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I'm following the diet in the book Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure (by Koufman et al). It's a phased diet, with an "induction" phase that is super cautious followed by a more flexible maintenance phase. This is because if you have damage to your esophageal sphincters (and other tissues) from reflux, they won't function as well at blocking reflux, and the downward spiral will continue. In addition to suppressing acid production in your stomach it's important to cut acid intake from your food, because any source of acid can activate pepsin, an enzyme that is deposited on your tissues during reflux.

Dr. Koufman's 2011 journal paper, with a summary of the diet, is available here: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000348941112000501

I found this stuff after my diagnosis of LPR. I don't have heartburn or esophagitis but I have had a series of awful sinus infections for months and I think LPR is the major underlying cause, as my allergies are minor. There is some background on LPR and GERD in the Dropping Acid book, but I'd also recommend her book The Chronic Cough Enigma for a more thorough look at how reflux and airway disorders are connected.

I've really tried to limit snacking but the snacks I feel pretty good about are bananas, celery, and rice cakes. Rice cakes come in a lot of flavors. I really love food and cooking and it has been pretty depressing cutting back on all that, but if I can manage this issue (and ideally, not depend on meds for it long-term) then it will be well worth it.

Sure - I struggled with post nasal drip and mucus in my throat for years, and my doctors all insisted it was allergies. I took about 5 allergy medicines at once: Singulair, Allegra, Flonase, Bepreze (eye drops) and some other nose spray I don't recall now, and felt no relief. I can't believe they STILL insisted it was allergies, but they did. Finally, I started having heartburn mid last year. Well, technically I had experienced heartburn plenty of times in the past, but I started having it very regularly. And stomach pains. Super long story, but got tested for h. pylori, was positive, treated it, eradicated it, did nothing to help my symptoms. Had an endoscopy, mild chronic gastritis, mild esophagitis, neither of which concerned the doctors as they said just about anyone going in is going to show this. Not sure I fully agree with that, but whatever.

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Started taking H2s more regularly to help with the burning in my throat. We kept having to up my dose as it would lose effectiveness after a few weeks. The throat symptoms got VERY bad. My throat was incredibly sore, terrible mucus after eating anything, cleared my throat constantly, lump in throat sensation and shortness of breath, all of which combined made me a very anxious person. GI doctor referred me to an ENT, who scoped down my nose/throat, confirmed vocal cord damage, put me on pretty strong PPI and H2 combo, and that was about 5 weeks ago. Felt AMAZING the first three weeks, totally abused it, ate whatever I wanted - and started having breakthrough symptoms around week 3.5. Started getting strict with myself about a week ago, and am feeling a lot better. I am not an expert, and many people here have struggled a lot longer than me, but I will say:

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1. Read Dr. Koufman's book. It will spook you - don't let it spook you, let it inspire you to make healthier/smarter decisions for your reflux going forward. I'm learning that diet is absolutely key, and foods that I didn't think were THAT bad absolutely are. No more soda for me.
   
2. One of her main recommendations: drink alkaline water. DO it, if you can. This soothes my symptoms more than anything, and makes me feel less guilty/panicked when I eat things I shouldn't (nobody's perfect, right?).
   
3. I know a lot of people praise weight loss for reflux, and I've heard it can help tremendously, but unfortunately I'm a size 2 and still have moderate to severe symptoms, so I don't think it's a magical solution. I will say, if you're eating foods that are healthy for your reflux, they will also almost certainly help you lose weight.
   
4. * I forgot to add Gaviscon! I saw on another one of your comments you mentioned it. Gaviscon Advance, aniseed, the UK kind, before bed - supposedly forms a little raft on your stomach that physically prevents reflux. I do feel like my throat is a bit less dry/tender when I use this, and it's highly recommended for LPR.
   
5. * Another edit b/c why not, I live here now: chewing gum. I chew gum after lunch for a while and it really helps with the mucus/urge to clear my throat.
   
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   A couple of other thoughts; I have never had issues with protein specifically. I have read that before, but have not noticed it myself. I will say, PPIs/H2s feel like they slow my digestion somewhat, but not with a particular kind. In general, I would discourage the Betaine tablets. I've read it can be a bit dangerous for anyone with LPR or gastritis. Bit like playing with fire. Apple cider vinegar is also a hard no. I tried a LOT of supplements early on in this process (D-limonene, DGL, L-glutamine, melatonin) and the only one I feel comfortable recommending was mastic gum for my gastritis pains; it really seemed to soothe the pain. It did not help reflux. Ginger teas also help my digestion/bloating overall.
   
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   Sorry, I've turned this into a bit of a novel, but I've had a LOT of time to think about my plans and long-term management going forward over the last few weeks, haha.

Hey bud - I hate to state the trite obvious but if you’re having those thoughts you may want to see a counselor. They won’t fix your GERD/LPR but coping with it is a life long process that they can help with. You CAN get it under control, but it takes work and its kind of a moving target (your body changes).

You still have options to fix this:

1. Get a second opinion by a different doctor and tell them how significantly this is affecting your quality of life
   
2. don’t eat 3 hours before bed
   
3. give up all caffeine, soda, fried foods immediately (even if it seems like you can tolerate them)
   
4. get a wedge that goes UNDER your mattress to put your body on a slant, keeping stomach contents down when you sleep (something like this helps me)
   
5. lose weight if overweight
   
6. schedule a therapy session, seriously, life is worth living, and this is treatable, you just have to find the right balance and hang in there and properly cope with it. I see a therapist and one of the things we frequently talk about is how GERD and medical issues affect me. Therapists are great and everyone needs one in this complicated world.
   
   Hang in there and good luck!

Wow that list is pretty much the same as mine when I finally went to see my local natural medicine doctor. He suggested Oil of Oregano with Peppermint. I had always been told to avoid peppermint but he assured me that this was a SIBO issue. So I took those every day for about 3 months and I've seen a 70-80% improvement. You will notice that your burps are a bit minty and that's kind of weird but honestly this was the only thing that worked for me. If you do try it make sure you get "enteric coated" and take with plenty of water. Here's a link to the product I used. https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Factors-Peppermint-Gastrointestinal-Softgels/dp/B000RGDVDA

hey! I haven’t started it yet but drinking ice watermelon and cucumber juice thingy is part of it. Waiting for the book to come in tomorrow!

https://www.amazon.com/Acid-Watcher-Diet-Prevention-Healing/dp/1101905581/ref=nodl_

I’m on mobile rn but there’s an online book and a book available on Amazon.

A cookbook is coming out around October and I promise I’m not shilling lmao I’m just hoping this diet works to heal me. But it helps to heal the symptoms from silent reflux/ lpr.

Agreed, also cut out the following foods:

• acidic
  
• spicy
  
• highly processed
  
• has lots of sugar
  
• caffience
  
• alcohol
  
• fatty
  
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  In addition..
  
  
• Get a pillow like this for sleeping on and don't eat anything for 2-3 hours before sleep.
  
• This book helped me to undesrstand GERD and has some great GERD friendly foods

I'm late to this, but it sounds as though you are having a lot of anxiety issues which obviously contribute negatively to GERD symptoms. I thought of it when you talked about visualizing the tube going your throat, etc. That's hard core anxiety. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about this and see if there is some chill out meds you could take. I am never one to jump right to meds, but suffering from GERD and the sucky diet is very stressful. Unless you think you can learn meditation while also managing GERD, which I hear is the best route.

Also, to learn better about what to eat I highly recommend reading "Dropping Acid" by Jamie Koufman. I never get any help from my doctors about the right foods or loosing weight, and it wasn't until I read this book--which I learned about here on Reddit--that I feel like I had any kind of control over my situation.

Good Luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Dropping-Acid-Reflux-Diet-Cookbook/dp/0982708319

EDIT: As for coffee, try Folger's Simply Smooth, a special blend made just for people with nasty stomach's like ours.

https://www.amazon.com/Folgers-Simply-Smooth-Coffee-Ounce/dp/B009I36KBS

Ok, when I first started dealing with GERD a few months ago, not only did I go to a GI doctor, I also started seeing a therapist. She helped me talk through all of my worries about eating and being sick, process them in a healthy way, and taught me coping mechanisms. I highly suggest that if this is making you anxious (and I don't blame you), seek out a therapist. My therapist was an amazing support system when I was truly struggling.

I've been on pantoprazole for about 2.5 months, eating a strict GERD diet (specifically the Acid Watchers Diet-- great book, I highly recommend), not eating 3 hours before bed, and sleeping on an incline. I'm feeling much better now. Only current symptom is burping (annoying, not painful or anything), and some occasional heartburn but that is becoming rarer and rarer. I believe if I stick to this plan, and continue to let my esophagus heal (I also have esophagitis), I will be able to eat trigger foods in the future. My doctor wants me to wait though until I am essentially symptom-free for several months before taking me off meds and letting me experiment with my diet.

That's another thing, getting a GI doc you trust and can explain your illness in an understandable way is really important for combatting anxiety. My first doc only increased my anxiety because he really didn't know what he was doing and was deeply unhelpful. My current doc has set up a good plan for healing and it is making me optimistic instead of nervous and disheartened.

But let me tell you, I suffered for 5 months to get to this point, where I'm so much happier and nearly symptom-free. This place is completely possible to get to. And I know so many people on this sub have GERD but now are totally symptom free and can eat trigger foods in moderation. We will both get there! I know how isolating this can feel but know that we're all with you!

Edit: wow I also have costocondritis and that shit sucks too! I'm sorry you're going through this

You can buy Gaviscon Advance (UK version) at Amazon from various sellers, both the liquid and tablet form. It seems to vary in price quite a bit over time--if you wait you can often get a pretty reasonable price. A couple of items I've ordered in the past:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QEPFKS

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012YJMALG

Also it is possible to order ingredients and make your own Gaviscon Advance very, very easily at a very low cost. Some instructions:

https://blog.fauquierent.net/2016/11/make-your-own-gaviscon-advance-for.html

https://www.scribd.com/document/371534788/Gaviscon-Advance-Homemade

Here are the raw ingredients I ordered from Amazon to do that:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01953G9VG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064GZPU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064GZPPO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

No, those are not correct. That's the American version, which are better than any other American antacid, but not as good as the UK stuff. Here's a link:

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https://www.amazon.com/Gaviscon-Advance-Chewable-Tablets-Peppermint/dp/B012YJMALG/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=gaviscon+advanced&qid=1556906317&s=amazon-devices&sr=8-5

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Other people are recommending the Gaviscon Advance Aniseed liquid, which is great stuff but way too much $$ for me since I use a lot

Can I get the gaviscon that is sell in amazon US? I am not even living in the US but have famility there wich help me with the sends. Hard for me to get it from the UK.

I understand what you say, it makes sense, I will give it a try too.

I found these tables on amazon US. Would them work?:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002D4MZ2W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

It's usually cheaper than a pillow, and from those I've talked to more comfortable for sleeping

You can pick up a set of these at a local retail store for like $8
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Adjustable-Risers-Furniture-Heights/dp/B00MH74S16

I find that cooking thin chicken breast (sold by my local discount club in bulk bags) seems to taste awesome when cooked on an electric griddle (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YD99Y4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wdrwDbXK442X6).

Maybe a little soy sauce on the rice. I cook my rice with a little olive oil and salt and find that I don't need to add anything additional to it.

Maybe a little vegetable broth?

Vitamin K2.
I take an even better version of it called MK-7. It's more expensive, but your body absorbs WAY more of it, so I definitely think it's worth it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013OVVFA/

What you need is a a full-sized wedge pillow. they're more expensive, but at least they wouldn't cause you backaches.

An alternative would be to get bed risers (example: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Adjustable-Risers-Furniture-Heights/dp/B00MH74S16). Just put these under the two front legs of the bed and you're ready to go. It's also generally cheaper.

I'm copying and pasting from a previous post because I have had some success treating LPR. I had chronic laryngitis, lost my voice for 2 months (no talking at all), so things were pretty severe. I can tell you from experience that the below worked for me. Now I can consumer normal foods in moderation. I had pizza for dinner last night and am doing a wine tasting class tonight. So just know, your life isn't over, you just need to heal:

Check out "Dr. Koufman's Acid Reflux Diet" by Dr. Jamie Koufman. Worked pretty well for me. In the meantime, check out the Stanford LPR Protocol.

After the 2 week induction period, keep a very detailed food journal for a couple of months and figure out what your trigger foods are. I keep mine in Google Sheets with 5 columns:

1. Date,
   
2. Meal (i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack 1, snack 2, etc.),
   
3. Foods consumed,
   
4. Current symptom level (1-5),
   
5. Potential trigger food? (Yes or no)
   
   I think you'll be surprised that it's a fairly small list of serious offenders. If you cut them out you'll end up with 90% of the benefits of a more restrictive diet. For example, I can drink alcohol but had to switch from beer to tequila. I can eat tomatoes, spicy food, etc, but have a little bit of trouble with high vinegar content hot sauce. Coffee had to be mostly cut out (I have a cup or 2 each week), and I switched my whey protein flavor from chocolate to vanilla. I also cut back on marinara sauce, but am not cutting it out. When I'm on solid ground as far as my LPR, I can eat it. If I've had reflux events recently, I eat a little more restrictively. It may sound like a pain, but I promise it's not that bad.
   
   Now, I almost never have phlegm or have the need to clear my throat. Given how annoying the symptoms were, this seems like a pretty low price to pay.

I just got the 7" version of this and it's cool. It's a bit on the stiff side, but I use a memory pillow too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004X7BBC2?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Hmmm... Actually seems legit...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26140003/

I am in the US and thinking of taking a pair of scissors to a mouthgaurd to make the same thing... Any reason this wouldn't work?

Shock Doctor Double Braces Strapped Mouthguard (Blue, Youth) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028R2X0S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0OY0CbQMW9W5E

I got a "Avana Mattress Elevator " off Amazon, but it may be too pricey for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-Absorption-Natural-Strengthen-Peppermint/dp/B014K3H73A/ref=sr_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1525037617&sr=8-7&keywords=vitamin+d+with+k2

https://www.amazon.com/Renew-Life-Probiotic-digestive-supplement/dp/B000CMKC5Y/ref=sr_1_14_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1525037700&sr=1-14&keywords=probiotics+50+billion+cfu

I linked both probiotics and vitamin D which I use. For vitamin D, just place 2-4 drops per day under tongue. For probiotics, take one per day 30 minutes before meal. For me, I still think the probiotics was the one that made a difference. Also, I'm trying this new thing with oil pulling with coconut oil. Some people say it has antibacterial properties which can kill bacteria in the mouth and prevents the GI from further infection. I doubt it will make a huge difference, but it's just something else to try.

Low acid decaf. This is the only coffee I can drink.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HQMBYS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WJMBDbVEK12EW