Thanks for all the info @kanaazpereira. I did check out those other threads. I made two calls to the scheduling dept last week. On the second call, I was informed that if I book an appointment w a GI, he/she could treat THESE symptoms: esophogitis, LPR, difficulty swallowing), but NOT THESE symptoms: fatigued voice, mucous, sore throat, globus. If I wanted treatment for the latter, I'd need to see a different doctor. This seems REALLY bizarre to me, and counter to the whole point of trying to visit a place like Mayo-that the body should be viewed as a system, and not as a collection of separate pieces that obey the lines drawn by our medical specialty classifications.

I was also told in my first call (last Tues) that several specific doctors had appointments available in Dec. I researched the doctors and decided to book an apt w a Dr David Katska. When I called back the next morning (Wed), I was told the ONLY appointment in GI was in mid-Jan with the "Gonda continuity clinic" (????) and an unspecified doctor (????). This plus the extreme oddity of splitting up symptoms caused me to not move ahead with booking an appointment that day.
--

I haven't asked docs about medications that could be making things worse. I do have Addison's disease and take very low-dose steroids. All my doctors are aware that I'm on that and have never mentioned it as a concern. (For unrelated reasons) I also tried injectable steroids instead of oral for a couple months and it did not seem to help my throat symptoms. I agree it may be worth further investigation though. Thanks for raising that point.

@gpants Interesting but tough notes, but that's the way Mayo works. I went to AZ to be tested for Amyloidosis, and spent 3 months and 3 weeks being tested for everything else by about 30 different doctors. Some were good, and some were not. They found nothing they thought was significant. On my last day there, I finally got to see a hematologist, and turns out he knew next to nothing about Amy. Sounds to me like you have an over-supply of eosinophils in your windpipe and esophagus, "eosinophilic esophagus". For your mucus, Mucinex is good, but Walmart's 88 cent mucus control is better and much cheaper.

@kanaazpereira , Thank you for the welcome and sorry I have been so long in acknowledging. We kept out 4 1/2 & 3 year old granddaughters and the younger one had the sniffles. Their mom said it is just allergies... it turns out it was a head cold. My husband and I have it. Mine is winding down and he is a couple of days behind me. Of course the sinus drainage and coughing have done their damage to my esophagus and stomach despite meds to calm them.

I have been on Nexium or Prilosec... usually the geneic for them since the late 1990s. I cannot remember exact year. My brain does not operate that well anymore. I have tried other ones over the years too. My husband is retired Army and we get our meds at the local Marine base which is supplied by the Navy. The pharmacy here is small and the generic for Prilosec is what I have been on since July because it is the cheapest for their formulary. I am on 40 mg twice a day and it was helping until this cold came along. I am taking a little bit of stor brand version if Mylanta to help sooth them.