2024
In March I accidentally cut my tongue badly which was unpleasant and messy – ice cubes to the rescue. A week later all seemed to heal up but my tongue felt funny and then my throat. Chat with GP over the phone brings us to the conclusion that I probably have oral thrush, so I knock back a month’s supply of antibiotics in the hope of sorting things out.
By the end of April, it is obvious the normally ‘magic’ capsules haven’t performed, and my symptoms are not only increasing in number but in severity. For the first time in my life, I seem to have what I presume is gastric reflux along with heartburn that is so severe I imagine passersby rushing frantically towards my gut clutching fire extinguishers to smother the ‘flames’! Did I mention the dry sore throat, globus (lump at back of throat), unpleasant acidic taste, occasional earache plus dire nausea day and night, (the latter forcing me to sit up in bed giving me back ache). Over the next couple of months, I consume several different prescribed PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) in the hope of a reduction in symptoms, but to no avail.
I do my research and go on a GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) diet and eliminate, what seems like all pleasurable foods from my diet: alcohol, chocolate, tea, tomatoes, citric fruit, cake, onions, cheese, ice-cream and anything remotely spicy or sugary. I live off a beige coloured diet of mushroom soup, fish, chicken, spuds, melon, bananas and pears along with my two new best friends, Kefir and Gaviscon Advanced! It is bad news if you are a smoker, over-weight, a ready meals guzzler or like a regular tipple but I don’t fall into any of these categories so am baffled by my condition.
By June I’m a bit desperate for help especially with our annual holiday looming and reluctantly opt to see a gastroenterologist privately. A gastroscopy (for which I was mercifully ‘out for the count’) reveals I have a 2cm sliding hiatus hernia implying that my stomach must be protruding into my diaphragm! I survive our holiday by keeping to the colourless diet and only eating a third of what I normally would. Not a drop of alcohol passes my lips and I’m often hungry. Even water tastes decidedly weird.
Whilst moaning about my decline, by chance a friend mentions the IQoro mouthpiece device, a recent Swedish invention. This gadget claims to stimulate nerve pathways and the 148 gut muscles that, due to weakness, are often the cause of the problem. The IQoro mouthpiece device is like a dentist’s impression tray and when inserted into the mouth behind the lips and pulled outwards it supposedly exercises the bits we normally can’t reach! I do my research, read the many claims of final relief including escaping the PPI treadmill and wonder, apart from £145, what have I to lose? Although keyhole surgery for HH is possible, I’m getting the impression this is a last resort so I can only pray this pricey gadget does the job or a life of bland meal misery awaits me.
My consultant implies the next step would be to have a Bravo capsule test to measure the acidity of my gut over a few days, so I wait to be summoned for another gastroscopy. However, a three-month delay intervenes as this intention coincides with my much-awaited second hip replacement op in July and they won’t consider doing it until I’m well on the road to recovery. Even allowing for this, the light dawns that solving my gut issues will not be a quick fix.
For moral support, I find myself signing up to a useful Facebook page group: ‘Training with IQoro’. The shared experiences are useful though grim and confirm the slow tedious investigations to resolve, or at minimum, lessen symptoms. This group has a membership of a mere 5.5k which is, excuse the pun, difficult to swallow – heartening and depressing in equal measure. It seems my symptoms are classic and that I should persevere with my exercises even if it takes 6-8 months or more.
October’s gastroscopy Bravo capsule test surprisingly reveals that I don’t have true reflux despite having most of the similar symptoms, so I presume this means I’m suffering from laryngopharyngeal reflux, commonly known as silent reflux. Evidently it is the pepsin enzyme (which normally helps food digestion in the stomach) that is likely to be inducing the inflammation in my throat and oesophagus. This isn’t good news as I’ve read this can be even more difficult to resolve.
My gastroenterologist implies I’m bit of a mystery and refers me back to my GP for yet more blood and liver function tests. Having spent £4,700 in the last five months on treatment plus £300 on two Iqoro mouthpieces, the only consolation here is that I’m returning to free NHS treatment.
The more I delve into this common but unpleasant ailment, the more I realise that there is NOT a cure, and that self-help is the only answer. To name but a few obstacles:
- There is great controversy about PPIs in the medical world, anxiety about their long-term side-effects and they are normally considered ineffective for people with silent reflux.
- Although surgery is possible for hiatus hernias, gastroenterologists seem reluctant to offer this except in extreme cases as the hernia may re-occur in 6-7 years time.
- Dr Jonathan Aviv’s book ‘The Acid Watcher Diet’ is a revelation and has provided welcome relief to some of the 60 million Americans who suffer from acid reflux disease. He confirms that missed diagnoses and/or incorrect diagnoses occur very frequently and the journey is often relentless, costly and time-consuming. I don’t really want to hear this.
- Dr Aviv recommends 4 weeks strict low acidic diet to reduce inflammation followed by a 2 week healing period when some forbidden foods may be gradually introduced. Not surprisingly the diet consists primarily of a fish, chicken and vast quantity of fruit plus cooked and raw veg to provide the antioxidants. Conflicting advice abounds about certain foods – yogurt, bell peppers, peppermint, types of bread, the Mediterranean diet and foods to be avoided at all cost including the ill-advised Apple Cider Vinegar myth!
- Diaphragmatic breathing exercises are another healing gesture but I’m dubious as to how effective these really are and whether it is just another medical fob off to pacify frustrated patients. Another bizarre exercise, ‘The warm water fix’ for hiatus hernia involves drinking a pint of warm water first thing in the morning (to add weight to the stomach), standing on your toes before slamming back down on your heels, presumably to jolt everything back into position. (If nothing else, it will amuse your nearest and dearest!)
My plan of action is to keep to a strict diet of low acidic foods as much as possible and to persevere with the Iqoro mouthpiece daily exercises. I can see now why this gadget has been hailed such a saviour, replacing drugs and surgery for many sufferers. Indeed, Iqoro was awarded the prestigious Product of the Year award at the Bionow Awards in Manchester in March 2024, ironically the very month I developed my reflux problem!
International Reflux Day, a global annual initiative instituted by MYoroface AB, the company behind IQoro took place recently (Nov 2024). I watched a webinar from the company answering numerous questions for those of us with…… That Gut Feeling!
Watch this space……
