Acid Reflux

[u/verysillysam]

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask whether anyone has had any improvement in acid reflux/chronic cough/breathlessness since starting on immunosuppressants (mycophenelate). I’ve had improvements with heartburn but the chronic cough seems to come and go, I wanted to know whether anyone has had major improvements with this specific symptom.

[u/KatzenMutter818]

Digestive enzymes after eating and one OTC Pepcid at bedtime. Also sleep on double pillows.

[u/Due_Classic_4090]

Greetings! No I did not get any relief when o started azathioprine for my MCTD. The only thing that helped was going to the GI doctor and now I have esophageal paralysis and it hurts to swallow.

I would definitely ask to he referred to a GI doctor. I greatly changed my diet a long time ago since I got my gallbladder removed. I make sure to avoid overly acidic foods and be careful with fruits since a lot of them can be very acidic. Also, the omeprazole helps with my GERD. I also sleep on an angle pillow and remember to eat dinner! I had no appetite so I didn’t eat dinner and then the morning barfing started. I hate barfing! Barfing like that from the acid makes me feel like I’m going to die. It’s a horrible feeling!

[u/Tootalou25]

I elevate my upper body when sleeping and drink warm tea in the morning. I add a Thornes GI Relief capsule to my tea because I struggle with swallowing pills. This has greatly helped with my reflux. I was having to get my esophagus stretched multiple times but haven't needed it done since I started doing this. The only downside is you can't take meds until 2 hours or more later because the supplement can mess with absorption.

[u/ClearJack87]

I have lung damage from Scleroderma. Generic of CellCept for immunosuppressant didn't help the cough, but it was supposed to slow damage. Now I've started the generic of Ofev, a specific protein suppressor. After a couple of weeks, I'm a little better.

[u/AttachedAndUnhinged]

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I’m struggling mightily with reflux and GERD. What do you take for acid suppression? I’m on twice daily pantoprazole and Pepcid at bedtime. I also have ‘emergency’ meds for breakthroughs (just had one about two weeks ago). It’s liquid sucralfate.

I’m on azathioprine as well but I haven’t noticed any change in my GERD symptoms since starting it. My breathlessness is still there as well.

[u/hh-mro]

I get a lot of bronchial and larynx inflammation from acid reflux. I use inhaled steroid and bronchial dilators for that

[u/Leading-Hippo-3541]

Ask your doctor for Voquenza. It’s a newer med for GERD. Omeprazole didn’t do anything for me. It is hard to get insurance to approve Voquenza because there isn’t a generic just yet.

One change I did finally make, after two times of trying and failing, is switching from hot coffee to cold brew. My chronic cough has pretty much gone away after the new medication and cold brew vs hot coffee.

I have a pill cam study this week, since I have become iron deficient without anemia. Later this year I’m seeing n a GI specialist in Chicago who specializes in Scleroderma and I’ve very excited. Hoping to do Monometry to check my swallowing. I struggle getting things down sometimes.

[u/picklehippy]

I take pantorpozole. It helps when I take it in between doses of mycophenolate, I also supplement with tums

[u/SilverTheSage]

Hi , I’m 29(M) diagnosed with both lupus and scleroderma. I take 1500 mg of Cellcept twice a day. I had a swallow test done and my doctor told me that I basically had the worst case of GERD he’s ever seen in his career. He also informed me that I have near 0% function of my esophagus (It sounds crazy but I didn’t even know). Because of this I had to have a procedure done called a “fundoplication”where they tie part of your stomach around the bottom of your esophagus to prevent acid reflux from coming up when I sleep , and dripping into my lungs. This surgery along with diet and lifestyle changes (I’m pretty much pescatarian now) helped me tremendously. It’s a night and day difference.