6th December 2005
Bserchuk,
Please read this carefully because I'm not so sure you have been given the right information. First, are you clear on the difference between LPR and GERD? Was your Nissen performed for GERD or LPR? In terms of treatment and recovery, GERD and LPR are treaded with the same medications (PPIs), but if you have LPR, you MUST MUST MUST be on at least 2 doses a day, not 1 dose like GERD. When I got LPR, my doctor didn't recognize it as independent from GERD, told me I had "a little throat and larynx redness", and put me on 1 dose of Nexium a day. I was on it for 5 months and it did nothing. When I found a doctor who knew what she was talking about (bless you Eugenia Vining, ENT at Yale in New Haven), she inisisted that I take 2 doses a day, preferably at the same time. For the first time in 6 months, I stopped coughing - and it took about 20 minutes for me to feel better. In 1 week, I was completely back to normal except for the nasty Xanax addiction I had developed after a well-meaning doctor told me to take it 3 times a day to "calm down". Be careful with the Xanax! It is highly addictive when you take it every day. I became physically addicted to 3 mg a day (taken 1 mg 3 times per day) and I was totally and completely unable to wean myself from it, though I tried for weeks. It was not a mental addiction - it was purely physical and I recognized for what it was - I had gotten "hooked" after 2 months of using it. Against my doctors advice, I voluntarily checked myself into a detox center, no joke, because my body freaked out every time I tried to stop taking the Xanax. The center thought it was a joke too, because everyone else there had long-term, heavy drug and alcohol problems. The center actually told me to leave after 2 days because I didn't have a serious enough problem. Nonetheless, I still had to take Depakote, which is an anti-seizure medication, for 6 weeks which prevents seizures when coming off a benzo like Xanax. Your cough has nothing to do with your being anxious or worried or not calm enough. If you are coughing or have a sore throat, you probably have a nasty case of LPR and need to increase your PPI dosage. I have tried several PPIs, and effectiveness differs dramtically. On Nexium 2x per day, I have 95% recovery, which is quite livable. I still cough after eating, but it's manageable. I substitued Priolosec OTC for Nexium for 3 months, and the LPR came roaring back. Not a good substitute. Back to Nexium. I also tried a variety of the other prescription PPIs, which also failed to contain the LPR. I have read of instances where LPR patients require 3 or 4 doses a day - 2 may not be completely effective, mostly because one dose of PPI lasts 17 hours - it is truly not a 24 hour medication, but most people don't notice the other 7 hours when they are sleeping, or they stagger the doses - one in the morning and one at night.
Physical Xanax addiction can also cause a horrible sense of hearing your heart beat loudly - so loudly that you can't sleep or focus. And the only way to stop it is to take more Xanax. You've been warned. It's a great drug if you just need it occasionally, but it is an addictive ***** if you take it every day. I got started on it because I had been coughing for 4 months, and did not have a proper diagnoses. My family inisted I see a psychiatrist, thinking that it was a mental condition. The psychiatriest thought I had anxiety and gave me the 3x a day prescription. It couldn't have been more wrong or more debilitating.
Please email me if you want to talk about this. I'm a woman, and was 28 when this occured.
Please read this carefully because I'm not so sure you have been given the right information. First, are you clear on the difference between LPR and GERD? Was your Nissen performed for GERD or LPR? In terms of treatment and recovery, GERD and LPR are treaded with the same medications (PPIs), but if you have LPR, you MUST MUST MUST be on at least 2 doses a day, not 1 dose like GERD. When I got LPR, my doctor didn't recognize it as independent from GERD, told me I had "a little throat and larynx redness", and put me on 1 dose of Nexium a day. I was on it for 5 months and it did nothing. When I found a doctor who knew what she was talking about (bless you Eugenia Vining, ENT at Yale in New Haven), she inisisted that I take 2 doses a day, preferably at the same time. For the first time in 6 months, I stopped coughing - and it took about 20 minutes for me to feel better. In 1 week, I was completely back to normal except for the nasty Xanax addiction I had developed after a well-meaning doctor told me to take it 3 times a day to "calm down". Be careful with the Xanax! It is highly addictive when you take it every day. I became physically addicted to 3 mg a day (taken 1 mg 3 times per day) and I was totally and completely unable to wean myself from it, though I tried for weeks. It was not a mental addiction - it was purely physical and I recognized for what it was - I had gotten "hooked" after 2 months of using it. Against my doctors advice, I voluntarily checked myself into a detox center, no joke, because my body freaked out every time I tried to stop taking the Xanax. The center thought it was a joke too, because everyone else there had long-term, heavy drug and alcohol problems. The center actually told me to leave after 2 days because I didn't have a serious enough problem. Nonetheless, I still had to take Depakote, which is an anti-seizure medication, for 6 weeks which prevents seizures when coming off a benzo like Xanax. Your cough has nothing to do with your being anxious or worried or not calm enough. If you are coughing or have a sore throat, you probably have a nasty case of LPR and need to increase your PPI dosage. I have tried several PPIs, and effectiveness differs dramtically. On Nexium 2x per day, I have 95% recovery, which is quite livable. I still cough after eating, but it's manageable. I substitued Priolosec OTC for Nexium for 3 months, and the LPR came roaring back. Not a good substitute. Back to Nexium. I also tried a variety of the other prescription PPIs, which also failed to contain the LPR. I have read of instances where LPR patients require 3 or 4 doses a day - 2 may not be completely effective, mostly because one dose of PPI lasts 17 hours - it is truly not a 24 hour medication, but most people don't notice the other 7 hours when they are sleeping, or they stagger the doses - one in the morning and one at night.
Physical Xanax addiction can also cause a horrible sense of hearing your heart beat loudly - so loudly that you can't sleep or focus. And the only way to stop it is to take more Xanax. You've been warned. It's a great drug if you just need it occasionally, but it is an addictive ***** if you take it every day. I got started on it because I had been coughing for 4 months, and did not have a proper diagnoses. My family inisted I see a psychiatrist, thinking that it was a mental condition. The psychiatriest thought I had anxiety and gave me the 3x a day prescription. It couldn't have been more wrong or more debilitating.
Please email me if you want to talk about this. I'm a woman, and was 28 when this occured.