Unbearable and Terrified
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi all -
I have been diagnosed with LPR (laryngopharyngeal reflux), ILS (irritable larynx syndrome, VCD (vocal cord dysfunction) and everything else that comes along (i.e., chronic cough, laryngitis, etc.). I have been symptomatic since the age of 8 and am 31 now. I have been misdiagnosed for decades and after I diagnosed myself, I FINALLY found a very reputable speech pathologist and two ENTs who correctly diagnosed me and started me on a regimen of PPIs and a low dose antidepressant to curb the ILS. My reflux has gotten significantly better, but I'm still having the VERY TERRIFYING issue of soft palate/back of throat irritation that worsens with smells, smoke, etc. and is exacerbated when breathing in, both through my nose and mouth. The episodes are so severe that I feel like I have a 100 thumb tacks pushing into my soft palate and my pharyngeal arch, which naturally makes me cough, which makes me begin to feel like I'm choking and/or have a laryngospasm. I've let my primary ENT ans speech patho. know about this and all they can say is that it takes awhile for healing to be completely fulfilled. I have yet to meet anyone with similar issues! Has anyone dealt with this before?? I am naturally panic-prone so when this happens, I feel like I'm about ready to flip out. It also doesn't help that I work in the medical field and am always extremely stressed out from work and life in general.
0 likes, 2 replies
joshuapryce1987 Dina2021
Posted
Drink energy drinks.
stefanpavel98 Dina2021
Posted
Hi, you might find this reassuring because I believe it can be anxiety related / induced or muscle spasm / nerves related as well. I have had this very same symptoms often (I'm 22), even very bitter, acidic taste in my mouth but usually only when I think I have them and I focus on them for a little while. Try to break out of it and see if its correlated in any way to your mood, notice if you feel it more when you might think you're having them, or when your mood is down (especially if you are generally worried about it and you know the symptoms that people feel normally). You probably don't have this when your mood is up or when you do something that gives you positive emotions. I often try to fight it with my brain by forcing myself to believe that I don't have anything and that I am making it up and in a couple of seconds the symptoms go away fully, or I try to redirect the pain and imagine I am feeling it somewhere else in the body. If this works then you should see an immediate pattern between the way you think (discouraged, negative, anxious) with the level of discomfort you're experiencing physically, especially if you consciously focus/ ruminate on it too much. This made the symptoms go away completely for me as it seems that your brain is inducing either muscles spasms or it triggers the nerves around that side of your body that produces the sensations that you're describing. So notice if that makes it go way, if it its that then its anxiety related, I know it feels very real but there's actual studies that show how you body becomes more sensitive (mentally) and then gives you these sensations or triggers some of the nerves/ muscles that make you feel this way. But please do the necessary medical investigations either way if necessary, even for your piece of mind! Please try it, its been quite a revelation for me! All the best!