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Constant Tight throat from Acid Reflux

Posted , 3 users are following.

omega2020
omega2020

Here's my story. I have had GERD for years or rather since 2013 when I was 27, however I have been able to manage it well drinking soda, eating pizza, tea, etc as if everything was fine. A little indigestion or acid reflux, I may take a pill of ranitidine  once a day for 2 - 3 days and it would clear up. That was in 2016, now here it is 2018 and it's become much more frequent. I have cut out drinking soda, I would have no problems with my acid reflux but sometimes it may get triggered by something like if I eat Chinese food such as shrimp and broccoli so I cut that out. These past couple of times its lasted longer than usual. Meaning I feel constantly like I have a lump in my throat or my stomach gets acid reflux back in my throat and it would last for about a week or a week and some change. My prescription was upgraded from ranitidine to pantoprazole 20mg once a day and it helped and I felt no symptoms after taking it. Now, currently I am having another episode of GERD because I ate some Mac and Cheese, didn't realize it would have triggered it, but it is a greasy food, I've eaten it before and haven't had problems so I don't fully understand why I can eat certain foods that could trigger it and get away with it. Since eating it March 26th 2018 the first few days my stomach felt the burning sensation and stomach acid was constantly going up and down my throat. I stopped eating and only drunk water and ginger tea for a few days and took pantoprazole 20mg once a day. By the end of the week, my stomach felt settled, but my throat still felt tight and would sometimes feel like it had a burning sensation to it. I assumed my throat was damaged from all the acid reflux going up and down the past few days. I went to my doctor who has given me a referral to see a gastro doctor about it. Now two weeks have gone by and I still feel like my throat is tight and sometimes feel the lump in my throat. I stopped taking pantoprazole for two days and started back up because of my doctors orders. I have started eating light, I eat oatmeal for my breakfast with water, yogurt as a snack for lunch and steamed veggies for my dinner everyday with ginger tea. I wonder how long would it take before I get back to normal again. The feeling doesn't go away and I belch frequently. I haven't had to sleep with my head or body arched upward until these past couple of weeks. I am not overweight. I am 5'9ft and 160 pounds. Is there any advice that you can give? I don't know what's going on or what else I should do. I have read a posting about someone holding back from belching to try and help strengthen the LES if it's too weak. That's something I can try.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • jason_02625
    jason_02625 omega2020

    Posted

    Omega, I know exactly how it feels to go what you're going through. I am 32 but when I was 17 that is when I started getting acid reflux and I had a pretty severe case of it I could not go a day without taking one of the PPI medications that you see out on the store shelves. It wasn't until about 2 and 1/2 years ago where I was reading a news article here in the states where I live and there was a new procedure called the Linx. It's still somewhat of a new procedure and I am not sure if they offer this to you where you live but I had the surgery almost 2 years ago and since then the day they put the device in I have not had to take any sort of medication and if I do get any sort of sensation acid reflux wise I might take a Tums in the pain and discomfort goes away automatically. If you have never heard of this procedure I would strongly and highly suggest you look into it to see if this is something they could perform on you. I did exactly what you were doing to watching what I ate watching what I drank and no matter what I did I would still get reflux. And I did not want to have to go the rest of my life watching what I ate or what I drink that's not who I am that's not who I wanted to be. Reading that news article change my life and I will say the procedure itself is a very very very simple procedure and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I know that your doctor is telling you to take these medications to control your reflux however after doing many researches and studies on these PPI medications I learned that these medications are not good for you. There are many long-term side effects that are linked to these medications and for one thing your regular doctor is not an expert when it comes two acid reflux. He sees you're getting as reflux and you just making you take this medication me while he doesn't know anything about this disease he only knows that if you take this medication you'll get relief which is true but at the same time you're doing damage to your body. If you don't believe me research the medications and you will see that the effects of these medications can be pretty severe if you take them long enough. Your gastroenterologist should be able to give you a better idea of how to correct this issue and if they keep telling you to take these medications go get another referral from someone else that knows what they're talking about. And in the meantime this did work for me some what but if you take a teaspoon or tablespoon of apple cider vinegar that could give you some relief. It doesn't taste very good and it kind of hurts going down especially if you have acid reflux but it can give you some relief. I hope everything goes well

    • omega2020
      omega2020 jason_02625

      Posted

      I certainly believe what your saying considering that you have gone through the same problems and came to the conclusion that you needed a Linx. What's it like living with that? I did do some reading on it about it being difficult to swallow, that its also possible that it could slip out of place or injury other organs if its moved some how.....but those are considered complications. When I go see my Gastro doctor on Wednesday (4/11/18) I will discuss the options of surgery with him after they look inside me to let me know what's going on. I just hope that I don't have Barett's Esophagus because of my throat constantly feeling like its tight or a lump in the throat. I used to feel a burning sensation but it seems like it may come and go at this point and its not very frequent. My dad passed away from this. He had GERD and it developed in to Baretts Esophagus and then developed in to Esophagus cancer, but he drank and smoked a lot. I do not drink or smoke but I feel fearful that It could be going the same way for me. I may get a dry throat from drinking a lot of water which is weird, but I wasn't big on drinking water back then but I find myself having to do that now. I was big on drinking juices like cran-grape, cran-apple, Orange Juice and I have cut them out now because of them being acidic. I feel like I really messed up, I shouldn't have eaten the Mac and Cheese that I ate otherwise I wouldn't be suffering like this. It feels like its as bad as when I was drinking cola which doesn't make sense. I cannot stand the PPI pills because I also know about the long term effects and have been trying to avoid taking them if I can, but for the time being I have to try and keep my throat settled and relaxed by any means possible. To feel this way every hour of everyday without it letting up has me really worried. The only time I feel at ease is when I am sleep, when I wake up it comes back. Like, right now I feel the tightness in my throat but I also feel like my stomach wants to reflux acid back in to my throat even as I am writing this. I wish things for me could move much faster with seeing my gastro doctor and doing this.

  • jason_02625
    jason_02625 omega2020

    Posted

    At first it can be a little tricky swallowing food but they say to eat small bites of food at first and eat often to exercise the device. Just like with any surgery they arent always 100 percent, there are chances something like it moving could happen and i have read one or 2 stories about that but chances of it moving are very very slim. I have not heard of it affecting organs though. The pros out weigh the cons in a big big big way. It has changed my life for the better in a big big way. Even if it would move out of place, i would get the procedure done again in a heart beat. Its a very simple surgery and to be honest, depending what type of work you do, you might only need a day or 2 off. I took one day off for the suegwry thinking i would need more but the next morning there was very very little pain and i was perfectly fine and most of all, REFLUX FREE. Ihave friends and family who are looking into the procedure because they cant stand living the way they do and having to watch everything they eat and drink.
    • omega2020
      omega2020 jason_02625

      Posted

      That's pretty good and impressive. Sounds like wonderful results. Do you still have to watch what you eat? I mean foods that may cause too much gas? Are you able to belch ok or do you feel bloated or like you have to pass gas frequently? Do you have any pains in your abdomen? I can certainly go without throwing up, I have always avoided trying to vomit if I can and have anything pass out the other end but belching is different. When they performed the Lynx, did they check to see if you could have had a Hernia or if you did, correct it before the surgery? Are you able to sleep laying back down on any side you choose? If you exercise, are you still able to do that such as jogging or lifting weights?

  • jason_02625
    jason_02625 omega2020

    Posted

    I can eat and drink anything with no problems at all. I can still burp and if i get sick i can throw up with no issue. In terms of eating small bites i would suggest doing it everytime you eat at first because there have been times i have been so hungry i forget i had the surgery and the food always doesnt go down and if it does it hurts but once it passes through your fine. I have had to throw my food up before because i couldnt get it down but that was my own stupid fault. In terms of jogging i would give it a week or 2 and lifting i would give it a few months jist to be safe. Doing cardio shouldnt be any issue though. I did have a hernia too and he thought woild could correct the refulx and sometimes that can be all thats needed to fix the reflux but i was still getting it and thats when my DR put the device in.
  • Andre3001
    Andre3001 omega2020

    Posted

    BE is a usually a silent progression, however, have a stricture. Long term side effects of PPI are negligible. Most studies that show side effects don't control for other factors. And the vitamin deficiencies can be treated with good quality supplement.  

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