Just diagnosed - have some questions

One more question I forgot to include - I've been experiencing really dry mouth since this all started. It happens suddenly, and get soo dry. Anyone else experience this?

Hi Ag10,
Welcome to Healing Well! It sounds like you're in the right place. Your breathing issues sound like vocal chord dysfunction. This is something that can be caused by reflux. The acid reaches the vocal chords and causes them to spasm. Here's a description of the causes:

VCD "episodes" can be triggered suddenly, or come on gradually. Many different things can trigger an episode. The primary causes for a VCD episode are believed to be gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), extra-esophageal reflux (EERD), exposure to inhaled allergens, post nasal drip, exercise, or neurological conditions that can cause difficulty inhaling only during waking (Mathers-Schmidt, 2001). Other published scientific articles emphasize anxiety or stress as the primary cause;, however, more recent literature indicates a likely physical etiology for this disorder. This disorder has been observed throughout the lifespan, from infants through old age, with the observation of its occurrence in infants leading clinicians to believe that a physiological cause is likely, such as reflux or allergy.
(For more information....Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_cord_dysfunction or Google the topic)

My allergist, concerned that I might experience this, gave me the following information regarding how to deal with the problem should it occur. If this sounds like the breathing problem you're having, the information below will help you get through the tough times.

Hope this is helpful!
Denise

Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion
(Vocal Cord Dysfunction)

Relaxed Throat Breathing Exercises

During practice:

1. Sip water before and after doing these exercises.
2. Exercises:

A. Shoulders Down
This is the cue for you to relax

B. Hand on abdomen
This helps you focus on easy abdominal breath support--the best and most relaxed way to breathe.

C. Gentle, quick "sip" of air IN (sip, sip, sip)
Breathe through your mouth
Relaxed lips
about 1 second inhale each sip

D. Gentle blow OUT (blow, blow, blow)
Through slightly tight lips
about 2-3 seconds for each blow out

3. Practice 5 reps, 20 times per day when you are NOT having symptoms.

4. Make it automatic, and use it at the first sense of throat tightness to prevent or suppress the VDC. You may start with the inhale or the exhale.

5. Use it to "pre-treat" yourself before known triggers for VCD.

6. This technique can also be a "stress buster" tool to use in other situations.

Sounds like if it's reflux, it's mostly happening to you at night when you are lying down. Probably your esophagus is weak or the les valve is open, so when you lie down, the stomach contents reflux up against your throat area.

The lump in the throat feeling is typical of acid irritation to the throat. It can take a long time to heal, since the medication doesn't completely remove acid exposure, it just reduces it. Healing could take months depending on how much nightly exposure your throat is still getting to acid. It is pretty common that this symptom can appear suddenly, sometimes due to a stressful event that triggers a lot of acid production. Worrying about it just makes things worse, so try to relax.

I'd suggest elevating the head of your bed as high as you can tolerate. Try to sleep only on your back or left side. Avoid fatty foods that take a long time to digest. Don't eat a heavy dinner and don't eat close to bedtime. Take your dexilant in the evening before dinner to reduce your nighttime acid, and not in the morning since acid doesn't seem like much of a daytime problem for you. Wear clothing that doesn't squeeze your stomach, especially at night. Avoid bending over and think of your stomach as an open glass that will spill if tipped over. If you're overweight, lose the extra pounds. If you smoke, quit. If after several months of doing this you see no improvement, then it's probably not reflux. But with reflux treatments you need to be patient, since the healing is such a slow process and one wrong meal or bad night can set you back a week.

Oh and dry mouth can be a side effect of PPI medication. I keep a glass of water by my bedside so I can grab a drink at night if I wake up with a dry mouth.

I am fairly new at this 2. So feel for u. When I was a kid I used to wake up gasping for air. I had the barium swallow done and nothing but my mom would prop me up at night and that helped. As a kid I didn't know anything and now I'm wondering if it was gerd. I am now in my early 30's and I have been diagnosed with gastritis and esophagitis. I was going through some other health issues when I caught a cold. But my sore throat never went away. I was a stressed mess dealing with my normal life and other health issues. I started with my regular doc...then a gi, and an ent. I have gastritis, esophagitis, and sore throat and stressed vocal cords after the ent and gi did the tubes down my nose and the gi endonoscopy. PPi's cause dry mouth and i even have a metallic taste. My friend has gerd/gastritis and her gi had to stretch her esophagus because her food was getting stuck and she felt like there was a lump in her throat....and now is on ppi's. She seems to be improving. I also would wake up feeling horrible not a lump in my throat but a full anxiety attack. All a part of this i guess. This illness works different for everyone and different treatments are used for everyone. I barely eat solid food...if i do its mashed up and i eat very blan until i start ot heal. I found it helpful to look some things up online....Diet...sleeping propped up... on your back or left side... loose clothing...etc. I am still working on the right doctors and medications. It is very painful stressful and frustrating...We are all hear to help and offer any advice we can. Even the stress of this can set you back. I am still trying to find a way because of all the pain. Good luck...This is a wonderful site and its nice to have others for advice.

1...Are you in a stressful place when this started...if so try and find a way to minimize it
2............... do you sleep propped up if not it might be helpful to do so.
3.............. look up a good diet plan...eat at least 5 to 6 small meals a day
4.............sip at water...dont gulp...but drink lots
5...........get to a good GI and PCP

Thanks everyone for the replies...good to know I'm not alone.

I have another question....can I take any sort of pain reliever with dexilant (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc?)


Thanks!

Where do you look it up? I just thought of something else. I have an epi pen for allergies. should I have an attack, can I use the epi pen while on dexilant? anyone know?? I will call my dr tomorrow but wondering for tonight....

Thanks. I have a call into them to find out for sure.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies and for the warm welcome. For me, some days are much better than others. Since it's all so new, it's very much a learning process still and I'm trying to figure out which foods trigger my symptoms and which foods I seem to be able to tolerate. It's a long process I can see. On the good days, it's great...but some days....it can be so overwhelming. The tightness in the chest and heartburn, the inability to sleep, the lump in my throat and difficulty swallowing....I'm trying to not let it get the best of me!

The support is great...it really helps to know I'm not alone. Thanks so much!