My story of LPR/GERD

I'm a 20 year old male who's been recently undergoing symptoms of LPR and would love it if someone could give me their opinion as I believe the ones who go through the issue are more versed than trained professionals (especially since I had to do most of the research work)

History
When I was in the third grade I was diagnosed with acid reflux. My acid reflux took the form of mild heartburn but more importantly if felt like I was choking which caused me to be afraid of food for a little bit. I saw an ENT who then prescribed me on medications I took those for about a couple of weeks then BOOM problem gone forever.... or so I thought.

I've always never been someone who ate healthy so part of me wonders if this could be the main cause. Throughout my middle school/high school years I would get mild/medium heartburn but nothing that I believed required medical attention. During my senior year, I went through a bit of depression and lost a significant amount of weight. about 30 pounds in I would have some stomach pains and discomfort which ultimately was the reason that I pushed myself to eat. Unfortunately I got anxiety and looking back I'm almost positive theres a huge correlation between anxiety and stomach issues.?? Everytime I got too full my stomach would be feeling extremely full and I just assumed my stomach shrinked significantly and this was the way it was...

fast forward 2 years

I worked for a company that provided free food. I was always aware that I didn't like how skinny I am now compared to my high school weight, so I decided to eat insane amounts of food. I counted calories per day. I ate 5,000 PER DAY. It came to a point where I just had no appetite and as a result I didn't eat for 2 days straight. At this point I made an appointment got put on nexium after a 30 second talk. I Took that, got weird side effects and basically went on and off for the full month of the medication. went back and was told to take for another 3 months and then go to a specialist if no improvement.

fast forward a couple months
My stomach didn't feel completely healed, but I was eating basically any type of food that I wanted the only issue was if I ate too much. But over time my stomach continuously got worse and worse. Now the way I describe worse is a bit subjective. My stomach went from having really common symptoms of GERD to just symptoms of LPR. The transition was very interesting at first I just started having trouble breathing which caused massive anxiety. I unfortunately pushed that on the nexium and decided to not take that which I painfully regret. Now my symptoms are much worse, I have a headache, mucous congestion, headache, fever, terribly painful sore throat.

The End
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my long story. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

Discussion Questions/answers
How much do you believe anxiety and GERD correlate?

any Idea what the ENT could've prescribed me with when I was a kid?

What has worked for you in getting rid of painful sore throats and taking back your sinuses?

What can I do to help get rid of this severe and persistent sore throat? I read tylenol is safe to take with nexium, but I also saw that it has alcohol(0.5%)(not alot I know) and it is flavored "citrus burst" I'm assuming its just artificially flavored but I don't want to push it.

I believe my breathing problems were caused by taking nexium, but once I had it without taking it I realized something interesting. While taking nexium my breathing was better, but after eating my breathing was bad and even more interesting my breathing was alot worse in the morning the next day. Unfortunately I would always stop taking nexium in the morning the next day. Does nexium help long term for breathing issues but because nexium only works for 24 hours acid is worse right after that period? so in order to breath better I would need to suck it up and just take it again?

Any advice, feedback questions or anything is always appreciated thanks alot guys good luck on your jouney.
Post Edited (darmstrong) : 6/29/2014 12:36:33 PM (GMT-6)

Ginger, get liquid ginger tincture at health food store and keep with you, add anywhere from 5 drops to 20 drops in warm water and drink for emergencies. This is one thing that really helps. Ginger increases saliva production and saliva protects the throat. Fresh ginger root sliced and boiled is even better.

Also, try to buy this book by Dr. Jonathan Aviv and follow his protocol which he explains clearly for the lay person:

"Killing Me Softly From Inside" on Amazon

Also, my primary doctor told me that he noticed a lot of acid reflux sufferers have breathing difficulty. Mine comes and goes. Make sure you don't sleep flat, elevate upper body. I don't have long term answers unfortunately, but lots of little things help. Stay away from onions, garlic, and mint because they open up the LES (lower esophageal sphyncter).

Post Edited (SusieDawn) : 7/8/2014 12:14:52 PM (GMT-6)