How many people have lost their voice and for how long?

lobstahguy - When you say you lost your voice do you men totally as in not able to speak at all?  I heve had hoarseness for well over a year now.  It comes and goes, but mostly I always sound hoarse.  Per hte ENT, there is still redness and swelling in the vocal cord area with apparent atrophy of the cords themselves.  All caused by GERD even though I am taking PPI.  He started me back on H2 blocker to see if there is any change. You need to see an ENT to see if you have the GERD swelling etc. or if you have something else.  Very easy test when compared to those for GERD.  They numb your nose and place a flexible tube with a light on it inside and look into your throat area.  Took less than 15 minutes beginning to end (including numbing time).  Good luck and hope you get it resolved.

lobstaguy - Someone mentioned earlier that if PPIs and antacids are making your problem worse, then you may have a slight bile reflux issue.

Ive lost my voice for 4 and a half months now. Its horrible. I feel like im the only one. I will look up bile reflux.

Thank you Kitt,    my story reads like a horror movie.  My larynx and voicebox are swollen.  I woke up that way on day 6 of having a Bravo probe implanted in my esophagus against my wishes.  Its a long story, but like many here i have had multiple doctor visits and had multiple diagnosis and treatments.  Most of which have made me worse.  I am currently trying to fix it with diet and elevating my bed and supplements.  The acid blocker they had me on for 3 months destroyed my health and made the throat worse.  Also gave me a massive candida infection.  The worst part of this story is, the ER doctor put me on ativan, which is now a major problem. 

I went into our local hosptial with one problem and came out with four.  They were going to remove a gallbladder based on symptoms alone so i am the one who requested the endoscopy, but i did not want the probe.  My ENT that is working with me now is puzzled by my symptoms.  They do fit LPR, but they are also similar to irritable larynx.  I have done so much research i think i know more than some of the doctors do.  If the lump would go away, i could handle the rest.  My voice is hoarse and painful and somtimes goes out completely.  Going on 5 months.  Thank you for this forum.  I check it everynight.  Glad to be here.

I've had problems with short of breath and my voice getting weak. After 2 years on PPI's (Nexium and Omeprazole) I attribute these horrible side affects directly to these PPI's. Aren't they prescribed to PREVENT acid reflux???? I believe they work for some people for a short time ... after all, that's why people aren't supposed to take them for more than a few weeks. Instead, my doctor told me to take two 40mg daily for an undetermined period of time. I have NOT had a LIFE for the past 2 years because of the shortness of breath, my voice disappearing, chest pain, nausea, extreme fatigue and just a general feeling of being very ill.

I have made drastic dietary changes, elevated my bed, lost all excess weight and after my recent visit to my gastro doctor, he just has NO clue as to why I'm so sick. He told me he's never had a patient with these problems. (I don't believe that for a SECOND).

He gave me samples of Zegerid 40mg (pharmaceutical grade) to take once per day in place of the Nexium. I decided to try yet another acid reducer. After 5 days on this 'poison', I was SO SICK, I just wanted to curl up into a ball.

So, I consulted a PHARMACIST to begin weaning OFF these PPI's. I am already feeling better and my energy is coming back. Every other day for a week, I am taking Nexium 40mg. once every other day and twice in between. The second week, it will be ONCE per day. Third week, one every OTHER DAY; 4th week, one every TWO days, and so on until I am totally weaned off.

When I need to, I chew a couple of Pepcid AC. I again have hope that the reason I am so SICK is BECAUSE of these POISON PILLS.

The reason I talked to a pharmacist is that they know A LOT MORE about medications than most doctors ... after all it's their BUSINESS.

I hope this is helpful to those of you suffering like I have. What have you got to lose by trying to wean off? Can it get any worse?

I will report back in a week or so as to how this is working for me.

Back as promised. Also, I wanted to say when I lost my voice I was drinking Green Drinks made from GMO non organic veg sand fruit. I cannot stress enough how many TONS of pesticides being dumped on our food every year and the GMO factor can kill us! It is essential to eAt organic, healthy food if we want to be healthy.

My voice loss seems to be related to the damage of the lower thoracic sphincter. Makes sense because it is designed to let food down and my food came bCk UP and burned for years. Well, there are good youtube videos that have helped me a lot.

Hope you are having a healthy weekend.
Aloha, Silence (almost). Email me [email protected] if you want to do some healing work together, talk about GERD and how we can heal.

Hey Silence .. I've been wondering about that too. I think everyone is just real busy this time of year, or are taking a break from this forum to try and forget how miserable they/we are.

I'm still hoping to hear about some one else who has developed chronic rashes and small, bleeding sores somewhere on their bodies while taking Nexium or another PPI. Silence, have you experienced this ever on PPI's?

I've found that a major irritant to my voice is alcohol. I can't even drink ONE glass of wine or ONE beer without suffering for it. I'm on a 'weaning off' PPI's. At first, I went from 2 Nexium per day, down to one and after a few days of that, was in horrible pain. That's when I consulted a pharmacist and she told me that was too quick. So I went back on 2 per day for 10 days and THEN took 2 per day every other day, so now I'm down to ONE per day. I've read about 'acid rebound' and it's real. I just pray that when I'm finally OFF the PPI's and my body has had a chance to rebalance, THEN I'll know whether or not I actually suffer from GERD or acid reflux. It will be at least a month before I'm completely off this poison.

Surgery would be my LAST option. In the US, the only available surgery is Nisson Fund. and it doesn't have a strong following ...