Hi,
I SO identify with what your husband is going through. I am 8 years post-esophagectomy. I've had bile acid reflux since about the 1st year post surgery and it has gotten worse. Most of the time I am up 2-4 hours nightly with bile spewing into my mouth and windpipe. Wakes me up sometimes and I am choking.
Seems about 30% of esophagectomy patients suffer with this. It's nasty but there doesnt seem to be a whole lot that can be done to prevent it from occurring. There are drugs like Carrafate which supposedly soothe the lining of the stomaphagus but I find it just constipates me and makes things worse.
there are some people who swear by eating a few mouthfuls of popcorn before bed but I choked on it and shortly after ended up with aspiration pneumonia so I am not inclined to recommend that as a hack.
Final thought: PPI's are useless for bile acid reflux. Wish I had some great suggestions for you but I wish your husband good luck in trying to find way to calm this down and maybe the Carrafate will help him.