I'm terrified of long term "silent-reflux"

You mention your symptoms which suggests to me that you don't have silent reflux. The reason silent reflux carries perhaps a higher risk is because it is symptomless so, the person being unaware that there is a problem, the acid is left to do damage in the oesophagus and throat with no intervention. As others have said, see your doctor and ask her/him to address your fears.

Thank yo for the reply. I'm also hoping that it's not LPR/Silent reflux. This all started 6 months ago, I did the idiotic thing of quitting my antidepressants cold turkey without weaning them off. I was okay for a few months but then all of a sudden I had BAD indegestion including neasea, reflux, etc. I went on Pantaparozole for 1 month only and went back to my antidepressants. It seems that the Pantaparozle helped a lot (even though I only took it for 1 month). Also, the anti-depressants didn't seem to cause any problems. But after Psychiatrist's supervision, I tapered off the anit-depressants this time instead of going cold turky. While doing so, I had NO indegestion problems but I've been having this weird feeling in my throat after going to the gym. It happens all the time after weight lifting where I'd feel some sort of acid or something in my throat. I don't know how to describe it but it's this "thirsty feeling" No matter how much water I drink, that feeling just doesn't go away. There's no cough or anything like that, just a throat that feels(minor) burning after eating, and dry after workouts. I will definitely see my general physician soon to stop my troubles.

Hi Gillian1956, thank you for taking the time to reply.

About my situation, I'm CURRENTLY not taking any medications for my symptoms. This is mainly because my symptoms of "heartburn" were never severe. Let me explain my situation. I used to be on anti-depressants like Zoloft/Clonazepam/Risperidone for the past 4  years of my life (on and off). This was to treat my severe anxiety. Zoloft was the main drug, while Clonazepam and Risperidone were the assisted drugs that I had to take alongside Zoloft. Eversince last year, I did the stupid thing by quitting my antidepressants cold turkey. It was stupid of me but I was tired of taking them and just quit. I was dealing with minor/bearable withdrawl symptoms for the first 4 months, but then all of a sudden. For some reason i started having bad indegestion. I had nausea, a little bit of vomiting, and it was a terrible feeling whenever I ate spicy/oily/flavored foods. It was so bad that I went on Pantaparozle for 1 whole month. And I went back to my antidepressants as well because my parents suspected that my stress had something to do with all this, and they encouraged me to go back to my Zoloft/Clonazepam/Risperidone combo. 

After a month of taking that Clonazepam, my symptoms practically disappeared. I had no more nausea or indegestion. I stopped taking Pantaparozle after my 1 month duration was over. Although my antidepressants were still continued but this time I was tapering off them with the help of my psychiatrist. I didn't stop cold turkey like last time. I tapered off them as directed by a professional. It's been 1 month and half that I've been off antidepressants properly. However, I felt like I might have minor symptoms of acid in my throat now and then. The symptoms never bothered me, they were very minor, almost unnoticeable. It was that feeling of having acid in my throat. Throat felt it felt very dry. Whenever I drank water, it just wouldn't fix it. This usually happenend after weight-lifting.

I've decided to get a different form of exercise and make dietary changes. The symptoms I'm feeling nowadays are not severe but I'm worried if that's because I have silent reflux. My biggest worry is that these minor symptoms are harmful in the long term even if they don't alter the quality of my life now. I'm mostly worried about the throat cancer article that I've read. That's what's bothering me, that damn C-word. I will be seeing my general physician soon, and seeing if he can refer me to a doctor that specializes in GERD.

Nope, not on PPI at the moment. I was 6 months ago. That's when I had my first GERD-like symptoms. I was never diagnosed with GERD, but had the symptoms. I'm guessing it all started because of my cold-turkey stopping of antidepressants like Zoloft/Risperidone/Clonazepam (stupid of me, I know). So I took 1 month of Pantaparozle and it cured all my symptoms. I've stopped taking them after the 1 month perscription. Also went back to my antidepressants during that time and over the course of the months I tapered off my anxiety meds/antidepressants with the help of my psychiatrist. Over the course of those months, I had very little problems with indegestion, like they went away completely. However, I felt like every now and then I had small amounts of acid come up to my throat. It's that feeling you get when acid hits your throat and you feel thirsty and no matter how much water you drink, that dry throat feel is still there. I'm pretty sure it's caused by acid. The problem felt very minor and did not lower the quality of my life. But I'm worried about letting this go on for many years. My biggest fear is that even small amounts of acid in my throat overtime will cause throat cancer or something. I'm going to see a general physician soon, and I'm going to ask him to refer me to a Gastro doctor or something. I just don't want to get cancer. I also have to find a new hobby other than weight lfiting because I noticed that weight lifting definitely causes this "dry throat' feeling from the acid. I've heard that weight lifters are at higher risk of acid reflux. I guess I'll have to stick to softer sports for now on like ping pong. 

Thank you for the reply Nancy, your story gives me a lot of hope. It relieves me when you said that cancer is "statistically rare." I don't know where you heard that, but it calms me either way and I hope it's true. Because if I had to deal with my symptoms my whole life, I'd actually be okay with. It's just that dreaded word "cancer" that fills my heart with anxiety. For me, the only symptoms I've had are a burning feeling the back of throat, and a dry feeling after weight lifting. The weight training one was the most bothersome because no matter how much water I drank, that feeling was still there. It would go away in like an hour but it's really bothersome now that I have to find a different activity. I actually liked weight training 

For me, my symptoms were bearable, like it never altered the quality of my life. But what worries me is the cancer potential from longterm untreatment of minor symptoms. I've heard that in order for cancer to occer as a result of LPR, symptoms must be severe and go untreated for many years. 

I think the reason all this started was because I took antidepressants for my anxiety. If I'd known that it'd cause these gut problems, I'd NEVER sign up for those. It's a mistake that I've made and would not wish on my worst enemy. I'm scared that these antidepressant drugs I've taken (Zoloft/Resperidone/Clonazepam) have damaged my gut permanently. I've currently tapered off them with the help of a psychiatrist, and I hope my sphincter (or whatever it's called) heals. Even if it takes 3 years to heal, that would be a blessing. I actaully have no clue if it'll heal or not. My biggest fear is that the antidepressants have damaged my sphintcer forever. 

And thanks for the advice, I will see a Gastro doctor soon to see where I'm standing.

How long are you on ppi

Hi Elizabeth, I'm sorry you have been having trouble for years. I to have had problems as I was diagnosed with Silent Reflex three years ago. I have been taking a teaspoon of coconut oil in the morning and in the afternoon and it has really helped. I'm not saying it is the cure but it truly has helped me. I just thought I'd pass it on to who ever would like to try it. I wish you all the best and everyone else on here. Take care, Lorray

Thanks Elizabeth. I hope the best for you, and I hope you get through this. If it helps, I've heard that people who do regular breathing exercises and take walks after dinner, they've have massive success with minimizing their symptoms. My biggest problem is the recommendation of eating 5-6 small meals per day instead of 3 big meals. I have a life outside of this, how can I possibly expect to follow that?

I'm glad you're feeling better, it gives me hope. If you want some good news, I've read online on how a lot of people fixed their LPR. Obviously it took a few months because the throat has to be healed from inflammation (obviously doesn't heal overnight), but once that's over, they've been feeling GREAT! And in order to keep it from happening again, the most successful ones cut caffinee, alcohol, dairy, spicy foods from their diet. I geuss we won't be enjoying italian food or mexican food anymore like most people, but it's a small price to pay in order to live a healthier life.