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GERD issues
I am 22 years old. I don't smoke or drink. Growing up I can remember having a slight hoarse voice in the morning if I ate to late at nights. But never anything too miserable. It would go away within a hour after drinking water.
March 2011 on a Wednesday. I woke up with a hoarse voice that never went away. After a few weeks I started to get slightly worried so I went to my family doctor. I went 3 times over a course of 5-6 weeks and they had no idea after giving me multiple steroids and antibiotics that did nothing. I also had no pain in the beginning my throat didn't hurt at all. My only symptom was the voice. So they sent me to a throat specialist. (Audiologist) He did a throat endoscopy and told me I have GERD. He prescribed me omeprazole 20mg once a day. I changed my diet. I stopped eating hours before I went to sleep. I have never been a soda drinker, I am not a fan of fatty foods. The fattiest thing I like to eat sometimes is chocolate.. So I gave that up. I don't eat big meals. I have always been a snacker. But I didn't seem to get that much better so back as planned in 6weeks. He told me to start taking it twice a day. my throat started to hurt and become really sore around this point. I would wake up in severe pain, and it would hurt through out the day. I would take 2- 20mg omeprazole and I would also drink baking soda mixed with water whenever I couldn't handle the constant burn anymore.. I wouldn't drink the baking soda/water at the same time as taking the omeprazole. I made sure I did that hours apart from one another.
So about 10-12 weeks later my symptoms got much worse. It wasn't working. Nothing seemed to work.
So I went back to the doctor. They did another endoscopy and my throat is more swollen than the first. It's starting to swell up even higher around where my thyroid is.
I started having chest pains and it has become hard to swallow anything.
My heart rate gets insanely high in random occasions.
I feel a knock/thump whenever I swallow.
My throat is always hurting.
I am nauseous when I eat.
It's painful to eat or drink anything; I have lost almost 30lbs because of it.
So I have had a endoscopy twice now,
I got a barium swallow done and he told me I have acid reflux. probe test done,.,Blood work....How many more test need to be done?
I haven’t heard my voice in a year now. It's to the point where I am becoming depressed and I ignore talking to people. I ignore hanging out with friends, because if I talk to much my throat becomes incredibly sore to the point where I won't be able to sleep. I can't yell or whisper. I have one tone. If I yell then I’m pretty much out for the rest of the day because my throat hurts so badly.
I am thinking about going to the Mayo Clinic. Has anyone else been through this? Do you think they will be able to help? Could it be something else?
Im desperate.
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ENT Jamie Koufman has a list of symptoms for gerd/lpr. You may see yourself in that list: https://jamiekoufman.com/silent-reflux/
To rosemaryhow
I have the exact same problem as you. Coughing, thick mucus, difficult to be social. I have to spit this thick mucus out constantly especially after eating.
My quality of life has changed so much I get very down.I just keeping on keeping on. I also have dysphasia so it’s difficult to even drink fluids.
I have all the symptoms of GERD and I’m on 2 meds.
Thanks for sharing.
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3 ReactionsI take all kinds of med for GERD. Feel great for several weeks at a time and then boom...NAUSEA. Lasts for a week or so. Then cycle begins again.
Prescriptions for GERD cause your stomach to stop producing acids which are required to digest your food. They can also cause some damage to the stomach lining. The most commonly reported side effects included headache, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Other side effects of Prilosec (omprazole) for instance includes pains in the stomach, side, or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back, nausea. indigestion, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea or loose stools, heartburn, bloody or cloudy urine. chills, general feeling of discomfort or illness, loss of appetite, unusual bleeding or bruising, and others.
Long term, some of these remedies may cause problems with the stomach lining, which may cause the stomach from being able to digest B-12 which may lead to pernicious anemia.
You should ask your doctor about possibly treating your GERD with changes to your diet, or by changing the other prescription medications you are taking which may be causing the GERD.
In some cases it has been possible to identify the foods which are causing the GERD by keeping a food diary and this will help to identify the root of the problem by referring back to the foods eaten just prior to the GERD symptoms.
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3 ReactionsLook for a PPI with longer half life.
Thank you so much for the response and great advice!
Good luck
I too take a ppi for me esophagitis. But there’s a myth that all ppi’s are the same. This is not true at all. I’ve been on many. And have gottten so many different side effects from them. While they are amazing at eliminating the pain in my chest some have caused me severe nausea, fatigue headaches constipstion etc. maybe it’s time for a meds change. Also have you made changes in your diet? Not eating after 7 pm? It really does help a lot. Good luck. You’re not alone!!!😊😊😊😊😊
Thank you so much!
I just had a colonoscopy/endoscopy yesterday. I'm 82 so past the age for a routine but have had IBS-D for over forty years and it has gotten worse and I also have a dry cough, pains in my upper GI area and heartburn. Turns out I have a "perfect" colon but I have very inflammed upper GI. Distal Esophagitis, Gastritis without bleeding, Duodenitis, Of course she ordered Rx Omeprozole and Sucralfate. I had a bleeding ulcer over 30 years ago and that's what I was on. You would think in all these years they would have come up with something newer. I already have the IBS-D, and Omeprozole doesn't help. Besides diet modification what other things help? I am already gluten free and don't drink so I'm guessing cutting out citrus, onions, coffee and tea? My food world is getting smaller and smaller.