Anyone else or am I all alone?

Hi everyone

Ok, here goes (long list!): I have GERD, IBS, Gastritis, Diverticulosis, tracheal strictures, a small hernia, a few bad teeth that are slowly rotting away (but not actually infected). I also have Bruxism and have practically ground my teeth down to stubs. I also have cervical arthritis w/bone spur at C4/C5, GAD (anxiety), Tourette's Syndrome and a host of other issues and diagnoses going on that really have nothing to do with GERD so I won't go into too much detail about them here.

My main symptoms (off and on) have always been heartburn, indigestion, water brash (occassionally), regurgitation/aspiration, a hoarse/mildly irritated thoat (a few times), bloating (a few times) and a variety of other symptoms you might expect from someone with these conditions (esp. GERD).

For the last week and a half I have been experiencing this sensation like someone has their hand around my throat (or like a "band" around my lower neck or a "necktie" sensation). Also, when I take a deep breath, it feels like something "catches" just below my breastbone. It isn't really painful but it is uncomfortable. It also feels like my throat is tight, constricted or narrowed (sometimes I notice this more when eating). I also feel a "click" when I swallow sometimes and sometimes I feel like I'm having breathing issues or can't get a full breath. Also, sometimes it feels like there's something caught in my throat or it will tickle a little bit and make me gag until I cough a few times.

Today I used a spoon as a tongue depressor and a flashlight to look down my throat in the bathroom mirror and I didn't see any swelling or enlarged tonsils or anything else unusual. My Gastroenterologist has been telling me to take fiber powder and sleep with my head elevated but I'm afraid I haven't been very good at remembering to do these things )-: . I also used to take Prevacid but I haven't even been taking that for a good while now. Sometimes I take a TUMS or two.

I'm assuming that many (if not most/all) of my symptoms are caused by my gastro issues. They have come and gone over the years, gotten better, then worse, etc. The impacted teeth (from all of the grinding) is causing some jaw-nerve issues as well and I have a slowly-rotting molar that sometimes sends a mild shooting pain down through the one side of my neck. Throw in the head-jerking from the Tourettes and the cervical arthritis...ugh!.

So, does anyone else here have my conditions or experience some, most or all of my symptoms?. Would you mind sharing a little bit please so I won't feel all alone?. Are these fairly normal symptoms for the conditions I have been diagnosed with or am I the only one who experiences these?.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any help!.

Setup

So sorry to hear of your problems.

You have obviously had tests that determined that you have a hernia so it will be that that's causing the gerrd. I'm assuming that you have a gastro doctor. Have you talked to your doctor about having a operation to repair your hernia?

Apart from the operation then the only other cause of action is medication and watching the diet.

Maria