feels like a furball in my throat!

I have also been plagued with this feeling of a lump in my throat that, had tests and all fine .Never had reflux in my life till menapause. I find it gets worse in winter, will go away for months and then come back. I too have stopped coffee, sugar ect also anything with a tomatoe base. Stress can also make it worse so try not worry. Just one of the terrible symptoms we all have to go through, and hope you get relief soon .

Regards pam

Hi Jen!  Oh yes.  I have GERD. It started with lack if appetite, feeling full.  Then, I was getting heart attack like symptoms.  Chest pain, palps, spiking pain, pressure, jaw, shoulder, neck pain.  Also get lots of sore throats!  Lost weight.  I had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, cardio, last year...all clear!   It really seems like you are vigilant about your diet...that is good!  I completely stop eating 3-4 hours before bed.  Sleep with my head elevated.  I tried PPIs...they gave me hellacious GI problems...so I cannot take.  Mine lasted about a year. I was on an anti depressant  for 3 months and didn’t have any acid issues... I am off it now.  I get mad hiccups, but other than that not bad.  Our bodies are going through so much with hormone shifts and it is very stressful.  You will cycle through different symptoms.  Keep track...is it worse near your cycle, after, etc.  Then you can see if it is hormone related. Are you on anything for hormones?  I would try to phase out all the the acid reflux meds... I almost think they cause more issues than they solve.  You could ask your dr about hiatus hernia, but I think you would have a lot of pain, pressure in your diaphragm area.  That’s what I thought I had...but mine was clear.  🤗

Thanks so much for these wonderful replies!  I am sure all this has a stress component, but I do not feel too plagued by anxiety and certainly not depression (though I have at other times).  I do find that as the day goes on, I really need some calm before going to sleep-- it is more about feeling easily overwhelmed (almost like a sensory barrage) than feeling anxious.  Cleaning things up/organizing is suddenly calming-- I think I finally understand my mother now, after all these years!

Do any of you get a feeling of chest pressure when you wake up at night with a hot flash?  Deep breathing seems to help it.  But I also do worry sometimes that the acid is getting into my lungs.  If I scootch up higher on my wedge pillow it seems to go away.  The problem is that as I sleep, I keep slipping back down it.

I just don't know whether to take the plunge and get the endoscopy etc. in case I really do need more serious reflux meds.  I know they are bad for you, but I also don't want to risk serious inflammation.  Do any of you have these symptoms literally all the time?  I didn't before, but I feel like now I do.  I have to say it was all better over the summer when life was more relaxed (I am a teacher).  My gastroenterologist already thinks I am a crazy hypochondriac.

Hi Jen,   So I too have had this symptom mainly last year, it started with chest pains that brought me to ER followed by lump feeling in the throat all this lasted on and off for close to a year.  I never had this ever in my life leading up to that.  The only time I had heart burn which was felt more in the lower esophagus was in my pregnancies over a decade ago in the last trimesters then vanished after babies were born. I still question if mine was caused by using a bio identical progesterone cream as that is when mine started a couple months into using that.   In the year of suffering I went for many many heart tests which came back normal, I had a barium swallow test which focused mainly on my throat and swallowing, I had a fecal test done and it showed normal, I had upper and lower abdominal and pelvic ultra sound, then chest and abdominal xray, we even did back xray to see if it was back related as I suffer from that as well.  I did not have the scope done as there wasn't a red flag with the other tests.  The doctors suggested that it was more than likely GERD and offered PPI which I declined, only because the over the counter stuff (zantac) put me back into an attack.    So I went outside the box and went to alternative therapies, and it was suggested that often times when we get to peri/menopause, our digestion slows down, our bile flow slows down, and even our stomach acid decreases, this causes the lower and upper esophageal valve to weaken, and often stay open.....giving us this lump in the throat feeling.  It was recommended to me, to add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water and drink that with a meal, or even use bitters which you can buy at a health food store.  Digestive enzymes and probiotics can be beneficial too, the burping and flatulence is from food not breaking down properly.  The fact that you are taking PPI's tells me that your stomach acid is being suppressed already, and then with your body not producing any of your own, you have nothing breaking down the food and nutrient in your body.  I am an alternative practitioner, and from studying anatomy this is the time of our lives that our bodies are changing, we are not storing vitamins like we did, we are becoming deficient of hormones and nutrients, so we need to assist our bodies in giving it what it needs to function properly.