Nissan surgery and reflux

I had nissan surgery about a year ago.  However, the last two weeks I have developed reflux again.  No acid associated with it, but I am waking up choking like I did before my surgery.  Is anyone else having this and if so should I see my doctor again. This is very frightening as I can get my breath and I am afraind I might pass out because I have done this in the pat.  I guess the bottom line is, I am waking coughing not being able to breath like I was befoe the surgery with the only difference bing I don't have acid now.

[TC049]

I had nissan surgery 5 years ago.  Now I am having problems again.  I have Fibromyalgia which means IBS too.  My voice is raspy and I just had an upper GI which showed that the wrap has not come undone but I have alittle reflux.  Dr. says not bad enough to warrant tightening of the wrap.  I also have allots of gas.  Don't know what to do now.  I have been on one of the reflux medications but has not helped.  
I understand that you can have silent reflux.  Any suggestions.

[MelodyO]

I have had reflux for the past...oh, several years, but in the past four years it has caused esophageal narrowing and esophageal ulcers.

I am resisting taking the medication, because I am pretty anti-medication, much to my doc's dismay.  What I *am* doing though, is trying to control it through lifestyle changes, and it seems to be helping a lot.

First, I am eating more whole foods (less refined - not prepackaged) and cooking from scratch most of the time.  That way I can control how spicy foods are and the ingredients that I eat.  The more I eat whole foods, the better I feel.

Second, I read a book called "Fit for Life" that explains that dairy products digest differently from carbs and meats, and that carbs digest differently from dairy and meat, and that, yep you guessed it, meats digest differently from carbs and dairy.  It is all about chemistry and what chemicals your body processes to break down each.  So if you mix them together, it takes a long time for your body to break down the foods.  You *can* eat veggies with each of those categories though.

If you just eat a meal with carbs and vegetables, it will take 3 hours to digest.

If you eat a meal with meat and vegetables, it will take 4 hours to digest.

I don't know about dairy, because the authors of the book don't like dairy products altogether.

If I don't over-eat I feel great.  If I over-eat my ulcers come back.

Over Thanksgiving I took a break from my eating regime, and my ulcers are back.  I over-ate, ate meat, veggies, carbs, & dairy (who could forget the egg-nog??) and my food didn't digest for 8 hours or longer.

Another thing that I do is not after 6 p.m. at all.  That gives my food time to digest before bed.  I like to go to bed by 9:30, so I plan my eating around my bedtime. If I am going to eat meat for dinner I try to eat by 4 or 5.  

If I can tell that my food hasn't digested by bedtime I *do not* lay down flat on the bed.  In fact, I try to prolong going to bed.  If I cannot keep my eyes open, then I resort to sleeping sitting up.  A recliner or bed pillow will help with this.  DO NOT LAY DOWN WITH A STOMACH FULL OF FOOD!  Sorry, I don't mean to "yell", but I do want that line to be seen easily.  When you lie down with a full belly, you *will* reflux.

I have been doing this routine for the past 3 months and it has helped tremendously.  I go back for an EGD scope in March/April to make sure my ulcers are healing correctly, but I feel like my ulcers are getting better because I'm not feeling the discomfort that I have been having.

Another thing I have found is that a warm cup of Green Tea soothes my ulcers.  As I have researched Green Tea, (look on wikipedia about Green Tea, it has the results there I believe) I have found that it is a natural anti-inflammatory, which explains why it soothes.

So to sum up:

Eat meats & veggies separately from carbs;
Eat carbs & veggies separately from carbs;
Eat dairy separately from all other foods;
Eat at least 4-5 hours before bedtime;
DO NOT go to bed with food in your stomach;
Sleep sitting up if your food hasn't digested and you are too sleepy to stay awake;
Eat smaller portions to avoid over-eating.

I hope that you get feeling better soon!