Bad refulx from smoking and alcohol

[Canadaguy25]

Hey everyone. Does anybody else get bad acid reflux from smoking and alcohol? Smoking sometimes bothers me but anytime i drink a few beers it seems to cause alot of reflux but very little actual heartburn. The next day i get this lump feeling in the middle of my throat, i belch,acid comes up and i can sometimes taste it. Drinking water helps and so does taking OTC reflux meds but its sometimes thats just not enough... I also wonder if sleeping with mouth open will cause any throat discomfort??.. Usually i drink beer late in the evening and most of us know that alcohol can cause drowsiness, which therefore in return when i go to bed, i hit the pillow and i am out like a light and makes me sleep with my mouth wide open, sounds silly but makes me curious to know if its related in anyways... By the way i'am 25 years old, no other health issues that i know of, gained about 45 pounds in five years, not as active as i used to be..

[selmaS]

I saw and I posted....

[Canadaguy25]

as you will see i have put another posting on the wall. today seems like a bad day with my reflux

[selmaS]

I am glad u r finding a positive from drinking water....and the link I added.

Our digestive track can affect our overall Health so we have to pay close attention to when it is out of rhythm.

U should see that the water and need to go calms down after u get used to drinking more as ur body will absorb a good amount.

Changing our lifestyle many times is key as well as diet modifications to feeling better.....sometimes we do not want to make the changes, so we deal with feeling poorly.

Stress can also add to ur issues...so being off work is playing into ur issues as well.

I pray u continue to feel better : )

"selma"

[Canadaguy25]

i read your link that you posted. I really think it has to do with my lifestyle. I really didnt notice this problem untill i stopped working( ive been unemployed for over 1 year)... one thing that has really helped me is the constant drinking of room temperature water.. i find it really washes the acid away especially after a meal. i have only tried water for 1 day but i have noticed a big change... the only downside is having to urinate alot!!

[selmaS]

To help get relief and avoid the damage from erosion from the acid it is best to modify  diet and lifestyle...meaning avoid foods and drinks and things like smoking that will affect ur reflux.

We do have a list in the Health Pages that offers info such as Harrald offered......

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/list?cid=236

"selma"

[Canadaguy25]

hey harrald thanks for the great information!..... Kind of weird you mention that one night you couldnt breathe because of so much stomach acid. Because the other night when i was drinking( what i mentioned in the top posting) i woke up having a  little trouble breathing. I actually went to bed before my wife , i was asleep for about an 1 hour when she came to bed which woke me up. I noticed i was breathing a little more heavy than normal, i couldnt figure out why?. i didnt drink to much about 3 beers but iam sure that doesnt matter, well are all different.

[harrald]

In 1964 I had a perforated ulcer and soon afterwards, I developed acid reflux. I do not believe the term, GERD, had been formed. I was advised by a doctor that I needed to stop smoking because nicotine in cigarets is a drug and causes your stomach to turn-on its acid pumps. Even today, if I sleep under a fan, my mouth and sinus cavities dry out, and I must get up and drink water. I still had one vice remaining, so I continued to drink Bourbon and beer. I think your mouth and sinus cavities could also dry out after a night of drinking. An anatomy professor at university explained to me that drinking alcohol uses- up liquid(mostly water)at a ratio of 8 to 1, so expect to become thirsty for water after drinking alcohol.

Worse, when I drank late at night, my reflux got stronger, and one night after drinking, I passed out and almost died when the acid reflux aspirated stomach acid and alcohol into lungs. I awoke just in time, but my epiglottis( trap door that covers your windpipe when you swallow)slammed closed, and I could not breathe for 3 or 4 minutes. I collapsed on the floor, and I knew I was dying, but I think the fall to the floor forced my epiglottis open and a minute later, I recovered. I do not drink in the evening, and I stop eating food and drinking fluids, except water, three hours before I go to bed. I use Prilosec, and I have not had another acid-reflex attack in 5 years.Now, when lying down, and if I feel acid climbing up my esophagus, I simply raise up and the acid retuns to my stomach.

Harrald

[Canadaguy25]

forgot to mention sometimes eating food will help the symptoms