I shall be no more.....

[menthe]

Thought it best to tell my forum friends.

I am not sure I can carry on with my life as I have always known it.  Went for my annual contrôle with my pneumologue yesterday.  Been feeling fine and dandy, apart from coughing a lot, my asthma has not been much of a bother all summer and I couldn't imagine anything much amiss with my health.

What do I come away with?  An ordonnance for some additional medications to my usual asthma drugs PLUS a long list of what I shouldn't eat or drink!

Don't want to be boring, the list was divided into things I shouldn't take in the evenings and those that I shouldn't have at any time.  Giving the shortened version, it contained things like not much coffee, ditto chocolate and bananas, no acidic foods like tomatoes (my favourite roasted!), vinaigrette, citrus juices, no spicy foods, no alcohol and, wait for it, pas d'oignons ail MENTHE.

So you see, how to cook and eat meals without onions or garlic, or spices?  What is left to make dishes tasty and yummy, I ask you?

And, to add insult to injury pas de menthe!!!

[Lori]

That is a very strange list of things. 

Have you been eating these things up to now ?  It sounds like you have.  And, you've been feeling fine except for the cough.

Without asking too many personal questions - of course don't answer if I'm delving too far - but what will happen to you if you eat these things ?  Will it impact your lungs/breathing/coughing?  Is he/she implying you are allergic to these things?  Can you not have them in limitation?

I mean they cover a large swath of foods and I don't see a direct connection from one group to the other.

No menthe, but basil is not on the list, nor is oregano, etc.  No spicy foods - okay, you'd have to define spicy for me as the French seem to have a very low tolerance of spice.  Does it mean no curry or hot peppers ?  No onions - does this include ALL onions, meaning no green onions or chives or anything in the onion family ?

I don't understand.

[menthe]

Yes, Lori, it has to do with the cough.  Apparently, chronic coughing (especially dry coughs) could mean a condition of gastro-oesophageal reflux.  I googled (of course) and it's true.  I'd never heard of it but, there it is*;

I have no other symptoms, weight constant, no heart burn or indigestion....it just took me by complete surprise.

The list of no-no foods is longer than what I have said here.  But it's OK, I plan to do as I am told for a month say and see if the coughing gets better.  She has said I was to try the meds for 4 months and I could stop if better, otherwise take for 1 year and she will see me then.

I have seen her for about 8 years and I trust her judgement.

TBH, I wasn't so much concerned as intrigued. 

[menthe]

1 minute ago, menthe said:

Yes, Lori, it has to do with the cough.  Apparently, chronic coughing (especially dry coughs) could mean a condition of gastro-oesophageal reflux.  I googled (of course) and it's true.  I'd never heard of it but, there it is.

I have no other symptoms, weight constant, no heart burn or indigestion....it just took me by complete surprise.

The list of no-no foods is longer than what I have said here.  But it's OK, I plan to do as I am told for a month say and see if the coughing gets better.  She has said I was to try the meds for 4 months and I could stop if better, otherwise take for 1 year and she will see me then.

I have seen her for about 8 years and I trust her judgement.

TBH, I wasn't so much concerned as intrigued. 

 

[menthe]

Sorry, Lori, I didn't mean to quote myself.

As you see, this is in the Lighter Side, so no need to be too worried.

However, no garlic doesn't sound great:  now I'll be finished off by a vampire!

[Loiseau]

Oh mint, that sounds really DULL. Nothing to sharpen, or spice up, your meals.

I think I would try to look at what you CAN eat, and then try to make that a positive inspiration for meals.  I hope you have got your OH on side, because you don’t need him to be gorging on forbidden fruits etc at the same table…

i look forward to the inspirational recipes that I am sure you will work out!

[Lori]

Yes, I have heard of the reflex maladie you mention.

Well, I guess you could focus on what you can creatively come up with using fresh vegetables that you can eat.  The lack of onions and garlic will create a challenge.  I guess you can use creams in place of the citrus fruits.  A touch of dijon with some cream and basic seasoning is usually good with a variety of different vegetables and meats.

Maybe add a variety of cheeses to give more flavor to a meal.

We recently tried roasting diced summer squash in the air fryer.  After it is nicely roasted, we crack a couple of eggs on top of the cooked squash and cook it an additional 10 minutes for the eggs to set.  Only seasoned with salt and pepper.  It turned out pretty good.  You could use a skillet if you don't have an air fryer.

You'll have to get creative.

 

 

 

[NormanH]

I always thought that mint was very good for settling the stomach as opposed to causing reflux. After all Gaviscon menthe is often given to help: https://base-donnees-publique.medicaments.gouv.fr/affichageDoc.php?typedoc=N&specid=67557241  

My Pharmacist, in whom I have great confidence,  often gives me phytotherapy remedies (not in place of ones properly prescribed, but for passing things) and recommends mint for indigestion and ginger for nausea  https://www.cooper.fr/nauselib-36-comprimés

 

[NormanH]

You may have this: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hiatus-hernia/

[ssomon]

I have suffered from gastric reflux for some time, and take a small daily dose of a drug which reduces the production of stomach acid. There are several drugs of this type; I am using Omeprazole.

My wife began having a problem swallowing food last year. She described the problem to her MT as an urge to throw up, but the medicine she was given made no difference. We went together on her next visit; I asked her MT if it could be due to a hiatus hernia, which my mother suffered from, but she said that was not the case.

Later my wife gave me a better description of what was happening. It sounded to me to be acid reflux, so I gave her one of my tablets. The problem went away a day or so later.

I went with her to her MT a couple of days later, told her this, and described the symptoms as I understood them. Her MT agreed, and prescribed the same drug and dose that I use.

This was in May 2023, and she has not had the problem since.

Edited August 30 by ssomon
correction

[NormanH]

It is often given and works well.

Be aware of the slight possibility of side effects (this is something my pharmacist is always very hot on; I am not just being negative. I have had reactions in the past to some frequently prescribed medicines so always check) https://www.drugs.com/omeprazole.html

[menthe]

3 hours ago, ssomon said:

I have suffered from gastric reflux for some time, and take a small daily dose of a drug which reduces the production of stomach acid. There are several drugs of this type; I am using Omeprazole.

My wife began having a problem swallowing food last year. She described the problem to her MT as an urge to throw up, but the medicine she was given made no difference. We went together on her next visit; I asked her MT if it could be due to a hiatus hernia, which my mother suffered from, but she said that was not the case.

Later my wife gave me a better description of what was happening. It sounded to me to be acid reflux, so I gave her one of my tablets. The problem went away a day or so later.

I went with her to her MT a couple of days later, told her this, and described the symptoms as I understood them. Her MT agreed, and prescribed the same drug and dose that I use.

This was in May 2023, and she has not had the problem since.

Thank you for posting about your experience.  I have had a look at my box of tricks and it says Esoméprazole, so the same class of drug.

I really did think that my asthma was not properly controlled and my pharmacien said to speak to the pneumologue.  As it happened, I had my yearly check-up last week and I explained about my excessive coughing that was not relieved by my asthma inhalers.

I took the usual performance tests, breathing into tubes etc and she had a good listen to my lungs.  No problems with my lungs and so she told me I had this acid reflex (actually called GERD  in English hm...sounds a lot more impressive, doesn't it?)  Are coughs dry coughs?  Yes.  Do you have trouble swallowing?  No.  And a few other questions.  I couldn't think what it was all about and shrugged everything off.

So, took the 2 drugs from yesterday and I must admit that since then, while the coughing is greatly reduced, I now fancy that, yes, I do have a burning sensation in my chest, I do have trouble swallowing, and my voice I think it is rather hoarse and maybe a touch of nausea and perhaps....and so on.

Shouldn't have read up on the symptons, should I?  😆  It reminded me of those "Doctor in the House" books by Richard Whatisname where he described reading the household encycopaedia of A -Z diseases when he first went to medical school.  He went through the alphabet and decided he had every disease in the book except perhaps Housemaid's Knee.