Acid Reflux & Breathing Issues

A little over a year ago my daughter, who was 5 at the time, used to complain frequently that she couldn't breathe. I noticed that it was especially bad after she had been running around a lot and also after eating. I thought she had some type of allergy so I took her to an allergist. They did a skin test on her back and tested her for all types of allergies. She didn't have a reaction to any of them. They determined that she had reflux and put her on generic Prevacid. That helped, but she hated the tast of the tablets. After about 3-4 months I let her stop taking them and she seemed to be better. The doctor said that he thought she would grow out of it and it seems like she has. She never really complains about not being able to breathe anymore.

I had it. I now take a probiotic and a prebiotic everyday. I also try to sleep propped up on pillows a bit (not flat) and I cured it 99%. The natural cure worked for me.

Also, pay attention to foods that might exacerbate the issue and try to avoid them until you have it under control.

I'd be very careful with medications like that over time - as others have said, there are serious side effects. Chiropractic can help some people - just check out the methods used and make sure the chiropractor does applied kinesiology or something similar, rather than really yanking and cracking the neck/back, as that method can create worse problems. You can also supplement with a food product made for children and possibly one for digestion - patented so proven safe, effective and unique. Patents are hard to get and therefore very few products have them (and I'm talking about a patent on the entire formula, not just one ingredient). Do not do pills - they are very hard on the digestive system and they aren't easily absorbed, usually 30% at the high end. I do a lot of this work and can recommend something for you. It's very hard to start taking things out of her diet because a) she's going to resist it and b) you have to wait weeks after eliminating each thing to see if that makes a difference. What I'm suggesting should give you quicker results and be much easier than cutting things out. You'd be giving her something to help her process what she's eating.

And I agree with the post that said earaches can be caused by reflux - that sort of thing sends everybody to the ENT when the problem is in her gut. And you're already spending money on appointments and medications and tests, without getting results.

All my boys had acid reflux really bad. I didn't notice any breathing issues from it though. My boys were on zantac as infants. I tried a product called ultimate aloe juice and they are all off their meds because of it. Aloe heals the digestive track just like it does the skin when you get a burn. Not all aloe juices are the same though so be careful. Some have lanoline and will cause diareah. The one I use does not. It also super charges their immune system and keeps them healthy. My kids like the strawberry kiwi, tasted like a freeze pop. Here's a link if you would like more info.

http://bit.ly/SzN6FH

Good luck.
:)

I know I get this myself, if my reflux is really bad, I feel like I can't take a full breath- it sucks and it's kind of scary.

We also had a little girl on our basketball team that had this. She would have to sit out sometimes because the reflux made it difficult to breathe during the game. She did the prevacid as well and I believe it helped.

I take zantac and find it works just great, and I only take it as needed. Also, as others mentioned, make sure to raise the head of her bed. Super helpful.

Please look back at my recent questions. I just went through this myself (not my child). I had a cough so bad I couldn't talk or walk long distances. I spent a lot of money on asthma medication to "see if it helped." I finally self treated with Prilosec OTC and watched my diet for a few days and ta-da, the cough started to go away. It's been a long road, I'm on a coupld perscription drugs, and it has taken months to feel 100%. I had endoscopy and all that was detected was gastritis indicative of mild acid reflux disease. The GI doc told me sometimes the acid can get so bad, that it backs up into the bronchi and honestly affects breathing. As well, the acid can cause a gag like reflex (feels like you have something stuck in your throat) and that can cause coughing too.

I don't know if tha tis what you are facing with your daughter, but it is certainly a possibility. The main thing they would probably worry about is finding the root cause, because long term reflux can cause precancerous conditions - not that she probably would worry about that until adulthood, but years and years of even mild reflux could set her up for problems as an adult.

I should add - I had very minor symptoms of reflux. I only really noticed that I had an occasional sour stomach or mild indigestion after the cough came on. I might never have thought about acid reflux without the cough drawing my attention to it.

For me, they did an endoscopy to look for precancerous changes (not knowing how long I had reflux) and also took samples to look for infection (H pylori). Additionally, they wanted to make sure I didn't have a hernia or ulcers. All these things, at least in adults, can bring on reflux symptoms. I don't know how they might treat or diagnose a child. I know an endoscopy woudl be scary - I was scared - but it was ultimately really simple and reassuring to know I was okay.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm the of an 8 year old girl too. I imagine how hard it is not to know what the problem is. It's good GI issues were brought to your attention and in my experience is a likely cause.

PS - I avoid fatty, greasy, and carbonated foods which are my triggers for indigestion, sleep with an extra pillow to elevate my head, and take Protonics and another medication to coat my stomach (sucra-somthing or other). I am weaning off the meds to see if I do okay. I also don't eat about 4 hours before bedtime.

Yep, I have this exact problem.. no telling how long I have had this.. They discovered it last year..

You do want to get this under control. I have a friend that had to have surgery.. The lining in her throat would become so inflamed, she could hardly breath..

I am on a prescription Previcid and do watch my diet..

One of my daughters has reflux and her symptoms include breathing difficulty. She gets tired often, has less stamina than her twin sister and also gets a lot of hiccups. We've tried pretty much everything (including Prevacid - which is great in the short run but AWFUL if taken for a few months in children), but what works is a combination of simple lifestyle changes and chiropracty.

If you want to try what worked for us... first, raise the head of her bed. That means stick a folded up sleeping bag under the mattress where her pillow is. Then, make sure she eats dinner at least two hours before laying down. Have breakfast and lunch be large meals, but dinner is somewhat smaller. No after dinner snacks. Ideally, my daughter would eat six small meals a day - we can tell that works best, but it just doesn't work with a school schedule. Then we cut out all tomato products and most diary. She still gets some cheese and yogurt, but no milk or ice cream.

My daughter goes to the chiropractor about every two months. Some kids only need to go a few times and then they're "cured" but for us, the reflux is an ongoing battle. It is absolutely obvious when we let too long of a time pass between appointments, because she'll complain about a sore stomach or seem extra tired. The minute she leaves the chiropractor she feels all better.

Good luck to you and your daughter! Even if you want to keep up the Prevacid for awhile (but please research the side effects!), try the bed thing too. It really helps.

I don't have any info regarding children and this issue. But I had a flare up myself a few years ago (never had had heartburn or reflux before... but man, when it came on, it was terrible). Anyway.... during the few days that my symptoms were the most bothersome, I did notice some breathing stuff, too.
For whatever that is worth.
My doctor prescribed Prilosec OTC for me. I used it for about 2 months (?) and really haven't had any issues or problems since. There are side effects with these kinds of medications, though, so make sure you read about them and ask questions of your doctor.

I actually have that! When it first started I thought I was having a heart attack. Mine comes and goes. I also get an earache from it as well as shoulder pain sometimes. Weirdly, never the feeling of heartburn. That makes diagnosis tricky as many docs don't really understand this. I would go to the specialist. You need someone with current knowledge on best practice for this. Longterm use of acid reducers can be dangerous. I took myself off of them because of that and only go back when symptoms strike.
BEsides diet changes you can raise her bed up at the head. This is supposed to realy help. Using pillows doesn't work-you have to actually raise the bed. Also make sure that she is eating slowly and chewing her food well.