Acid and thick phlegm

Hi @ryman, what is this procedure called? And where do you receive your medical care?

Do you notice a difference with hydration or if you have a humidifier in the room where you sleep?

Thank you for your reply. Yes, we just switched from dehumidifier to humidifier and it does help. We havr a hospital in Bradford where I live and one about 20 miles away but the big hospitals are in Buffalo NY and Erie Pa, both over a hundred miles. I am sorry I don’t know the mame of the procedure. They inject botox into the lower esaphageal sphinter so it does not close so tightly. I had it done in Erie. For me, it made swallowing harder, and I have a lot of burping and movement in my throat. Of course, it lets more acid up for which I take Zantac twice a day. The acid is mixing with thick plegm which chokes me at night. I see my primary tomorrow.

Hello @ryman

This sounds like a very uncomfortable problem. I hope that you appointment with your PCP goes well.
Will you keep in touch and post a follow up as you feel comfortable doing so?

Hi @ryman,

Here is an article about endoscopic botulinum toxin (botox) injection for achalasia and other esophageal motility disorders:
– https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221317951400008X

I'm tagging @tryingtofindanswers @montgomery41 @leeross123 and @travelgirl to see if they have more insights that might help. @ryman, may I ask your reasons for not wanting to do the injections again?

I think my condition has been worse since the procedure. Which is reason enough but the hospital where I would have it done is two hours away. My grandson has to take a day off. And ,having dealt with the doctors and their staff, I no longer have confidence in them. I will read the article. Thank you so much. I need whatever help I can get. Meantime my primary messed up my prescription so I will run out of the Zantac before I get that straightened out or I will buy it out of pocket.

@ryman For what did you have the botox injection for? There are a lot of conditions it is used for. I have achalasia, but have never had botox done for it. I had to have a gastric bypass “with a twist” to fix a paraesophageal (sliding) hernia. I get a lot of the thick phlegm. They suggested I elevate the head of my bed. It does not help. I can sit in my recliner to sleep and still have it come into my throat.. and it is very difficult to cough up at times. They are surprised I have not aspirated.

Has anyone ever had regurgitation that chokes them. I have never had this before today. I do not have regurgitation, maybe once or twice just a tiny bit when bending over. I couldn’t swallow I couldn’t breathe for quite a bit. It was super scary.

That's a horrible experience!

I had pretty nasty reflux for years. More than once I woke up after aspirating stomach acid. Yecch!

When I got a CPAP for sleep apnea, the reflux went away.

Oh I’m glad you got relief!! I’m having the Bravo endoscopy soon, hopefully they will find my answer.

@sylvermoon8 I have experienced that! What eased it was raising the head of my bed with bed risers under the two top legs/casters of the bed.

Also, I stopped eating and drinking at 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. the latest - since I usually go to bed around midnight. I avoid any clothing that presses against my abdomen (even resting my hand/arm lightly on my abdomen can trigger reflux!) and I avoid doing anything that requires me to bend forward.

My husband did the vacuuming, sweeping and mopping for some years, but since he is not well now either, we have resorted to having a cleaning service once a month. It has been hard on our budget, but it has been money well spent. It’s a treat to go out when the cleaners arrive, and come home a couple of hours later to a clean house!