So I've been having a problem with night time acid reflux lately. This is annoying because I didn't have this issue before, but it's now 1 am and I just woke up with a nasty apnea/reflux attack. My throat was sore and swollen plus I had all of the symptoms of an apnea attack (fast pulse, shaky, chilled, etc.) Those are fading, but now I have to figure out what to do about this.

My doc has prescribed sucralate (generic Carafate), 600 mg to be used "as needed" with acid. From what I understand, this drug works a little differently than PPI's -- it's a cytoprotective and helps the tissue of the throat and stomach avoid damage from GERD. The only problem I have is that these 600 mg pills are HUGE -- even cutting one in half would still produce something that violates the "no bigger than a pencil eraser" rule I have. So I've been crushing them; the problem there is that they turn into CEMENT once you crush them and put them into your mouth. Anyone got a solution to the huge pill/cement paste issue?

Also, does the "1 hour before meals" rule with Carafate apply to fluids, too? After having a pill, I really really want a drink of Water, but I don't know if I'm just washing the drug out of my system!

Finally, I wonder if sleeping on my wedge pillow will be a better solution for this night time reflux. I'm hoping it doesn't last and is more of a healing/losing weight thing; the pillow is uncomfortable but I'm willing to put up with it for a while if it helps.

Until you get some direction from your doctor, you might want to try eating foods that are less dense. I was supposed to have "full liquids" for 4 weeks after my surgery. I could have thinned pureed foods, but I found that even baby food meat was too "heavy" and I had to mix it with thin soup. Also, I was asked to strain everything. The only thing on my list with any texture was small curd cottage cheese--and I didn't feel very good if I ate that. Apparently the guidelines I had were more conservative than some, but I'm grateful for that because I felt better when I stayed within those guidelines. I know that some people have been successful at advancing their diets more quickly without problems, and I'm glad they were successful, but for some people, slower is better. From my perspective, this really isn't about which nutritional guidelines are the best, or whether someone is following or breaking "the rules"...it's about doing whatever we need to do to give our stomachs time to heal.

Until you get some direction from your doctor, you might want to try eating foods that are less dense.

Yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm going to do. I was really eager to move on to more solid foods and thought I was cleared to, but after this little episode... It's far more important that my sleeve heal up nicely than that I have mac 'n cheese a few days earlier!