How do you know you have reflux?

I see a lot of people on the board saying "I had serious reflux last night" or "my reflux is back."

Does that mean you are experiencing heartburn? Burning in the oesophagus?

The reason I ask, is that I don't get ANY burning or heartburn. I just have a globus sensation, dry throat and mouth, and a cracking voice.

It's not that easy to describe actually... but .... for me it's the sensation that food or liquid (usually liquid) is climbing back up my throat, a bit like the sensation you might get if you've eaten and drunk way too much! Someone saying they had a bad night reflux wise is probably meaning that they woke up with a sore throat and some retrosternal pain/discomfort, or they may mean that they woke up in the night, feeling like they were choking, with stomach contents physically in their mouth or throat. If it's that bad, there's very little is it/isn't it about it.

What you have could be an ENT problem or a reflux problem, but as Kitt says you'll have to see a doctor to advance your diagnosis. Sometimes a doctor may do a 'diagnosis by drug trial' - so they might give you a drug to reduce your stomach acid, on a two week or month's trial, and see if that has any effect on your symptoms. You could possibly have a hernia - again you're not going to find out without visiting a doctor, so it's time to go knock on their door.

Let us know how it goes.

MMM

Ask him to give you a barium swallow test. It will confirm if you have reflux going on or not.