[Raymond C. King]

Hi Kathy Medina, Laura, and Charlene,

I have noticed that Charlene hasn’t been posting as much as she had been so I figured she had to slack off for some reason. I know she is always under a lot of stress though and has to get away from it a little.

I experienced the dizziness that you all have mentioned. I had thought that it was due to dehydration because I can’t drink much water due to me having a frozen stomach. I have started taking a lot of extra water thru my feeding tube though and that didn’t seem to help.

My doctor thought it might be a blood pressure problem. Quite some time ago my Cardiologist noted my BP was a little high at one of my visits and put me on blood pressure medicine. It did seem to work on the BP but after a few months of taking the meds, I started to have dizzy spells and occasionally I even started to fall occasionally. The Cardiologist finally did reduce the dose of the BP medication but even after reducing it to almost nothing, I ended up passing out one day and hit my head on the bathroom sink. That caused a gash in my skull. I went to my family doctor and he told me to stop taking it altogether. He said the result of falling could cause me more damage than what the BP medication was helping me with. That did stop my fainting spells.

That was a few years ago but now I have started having dizzy spells again and my doctor has attributed it to everything from not eating enough, getting up too fast, to not getting enough sleep. I have a blood pressure machine and when I get the dizzy spells my BP is normal, and my 02 level is up OK, I try to eat more than I feel comfortable to hold, and I sleep 6-8 hours at night. I’m not under any real stress so I have no idea what could be causing it. I guess all I can attribute it to is IPF progressing. My doctors haven’t been able to guess what causes it either so I guess I’ll just have to live with it.

If anyone comes up with what helps their dizziness, I’ll probably give that a try!

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charlene,

Thanks for letting me know that I can post Internet links ok in plain text. I will know what the message meant that I got when I posted to you on the forum, I will know not to worry next time.

I will check out Mark’s column “Gonna Live my Life” as soon as I can. I’m working on my taxes this weekend so I’ll probably be busy.

It is good you want to rent a car to get around the islands. They do have good bus service to get to some of the places you might want to visit, shopping centers, etc. Some free.

I’m sure you will find out where the best islands are to visit for your intended resting and water sports that you want to achieve at the link I gave you. The link expands to show pictures and what is available for the things you select you to want to do. Example:

“Poipu Beach South Kauai: One of America’s Best Beaches. Kauai is renowned for its beautiful beaches, and Poipu is no exception. In fact, the Travel Channel named it one of “America’s Best Beaches.” Plus, many Hawaiian visitors consistently list Poipu as their favorite Hawaiian beach. Poipu offers beachgoers spectacular scenery and a series of golden crescents of sand; ‘going to the beach’ at Poipu actually means going to two beaches. You’ll find a narrow sand spit (called a tombola) extending from shore out towards an island; thereby creating two separate beaches. As an added bonus, the tombola is a favorite hangout of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, as they can often be seen lounging and napping here. Poipu is one of the most popular beaches in south Kauai- with both human visitors and marine residents!

“If you’re looking for fun things to do at Poipu Beach, you’ll be happy to know that it’s a great spot for swimming, snorkeling, and boogie boarding. Plus, you can find all sorts of equipment rentals nearby. There is also a large shallow area that’s perfect for kids to splash, swim, and play. Of course, it’s also an ideal spot to sit back, relax, and watch the palm trees sway- a favorite pastime of many Kauai visitors.”

“Towards the eastern side of the beach you’ll find Poipu Beach Park, complete with a lifeguard, picnic tables, restrooms, and showers- so you can make your Poipu Beach excursion a full-day affair.”

That is just a sample of what you can find out at that link. Good luck in selecting your dream vacation.

I’ll close now so you can do your many work projects enjoy your vacation searches.

Have the rest of a good weekend.
Ray

[Raymond C. King]

Hi, again @Charlene-marshall,

I am very happy Mark will be helping you answer questions on the forum. I’m sure he will be able to take on some of the lung replacement problems along with other things. You have really been having a huge increase in responses so I know a lot of people are grateful to have you respond to them and you are still handling all of the stress.

Yes, the Honolulu Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial and The National Military Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) are a must to visit.

As for which islands to visit when going to Hawaii? It really will depend on what your interests are. It is hard for me to recommend which one I found the best for me because at the time we went we had a lot of different interests then than we do now. Each island provides different interests, fun, and excitement.

I did find a good Internet site to visit that tells you what each island offers and even has a brief quiz that you can take that will help you decide which island is best for you. That may help you go to the right places for what you want to get from the visit. Then you can do more Google searches to see what it might cost you. The air prices from Oahu to each island are about the same. Some a little more than others but not that much for air. You can look them up when you determine what you want to see and do and of course, what you can afford at the time.

The site below will help you decide on what you want to do. It is titled: “Which Hawaii Island to Visit”?
https://www.hawaii-guide.com/content/posts/which_hawaii_island_to_visit

Good luck with your decision. I’m sure you will make the right one for you. If I can help, let me know.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi @charlene-marshall,

I sent a reply to your above post to our personal 3-friends communications source address as my reply here had an Internet link that had unrecognized characters in it and it was not accepted. Eventually, I’ll learn how to copy an Internet link here.
Ray

[Raymond C. King]

Hi @Charlene-Marshall,

I know you are very busy. WOW! Triple the forum activity you are having to upkeep up with now. I thought they were going to give you someone else to help with that? I guess that is your job though. I’ll try to keep my posts simple and be more patient so you can get a little rest.

Thanks for the Hawaii trip departure update. Kauai is very, very quiet and green being known as the “Garden Island”. Oahu is the busiest island around the clock but really has a lot to see and do there. They have the most variety of restaurants than any of the islands and bring in the best shows and cultural activities from all the islands. Try to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North side of the Oahu island while you are there. It is really worth the trip. As for our Hawaiian guided tour, we spent 13-days covering Kauai, Hawaii (the big island), just one day in Maui, and 5 days in Oahu. I know you will enjoy whatever you do there.

I’ll close now.
Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charlene.

I guess I too missed your post about having booked your flight to Hawaii. Good for you.

It is nice to eat some of the fresh fruit while in Hawaii. The plant ripened Pineapple and tree-ripened bananas are wonderful. They have maximum sugar content.

While we were in Hawaii, I thought it would be nice to have a couple of pineapples shipped to our house. Our tour hotel said they would ship them to us. I guess I was kind of naive as when we got home and received them, they were green, just like in the local markets. When they ripened, they didn’t have the same sweet taste as fresh ones.

I too have a lot of mouth sores if I eat acid fruit like pineapples, raspberries, oranges, and grapefruit, etc. They cause mouth and cheek sores. Then my mouth cheek sores cause me to bite my cheeks sores when I chew. Also, with the acid reflux problems, I still cheat and eat that good stuff and naturally suffer. I just weigh the effects versus the good taste. Good luck with eating that stuff while you are there.

Ray

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charlene,

Thank you for your update.

Today, the sun is shining bright so thank you for sending it to us. Looking at the local weather forecast, I think we are going to be missing a lot of the snow that was coming from the West Coast this whole next week. In the Snake River Valley of Idaho, we will only be getting some rain. Looking at the overall weather for your area, it appears you will be getting some wet weather moving in this evening and night.

I did appreciate Bills comments to me about the Vest and me probably not being able to use it due to it also vibrating the stomach area and my feeding tube section.

I did like his suggestion about the Mucinex to help with the wet coughing. My NORCO Hydrocodone took care of the dry coughs but this new phylum lung congestion just started. I did have a few of the Day/Night Mucinex in our cough medicine storage from a long time ago so I tried it. The box said it expired in late 2017 but I took it and it did seem to work, at least in the day time. At night, it seemed to work for a couple of hours but seemed to cause some acid reflux and was hard to swallow. I did swallow the pills rather than putting them in my J-Tube as they are hard capsules filled with the Mucinex liquid and hard to cut open. I guess I could have made a small hole in them and extracted the liquid with a syringe but that is a hard procedure. I probably wouldn’t have had the reflux problem if I could have taken them with food. But since I am not to eat at least 4 hours before bedtime, that procedure was out. I could probably purchase the 12-hour Mucinex but they are quite expensive and are also non-crushable like the Esbriet capsules were. I see my regular Health Care Provider doctor on Monday and I will see if he can prescribe it for me and maybe my Insurance will cover it. Sometimes the insurance co-pay is the same price as the medication if it can be purchased over-the-counter at a drug store.

I better close for now and get something done before the day goes by. I appreciate your correspondence. How have you been getting along?

Ray

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Bill,

Thank you for the response about the “Vibrating Vest.”

I see you live in the cold snowy area of the US as I do. I live in Idaho. Does the cold weather affect your lung congestion?

The price of the InCourage is quite high. I imagine you had to get your doctor to prescribe it? I too have Medicare and my secondary insurance is Federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I spent months trying to get BC/BS to accept paying for my Esbriet medication so I would bet they would really fight the cost of the vest.

I looked at the vest on the internet. It mentioned that evidently you only use it at different times for the treatment? It didn’t really explain the procedure. If it works in the night, do you wear the vest while sleeping? If so, I am not sure I would be able to use it as I have a frozen stomach and I am on a feeding tube for 12 hours at night. The tube enters my intestines thru my belly just below the rib cage and the vest or vibrations might interfere with that process. My tube is there all day long too so I don’t know what problems that might cause. I guess I should contact the Mfg. to see what they could tell me about that as I’m sure you wouldn’t know about that.

You also mentioned you are taking Mucinex and that seemed to help also. The next time I go to the drug store, I will try it. Thank you for all the information.

Again, a lot of thanks to @Charlene for keeping me posted about the phlegm problem solutions.

Thank you, Bill, for all your information.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Bill Mattila,

The HFCWO Vibrating Vest sounds very interesting. Thanks to Charlene for alerting me about your post. I may look into it.

Do you wear it day and night? Which model do you have? My chest is really getting sore from the constant coughing. Does your health insurance cover some of the cost? Do you live in the US and maybe have Medicare?

Thanks in advance.
Raymond King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charlene,

I have been reading the comments about the cough and phlegm problems. For the last 6-8 weeks, I have developed a phlegm cough that seems to buildup in my lungs. It seems quite prevalent at night but also in the daytime. I can hear it rattle in my lungs at times and after some coughing, I can cough it up. I do get a runny nose sometimes but I think it is due to my coughing and not the cause of the cough.

We are having some real cold/snowy weather and after knowing your and Paula’s problems from the cold weather, I have been wondering if this is just a result of it. I have tried different nose sprays. Since I was able to get rid of the usual dry cough by taking NORCO Hydrocodone, codeine cough syrup would be too much codeine. When I had the dry cough problem, I didn’t have the phlegm problem but that was months ago.

I have read over and over Megan Zetter’s post in the “Dying from IPF” post and she had expressed that in her father’s later days with IPF he was getting a massive buildup of mucus. I’m a nervous type of person so I’m watching for symptoms of doom all the time. mucus.

My last check with my Pulmonologist in January concluded that my IPF had just moderately progressed since my last 6 months checks. I didn’t have the phlegm cough then. Any suggestions other than what has been published in this column? I’ve tried most of these suggestions except the prescription meds.

Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge on all the IPF articles.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charlene,

I just have one comment about posting to the forum and using MS Word. I know your techs have said that you cannot use Word to write your messages and then copy and post the Word message to the forum because it will be in the wrong format but I have found that it is the way you paste the copied message.

After you have written the post in Word and then copied the message, go the to text box on the forum and right-click the mouse button in the text box. It drops down a menu that gives you the option to “PASTE” the message or right below it, you have the “PASTE IN PLAIN TEXT” option. Select the “PASTE IN PLAIN TEXT” option.

The “PASTE” option is only used when you are pasting something while you are in a Word document or some other programs that will accept the Word formatting, Gmail, etc.

I have been using this procedure for over a year now with no problems posting successfully to the forum. I too like to write my messages in MS Word so I can use it’s editing features and then copy it to the IPF Forum text boxes to submit it. BUT you must use the “PASTE IN PLAIN TEXT” option to paste it to the Forum text box before you submit it.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Megan,

I read your recap of your father’s bout with the IPF word by word. It was wonderful that you were able to help him so much in his last years. I will remember your story of how his symptoms progressed. As you said, I’m sure everyone progresses at a different rate but some of the symptoms you shared might help me and others be aware of what might be in our future and how to overcome them if we can. I will keep your post to use for a history of what might be in store for me.

Best wishes,

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Dorothy Hixson,

Yes, Esophacool does contain deglycyrrhizinated licorice extract “DGL”. In an I earlier poet I had stated that Esophacool had a licorice taste and I hadn’t seen anything in the ingredients that said it contained any licorice. I was very wrong. When I told my daughter about what I was using, she informed me what DGL was. I guess I am not very smart and shouldn’t publish a comment without doing a little research first.

I looked up a few references for DGL uses on the internet and found one article stating:

“Some doctors and alternative health advocates recommend DGL for acid reflux. People believe DGL promotes mucus activity. This extra mucus may act as a barrier to acid in the stomach and esophagus. This barrier can allow the damaged tissue to heal and prevent future occurrences of acid reflux.”

I don’t know if Esophacool will help everyone but so far, for me, it has helped tremendously since I have been taking it starting late last summer. I only take it at bedtime as I hadn’t been having acid reflux problems in the day time very often.

I have had acid reflux problems for over 50 years which I always took some antacids for. I have only had the serious night time reflux problems since 2011. It caused me to get an esophagus bleeding ulcer. I have been taking strong Rx antacid 2 times per day but still got nighttime reflux. Since I have added the Esophacool, I have only had a couple of light acid reflux problems at night. It really seems to work for me.

I hope if you are having the acid reflux problems you can find something that will work for you also. Keep all of us posted with any progress you find.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Teri,

I see your dad has some of the problems that I have. My esophagus is very sluggish in pushing my food to my stomach too. In my case, it wouldn’t make any difference if it got to my stomach or not because I have Gastroparesis resulting from a botched fundoplication surgery. My stomach only works at a 20% efficiency now.

There might be an alternative to your father having the esophagus not working like it should and whether to have a fundoplication. If he had a J-Tube or G-Tube installed, the food he would be getting would bypass the esophagus problem. The J-Tube feeding goes directly into the little intestines and the G-Tube would go directly to the stomach. He would get all the nourishment he needs through the tube and wouldn’t have to eat. Not eating would also help cut down on the extra stomach acid being produced and from the different foods that cause extra acid. Anything he does eat would still go through the esophagus and stomach but he wouldn’t have to eat as much via that direction.

It wouldn’t cut out all the GERD and that would still have to be taken care of by the usual anti-acids, elevated upper body raised sleeping methods, and still if eating a little, staying away from the acid producing foods, etc.. Nothing I have run into seems to completely stop some GERD reactions but it would cut down on the problems he is having with sluggish esophagus problems and maybe help a little with the GERD caused from food to the stomach.

Either putting in a J or G-Tube requires a little surgery but when it must be replaced, they can usually do it without another surgery. I have had a J-Tube for almost 8-years and have had it replaced 5 or 6 times. They also keep coming out with new inventions for a better tube and replacement methods. It might be worth a try? Something to talk to your doctor or surgeon about.

You mentioned a few procedures I had never heard about. Very interesting.

Keep us posted on what your father and you decide to do.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Rene,

I took what you said about the gender names with tongue-in-cheek so no worry. It was kind of funny.

I had never written to a Ren’e, Rene, Renee, Renae, Renny, Renne, or Rennie before. I guess the name spelling comes from what part of the world people are born and named in. Some are Dutch, French or Irish, or another origin and the name is pronounced the same in English. Some are unisex and others can be used for both sexes. Anyway, as I said, I’ll try not to make the mistake again and when I refer to someone, I’ll use their printed name and not a pronoun to refer to them. I didn’t realize that there was so much behind the spelling of a person name. I’m not trying to make anything out of my explanations but it educated me a bit when I looked the name spelling topic up. Enough about that.

WOW! That was really a lot of fish. I have eaten tuna but I have never tasted a barracuda or wahoo (Ono) before. Maybe you could put a bite of them in an envelope and send it to me? Ha Ha. I had never even heard of a wahoo (Ono). When I looked up a picture of the Ono fish, they are beautifully streamlined looking. About the only fish we have in Idaho that could maybe surpass them in size are sturgeons. I have seen pictures of some of the sturgeons caught in Idaho being landed with a team of horses and one I saw was pulled in with a tractor.

We do have some large ocean salmon that have come up the Columbia and Snake Rivers from the ocean to spawn in Idaho. I have never fished for them but my father fished for them a lot. I am not a trophy fisherman and I just go after the fish I can handle, like rainbow trout, bass, perch, bluegills, and Coho salmon. I like to catch them and fry them on the spot while we are camping. Although I did go marlin fishing one time in 1978 while I was in Mazatlán Mexico. I didn’t catch anything but it was fun. Terry Bradshaw and Joe Ferguson, football quarterbacks, stayed at the same hotel I did. I asked them at the swimming pool if they caught any marlins or sailfish and they said they hadn’t caught anything either.

I sure wish there was some indication that the beautiful warm area you are in helped people with IPF and bad acid reflux so my insurance would cover it and I’d be on my way south. Maybe you could take me fishing? I think you could talk Charlene Marshall to come there too. I know she really would like the warm weather and fresh seafood.

Better close now. Remember me when you are savoring a nice fish steak.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Rene Hakkenberg

Sorry, Rene about my gender mistake in my post. I am not the best speller, especially with names so I didn’t realize the difference. I generally check the posted picture of the person I am replying to. If there is no picture of the person writing the post, they just post a blank silhouette picture of a person with no difference in male or female. I guess I got in a hurry trying to catch up on the posts I needed to reply to. My BAD! I truly apologize.

Thank you for your caution. I’ll try to be more careful in the future.
Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Pat,

So glad to hear that the stomach and esophagus inflammation has cleared up. I hope the Zantac right after supper will help with the reflux. I try to not eat anything very late in the afternoon and make sure I don’t recline for at least 4 hours after I have eaten anything. I think they recommend 2 hours but my stomach doesn’t pass food very fast so I add some extra time.

His diagnosis of the reflux problem being from the Hiatal Hernia was probably right. It seems from what I have heard and read, the Hiatal Hernia problem is what causes most of the people with reflux problems that have stomach acid getting into the esophagus. That can cause all kinds of problems when it does. They say it can cause esophagus cancer, esophageal ulcers, and if it gets into the lungs, cause lung irreversible damage and PF. I’m sure that is what caused my IPF. A few months ago, I had an esophageal bleeding ulcer at the entrance to my stomach. I am not completely sure if it was just the defective hiatal hernia or a combination of both it and the Esbriet I was taking.

The fears of having a hiatal hernia operation verses hearing my and some other people’s problem reports of it may not happen if you were to have one. The doctor is correct, they have come a long way in perfecting that surgery and I am sure a lot of people are getting good results from having one. The decision will boil down to how many problems you are having verses if you and the doctor feel it would be worth the chance. I guess that is the same as with any surgery though. As Charles Whittington posted above, he had a LINX magnetic bead bracelet type surgery to correct it and he said that it was very successful. That procedure has some good and bad things that can go wrong with it too so I guess it would be up to you what you might like to try. The LINX procedure can be done laparoscopically so they don’t have to cut you up so bad. It costs more though. It is good you are going to discuss it with your surgeon. He is your best source of information on what he thinks will help.

Good luck in whatever you decide. Make sure you post to the forum how things are going. We are all interested.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Charles Whittington,

Thanks for the info about the LINX procedure.

I have read on and investigated it. It sounds good but I am not a candidate for it. I have posted why I couldn’t use it in the above post to Rene. If you are interested, you can see my explanation to her there.

It is possible that you GERD caused the IPF. My acid reflux has been a problem for me for over 50 years and my Pulmonologist assumes that is what caused mine also.

I am happy that the LINX surgery solved your GERD problems. Maybe you won’t have to have an MRI to check the progress of the IPF. They have other methods for that.

Good luck with the IPF. Are you taking any Esbriet or Ofev to help prolong it?

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Rene,

I had a good experience with a Fundoplication in 1973 that lasted clear until 2011 before I had the bad one. I’m sure there are a lot of people that had good experiences too but those are the people that don’t complain or write about them. I have no idea what the statistics are both ways. If your doctor suggests you have one, it might be worth the try.

I do see that Charles Whittington made a post about a new LINX procedure where a magnetic beaded band is wrapped around the esophageal sphincter area. When you swallow, the esophagus muscle pushes the food thru the band to the stomach and it contracts when the food passes to stop the acid to flow back to the esophagus. The doctor that performed my botched Nissen Fundoplication procedure advertises that he is the only doctor in the area that is certified to do that LINX surgery.

I investigated it even after the bobo that I had from that him before. I asked my Gastroenterologist about it and he told me I wasn’t really a candidate for LINX because I have some problems swallowing anyway and mainly, that my sphincter muscle doesn’t work period. The LINX just aids the sphincter muscle action so it must be working a little. The good thing about the LINX is, they can do it Laparoscopically over the Nissen Fundoplication procedure which is done by open surgery. The LINX procedure though costs about one-and-one-half times what the Fundoplication costs but are faster.

I am not an expert about what I am telling you so I’d better stop it. I am just relating what I remember I had read about it. It’s best you get some expert advice from your doctor. Good luck in whatever you decide.

About the silver oar buckets near Sun Valley, I told you about. I just did a Google on them and spent over an hour trying to find a picture I could refer you to. I couldn’t believe I couldn’t find anything on them anywhere. I guess the next time I go to the Sun Valley area, I’ll take some pictures of their posted pictures and send them to you. It was in the early 1940s that I saw them myself visually and in the 80s that I saw the pictures in the stores.

This is starting to get long again so I’ll close.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Rene,

About why the Fundoplication did not work. Stand by for a long story.

The first one I had back in 1973 worked well. I was getting a lot of acid problems prior to it and taking a lot of antacids to try to take care of it prior to the operation. Spicy foods raised a big problem and I had to refrain from any of them. After the surgery, I could eat anything again. Then in the spring of 2011, I had a hiatal hernia (Fundoplication) surgery again. More reflux. The doctor that did it was supposed to be good at it and had just completed training on doing them by Laparoscopy surgery so it was going to be a simple one. Well, the day of my surgery was delayed during that day because the doctor had to do a couple of emergency surgeries. He ended up doing 5 that day. When he got to me, it was very late in the afternoon and rather than having me come back another day, he went ahead and did mine. He was in a hurry because he had plans to take off for Spring Break with his family. The Laparoscopy surgery didn’t go well so he ended up opening me up to do it. That also went slowly because I had scar tissue from the old 1973 operation for him to scrape away. During that process, he evidently cut the nerves to my stomach. He finished the operation at around 9 PM. Then after the first or second day, while I was in recovery, they discovered that while he was in there, he had puncher my esophagus and he had cut me open again to go in and repair the esophagus.

I then had to go from the recovery section to a rehab unit where I stayed for about 30 days with tubes inserted thru my nose to my stomach and other, I had tubes in my belly to keep the esophagus dry so it would heal. That is also when they inserted the J-Tube to try to feed me. Then I went from the hospital rehab unit a private rehab facility where I spent another 30 days to try to build up the 35 lbs. I had lost. That is when they determined I had Gastroparesis (a frozen stomach). I also got a pulmonary embolism while there and went to the hospital for a couple of days to get that dissolved. After I got home for a couple of days, I had a heart attack. They assumed it was brought on due to the stress of all the surgery.

At that time, I couldn’t even sip an ounce of water without vomiting and then my Gastroenterologist suggested I go to a large hospital in Utah or Seattle Washington or MAYO Clinic to see if they could help me. I elected MAYO Clinic in Phoenix AZ. They had me come down and ran tests on me for 12 days. They told me they would try to redo the Fundal Plication again to try to tighten the stomach wrap to help form the sphincter valve so I could try to eat something. I had to wait for about 4 months because of the heart attack I had. Four months later I went to MAYO again and they did the Laparoscopy operation. They spent almost 5 hours and said it took so long because of all the scar tissue they had to scrape away.

14 days later, I went home again. I could drink a couple of ounces of water but no food without vomiting. That is when an atomic food stomach processing test showed my stomach was 80 percent frozen. So now, I have the J-Tube for feeding and taking medicines for the rest of my life. Sometimes I can eat about 1 cup of food a day. After they cut the stomach muscle nerves, your stomach just shrivels up and won’t stretch to handle a volume of food and it doesn’t process food very fast. Mine is 80% slower.

Result: I still have acid reflux problems so sometimes it doesn’t pay to get the Hiatal Hernia operations and sometimes some people swear how it helped them. It’s all just a chance you must decide if you want to take.

After talking to a lot of Law Firms about the botched surgery, they all told me that there is always a risk you take with any surgery so that’s just the way it goes. That is why the hospital and doctors have you sign a form before any surgery stating they are not responsible for failures.

Yes, Sun Valley is a beautiful spot with good skiing. Sorry, you can’t go skiing anymore but I know what you mean. With this IPF, I couldn’t ski either, no stamina. The last time I ever skied was in Garmisch Germany in 1955.

A lot of Movie Stars: Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, and Bruce Willis have purchased a lot of lands there and built some big houses. I see Clint Eastwood is looking into locating here in Idaho too. I read not long ago that Idaho was the fastest growing state in the Nation. It was nice when there weren’t so many people here though. They buy up the land and fence it off so you can’t get to the nice recreation spots anymore.

My wife and I spent our 4-day Honeymoon in Sun Valley. I was born in Twin Falls, ID (about 135 miles South) and have spent a lot of my time in that area. There is a lot of good fishing around the area and things to do. I remember when I was just about 6 years old my aunt would take me to her home just about a mile from there for a couple of weeks. I remember well the silver-oar buckets that would travel on elevated cables up that Wood River Valley. It looked like a big snow lift but a lot of larger cars and traveled for miles. There are a lot of old pictures of them in the stores and in the Sun Valley Lodge.

Thanks for the continued invite to come to the warm country. Sounds fun especially when we have the cold weather and the forecast is for 2-5 inches more this weekend. I noted Charlene Marshall had commented that she would like to go to that warm area also.

I guess I’d better close as this is getting quite long and started to not give many people any more acid reflux problem helps and results.

I love to hear from you and enjoy your posts.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Pat,

Sorry I didn’t comment on your Jan 3 post right away. When I got around to reading the forum items, it was late and I had a project I had to get done right away.

I know what you have been going through with the acid reflux problems as you have probably read some of my posts from earlier above. It seems like I have been on the Nexium, its generics and all kinds of antacids forever. Each time I think I have found something that works, I find out it has just been a lull in it getting into the esophagus at night. After following several Doctors, Gastroenterologists, Dietitians and Surgeons suggestions on how to remedy it, it seemed to always come back. The latest thing I have been trying since September is chewing 2 EsophaCool tablets at night with a sip or two of water to help wash it down when I go to bed. When you chew them they immediately powderize so you need the water to swallow them. So far, (fingers crossed) I have only had a couple of nights when I thought I might be getting some acid in my esophagus but it didn’t burn so I’m not sure if it was actually acid or just some of the acid discharge from my stomach. I took a sip of water and was able to go right back to sleep. I can’t guarantee that it really works but it sure seems to work for me. I had ordered 1 60 tablet bottle to try them out and before they ran out I ordered 2 more bottles. I am on the last of the 2 last bottles so I just ordered 4 more bottles. If you should like to try them, I just looked and they are Super Sale Price: $8.10 with free shipping. They go up and down in price I noticed. I paid a little over $6 a bottle but got a quantity discount. They are normally $9.00 at LifeExtensions and $12 at Amazon. You might try them to see if they work for you. A Gastrologist that diagnosed my ring ulcer on my esophagus told me her husband had the same problem that I have and wrote down the item name for me.

I looked them up with Google and ordered them from here: https://www.lifeextension.com/Vitamins-Supplements/item02033/EsophaCool

They are a lot cheaper than some of the other antacid things I have tried. No guarantee they will work but they don’t cost a lot to try. They have some DGL(Licorice) taste but not too strong along with Calcium, Magnesium and a lot other items in them. If you don’t like the hint of a licorice taste, you may not like them. They do have them with a different flavor. Maalox and other Antacids have magnesium in them too. I have read on the Internet that black licorice is used as an antacid too. Anyway, just thought I’d give you the information. If you try them, post how they work for you.

I see you have tried most of the recommendations the reduce reflux. I too don’t eat anything very late in the afternoon and especially near bedtime. I also found that Chocolate seems to cause some later problems no matter when I have eaten it. They also say to not eat many fatty foods or course foods and to chew all food really well. I envy your sleeping on a Sleep Number Bed. When I went to visit my daughter, she gave us her bed for a few days we were there. I was afraid that I would tend to slide down in it when I elevated the head and there was no foot raising ability but I guess I sank into the mattress pad far enough that I didn’t slide that I remember. I just slept well. My mattress is memory foam and I don’t sink into it very far.

As per your cough causing the acid to come up and causes the vomiting, I was having those problems and with a lot of chest pains too. After I finally got the dry cough problem settled the chest pains went away and I vomited very often since. I think the fluid from my stomach getting into my esophagus from my deep coughing caused me to gag and vomit. The doctor told me the chest pains were caused from sore chest muscles from all the hard coughing. I am taking NORCO (Acetaminophen & Hydrocodone) during the daytime and that has completely stopped the dry coughing and no more chest pains and vomiting. I vomit only very seldom. I guess the codeine stopped the coughing and vomiting and the Acetaminophen part stopped the chest pains. Anyway, that has worked since last May or June.

I hope, if your doctor decides on a Hiatal Hernia/Fundal Plication operation, it works out well for you. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. I’ve talked to a lot of people that have had them and swear by them. Others just swear a lot. I have had 4 of them, one at MAYO CLINIC and no luck. I’m sure that the one that caused the later problems was that he wasn’t a very careful surgeon and damaged my stomach functions. That’s another long story I have told on the Forum at various places so I won’t drag this on here.

Good luck with whatever you try and keep us posted. There are a lot of good people on this forum with advice and stories that help to let you know you are not alone. Charlene Marshall gives good advice and counsel. She seems to know a lot about almost everything that can go wrong.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Thanks, Brian, for your comment on wedge pillows and traveling.

Yes, it is always good to ask the motels/hotels for extra pillows if they don’t already have them in the rooms. Trying to sleep tilted to the left side is what my Gastroenterologist advised me too. The hard part is I must have a minimum rise of 30-degrees upper body elevation and it is hard to lie on your left side with that kind of tilt. The body doesn’t bend in that direction very well. For almost 7 years now, I have had to sleep on my back. Good advice though if you don’t sleep with much upper body elevated.

Have a good Happy New Year!

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Rene,

Yes, moving to a warmer climate would be too late for me now if it could help and would be useless at my age. If you have been there for 42 years and it didn’t help, my 83-years (84 in Feb) wouldn’t help if I did it for 42 years more. Just thinking positive again! I’d probably have a hard time breathing well by then anyway.

Just thinking about eating all that good fresh seafood makes me wish to try it though. I love any kind of seafood but I live in Idaho and the only seafood we get is frozen or at a Fast Food or Red Lobster. Even then it isn’t very good.

I was kind-of a gourmet cook at home before I got the frozen stomach from a botched Hiatal Hernia/ Nissen Fundal Plication surgery in 2011. I now have a straight shot for the acid to flow from my lips to my stomach. My stomach can only hold about a cup of food per day and I get my liquid food at night through a J-Tube, an IV type feeding tube that goes into my small intestine. It takes about 12 hours to take all the liquid through the tube. I still like to cook when I see a good recipe so I put off eating anything earlier so I can try some of it when I am done. With this IPF, by the time I have prepared it I feel exhausted and a little nauseated so I can’t eat. Sometimes I eat a little the next day but it just doesn’t’ taste the same. I cooked a good Thanksgiving dinner a year ago and it was 2 days before I could even try it. Everyone said it was good though.

My Pulmonologist told me he felt my about 57 years with acid reflux problems is what caused my IPF also. I have had almost 5 different surgeries trying to make the Fundal Plication work. The last one in 2011 at MAYO Clinic in Phoenix, Az. All to no avail. The only one I haven’t tried is a beaded elastic type band that goes around the esophagus and expands when you swallow and closes after the esophagus contractions stop. That is supposed to work, but the reviews I have read about it don’t sound very convincing. Swallowing through my esophagus is kind of spasmatic and I have trouble getting food to go down anyway. My gag reflexes seem overreactive which doesn’t help with my nausea problems as well.

I didn’t mean to go on and on about my problems. Guess this is all a person has to talk about when we get older.

Thanks for the invite to come and visit you to compare notes, eat fish, and snorkel. The first 2 sound good but snorkeling, I can’t get in the water with this J-Tube and a bandage covering it. I guess they make plastic patches that could cover it but I’m sure they cost a lot.

I didn’t drink too much champagne last night. It sounded good though and I have hated to refrain for years. I just watched them drink them on TV. My doctors tell me not to drink alcohol as it causes more acid and conflicts with some of the meds I am taking. I do sneak a sip of someone’s drink occasionally. Don’t tell! I hope you celebrated and tried a little of it?

Enjoy the rest of the New Year day.

Ray King

[Raymond C. King]

Hi Josie,

I am happy you are trying out the wedge pillow. I hope it works well for you. I have had one for 6-years but just use it when I travel someplace. It worked fairly well but I just kept sliding down on it to where it kept me awake a lot at night just repositioning myself up on it. While elevated on it, it would work until the slide down.

I use a hospital type long twin bed which works pretty well. I can adjust the head up to the suggested 30 degrees or more and then adjust the foot part of the bed up to where it’s kind of forms a pocket to hold me from sliding down. The bad part is you have to always sleep on your back but for the wedge pillow to work you have to anyway. I do kind of try to angle my body a little so I am a little on my left side. My Gastroenterologist said that tilts the stomach up a little so the esophagus is a little higher than the stomach. I am taking prescription Omeprazole 2 times per day.

If you are interested in renting a hospital type bed, they are available through a medical supply store. I don’t know what medical insurance you might have but I know some will cover the rent if your doctor prescribes it. They covered mine until I decided I wanted one that was a little longer and had a remote control to adjust the head heights. .I am almost 6 ft tall so I purchased one It seems hospital beds are a little short for me.

I guess you been to a Gastroenterologist if you said you were going to have a gastroscopy? Has he/she suggested a Hiatal Hernia operation? Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.

Good luck with whatever you try. A lot of people try a lot of help but I guess it just boils down to whatever you find that works for you are what works for you.

Take care of yourself and have a Happy New Year.
Ray King