will anyone be attempting SN with GERD or any other digestive issue? if so, are you scared of the vomiting/stomach pain. and other symptoms. are you considering this as a method at all? i fear i have no other option
Yes. I have the same concerns too. I am going through a terrible nightmare right now with a severe case of laryngopharyngeal reflux with horrible throat pain for the last 6 months now. I may have just hit upon some light at the end of the tunnel these last few days, but not sure, will have to see in the coming days.
I have had fears having been afflicted with GERD for quite sometime if vomitting could be a point of concern with SN as the LES is more relaxed/ open in people with GERD compared to normal people. I plan to use SN as well with possibly meto as my AE of choice.
I have apprehensions on the one hand of the SN being able to spill out of the stomach up into the oesophagus and out of the mouth with the loose LES enabling it to happen. But I also read that meto helps the LES get tighter a little and that the way meto works is by shutting down the part of the brain responsible for receiving the vomitting signal.
So theoretically the loose LES shouldn't matter if this part of meto works - as it is supposed to. The only thing that should matter with a loose LES is probably posture.
Generally for gerd, as far as I've read, lying on one's left side with the legs bent and a pillow between one's knees and the elbow tucked forward such that it is in front of the chest and the left palm underneath the head i.e., below the left ear is recommended as the best position for sleeping as the LES would be on top thus letting gravity help keep the contents of the stomach down.
But ironically for SN, the duodenal opening would also be towards the top thus making it necessary for the SN to pass upward against gravity so to speak in order to pass into the small intestine. I wondered how this could ever happen and tried taking a bit of water and sleeping on my left side and to my surprise the water went down without any issues like burping or it coming up into the oesophagus.
But I am still a bit apprehensive of things possibly being different with SN.
The other sleeping position for GERD that's recommended is with one's back resting on a wedge pillow, maybe use of another pillow on top of the wedge pillow to rest the head (preferably a cervical pillow as it could hold the neck in place and prevent sliding down).
This is my preferred position as it would enable both gravity to work in my favour and also the contents of the stomach are more likely to pass through the duodenal opening into the small intestine more easily. I feel sleeping or turning to the right as is recommended generally in this forum for SN is a no-no for people with GERD as the LES would be facing downwards and the contents of the stomach are likely to spill out.
