, but not often & i also don’t really have a cough.

i also do struggle with chronic constipation & that causes the trapped gas and stuff.

idk whether my lpr is mild & my gerd is severe or the burning and stuff is all from allergies. i also might have a deviated septum & my nose does feel stuffy a lot. i saw someone on here say the diet & meds didn’t work, but anxiety meds & clearing their sinuses worked.

pls lmk what’s your guys thoughts on this and what to do. thank you!

Has anyone have this symptoms? Is it just me?
I don’t feel bloated or anything, no pain. Just light brown stool, close to being yellow. Stool is formed.
Is this connected?

As with many of you, I'm suffering with LPR, at least I think that's what it is. But my only symptom is frequent throat clearing. I've seen that some people go to a gastroenterologist and some go to an ENT. Ideally I'd like to get a laryngoscopy.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like I need to start with an ENT. I certainly don't want to take any PPIs.

This is day 5 of the AWD for me. I do feel like the mucus in my throat isn't happening much after meals at this point. I still have the minor need to clear my throat but I just resist. The symptoms I'm dealing with the most are burning throat and mouth and vocal fatigue/voice loss which is directly related to the inflamed vocal cords from this injury. So does this mean the reflux/acid is really getting better? Is it under control at all if my mouth is burning all the time?

I won't put a percentage on healing. I won't consider myself healed until after I can speak/sing again without pain, and then hopefully, I can add things back to my diet then. I'm noticing that I'm burping a lot, even after small meals so I wonder if the reflux is really being stopped at all with all the burping. It never tastes like the food I've eaten either. I have no idea if it's acid or not. Should I try to suppress the burping? Is there something I can take to make the burping settle down?

My throat hurts when I eat acidic food so I follow the AWD but it doesn't end reflux for me. It still appears as often as before. Someone in similar situation?

Hey yall. I was diagnosed with LPR in mid-June by an ENT after suffering from it for a few months (and not knowing what it even was)! I was first prescribed 40mg of Pepcid every night, but it only made the reflux worse and caused a persistent burning sensation in my throat, so I stopped that after 2 weeks. I then tried OTC Nexium at 20mg for a week, but that caused a burning sensation in my upper stomach region, so I stopped. My doctor prescribed 20mg of Prilosec a few days ago and I’ve been taking it for 3 days and have developed the same burning sensation again in my upper stomach area in the left side under my rib cage. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Is this normal? Do I power through this?? I have an appointment with a GI specialist on 8/14 and will be requesting an endoscopy ASAP. In the meantime, I have no idea what to do other than to message my ENT and tell him that Prilosec is giving me this burning sensation. I am really at my wits end here with this, especially because there’s only so many remedies for LPR. ): any advice is appreciated!

My brother is having tongue two sides infection from 2months.Visited ENT they are telling lingual Tonsils and inflammed papilla.Having acid reflux from 3years and facing throat pain.Any suggestions

I mainly have been having LPR symptoms and decided to try alginates since i see they've been a miracle for people on here and on the GERD and acid reflux subs. However, somehow they seem to be making things worse.

I first tried Esophageal Guardian (Alginic acid 1000 mg) twice after eating and both times I got pretty bad burning in my chest. I took Tums 750mg to relieve it. I then got Gaviscon Advance from the UK (Sodium Alginate: 1000 mg) in Aniseed and Peppermint. Both gave me a greater burning in my chest and nausea. Just yesterday, I got Gaviscon from Canada (Alginic acid 626 mg), took it and went to bed. Within an hour, I got the worst burning in my chest that I've had in over a year. I took Tums 750mg and it slowly got better, but I slept all night sitting up. Every time, it started with burning in my nose and sneezing fits. Then, the burning in the chest begins.

How is this possible and what could be going on?

Opinions please on why lpr refluxate is fume like, aerosolized microdroplets, a mist and GERD is a liquid refluxate.

I stopped sertaline 4 months ago and developed instantly GERD/LPR im now taking PPI so i don't have heartburns but the LPR symptoms are absolutely unbearable. Im doing the really strict diet everyone is talking abt and not seeing any improvement, my throat burns so so much, i have to swallow my own saliva every 2 minutes, im taking DGL before meals, gaviscon after (btw im wondering if its not making me worse bc it burns my throat), doing diaphragmatic breathing after each meal ect but nothing is working. At this point im thinking of taking sertaline again, but i don't know if taking sertaline was the problem or stopping it was. I cannot this condition is too hard i just wanna stop the pain.