Gerd And Breathing

[BernieB]

I have been having periods of shortness of breath. My thought was allergies. My primary care doctor suspects that it is becuase of reflux. I am SC for GERD/IBS. What do I need to do if my breathing problem is related to reflux? Is that a secondary condition?

[teabeeyea]

The PFT test to me is useless for treatment. The VA nurse ask me not long ago " have you ever had a pulmonary function test" I said I have had many but why do you ask and why does it matter, she said the computer told me to ask. I said oh I see. It is for diagagnotic reasons but otherwise as I said it is useless in treatment. I guess the test only indicates if you need treatment and possible what type treatment. Gerd goes along with PTSD, COPD, Sleep Apnea, no doubt.

I hope this and the site helps.

[BernieB]

I do have problems with hoarseness. It feels like I have foam/stuff down in my windpipe. I clear my throat a lot. My teeth are OK. I'll ask my dentist about my gums. Never sang a lick. But I really can't yell anymore. Some folks would says that's a good thing. No voice box pain to think of. Thank you.

[BernieB]

I apologize for the delay in getting back. It has taken this long to get a tentative diagnosis. My primary care doctor says I have asthma. What level, I don't know. He didn't say if I have COPD. Nothing worse than that. He said it is too soon to say if this was caused by GERD, but won't rule it out. Any suggestions?

[danang_1969]

There are many preventative things that can be done in attempting to prevent an asthma attack or a COPD exacerbation. Stress, Pollen, dust, smoke, chemicals, strong odors of any kind is all A trigger for an asthma attack. I would say if you have been diagnosed with asthma that you definitely need an bronchial dilator inhaler, with asthma or COPD. Educate yourself on all the info you can find and stay with the doctors until you get it all figured out. I am glad to hear it was no worse than it was and that's bad enough. I have heard doctors say that a person is born with asthma, if so, did you have during military service?

[Stretch]

Just to separate this from Gerd.

Costochondritis:

I have this. It is at the costol junction of the inner ribs. It is an inflamation of the rib cartilage there. I got mine after loading 500 lb bombs. Sickbay got 4 guys to hold me down and injected cortizone right in the junction. I picked up two big guys with my feet when the needle went in.

After the shoot I couldn't feel the pain anymore and was right back up loading bombs. The cortizone directly injected works great. It is also a very painful way to go.

I have had flair ups of the condtion for many years, but never as bad as it was on the flight deck.

[Pete53]

Lisinopril causes a lot of breathing and coughing problems. Its a much cheaper med than what I am on now Losartin or Cosarr is brand name. A friend of mine gets it from Canada for $ 200 bucks for 90 day supply. It has worked but not as good control as Lisinopril

I guess that I should be grateful that I am getting this one. I could not sleep with all the coughing and hacking which has cleared up by the way.