What a day - Hercules hangers save my butt again

[Mixstar]

Me, too. But did you see that they are now thinking it can lead to dementia and Alzheimer's? Just what I need. I'm already spacey enough.

[offtopic~drift] I'm not being funny, the way it was at the time I would have swapped dementia for heartburn, I've broken bones and had gout (serious OW!!) that have been less painful. Anyway, as you age, dementia is a not an impossibility for any of us so keep the faith with spacey, the less you know the better as far as I'm concerned. [/offtopic~drift]

 

[Dusty Chalk]

This is no "just avoid Mexican food and chili dogs" kind of heartburn, it gnaws frequently without rhyme or reason.

It still might be a food allergy or sensitivity. Lactose intolerance? Have you tried fasting, living on just water and tea and maybe something completely benign like oatmeal for two weeks (and then something else entirely like lettuce, just in case it was the oatmeal)? And / or seeing an allergist and/or nuitritionist...?

I only mention this because I found out I was allergic to beer in 2013, and it wasn't just a matter of giving it up for a day -- I had to stop drinking for several days before I noticed my allergy symptoms going away.

Anyway, food for thought.

 

[andy474x]

It still might be a food allergy or sensitivity. Lactose intolerance? Have you tried fasting, living on just water and tea and maybe something completely benign like oatmeal for two weeks (and then something else entirely like lettuce, just in case it was the oatmeal)? And / or seeing an allergist and/or nuitritionist...?

I only mention this because I found out I was allergic to beer in 2013, and it wasn't just a matter of giving it up for a day -- I had to stop drinking for several days before I noticed my allergy symptoms going away.

Anyway, food for thought.

That's interesting. For a while, I was having problems with anything with barley malt in it.

It's tough to do a diet like that with my wife, not that she's against it in principle, but she doesn't want to be the only one eating real food. And we've all seen our woman get hungry... yikes! She does want to diet more, so maybe that's my opportunity.

 

[kes7u]

Have you had a 24 hr pH study done yet? (Tube from nose into stomach, stays in place for 24 hrs, horrible experience). This will help to determine whether you have pathologic reflux, or perhaps simply an exaggerated response, vs other possible etiology of symptoms. This would be your next step, if not, and would certainly precede any thoughts of surgery. This would also assess the functioning of your Gastroesophageal junction prior to possible Nissen or LINX type surgery.

Please keep in mind that LINX is such a new procedure, and your very young age, and it not entirely clear what to expect over the long term.

I am speaking from both professional and personal experience (unfortunately...!)

I am also on Protonix and sleep with a wedge type pillow. I was not fat, but had developed a bit of a belly. Not sure how much that contributed to my symptoms, but I lost that weight and my symptoms are significantly better.

Kevin

 

[Dusty Chalk]

It's tough to do a diet like that with my wife, not that she's against it in principle, but she doesn't want to be the only one eating real food. And we've all seen our woman get hungry... yikes! She does want to diet more, so maybe that's my opportunity.

Oh, believe me, it's tough doing something like that even if your eating habits don't depend on anyone else like mine don't -- but health needs to come first. I also found out I have a sensitivity to peppers -- not just hot peppers, but even regular green bell peppers. I still eat them, because I love them, but my reaction is mild enough ("sensitivity", not "allergy", according to my allergist) that I can just pop an extra strength Tums immediately after and I'm fine, but I have a bed that will allow me to angle up that I need to start using, because it does indeed help. I don't want to go like Bonham!

 

[CantankerousCarl]

Hey Andy - sucks about the basement, glad the PRSes are safe, and sincerely wish you well with your health issues. I've had moderate reflux over the years, and although it's not super painful and disruptive like yours, when combined with some of my anxiety issues, the symptoms were WAY too heart-attack-like for comfort. The little purple pill, and a radically changed diet, have helped. Complete cold-turkey on the caffeine was required, which was brutal at first. Even decaf has enough caffeine to bring on symptoms for me, but I can fit in a small piece of dark chocolate here and there without too much pain.

The lifestyle change has been a bit tough with the wife, but the kids are young and have been actually really supportive, and I have noticed my "good habits" rubbing off on them, which is a nice side effect. I eat what I need to, substitute or skip some things, get some dirty looks etc. sometimes from the wife - but at the end of the day, we're not much good to anyone if we're not around, eh?

I did find that my reflux symptoms were much more closely tied to my anxiety than anything else (which is probably why the caffeine has such an effect). Once I got that under control, things got much better. I hope you get to the root cause of what's ailing you soon! We're here when you need to vent.

 

[toothace]

Google "Eppworth Sleepiness Scale", print one, and fill it out. PM me if your score is over 10

 

[The Fight]

Man I hear you about that chronic acid reflux, runs in my family, from my moms side. I get it sometimes but not in the way I'm sure you do. But any how my mom almost died a few times from the result of that. sucks..
I remember I once hurt my back at work and they told me I had to take a bunch of ibuprofen for the pain. Well I was taking it daily and it reacted with my back upper portion of my stomach, making me think my back was acting up, when in reality it what's my stomach. I was taking more ibuprofen to deal with the pain, when it hit me that it was my stomach.
Any how totally understand and can sympathize with you. I hope you feel better and find the desire to play daily.
Also must admit that chair is awesome!