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Considering a visit to Mayo for throat symptoms (most likely LPR)
Hi, I've been battling throat symptoms for several years now and have had little success correcting the issue through diet/lifestyle changes, or PPIs. I've had a barium study and endoscopy, and have been diagnosed w esophogitis, reflux and LPR. I'm considering an (out of pocket) visit to Mayo, in the hopes of confirming/denying the diagnosis as LPR, and coming up with a treatment plan.
For the record, specific symptoms include persistent phlegm, especially low in throat, difficulty swallowing, soreness and swollen feeling at base/back of tongue, sore throat, soreness on front of neck, voice fatigue, globus sensation, hoarseness, and occasional breathing trouble. Symptoms are worse in the daytime, especially after eating. I do not generally have heartburn or blatant regurgitation. I also have some Auto-Immune issues including Addison's Disease, for which I've been on low-dose steroids for 15 yrs, and more recently Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease. Not sure if there's any connection to the throat issues; my current doctors don't communicate with each other, and nobody has been able to make any clear connection.
I wanted to ask if anyone can recommend any specific doctor or doctors at Mayo. I'm not finding any doctors on the Mayo site who specifically mention LPR as a specialty, but I know the GI clinic is very highly regarded. LPR still seems to be seen as somewhat of a fringe diagnosis in establishment medicine; if I spend a significant amount of money out of pocket to visit Mayo, I want to feel certain that the doctors there won't attempt to lump this in as standard GERD, and will work to truly understand what's going on, as well as be open to a variety of treatment approaches. Does anyone have specific experiences visiting Mayo for LPR or a similar situation?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
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Update. I saw a thoracic Surgion who ran a bunch of test for my LPR symptoms. Barium swallow that showed a 4cm sliding hiatel hernia when laying down, a 24 hour ph test that showed sever reflux with a demeester score of 36.6 when in recumbent state. I was advised by the surgeon to have a Nissan Toupet fondoplication. No surgery yet as I have currently found relief from avoiding dairy, white flower and sugar. I’m on 150mg of Zantac taken once daily as PPI’s do nothing for LPR and I have elevated the head of my bed by 8 inches. From my experience with this illness the barium swallow and 24 hour ph test gave me the answers I needed to diagnose this.
Hi @gpants I know this is an old post, but I am new to the forum. I’ve been battling LPR symptoms since COVID in 2021. I haven’t had a normal throat in a very long time. I’m wondering if you had any success with Mayo and with treating this condition. I’ve been bounced around from ENT to GI for a long time with no real solutions. Any advice?
You have to treat the acid reflux and see if it improves the LPR symptoms. You might need to do an endoscopy to make sure you don't already have damage (Barrett's esophagus). Look up on the forums and on the internet the various ways to treat the acid reflux and tell the group what you've already done and whether it helps or not.
@t98 thanks for your reply. Ive been at this for a while now. Done all the internet research. Had all the GI test done. Was told it was visceral hypersensitivity causing my symptoms. Tried nerve meds and gradually increased the amitriptyline up to 75 mg. Didn’t help. Don’t know what to try next.