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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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@lgumerman -
I understand how you feel- I have lived like that for a few months this year, also losing weight.
Before you contacted Mayo did you have tests done locally- such as endoscopy, ultrasound,CT or MRI?
Yes I had soooo many tests also and allergy test with naturopath. No diagnosis!! Have you found anything that helps with your pain you can tell me about?
@lgumerman
Yes, I got a diagnosis and treatment. I don’t know if you have heard of a very rare condition called MALS- Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome?
There is a ligament from the diaphragm going into the abdominal cavity that can put pressure on the celiac artery. The celiac artery supplies blood to intestines, pancreas, spleen and liver. If this artery is compressed enough there won’t be enough blood going to the intestines for digestion after a meal. This causes pain of varying degree- it’s also called abdominal angina.
It can be diagnosed with a Duplex ultrasound of the abdominal blood vessels or with a CT scan- the most accurate being a CT angiogram.
I was diagnosed 2015 and had the ligament cut laparoscopically. 6 moths later I had a stent placed because the blood vessel was still kinked. I was fine until this fall when I needed another stent.
We have a MALS Connect group too.
You may want to ask your local doctor about these tests, if they were done.
Typical symptoms are pain related to eating, fear of eating and weight loss.
GERD can be a sign your gallbladder is not making enough Hydrochloric acid (HCL) which causes the lower opening of the stomach not to close well after food passes through it. What little acid you might be making then flows up into the esophagus. Here is how I find out if this is ur situation: take two capsules of HCL in the middle of your meals. If no burning or no good result, try three. If no burning, and you feel better that day. you’ve probably found the right dose.
Having your gall bladder removed would cause ur problem but aging also makes ppl make less HCL. HCL is terribly important. It breaks down protein and kills most of the germs we swallow. Also it triggers the closing of the lower valve of the stomach.
I asked my doctor about Mals and he said I had a CT scan with IV contrast and celiac artery narrowing wasn't mention. He said he has looks for this a few times. Liz
I searched for the MALS connect group. Couldn’t find it. Anyone know how to connect? Thks
None that they're reporting. There is a link between asthma and GERD however
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1 Reaction@lgumerman -
I found that before my diagnosis I had been seen at Mayo and a CT with contrast did not show it but a Duplex ultrasound did.
Also, recently before my new stent was placed I had a regular chest CT that caught the narrowed celiac artery by chance.
CT angiogram or Duplex ultrasound are the definitive tests for diagnosis.
Let me see if I can connect you with the MALS group.
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1 ReactionYou’ll find it under the Digestive Health Support Group :
Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/median-arcuate-ligament-syndrome-mals/
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1 ReactionI had heartburn/GERD for 45+ years. I was on 5 PPI Rx meds. when I had "break through," I took over the counter tums or Roland's. Finally, I stopped in my PCP office and he was not there. I got his med student/intern. She tested me for pylori, and it came back positive! Up until that point, I was treated like I had a mental illness, including counseling, and everything was being blamed on surgery I had when I was younger.
I knew for many years that I had a hiatal hernia, but when I had "Barium swallow" tests done, I had to fast, so the hernia dropped, and didn't show!
My dear little intern referred me over to bariatrics for an endoscopy, and they found the Hi-grade Barretts Esophagus, which had also herniated, eroded sphincter valve, and hiatal hernia. After all that was "resolved," I have been heartburn free! Stick to your guns, get your referrals, and expect your Dr's to listen to you! Not everything shows up in a blood test!
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