Taking Tums

[Tiffykins 673]

Does a person always know if they have acid reflux? Now that I've experienced it, I can't imagine having it to a dangerous degree and not knowing it. But I'm wondering if, in your opinion, there can still be risk if you quit the meds because you are actually still experiencing reflux.

There is "silent reflux" that I've read limited material on, and yes, the risk of permanent esophagus damage is possible. Several people treat it symptomatically, only when they have symptoms, or take an H2 blocker or decrease their PPI dose to every other or every 3 days. Honestly, I don't have it bad enough to take meds every day that I know of. I actually never had real reflux, ever. Not pre-band, with my band or after my revision. I started getting these funky hunger pangs, this gnawing feeling in my stomach about an hour after i ate when I was around 6 weeks out. I asked a couple of vets who were a couple of years out and they said that acid could cause false hunger. I discussed it with my surgeon, he prescribed Prilosec 20mg once daily, and my hunger was resolved. Honestly, I'm petrified of hunger, and the few cases of breakthrough reflux I've had have made me downright miserable.

I would think there would be some symptom of reflux if a person was really suffering from it, but I can also see how it could go undiagnosed or even misdiagnosed/treated if it's a "new" thing for them. Luckily, I stuck myself to a couple of people who were a year or two further out from me, who were mentors in a sense, and they helped me through the first few months.