Reflux at night

So sorry you are still dealing with reflux.  I have also had worse hypoglycemia since my surgery.  Very difficult to keep that under control.  Are you sure the milk isn't the offender with the reflux?  I sleep on quite an incline, but I noticed if I have cereal with milk before bed I get bad reflux.  I stopped all milk products before bed and drink a glass of room temp flat ginger ale (sugar free) made with real ginger.  Fortunately, I can also eat crackers at night so I keep saltines or ritz crackers by my bed.  2 or 3 crackers help. They absorb the acid and bile.  UGH!  Thank God I haven't had reflux in a very long time now and have cut my omeprazole in half (only 20 mg morning and 20 mg at dinner).  I was taking 40 morning and 40 night for several years.  I also keep Maalox Multi-symptom tablets in my nightstand and take one or two if I need it.

Best wishes.  I do hope you can find a solution.  

I am writing to update you all on the reglan that I took for several days. I took myself off it due to low low sugars in the middle of the night, that my continues gluecose moniter would not read, they were below 40's. I contacted my gastro. Dr. and he wants to wait two weeks since the reflux has stopped, if it flairs up I will be going on Domperdone which is not FDA approved but can be made here in Massachusetts by a compound pharmacey. I will keep you all informed about this to try and help some of you.  Phil A.

Hi Phil,  The last time I met with my gastroenterologist, I was describing my eating patterns which include, like you, a little ice cream in the evening because it calms my stomach.  I also mentioned that if my stomach seem particularly irritated, I also took some Tum at bedtime.  She said it makes sense that the calcium from ice cream and Tums would calm the stomach, at least temporarily, but that calcium also stimulates the release of gastrin from the stomach and small intestine.  Gastrin is the hormone that is primarily responsible for stimulation of stomach acid.  So, after the direct acid nuetralizing effect of the calcium is exhausted there is a rebound of acid production a few hours later.  This rebound may coincide with these episodes of acid reflux in the middle of the night.  She cautioned against a lot of calcium-based products in the evening.

I have to admit that I still have a little ice cream most nights because if I am going to have trouble with the type of reflux that comes up to my mouth and aspirates to the lungs it comes shortly after I go to bed, not in the middle of the night.  However, at night if I do take an extra antacid I take Gaviscon instead of Tums now.  I also take Prilosec 40mg. 

I don't know if others have been cautioned on calcium products and rebounds of acid production in the night, but I thought I would mention it in case it seems worth trying. Rick

Hi Phil...just checked in on board today and saw this. We had Pat's domperidone compounded at the pharmacy in Beverly once when his dose was increased and I did not have enough. I usually sent the prescription off to one of the Canadian pharmacies because the cost was so much lower than having it compounded. It came from somewhere overseas (think the box usually shipped from Germany), and we never had any problems buying it this way.

Thanks for the note you posted on Pat's board in Erie where his family held a service for him. I was there in May and they wondered who some of the people were. I told them we had never met but you were one of our many online EC friends. Glad to see you are still rolling along here.

I was so happy to read your message and all the others posted on the board. I have not had any problems since I stopped eating a snack three hours prior to bed as instructed by my Doctor, working with me on my Hypoglycemia since surgery. I have been taking a glass of apple juice for my snack and it has been working great. I will be looking at alternative ways of dealing with this hypo, by looking into enzymes or supplements through health food stores. The domperidone is on hold unless things flare up again. Thank you for the great info which I will keep and pray I never need it. Again, thanks and please keep in touch.  Phil A.

I have a general comment concerning most posts I have read here and others when it relates to late-night reflux issues.  While all the doctors are so correct on putting us on some sort of incline to help keep the reflux down when we are trying to sleep, there has to be some things taken into consideration while you do this.  Using numerous pillows to arch your head up will over time cause neck and/or spine related pain , discomfort, and at times damage.  I had a full laryngectomy in 2008, and since then have found that medicines will work and then not work, pillows will work and then not work, an inclined bed works (but my poor wife was always holding on for dear life) but not always.  I have found in the past three and a half years the very best sleep I got was when I cut off all food and drink three hours before going to bed, with the exception of cold water, and sleeping in a recliner type chair that puts the body in somewhat of a u-shape.  It seemed I always had more reflux issues in the middle of the night if I had consumed some type of dairy product earlier that evening.  Lets face it, reflux amounts to burning acids that causes great discomfort and it tastes horrible as well.  While ice cream seems to eliminate some of the acidic feeling and taste, more times than not, at least in my personal case, it was actually causing a reflux issue later that night.  I replaced the ice cream with ice water and over time I don't miss the ice cream as much and I have fewer incidents.  Just thought I would give my two cents concerning reflux.  Good luck to everyone. 

Pat reacted to reglan but was able to take domperidone and it kept the reflux away. Domperidone does not cross blood brain barrier like reglan does, so the side effects are no longer an issue with it.