For many months, I felt like I had a golf ball stuck in my throat. I couldn’t sit in a quiet room without the side eye from onlookers while I cleared my throat and coughed. The throat pain drove me to the doctor so many times only to be told it was inflammed, but it wasn’t strep or the dreaded throat cancer. I would go weeks with a sore throat. The burning tongue and ear pain. Chronic laryngitis. It was all just TOO MUCH.
After researching for months ~ I was like a sponge for information ~ I started to make progress trying new things. Clearly, the doctors weren’t going to fix this. Pushing useless and *dangerous* PPIs and sending me off to other specialists. I went from ENT to Gastroenterologist and back and forth and back and forth.
Here are a few of the best things I found over the years that have helped to almost 100% heal my LPR and keep those awful symptoms at bay.
Gaia Brand Reflux Relief. These little nuggets are gold! For about 3 months, I never left my house without them. They are WAY safer and more natural than Tums which contain toxic heavy metals. They contain organic herbs such as marshmallow root, aloe and licorice, all which are known to help soothe the gut and heal the esophagus. https://www.amazon.com/Gaia-Herbs-Reflux-Relief-Tablets/dp/B0055TIC1K
Slippery Elm. It’s a powder that I stir into my morning yogurt. It helps coat the esophagus and as a demulcent, it soothes anything it touches. It can help reduce the inflammation in your throat too. It helped rid the dreaded laryngitis. You can find lozenges, but those often contain other ingredients, so I prefer the clean powder.
Digestive Enzymes. As I progressed on the healing path, I realized that part of my problem (debilitating stomach aches, gas, and heartburn) were due in part to digestive issues after eating. My body wasn’t properly digesting the food and therefore, I wasn’t getting the nutrients my body deserved! I had white spots on my nails, B12 deficiencies, indigestion, pain, gas. It was awful. Instead of blocking acid, like the docs want with PPIs, I worked to support my digestion instead. Herb Pharm’s Better Bitters are my go to now before every meal! I also include bitter foods like arugula with almost every meal.
Celery Juice. That’s right, I jumped on the bandwagon. Skeptical at first, but wow! It’s a natural HCL builder so it increases stomach acid, which in turn, improves digestion and reduces gas, belching and stomach pain after eating. I noticed less belly bloat and I hardly burp any more which is tantamount since I burped literally all. the. time! I had a hard time digesting the celery juice at first, but now my body craves 16oz every morning. Side bonus – clearer skin! If you can’t tolerate celery juice, you can also take Betaine HCL with high protein meals. I just didn’t find that to be as effective.
Manuka Honey. Pricey, but so worth it! Manuka Honey helps with reflux symptoms by coating the stomach and esophagus and helps to heal the tissue damage caused by the refluxed pepsin. That’s right – when you burp with indigestion and reflux, you are literally burping up noxious and acidic gases into your throat, mouth, sinuses and esophagus. Ouch! Make sure to find a UMF of 16+. If you have SIBO or other bacterial overgrowth, this honey is antibiotic in nature so it possibly can help there too.
Sleeping Wedge. Sleeping on an incline has been a game changer. You want at least 8″ and it also helps to sleep on your left side. Your stomach is on the left so when you sleep on your left, the contents of your stomach can’t creep back up your throat while sleeping. It takes a bit to get used to it, but it’s very helpful! Along this topic, it’s also really important not to invert or lay down for 3 hours after your last meal. Again, a big game changing tactic!
Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free. It’s a lot, but this is a good idea to help your gut heal and reduce inflammation. Dairy and gluten increase gut inflammation and are a good place to start when changing your diet. After 3.5 years, I have personally decided not to go back to either. Dairy increases inflammation which increases mucus production so I found cutting that out for good was incredibly healing for my throat. Gluten is inflammatory and especially hard to digest for those of us who suffered with IBS and histamine intolerance. Grains are hard to digest so when you’re first healing your gut, it’s a very soothing tactic to remove them. I’ve since added back in consciously selected grains that are easy to digest – millet, oats, sprouted quinoa and on occasion, jasmine rice.
Alkaline Water. At first, I was drinking like 3 bottles of alkaline water a day. I bought the alkaline water drops only to realize they had nasty chemicals and buffering agents that I just didn’t want in my body. While the alkalinity helped to reduce the active pepsin roaming freely in my esophagus and throat, it was counterproductive as the unintended consequence was a loss of natural HCL in my stomach thus decreasing my own ability to digest food. I switched to simply gargling if I feel burning in my mouth or throat and this was so key – personal breathing treatments with alkaline water. The personal humidifier gets the alkaline water droplets into your sinus cavity as well. This is the one I love by Vicks!
Breath Work. And I mean the “work” part. It’s not passive. Changing our breathing practice takes practice. It wasn’t until I started practicing breathwork and meditation taht I realized I was atually holding my breath all day, while writing emails, working, and during other activities. I started cocnsciously breathing into my diapghram (the muscle above your stomach) and that helped to downregulate my overactive nervous system and helped to heal my vagus nerve. I started with 3 minutes in the morning and 3 minutes in the evening of conscious diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Now, I do it all the time – sitting, driving, cooking, whatever. Give yourself big belly breaths to slow down and stimulate your vagus nerve. More on the vagus nerve to come, but ultimately it is intrinsically connected to our digestive systems. If you haven’t heard of her – check out Tama Galactica’s content and youtube videos on breathing techniques for acid reflux.
Another great one to check out is Wim Hof’s breathing techniques for lung capacity, stress reduction and the immune system.
This is all just a start. Meditation is such a beneficial tool for any health condition and since reflux is often triggered by stress and not just food, it’s imperative for healing.
Supplements. B12, DGL, D3, Melatonin, D-Limonene
B12 – most people with LPR and reflux are deficient in B12 as when digestion is interrupted so too are the body’s ability to manufacture and use B12. I recommend a sublingual, methylcobalmin B12 supplement.
D3 – Very important for the same reasons. We often are deficient in D3 as a society and in LPR, low D3 levels can affect the functioning of the esophageal sphincter. For this reason I also recommend melatonin as it works to tone the esophageal sphincter and improves gastric motility. It’s also a free radical scavenger!
DGL – These chewable tablets have anti-inflammatory properties that are used for reflux and ulcers/gastritis.
D-Limonene – This is essentially citrus peel extract. D Limonene is supposed to work by protecting the esophagus and throat from damage. It promotes healing in the throat (through delicious orange flavored burps) and also has anti-cancer properties.
These are just a few ideas. As I am writing this, I am already thinking of 10 more! Ginger Tea, Zinc L-Carnosine, and sodium alginate to name a few.
I hope this is helpful information and happy healing!