Acid Reflux Sleep

Q: In addition to mild Apnea, it appears that Acid Reflux is a big contributor to my sleep problems. I go to sleep fine, but apparently my stomach starts producing acid around 3 a.m., often waking me up by 5 or 6. I'm following Doc's general advice (eat small diner, before 7pm, no acidic foods for diner, take Prilosec, elevate head of bed, etc.) This helps some but I'm looking for more help. anybody else have same problems, suggestions? A tip I discovered: I usually wake about 4am to urinate. If I take 4 Rolaids at 4 am it seems to help a lot.

A:It may take a very long while for the prilosec to bring your acid reflux under control. In addition to sleep apnea, I also have a hiatal hernia, which occurs when part of your stomach pushes through the diaphragm. This is not uncommon and leads to very severe acid reflux symptons. Mine would wake me up at night and has the fun secondary benefit of mimicing common heart attack symptons (great for your anxiety). This could also be your problem, but can only be confirmed with an x-ray diagnosis (you'll get to drink some wonderful barium goop along the way). If you have had the reflux long enough, it can lead to an esophogeal erosion, which is essentially a burned area of the esophagus from all the acid. This can only be discovered with an endoscopy, where they run a little viewing probe down your esophagus (really not too bad). Prilosec or Prevacid are both effective in helping to bring this under control, but it has taken nearly 2 years to eliminate most of my symptoms. However, failure to recognize and control this can lead to severe scarring of your esophagus with further very nasty potential consequences. Everything you have done is critical. Be extremely careful about what you eat, especially after dinner. 2-4 double-strength Mylanta at bedtime or anytime you feel pain are very helpful. It's only been after 18 months of Prevacid/Prilosec therapy that I no longer need Mylanta daily.

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