As if I weren't having enough fun....last night I was worried about gastric reflux (I had a bad episode the night before) so in addition to my nightly Protonix, I took a Tums for prevention, but to no avail. At 2 am, I woke up with the acid so far up my throat that it was in my eustachian tubes, you know the ones that connect your throat to your ears. I took another Tums which calmed it down but when I woke up this morning, I still had fluid stuck in my left eustachian tube. Kind of like when you go swimming and you get water stuck in your ear. And damn it hurts!
So I know for the water-in-the-ear problem, you can put a little rubbing alcohol in your ear, which gets the water to float out. But I didn't want to add alcohol to the acid fluid, cause I have no idea what that would do. Anyone have any ideas?
In the meantime, I can't hear right out of my left ear, I get a crackling sound, and I can't blow my nose because the pressure is horrible. How do these things always happen to me?
I have never heard of that. It sounds awful.
Maybe if you tried the over the counter swimmers ear drops? That's the only thing I can think of other than a visit to your doctor.
It may be time to see the GP about that. I don't think you want to add another acid and the only thing I can think of is if you flush it with Hydrogen peroxide, and see if there is something lodged. Swimmer's ear stuff is good too.
So sorry Suzanne for your pain....I hate ear problems!
Poor Innerglow, you are having a rough time girl. Your world is not dull. It sounds beyond horrid. May be a doctor job as they may need to check what the heck is going on as well as unblock it for you. Yuk. Wow, that sounds awful. I have never heard of such a thing. I really think it's time to see a doctor. Acid reflux that severe can be causing damage Suzanne. You need to get it checked out.The outer ear and the middle/inner ear are not connected, so no eardrops will fix the problem. Alcohol is used to dry out water in the outer ear canal after swimming - it never makes it to the inner ear (unless you have a ruptured eardrum, in which case you shouldn't be swimming anyway until it heals).Thanks, Jas, for the anatomy....I didn't think about that, just knew that it "feels" the same as having water in your ear.
It is bothering me less than before, so I'm wondering if it will go away on its own (shouldn't gravity bring it back down?). If it's still bad in a few hours, I'll call my primary care doc.
As for the acid reflux itself, the Protonix has been managing generally well, but I am on a bunch of pred right now. And then I provoked it on Sunday night with spicy pepperoni and some chocolate. Then last night I provoked it with onion dip. Guess I was really asking for it.Give the Gaviscon a try next time. It really helps, especially if you've overindulged.
Glad it's starting to feel better now. I never heard of anything like that before.
Jas~ Do you just know all this stuff, or do you have to pull out the ol' text books and refresh your memory? It's like you just pull it all out from the top of your head. Who's that smart?
That sounds just awful! My first thought was to raise the head of your bed so it doesnt happen when you sleep. When I first started having reflux problems, my Dr suggested it. He said you dont need it very high to make a difference, just place a blanket between the box springs and mattress at the head of your bed. You will hardly notice the difference, but it is just enough to help a bit.
I would definitely give your doc a call. I have never heard of it backing up in the tubes. They may want to tweak your meds (and diet, lol) for a bit.
i have tried many things and take aciphex 2xs a day its a scrip drug thoughThat is what I am on as well. AM and PM aciphex finally did the trick for me...I have slept on a slight incline before, but my lower back and SI joints don't like it. However, I may try that just for the next few nights.
((((suzanne)))) I thought about you all last night. How are you doing? Definitely go to the doctor if things dont improve in a couple of days... I hope you are feeling lots better today!
deb
Thanks, deb. I figure I'll probably wake up again tonight, but I'm just going to wait until the pred tapers down because I really think that is the culprit. I see my primary care doc on Tuesday and my rheumy on Wed, so I'll be sure to bring it up if it's still an issue.