Mild frequent heartburn, tight throat with lump feeling?

I would agree that you need an endoscopy to find out what is going on. It's really simple. No prep just no food after midnight and you can eat/drink right away afterwards. I've always been sedated but I'm hearing not all hospitals do this. (I think it's better.) Sometimes I've had a sore throat afterward but that's it. I have had GERD along with a Hiatal Hernia, both of which were causing my problems. The doctor did do biopsy's just be be certain something else wasn't going on. Good luck!

Hi Ian

I have had to have a endoscopy a few times and like you I was feeling worried about

Having it done and also the results.

The test its self isn't have as bad as I

Imaged it would be it only takes a very short

Time to have done. You can opt for sedition or spray to numb your throat.

I have had it done with both options.

The sedition made it so i was not aware

It was been done I even asked my husband

Afterwards was he sure I had the procedure

I couldn't remember anything apart from

Going in the room and lying down.

The spray tastes horrid but does numb your throat. I found I had to try and relax and

Concentrate on my breathing I did panic

Slightly but the nurse reassured me that

I could breath and it would be over soon.

Afterwards I had a cup of tea and received

The results and i could remember the

Conversation with the spray.

I would try and not worry about the

Results they could be many reasons for

Your symptoms. Mine was hernia and

Reflux I have since had surgery Linx

Procedure and I'm now recovering.

Hope all goes well and try and

Not worry.

Thank you so much for your quick replies! Is the sedtation normally done through IV or through taking a pill. I have never had anything like this before so am even nervous about potentially having an IV done. I suppose I am more worried that it might be the big C (I suppose most people do) even though the doctor said being 32 its more likely to be a relaxed muscle? 

PS glad you are both recovering well and have things under control, I hope to be doing the same soon!

I have had a very bad week.  Every night when gone to bed I've had terrible heartburn...coughing etc....got rid of it by sleeping on my left ISO my right but comes back again in the morning...today hasn't been to bad but it's been in the back ground. I am the list of endoscopy very shortly. Good luck next week. Let's us khow you get on.

 

Thanks John, here is hoping you get treated soon. Will let you know what happens next week!

I thought I was dying too. Mine started mild and then started feeling like a furnace was in my body. I had endoscopy and to my surprise it looked good. It was an easy procedure. I had the same as you with a lump feeling. Weirdly enough my heartburn came last. It's been a few weeks and I just started to see mild improvement. U might get a peace of mind if you do the endoscopy. Also, don't quit cold turkey on the meds. You have to slowly withdraw or you will experience rebound. Good luck and hang in there. Acid reflux is a crazy thing.

Hi Ian,

Sounds like reflux. Omeprazole (a PPI) is good at reducing the acid element but not the reflux.

Your doctor has followed the recommendations. Often a 4 week course of a PPI is sufficient to heal any inflammation that may have been caused by acid + reflux. And H-Pylori is a possible cause.

The enxt stage is to see a consultant who most probably will want to give yu an endscopy to find out what's going on and check there's no permanent damage (ie Barrett's Oesophagus which in some cases can lead to cancer).

I'm assuming your first consultation with the consultant he'll just discuss the problem and possibilities and arrange for you to have a scope. If you have a scope, you'll be offered the choice of having sedation or just throat spray.

With sedation, you'll need someone to accomany you afterwards and not drive or operate machinery for 24 hours.

Some people manage with just the throat spray OK but you will feel like you're gagging. (For me, sedation has no effect so I have to manage with just the throat spray - which also means I can cycle to and from the hospital without problem.)

As I suggested earlier, Acid reflux is actually a combination of acid and reflux.

You can try to manage symptoms yourself. We all react to foods differently so you'll need to dscover what your particular trigger foods are that cause you heartburn, Keep a food diary. Common triggers are fatty foods, soda drinks, chocolate, tomatoes.

Antacids like Rennie, Tums neatralise immediately but are not long lasting. Alginates like gavison liquid form a raft t o float on the stomach contents to help reduce reflux and coat the oesophagus to sooth inflammation in addition to neutralising the acid.

Reflux occurs when stomach contents breach the lower oesophageal sphincter. There are many possible causes - the stomach my aget overfull, it may not empty rapidly enough, peristalsis movement of food down the oesophagus may be sluggish, bloating may be occuring in the stomach. Refiux doesn't have to be acidic.

The lump in the throat feeling is probably "globus" and may be the cricopharyngeus spasming in an attempt to keep the upper oesophageal sphincter closed to prevent refluxate that has travelled the full height of the eosophageal column refluxing and aspirating nto the respiratory system.

To reduce reflux, give up smoking if applicable, lose weaight if necessary, eat small portions and more frequently, avoid exercise after food that compresses the stomach including bending, avoid tight clothing, leave at least 3 hours between your last meal and going to bed, raise the head of your bed by 6 to 8 inches.

Now as to what an endoscopy may reveal.

If you have been refluxing bile along with your acid, you may have developed Barrett's Oesophagus. Bile is an emulcent and permits acd to dissolve meat (in the same way as detergent permits water to break down oil). Acid + bile coming into contact with the oesophagus wall may start to attack it. In an attempt to defend itself, the normal (squamous) tissues lining the oesophagus are replaced by columnar cells that present a smaller surfact area to attack whilst moving the nerve endings further away from the attacker (so providing some relief).

These columnar cells usually constitute "Barrett's Oesophagus". The change cannot reverse itself so if you have Barrett's you'll have it for life (unless you have it removed by a process called ablation - which will be offered if dysplasia is seen).

The problem with Barrett's cells is they have the ability to mutate in some people. For "ordinary" Barrett's the risk of progression to cancer, whilst 10 times higher than for those without Barrett's is only about 0.7% p.a. If mutation is going to occur, initial stages, "dysplasia",  are usually slow. Low grade dysplasia carries a 1% p.a. risk of progression to cancer. High grade dysplasia carreies a 6% risk of progression to cancer.

If you are found to have Barrett's (whch will require lab results from biopsies taken at a scope), you will be put on a surveillance programme being scoped every few years to look for signs of dysplasia or early canerous changes.

Those of us who have been thus diagnosed are the lucky ones as we'll probably never get the cancer. I've had 3 centimetres of non-dysplastic Barrett's for at least 21 years. I expect my next scope in a few days time will confirm no changes have occured.

There may be 1 million people with Barrett's in UK and less than 10% know it. It's those who haven't been identified that are likely not to be identified until it's too late: diagnosis at the cancer stage provides a prognosis measured in weeks rather than years. Oesophageal cancer is the 5th greatest cancer killer in the Western world and UK has the worst statistics in the world with one person an hour dying of it on avaerage.

Hope your consultation goes OK and you learn to cope with whatever they find.

Cheers

Chris (chairman on Barrett's Wessex patient support charity)