I had a scary thing happen a couple of times recently, and was awoken abruptly while choking. It felt/tasted like stomach acid had gotten into my lungs. The first time this occurred was a few weeks ago following a spicy Indian dinner. I sat up in the middle of the night, coughed up something out of what felt like my trachea and could taste chana dal searing into my lungs with every breath. It burned for over an hour. Needless to say that was not a good night of sleep. Last night, the same thing happened, but the difference was I did not eat a spicy dinner beforehand. Another difference this time was that I took an opioid painkiller (had wrist surgery last week) before going to bed.
I wonder if the hydrocodone could have relaxed my throat to the point that it opened up while sleeping and because I was laying on my right side allowed the contents of my stomach to ‘leak’ into my trachea?
Anyway, this is worrisome thing to me. I haven’t had many digestive problems before in the past, but to have two episodes in less than a month is causing me some concern. Has anyone else experienced anything like this, and is it very common? Does this sound like garden variety acid reflux, and if so, might this be a rare episode, or is this the shape of things to come?
I went through a period of acid reflux a few years ago that I found very worrying. But it went away with minor changes. I stopped drinking any soda or alcohol in the evening, and I began using two pillows to elevate my head. Almost never happens to me anymore, but if it does it is almost always after I’ve had a beer with dinner.
I experienced the same thing as you with the stomach acid in my trachea, very unpleasant. After several visits to my GP and a wedge pillow and Prilosec script he recommended that I see a pulmonologist who set me up with a sleep study. It turns out I have episodes where my palette relaxes enough to close off the top of my airway while my lungs are still trying to inhale. This results in me sucking acid up my esophagus into my lungs and me waking up with the same symptoms you are having. Now I have this CPAP machine and uneventful nights of sound sleep.
If you have a sleep partner, ask them if you have episodes where you stop breathing for up to minutes at a time. You may be experiencing sleep apnea.
Yep, I’ve cut out soda and spicier foods, and I go to sleep on my back with two pillows now (as opposed to on my belly with one). I try to stop eating earlier in the evening and have cut out spicy foods. For me that’s things like pepperoni; I’ve never been into hot spicy foods. Citric acid sneaks into things so even a supposedly “safe” food like yogurt has to be analyzed. Orange juice is right out.
I’m resisting medicine beyond Tums as needed, but an OTC pill may be more convenient. Getting older sucks without having to add more daily pills to the regimen.
I’m super overwight so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. But I have been this heavy for a while and the heartburn/reflux has gotten worse over time.
There are several cures for Acid Reflux. Three times now I have gone on Protonics for 2-3 months and then been without acid reflux for years. Of course watching my diet is a big help also, sadly a low acid diet helps not at all with weight issues. Doesn’t hurt but doesn’t help.
You may be right. I did a sleep study over a year ago and the results at that time were borderline enough that they thought I might benefit by using a CPAP machine. I chickened out at the time. I also didn’t have this problem a year ago, but maybe things have gotten worse and I may not have a choice.
I took a couple of Tums last night but didn’t find they helped much. Getting older certainly sucks. I hadn’t heard that being overweight had anything to do with causing acid reflux. I hope it’s not the case.
I’m hoping I’ve experienced a couple of isolated incidents, but I suppose it’s some comfort to know that we live in an age where there are pharmaceutical and other remedies available. But I would also be crushed if I found out I could no longer eat spicy things.
I have GERD, for which I take daily medications. Sometimes if i eat something greasy or acidy close enough to bedtime, I get the acid reflux and it’s horrifying like you describe. I try to jump out of bed and catch it before I cough up too much, usually with a chewable Pepcid. If it gets too bad I have to swallow some baking soda. My mom has apple cider vinegar when she wakes up at night.
Watching what you eat and WHEN you eat is key. And what to avoid is different for everyone. My mom has a huge long list. Mine is mainly fried food.
I do think it gets worse with age. Mom and dad are super sensitive now in their 60s and I never had a problem until the last few years (I’m 38).
You can do a lot to stave it off without medication. If I think I might have a problem overnight I pop a Tagament before bed and it 100% helps. If you have it more regularly and more surprisingly (as in, not after a spicy Indian meal) you might want to visit a doctor to see if you have something more serious like Projammer.
I’ve been fighting it since high school. While I have a few triggers that will make me go from feeling fine to “I need to take, guys, see you later” within the first few bites/sips, I generally can’t tell you what causes it. On top of all that, I’ll go through episodes, for lack of a better term, where it’s almost unbearable for anywhere from a few days to two weeks. During that time I’ll go through a ton of Pepto/Tums/Gaviscon…anything. That’s also usually when I’ll start hopping back and forth between Protonix and Prilosec. Oh, and every few hours and get the hiccups, and they hurt.
And for the record, I’ve had a GI doc poke around inside my gut, he didn’t see anything he was concerned with. I don’t know the reason for all of this, but at least I don’t have any ulcers or strictures from it all.
I have tried a wedge pillow, but got rid of it because I kept slide off of it and finding myself half way down my bed. But I’ve always slept with two pillows anyways.
Omeprazole is a miracle drug, at least for me. I used to carry sandwich baggies full of Tums around with me everywhere I went, and chewed those nasty, chalky fuckers down by the handful. Then I got prescribed Nexium, and then once it went OTC, I haven’t looked back. I VERY rarely get any heartburn at all anymore.
My sleep episodes were similar to the OP’s before the meds. I would wake up choking on stomach acid, and every time this happened it was preceded by a recurring nightmare where I swallowed a lit cigarette butt. It was awful.
No. It’s not a forever thing. If you are having significant issues I heartily recommend a visit with a GI specialist.
That said, it ain’t always stomach cancer or an ulcer. Sometimes the acid reflux is a physical manifestation of a psychological trigger.
In a very sad marriage for many years, I got to a point where drinking a large glass of water gave me heartburn. Weird but true.
Remove the marriage and in the next year, all symptoms faded away. No change in diet or work or anything else.
And of course I must add, the SDMB ain’t the place to get solid medical advice. That’s what real-life medical personnel are for. It’s a place for opinions.
ETA: I do always carry over the counter Prilosec: Ranitidine or Famotidine. Acid Pump Inhibitors. Miraculous.
I’m not sure what you mean by that. Prilosec is omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor. Ranitidine and famotidine are both H2 blockers, working by a different mechanism to reduce acidity. Both classes of meds can be used together, for severe cases of persistent acid reflux in high risk populations. Concerns are now being raised about potential problems which might arise with chronic long-term PPI use. There do not seem to be significant concerns about long-term H2 blocker use for the typical patient.
Anyone who ends up taking PPIs long term should discuss with their physician whether an EGD (upper endoscopy) might be a good idea. It’s really good to know what one is treating, if it requires constant regular medication.
I couldn’t agree more- and I didn’t mean to imply that one should self-medicate long-term without medical guidance.
Rather that I carry a few at all times in case I am facing an astonishingly hot dinner. I adore Indian, Mexican, Korean foods etc- and know that a plateful of Kimchee equals a small acid inhibitor.
But those meds are basically useless in quelling the burn from capsaicin and other ‘hot/spicy’ foods. That burn is NOT from acidity.
The science has demonstrated that, but I know this firsthand. I have been on PPIs in the past for reflux. It doesn’t stop reflux, it just adjust the pH so it’s closer to neutral and doesn’t burn when it refluxes. But if I have spicy food near bedtime, that will reflux and it will burn like hell, no matter if I took PPIs plus H2 blockers plus calcium tabs.
The only things that will stop a capsaicin burn are casein (as found in milk) and topical anesthetics.
So don’t think you can prevent consequences of capsaicin ingestion with antacid products. At either end.
See, this is what is making me angry. I gave up diet soda which I loved, partly because of heartburn and partly to drink more plain water since I’m sure my body can use it, and use it better than soda. I used to hate water but have gotten used to Poland Spring. But yeah, I will be pushing water because supposedly I need a huge amount*, and I get heartburn! From water!! Grrr. So that makes me think just filling my stomach too full, with anything, is not a good idea?
*OK, my source was a doctor on a morning show, but he said take your weight and divide it in half and that’s how many ounces a day you need. I’m 320, so that 160 ounces of water! That’s a lot! And I don’t eat the fruits and vegetables that would provide extra liquid. I thought I was being more healthful eating a bowl of butternut squash soup but something in that was equivalent to “why don’t I just set my stomach on fire and get it over with?”
And to top it all off, there’s a kid in the office who’s not 30 yet and I am starting to sound like an old lady telling him about how things will fall apart. Must resist old lady whining!
I’ve recently had to cut milk chocolate out of my diet because it’s been the main cause of this upsurge* in acid reflux incidents. It immediately made a difference, and now the only cause is having a carbonated beverage late at night. If I can convince myself to cut those out too, I shouldn’t have hardly any more problems.
Before the acid reflux itself I did suffer from food getting stuck in my throat, so I think the cause for me is the relaxing of the sphincter between my oesophagus and stomach; it’s just not working as well as it used to, in ether direction; getting food into my stomach ot preventing stomach contents from coming up into my throat.
Mine did. I used to have a problem that occasionally popped up, which I identified as having two contributing factors – time of day, and what I ate. So resolved to never eat anything later than about 7 pm. And reduce consumption of things high in grease and sugar, like apple pie.
My acid reflux’s pretty much stopped instantly, and has been absent for at least 15 years, and I don’t even think much anymore about what or when I eat.,
I am an expert on acid reflux. I have had it for almost 25 years. When I first had serious symptoms I went to the doc and he did an endoscopy. Found 2 stomach ulcers and a hiatal hernia. Of course a diet change was in order. Nothing spicy. No tomatoes, ect. He put me on Nexium. Things started to improve but it takes several weeks for the meds to kick in. Also one of the biggest things that helped me was that I elevated the head of my bed about 4 inches and started using a firmer pillow. I continued on Nexium until my insurance company quit paying for it. I have since taken Pantoprazole and Protonix as well (not at the same time). There is a really good over the counter drug called Omeprazole that I take now. I take it every other day and I can eat anything I want. Haven’t had an acid reflux attack is a couple of years.
If you have sleep apnea or snoring you should really check into getting a C-pap machine. It does take a while to get used to. There are many styles of masks available, so there should be one that will work for you. I use a nasal pillow design which is sorta like a large nasal cannula. Once you get used to it, it will change your life.