"My BAD acid trip last night" Topic

Yes, boys and girls, I admit that I suffer from acid reflux, although it's not chronic (thank God!).

Yesterday, I decided to make what I've eaten for dinner for time in memoriam, which is my homemade burritos. In short, I use well-drained turkey meat, water, tomato sauce and whole canned tomatoes, dried onions, garlic powder, crushed oregano, a dash of cumin and crushed basil, and cubed potatoes with the skins on. I boil it down until the water's evaporated, spoon the mixture on flour tortillas, sprinkle grated chesse on it, microwave it, and voila, dinner.

I know, I know. There are several items I've listed that can kick off stomach acid like gasoline to a fire. Thing is, my stomach's so used to it that I've never really had a problem with it. True, I haven't made it in quite a while (mostly eating either steamed chicken or soup and a sandwich for dinner the past couple of weeks). Anyway, my "sweet tooth" was getting to me, and I decided to buy a package of Pepperidge Farm cookies (chocolate with chocolate chunks). And I did happen to eat some around 11 last night.

That may have been a bad idea.

About 3:30 this morning, I woke up coughing and spitting out that cursed taste of stomach acid and bile, and spent about fifteen minutes trying to clear my throat of the taste and sensation. I finally got to sleep an hour later, and had no more problems, but I've yet to eat breakfast this morning, which would've been my usual bowl of cereal. I'm not really hungry, but I feel fine. I might just skip breakfast and look forward to dinner, which may be soup and a sandwich again.

It's been quite some time since I've had an episode like that (like about a year or so), but I know I "screwed the pooch" last night, and probably wouldn't have had an "acid trip" had I laid off the cookies. Still, things like this makes me be a little more careful about what I chunk down my piehole.

At least, until I feel much better.

You haven't lived until you've aspirated stomach acid.

Ugh. Hopefully it will be quite some time before you have another incident.

I used to get it all the time until I stopped having 5 or 6 beers a night.
Now, I save it for "special occasions", and my tummy thanks me.

Gaaah, I HATE getting that taste out of my mouth, my throat, my esophagus, my…
That would be the ideal way to torture me.

I discovered I had acid reflux on July 30th, 2008. I was feeling great, doin' my thing at work when suddenly I felt incredibly dizzy and broke into a profound cold sweat. Really, it was like someone flipped a switch. Then I got the upper GI nausea and just as I started to think about food poisoning (extremely unlikely) or inner ear disturbance (nearly impossible) I began to feel a pressure in my chest.

SO, rather than going to the hospital that's down the street, I went home because a) I refused to believe I was having a heart attack and b) I was convinced I'd feel better soon. Fortunately I live close to work and as soon as I was home I peeled off my clothes, all of which I'd sweat through completely, including my shoes. Then I promptly passed out.

An hour later I was awakened by the telephone ringing. Friends wondering what was going on and why wasn't I at the hospital? Brief wrangling followed, including a clever observation about the lack of an MD after my name. I insisted I would feel better soon. That turned out not to be the case. When they called back 20 minutes later, I reluctantly agreed to go to the hospital. This was in part because I knew they would batter my door down and drag me there, and also because, although I knew I wasn't having a heart attack, I had four of the classic signs and was starting to wonder if I was having a heart attack.

Well, that was ruled out pretty quickly at the ER and when they asked me if I had a history of acid reflux I said absolutely not. On the verge of being released, the rudest male nurse I've ever met took me to a room, ordered me to disrobe and summoned minions to hook me up to a heart monitor. When a doctor arrived, I said "I thought they ruled out an MI" to which he replied "Oh yes, we did, but there are some things we saw that we, um, well, don't like the looks of…" and I swear to God as he trailed off he turned his head away like a doctor in some Lifetime afternoon movie. Then he gave me the Brave Smile and I thought "oh dear".

I didn't sleep much that night, partly because I was on a gurney the whole time. In the morning I was taken for tests. I was injected with radioactive whatsits by a nuclear imaging tech who appeared to be in her thirteenth month of pregnancy, and who couldn't stop mashing me with her swollen bosoms. One of us, I kept thinking, is going to have a happy ending if this keeps up.

The stress test was administered by a lovely old English lady who, while a first rate cardiologist, cheered me on like I was playing fly-half for Charterhouse; That's it lad! You're in fine form! Well done! Nearly there! and so on. Her cheerful enthusiasm was a refreshing change from the surly young woman who had shaved my chest with an action not unlike scraping lead paint off an old barn door.

It was the septuagenarian cheerleader who, having told me my heart appeared to be "in smashing form", suggested the possibility of undiagnosed acid reflux. Esophageal spasm, she said, can trigger all the symptoms I experienced, often more profoundly than an actual MI.

So, all in all it was a roundabout (and very expensive) way to learn I have acid reflux. I never got a clear answer on what it was with my heart that they saw and "didn't like the looks of".

Very glad to hear that you were fine, enfant perdus, but sorry to hear that you discovered your malady in such a dramatic way. I liked the "swollen bosoms" part of your story, though. Very comforting.

Anyway, like John, I, too, had to give up a habit because of acid reflux. I always ate ice cream after dinner every night, without fail, up until around eight or nine years ago when I began to have the "rude awakening". I thought it was some kind of fluke, but then when I had more of those nasty episodes, I put two and two together. No more heavy nighttime ice cream debauchery for me anymore.

I've come to realize that it pays well to reserve the good stuff for those "special" occasions. When I do have ice cream, it's usually something tame (like vanilla, and sometimes chocolate), but I indulge moderately, and usually before 8 p.m. Because of my new job, I haven't had any dessert after dinner lately, but resort to being satisfied with ice water. I kinda miss the old days, but not as much as I used to. I guess it's more of a "been there, done that" feeling now.

Anyhoo, I slept well last night. Thanks for the input and well wishes, fellas.

I definitely can't eat as much chili as I used to, which has made this college football season very unusual. I also have to watch the wine-before-bed consumption. Other than that, I haven't had much alteration in my habits. Since I'm new to this, I'm still learning what triggers a reaction. Christmas ought to be interesting, running the minefield of seasonal delights and wondering which ones might bring on an attack. I'm thinking pickled herring might get a miss this year.