Hello! I'n new here but I'd really appreciate any help anyone can offer. I'm a 23 year old singer feeling very lost and desperate because I am completely anable to perform due to GERD.
I had the results to my 24 hour probe a last week and the doctor has put me on Omepraxole 40 twice a day, Domperidome 3 times a day and Ranitidine twice every night. So far it hasn't made any difference and I'm not very optimistic because I've been on omepraxole for six months already.
Although I'm lucky enough that, in terms of pain, I am experiencing nothing like what most of you on this board are, my vocal problems are ruling my life. I'm a profesional singer and was working pretty consistantly in the West End while compromising every other part of my life as I had to be on vocal rest when I wasn't performing or auditioning. It got steadily worse and in the last show I did my voice would cut out mid performance which was embarassing to say the least. It has got the the stage where it's eaten into my life. My social life is dictated by whether I can speak that day and my career has been on hold for six months. Sometimes even drinking a herb tea will take my voice from being all there to pretty ropey.
As well as the voice loss, I have been having trouble breathing and sometimes wake up in the night completely unable to draw a breath in until I sit up. I also get very bloated after even drinking water.
I am at a complete loss. The doctor told me that I will have to have to Nissen operation if, in two months, the pills haven't worked and the operation doesn't sound great. Would anyone reccommend it? I heard it doesn't have a high success rate and the side effects I've read about seem horrible.
I'm want to cure it without the operation so I'm also taking de-geglycrrhizinated liquorice tablets and aloe vera juice and I want to go to a nutritionalist to find out if I have any allergies that are slowing my digestion down.
Sorry to write such a long post but I don't know where else to turn as the doctors haven't been very helpful and my life is on standby indefinately. All I want is to get back to doing the job I love. Thanks, Rachel x