Is this Silent Reflux/LPR?

Hi, just starting to research Silent Acid Reflux (LPR) myself, also looking at what seems to be the more difficult/serious GERD (think it might fit your more numerous, serious sounding symptoms better) Have you researched that?

Mine started after a bad cough late January, it lasted 2 weeks, stopped for about 3-4 days, then kicked off again, exactly the same cough. Finally stopped after a further 2 weeks of it - but it never went away completely!

Remaining symptoms for past 4 1/2 months have been irritating, dry, tickly, non productive cough, relentless. Feeling that my throat is 'narrower', NOT like a normal cough with that feeling of a lump made of raspy sandpaper stuck there. It isn't sore despite how often I cough.

Permanent feeling of too much mucus in my throat, & the need to swallow. When not coughing I clear my throat constantly but it never actually clears! Can't go anywhere without a bottle of water & a packet of Jakeman's Cherry Menthol sweets, don't help much but do produce 'spit' when I'm heading towards a coughing fit, stifling it a bit. In these difficult days of Coronavirus people don't react well to 'coughing'.

Often notice coughing is worse when I've eaten, occasionally a bit more productive, the mucus shifts just a tiny bit but replaced with more! At night........WORSE by miles! Cannot lie just with 1 pillow, must have 2 & sit up as much as possible, but still cough, cough, cough. Can't lie on my sides at all or it's worse still.

No nasal congestion or breathing problems, no heartburn to speak of (very mild, only a couple of times). It's odd, but though I cough for about 2 hours at night before dropping, exhausted, off to sleep, when I wake up I barely cough at all. It's usually about 5AM, & I can lie there for 2-3 hours no coughing, throat clearing or excessive swallowing. Though still aware my throat feels 'narrow'.

To be honest, I think your symptoms sound too severe for LPR, though GERD seems to be a similar, it does have more symptoms. Personally, I'm going to fast for a day or two, see what happens when my stomach gets no fuel!

I think that your symptoms are very similar to that of LPR, especially your asthmatic type breathing. I have this and its worse after drinking and eating fatty foods, I also get breathless and have chest tightness due to aspirated acid getting into my lungs. LPR is a stubborn beast and PPI are often less effective in the fight against the symptoms. Look up diaphragmatic breathing..do it at least twice a day, that was a big game changer for me. At the start I was off work for 6 weeks as I could hardly breathe and had no energy. Just to stand up was so uncomfortable. All the reflux gave me esophageal spasm too. Good luck

Hi Darren, I would have a chronic sore throat and particularly on my left side, it drove me mad. I was more painful when inhaling than on the exhale - that is crucial when deciphering between LPR and true asthma as asthma sufferers have trouble on the exhale and not the inhale. My chest pain was just like angina and I was treated as a heart patient for 2 and a half years. It was only after a 24 hour pH monitoring test that showed I had chronic reflux. I have nocturnal reflux, daytime reflux (LPR) and exercise induced reflux. It was only after finding a doctor that specialised in reflux in London that he said that it could all be down to reflux and not the heart that things moved along. I'm now on 80mg a day of Pantoprazole and its the only thing that really made a difference 20 and 40mg a day never even touched it. Yes I do get that swelling feeling on one side of my throat but not the nasal congestion but do get sinusitis which is also from LPR. This disease is really hard to treat. Look up Reza band but main thing is to change diet. I haven't had a cup of coffee for 2 and a half years. Hope this helps