Tuesday, July 14, 2009 griz asks

Q: strange symptom of acid reflux

I have no symptoms of acid reflux other than the fact that the enamel on the inside of my upper teeth have almost completely eroded away. I have no heartburn and am never up at nite with any problems. I have been on nexium for the last 8 months....my dentist is convinced my condition is getting worse. Other than my teeth im not really that concerned.

I have cut back on several things: lemonade, colas, some caffeine, some pizza.

i still drink coffee every day (1/2 decaff now) and have a few drinks per week....i just dont think my diet seems that bad.....

please help me.

Andrew Greenwald

grizpool@yahoo.com

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Answers (1)

stwj.suze

7/14/09 4:17pm

Not sure if this is any use or not.. but I suffer from silent reflux (feel no acid). But I do have reflux and I only found out after suffering extreme pain and needing hospitalisation. I had damaged my oesophagus with all the acid that it had completely stiffened up. An endoscopy confirmed severe reflux. My dentist has advised me to coat my teeth with a toothpaste for enamel protection following my usual bedtime routine. I sleep on a slanted pillow too. This seems to help my condition.

It's really tough not knowing when/how to protect yourself when you seem to just skip the warning signs and hit the damaged stage. I am not taking any risks so follow all the health and diet advice on this site.

Hope this helps. Good luck

Suze

griz

7/14/09 4:30pm

interesting, before my dr said it, i had the thought, can this exist in a gaseous state? he says its not confirmed, but that maybe the case....you mentioned a couple of issues that i dont have: extreme pain...hospitalization. I had an endoscopy in nov. and i dont have any major issues, just the teeth enamel issue!??

i have tried the enamel protection paste, maybe i should continue on with that....i had 4 teeth bonded today, to block out acid damage...still have the rest on top to go....pillow is a great idea, these are the tings im tryin to find out.

My concern.....i dont knowhow i can give up coffee, pizza and beers on the weekend...honestly. I guess if i had physical problems id have no choice.

id like to continue thisdialogue.

andy

stwj.suze

7/15/09 7:30am

Hi Andy

I have given up everything that tastes nice (coffee, chocolate, alcohol, chinese food - oh the list is endless).

I had no choice - I was just hit with pain that only took a week to develop into what felt like a heart attack, giving birth and someone strangling me from the inside. All at the same time!! Seriously.

That's what silent reflux is - you don't know it's going on until it gets really bad. I am jealous of people who burp up acid - I think they are so "lucky" (well, not really...) - at least they know to reach the meds and self-help.

I think for the sake of your teeth you should live the reflux diet and just party on the rare occasion. Maybe you are getting night time silent reflux (gets you when you are sleeping but it is not gross enough to wake you or cause you pain and this is slowly rotting your teeth away?). The pillow will help, bit uncomfy at first but couldn't be without it now. Gravity keeps the acid down.

My doc thinks I must have had reflux for a long time without noticing and my oesophagus was the casualty. I have asked for reasons but the answer is "people are different, sometimes these things just happen"!!

I have been on ppi's for 7 months and the oesophagitus is receding, it's been a long trek. I found one book really helpful but not sure if I can mention names on this site....

Hope this helps.

Suze

Q: strange symptom of acid reflux

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