1. < Digestive Health
Profile picture for Bpositive

Does surgery work for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)?

Posted by Bpositive @bpositive, Jun 13, 2017

Since December 13, 2016. My symptoms started with a soar throat, soar inflamed taste buds on the tip of my tongue and inflamed salivary glands on my soft palate. My tongue, throat and soft palate had a painful burning sensation that was on and off. My General practitioner referred me to an Ear Nose throat specialist who referred me to an oral surgeon who referred me to an oral pathologist for burning mouth syndrome. After wasting 3 months of running around with these Dr's and being tested for oral thrush, hsv tests, vitamin deficiency tests, auto immune deficiency tests, cultural bacteria tests all which came back normal. I decided to go for a second opinion with another E.N.T. specialist who performed a camera scope and diagnosed me with acid in my throat. I was put on Dexilant and noticed the pain dissipate almost immediately only problem was I couldn't tolerate the medication. I was then put on Tecta and referred to a G. I. My general Practitioner did some blood work for h pylori and I tested positive. I started to develop tinitus in my left ear. I had a gastroscopy where they found a 2 cm Hiatel Hernial and my lower sphincter was weak. Thats when I was told I have a mild case of gerd, but I don't suffer from any heart burn. I was put on triple dose of antibiotics for h pylori and continued with the Tecta, domperadone and sucrolafate. I'm getting a little relief from the PPI and meds but I still suffer from bitter reflux taste and burning pain in my throat, soft Palate, the tip of my tongue and dry mouth that comes and goes. I'm in the process of having a 24 hr ph level test done. The G. I. I was seeing says my esophagus biopsy tested clean and he doesn't believe what is happening in my oral cavity is related to my gut. He stated in order for acid to travel to the throat it has to travel through the esophagus and the esophagus tested clean. Thus he can't help me anymore. I'm so confused my ENT says I have acid in my throat and the G.I. doesn't agree.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Profile picture for willows
willows | @willows | Aug 14, 2022
In reply to @pamelajean "I also have GERD that has been going on for over a year if not longer..." + (show)
Profile picture for pamelajean @pamelajean

I also have GERD that has been going on for over a year if not longer and getting worse instead of better. I had endoscopy done, results said inflammation of esophagus and stomach. I went to a different Gastro Dr. He did a test called EGD Bravo, they put a capsule the size of an eraser on a pencil in my esophagus and I wore a monitor for 48 hours. They do it like a endoscopy. I just did 2 more tests. A esophageal manometry, then a stomach emptying test.
I go July 16th for my results. So far the first test did show I had a higher acid level but not as high as most people. I told him I probably wasn't off the protonix long enough to show a more negative result. I told him I did try to go off of GERD prescription med because I also don't want the side effects, and that I was in a lot of pain being off of the med. The Manometry test , looks at how your esophagus is working. I feel that may be my problem, because I feel full after I eat something, like its just sitting on my stomach and not moving down the tract like it should.

Jump to this post

I have very similar symptoms. I have had, over the years total of five endoscopies, and many other GI tests at the hospital. I have GERD, and a condition involving very slow emptying of the contents of the stomach. I take 2 previcid, several sucralite, and 4 domperidone per day. The latter has been a wonder for me. Without domperidone for 24 hrs. I am back into severe, intolerable stomach pain. Unfortunately domperidone is not available in the US. There must be some esquivent. To be of any assistance with GERD the head of the bed has to be raised 8 to 10 inches. Therefore I can’t sleep on my side any more or my back is twisted into an uncomfortable position. Consequently I have to sleep on my back. It takes patience to change sleeping position but eventually it works.

REPLY
Profile picture for med08
med08 | @med08 | Oct 6, 2022
In reply to @sanchopanza "Thanks for your concern, courtneyt. Yeah, aging isn't all it's cracked up to be. I was..." + (show)
Profile picture for sanchopanza @sanchopanza

Thanks for your concern, courtneyt. Yeah, aging isn't all it's cracked up to be. I was hoping to avoid the endoscopy, but I think you're right; I need to know what's going on. I'm pretty sure this is the silent GERD from the reading I've done. And yes, I ran across the Barrett's esophagus and I'm hoping that's not what I have. I did see that if not treated, it can become cancerous, and that esophageal cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the U.S. My problem is trust. I'm on Medicare and Medi-caid and I worry that some GI doc will perform unnecessary procedures on me. The hardest part is changing my diet. I'm losing weight and getting weaker because I still haven't figured out exactly what I can and can't eat. Most of what I used to eat doesn't work anymore. Again, thanks for getting back! I really do appreciate it. I'm living alone and don't have anyone to run things by.

Jump to this post

There is a great book called The Acid Watcher diet by Jonathan Aviv, MD. It can at least help you with what you can and can’t eat. Good luck.

REPLY
Profile picture for cmdw2600
cmdw2600 | @cmdw2600 | Jan 27, 2023
In reply to @sanchopanza "Hi. My problem started about a month ago when I started chugging down a glass of..." + (show)
Profile picture for sanchopanza @sanchopanza

Hi. My problem started about a month ago when I started chugging down a glass of water and suddenly I had a spasm in the area of my pharynx. It scared me, and took several minutes to abate, but no other symptoms. Soon, I found that I could no longer drink orange juice without the same problem, and then ice cream gave me very thick saliva that was difficult to spit out as well as the tightness in my throat. I had had problems with normal heartburn in the past, but a few days of ranitidine (Zantac) and I was OK. I think this was because of my taking ibuprofen on an empty stomach. If the Zantac didn't help, which was seldom, I took Prilosec for 3 days and it was gone. Now, after the spasms, I began burping and having hiccups frequently, which was new to me, so I started on Prilosec 20mg once a day. I also changed my diet to conform with the diet for GERD and I think I'm beginning to get better, but it's taken a lot out of me because I've been on the same diet for a long time and all of a sudden I'm missing crucial nutrients that I ordinarily get. By the way, I"m 69 and have been healthy and disease free for at least 20 years. I want to discontinue the Prilosec because I've only been taking it for a little more than two weeks. I'm wondering if I could switch back to the Zantac 150mg twice a day without experiencing rebound symptoms because I've been on the Prilosec for such a short time. I can see that there are many people here with digestive health problems and I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction. My doctor is very good at giving labs and writing prescriptions, but he doesn't seem to do much doctoring, but that was OK, because I haven't had any serious health issues. He just told me " You know you have to see a gastroenterologist". Because of the holiday I haven't been able to schedule an appt. yet and now, with some of the symptoms lessening, I'm hoping there's a chance that I can switch to Zantac, or preferably cimetidine (Tagament) which helped me greatly when I developed an ulcer many years ago, and solve this problem without any intervention. The reason I want to stop taking it is because of the side effects. I've had diarrhea a few times and lots of headaches.I"m also worried about the things that can happen when you have so little stomach acid. I"d appreciate any comments from people who have had experience weaning off Prilosec after short term use, or anyone who has suffered with LPR or laryngopharangeal reflux, or anyone at all. Thanks for listening!!

Jump to this post

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

REPLY
61 replies
Profile picture for riflemanz64
riflemanz64 | @riflemanz64 | Jan 27, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

Low acid diet, don't eat 3 hours before bedtime. No soda, booze, tomato or vinegar products.
Low acid coffee only or green tea decaf. Eat healthy and avoid processed foods. Stay away from all fried fatty foods. Good luck! I got Barrett's esophagus from my reflux. I take 40mg pantaprazole 1/2 hr before supper.

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for jerrysgirl3
jerrysgirl3 | @jerrysgirl3 | Jan 28, 2023
In reply to @riflemanz64 "Low acid diet, don't eat 3 hours before bedtime. No soda, booze, tomato or vinegar products...." + (show)
Profile picture for riflemanz64 @riflemanz64

Low acid diet, don't eat 3 hours before bedtime. No soda, booze, tomato or vinegar products.
Low acid coffee only or green tea decaf. Eat healthy and avoid processed foods. Stay away from all fried fatty foods. Good luck! I got Barrett's esophagus from my reflux. I take 40mg pantaprazole 1/2 hr before supper.

Jump to this post

I take pantapazole too. Just been on a month and find it helps very well with acid reflux.

REPLY
Profile picture for Twocoastsm
Twocoastsm | @marlenec | Jan 28, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

I have it as well and also have taken pantaprozole but not on a permanent basis. I have found that I get a flare-up after an upper respiratory infection. And I also got one after I got COVID. There is a good book called “Dropping Acid” by Jamie Koufman that lists problem foods and has good recipes.

REPLY
Profile picture for t98
t98 | @t98 | Jan 28, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

If your non-medical attempts do not resolve the reflux, then you should treat it medically because untreated acid reflux can cause esophageal cancer. You can first try Tums and/or gaviscon, and if this is not enough then a non-PPI, such as famotidine. (H2 blocker) If these don't work, then you should go to a PPI.
Keep in mind that if you have throat irritation, even if you've started medication it will take a week or two for the throat soreness to go away, so you need to give it that chance to heal and then see if it gets better with the meds.

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for navia
navia | @navia | Jan 28, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

I too have been diagnosed with LPR. I agree that the book Dropping Acid is very good and it also explains why we have this problem. I have tried following the diet and didn't find it helped very much but it is hard to keep it up for long. I don't eat fried foods and I never drink sodas but I do like a glass of wine with dinner. I notice that ice cream aggravates me a lot and also cookies and of course chocolate but generally I find that eating anything makes me worse. I have tried Pantoprazole for a year but it didn't help and I also have some Gaviscon Advance which is difficult to find in the USA but I found it on Amazon. There is a Dr Peter Dettman who is an expert on Pepsin which is the main cause of LPR. Also Dr Christopher Chang who is an ENT specialist that does work in this field.
I would be very interested if you or anyone else has found some homeopathic treatments.

REPLY
2 replies
Profile picture for cblue
cblue | @cblue | Jan 29, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

I see Navia is interested in treating non acid reflux homeopathically… but in another vein, aren’t there medications to treat non acid reflux,? I has / have been aspirating into my lungs due to it. I’m not sure, but it seems like ppis exacerbate the non acid reflux,??? Is that possible???

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for mikayla
mikayla | @mikaylar | Jan 29, 2023
In reply to @cmdw2600 "Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is..." + (show)
Profile picture for cmdw2600 @cmdw2600

Has anyone been diagnosed with silent reflux or LPR? This is a condition where there is no heartburn, but acid makes its way to the throat. I have had a sore throat/throat irritation for over two years.Would like to treat without PPI and do what I can homeopathically.

Jump to this post

I just had the barium and all was okay. Now waiting for biopsy results. I didn't even know I had this Silent Gerd until my throat starting hurting. I'm hoping I just need meds. Will find out this week. Good luck treating yours.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.