"Silent" GERD

[Pete]

When I had my last flare in January, I had persistent hiccups (several hours at a time) that were only relieved when I was laying flat on my stomach or sleeping. When I had a CT scan done then, my pulmonologist noted a significant "gas bubble" in my stomach. It may have been irritating my diaphragm and causing the hiccups. He has referred me to a gastro this Friday to be evaluated for "Silent GERD". Anybody have any experience with this phenomenon? I am asymptomatic for GERD otherwise. I'm taking a prilosec (40 mg) each day.

Thanks,

Pete

[Al]

When I had my last flare in January, I had persistent hiccups (several hours at a time) that were only relieved when I was laying flat on my stomach or sleeping. When I had a CT scan done then, my pulmonologist noted a significant "gas bubble" in my stomach. It may have been irritating my diaphragm and causing the hiccups. He has referred me to a gastro this Friday to be evaluated for "Silent GERD". Anybody have any experience with this phenomenon? I am asymptomatic for GERD otherwise. I'm taking a prilosec (40 mg) each day.

I am also asymptomatic, Pete, but my pulmo noted that the last CT scan shows a worsening hiatal hernia, which could lead to reflux issues, silent or otherwise. GERD is a bad idea for anyone with lung disease. I have managed matters heretofore with watching diet and timing of meals.

Al

[drz]

I guess I have had both. Many times it is very apparent and noticeable when I have trouble swallowing and pressure builds up in chest and is very painful. I have had episodes where I crawled on the floor because of the pain. Before my diagnosis of GERD I went for scope and found I had lots of scar tissue damage from GERD but wasn't aware I had the problem till then. i found I have to take 40 mg of Protonix twice a day to control it. Last scope early this year indicated things were good with no new scarring. One aunt died from a ruptured hiatal hernia at lunch a half hour after the doctor told her she had recovered enough to make their annual trip south for the winter. Another colleague had a extensive surgery to remove and repair much of tissue damage by the acid reflux so it is a serious matter that needs to be monitored closely I think.

[Sangye]

A hiatal hernia can be corrected in about 15 seconds by a chiropractor certified in Applied Kinesiology. There are extremely rare cases when the esophagus is congenitally malformed-- shorter than normal-- and it cannot be corrected at all. Exceedingly rare, so don't count on being one of them.

Correcting a HH is standard in an AK practice. It's a main cause of colic in babies. Left uncorrected the child becomes the kid with a sensitive stomach-- maybe gets stomach bugs a lot, or the one who gets nauseous or barfs when stressed. Then they become the adult with GERD. GERD can also develop as an adult, but we see this pattern from childhood very often.

Also, a HH will cause shallow respiration, since the stomach is preventing the expansion of the diaphragm. Among the hundreds of HHs that I've treated, there were 2 severe cases of respiratory distress caused by it. One was a newborn who had to be kept on oxygen but no one could find the reason for his respiratory difficulty. Even on oxygen he was grey, lethargic and unresponsive. The other was a 60 yr old woman who'd had severely impaired respiration and could never exercise since childhood. Both were resolved within a minute. Literally. The baby turned pink instantly and never had problems again. (He went on to become quite a child genius, actually). The woman became a heavy-duty exercise fiend.

Unless you're on a medication that causes increased stomach acid like pred, acid-blockers are a very bad thing.

[Al]

Thank for this info, Sangye. I do not have a regular chiropractor, but my naturopath shares an office with one. I will see what he knows.

I do not have any overt GERD symptoms, but there is the pred problem, so I have to evaluate probabilities.

Al

[Pete]

Went to the gastro on Friday. He has taken me off prilosec in advance of a pH Probe that I'll have for 24 hours on June 26-27 and an endoscopy in September. He was not concerned about the gas bubble at all and felt that I probably don't have GERD due to lack of current or prior symptoms.

Pete