Posted by Noa on September 24, 1999, at 13:24:48
In reply to Re:nightime gastric reflux?, posted by dj on September 24, 1999, at 2:23:56
reflux is awful. It can be a problem independent of apnea, and can be a source of sleep problems. For me it was caused by the apnea.
reflux is when stomach acid comes up the esophagus, due to a loosening of the muscle tone of the sphincter muscle at the opening of the stomach. This is Hydrochloric Acid, strong stuff, and it BURNS LIKE HELL. You might feel severe heartburn, and burning in the back of your throat, or sour taste. It can make you gag or choke. Apparently it also causes the chords of the larynx to react protectively by spasming (is this a verb?) closed, which makes you feel like you are REALLY CHOKING. I would have this and feel like I would never breathe again, absolutely no air going in or out, unable to get it open. I would panic, and say to myself, this is it, this is the time, I'm checking out for real this time. It would probably only last a few seconds, but it would seem like minutes. I learned from a respiratory therapist that I would not have choked. The vocal chord spasms are an acute reaction and the spasm ends. Afterwards, my throat would be scratchy and it would feel like I still had acid caught there, and I would cough for about an hour, until it cleared enough to feel like I was breathing freely. BTW, if the meds you are on might be causing low muscle tone, this might be an alternative possibility, rather than apnea caused by lowered tone.
poster:Noa
thread:11950
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/12003.html