HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

GERD, Anxiety and Esophageal Hypersensitivity

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
1 2 3
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 10/1/2015 11:48 AM (GMT 0)
Sixness how are you doing now? Do you regret having the NF?
Posted 10/7/2015 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
I know some of you think hypersensative larynx is a cop out label, but my son has severe LPR and has also been diagnosed with LSN (laryngeal Sympathetic Neuropathy). Aside from the usual LPR, he also has extreme burning in throat, and a swollen tongue sensation.His throat and nose also get itchy and dry. He was already on 200mg of Zoloft for anxiety,so we know that's not is causing this.The ENT has decided to try him on a very low dose of Lyrica, because they think his laryngeal nerve was affected during an endoscopy.He feels my son's reflux is exacerbating the neuropathy in his throat.He has the constant throat clearing, post nasal drip sensation, but the burning/swelling sensation is the worst.Gonna try it to see.If there is no improvement, then we can call the hypersensative diagnosis a load of crap...but maybe he will get relief
Posted 10/19/2015 2:07 PM (GMT 0)
Just interested whether anyone on this thread has any updates in terms of their hypersensitivity? I took some antibiotics a couple of months ago and it basically set me off and I seem to be incredibly sensitive now. I had been off amitriptyline for 8 months and the heartburn had returned but a lot of times it had been under control. Now it is just back with a vengeance. I have just started nortriptyline 20mg to see if it helps, the idea is to ramp up to 75mg at a depression dose and for it to replace my regular antidepressant which didn't seem to be helping.

I'm hoping it gives me some pain relief but most of all hope it relieves this constant irritated feeling I get even when the heartburn goes and I suspect I have no reflux. I think I will just need a lot of time to recover from the effects of these antibiotics, they have really done a number on my system.

Thankfully the stomach pains are ok controlled now that I've figured out my diet and cut out everything aggravating it, but I get a lot of nausea from the irritation in my esophagus now which is pretty horrible.

I have an upcoming impedance test to get an answer as to the extent of my actual reflux. I have a suspicion it will come back ok though, which I guess is the ideal outcome because I do not feel I would be able to cope with any surgical procedure with my level of sensitivity.
Posted 10/20/2015 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Nellie
So sorry for your son I hope he gets better.
Posted 10/20/2015 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Andy1986,
I had GERD due to Antibiotics and developed hypersensitivities. Any new food seems to give me a bad reflux. So I stick to my old boring diet. My throat just got better few days ago. I stopped chewing gum as it was fruit flavor and it gives me throat irritation. Chewing gum was great it's just that i can't find something that don't irritate my throat. I developed low acid stomach due to the PPI meds. Some food does not digest quick (delayed gastric emptying). So i'm mixing apple cider to my food. For some reasons this had helped. Keep us posted on your impedance test.
Hi Nellie5, I hope your son gets better soon. I was unable to do some work for 2 months got so weak and lost a lot of weight. I use non fluoride toothpaste and that helped my throat. I have some manuka honey, half tsp in the morning and half tsp before bed. This had helped my throat heal. I also use Doterra oil/ Lemon to ease my coughing (throat clearing). I also use OCEAN (saline) for my dry nose. All these little remedies and a lot of prayers helped me go thru the day.
God bless.
Posted 2/13/2016 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Andy and others with hypersensitivity problems. I had hiatus hernia and gerd for more than 10 years. Suddenly my medication stop working properly. It was associated with problems in my work and lots of stress. I decided for the fundoplivcation because I was afraid of barrett and cancer. However fundoplication made my symptoms worse but my pH test shown no pathologic reflux and zero acid exposure and I was told to have hypersezityvny . I feel burning in my stomach area everiday usually 3 hours after lunch and it last till I fall asleep. Horizontal position usually make it worse. Some meals like tomatoes or alcohol gives me instant burning. Megadose of esomeprasole usually helps.

I want to ask you about the character of iour symptom to know if they are similar to mine. Thanks
Posted 2/20/2016 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I am new here but I was driven here by GERD/anxiety causing a pressure/choking sensation. It's been happening and it has increased since the stress at my job has increased. I have had a barrium swallow and scope run down my nose into my stomach. The Dr said I have mild heartburn but nothing else presents itself as an obvious reason. Could it be the hypersensitivity? I have an anxiety disorder and he says stress is causing my esophogial spasms.

I'm not alone in this?
Posted 2/20/2016 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Andy,
Are you still around? I was hoping to find someone on here to discusss symptoms and treatments with.

Andy1986 said...
mbrad

I'm still around and can honestly say my heartburn problems are pretty much non-existent at the moment. I get it on occasion every so often during the day but it doesn't persist. But it has just been replaced with problems with my stomach and bowels, burning, pain and nausea.

I have been on an anti-depressent for hypersensitivity, Amitriptyline, for about 6 months and it has definitely improved my pain levels. I have ramped up to taking 100mg a day and think it is now causing more problems than its solved though. I am going back to the dr tomorrow and asking to ween down to a small 10mg dose, which is standard for pain treatment. I have problems with constipation and inflammation in my bowels which I can only hope are a result of this drug, as I never had them before. Hopefully when I bring the dosage down they resolve. It will be tricky though, because it affects sleep and my body has adapted to the dose to the point it barely effects my tiredness, so I worry I will have problems sleeping when I come down.

I'd definitely say its worth a shot trying them, after a couple of weeks at low dosage I noticed the difference. But I wouldn't advise to go as high as I have done.

On top of all this I have addressed the anxiety issues I was dealing with as well which also really helped me feel better physically and mentally.

Post Edited (Lilredcamaro) : 2/24/2016 7:02:16 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/24/2016 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
I was just put on 10 mg amtryptiline after my results of my ph study and manometry came back normal. I still feel I have LPR caused by either sibo or TLESRS on top of the Hypersensetive esophagus. I will keep you posted on how it goes. I have a feeling it will help with the aerosol vapor burn in my esophagus but as far as the sour taste, throat clearing, and stuffed nose, I doubt that will change.
Posted 2/24/2016 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
I would liek to ask if anyone had any releve of symptoms by PPI?

In standard doses, PPI helps a bit in my case, but complete releave only comes for my on very high doses like 3 tablets of Prilosec per day. It is a dose used in Zollinger Ellison syndrome (tumor that produces gastrin - hormone that stimulates acid secretion). I want to mesure my gastrin levels so I stoped using PPI today and start with ranitidine and feeling worse than yeasterday :-(
Posted 9/28/2017 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
I just saw this thread, and I was really intrigued to see others with such similar symptoms as me.
I am 18 and for about a year have had constant battles with acid reflux symptoms but every test (bloodwork, gallbladder ultrasound, h pylori test, an upper gi) all came back fine.. My doctor referred me to a therapist and said it was "anxiety triggered "fake" acid reflux" essentially, so ever since I've been waiting it out, trying my own combination of meds, with zero results.
I guess I'm just frustrated, my upper gi required having a ph monitor suctioned to my esophagus which picked up no acid, but caused a week-long bout of being unable to eat or drink and trips to the er for fluids due to the sensitivity the device was causing my esophagus.
I guess my doctor didn't see it this way, but I truly feel like my symptoms could be an esophageal issue that isn't going to go away with a therapist and an anti-depressant.
Anyways, if anyone could give me any recommendations, they would be very greatly appreciated.
Posted 9/29/2017 12:42 PM (GMT 0)
Erin:

Have you adjusted your diet at all? How about a food diary to try and identify your potential trigger foods? With the testing that you have had, it doesn't seem like you are suffering from acid reflux but rather some sort of sensitivity. Start by eliminating all spicy, citrus, acid based foods, no caffeine, chocolate, smoking or alcohol. Just keep in mind that anxiety does cause/make your symptoms seem worse. I would keep taking the anxiety medication. With the 24-hour Bravo monitor that you had, a lot of people experience pain or difficulty eating or drinking - everyone is different, as it cause no symptoms for me.

Good Luck, Sharon
Posted 9/29/2017 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
Sharon,
Thanks for responding! I have tried cutting out certain foods that I feel worsen my symptoms (caffeine, chocolate, spicy, citrus, etc) but I always end up in the same swing of symptoms anyways.
Possibly eliminating them all at the same time would be my best option, so I will definitely try that, thanks again!
I'd hate to see this get worse especially at my age, so anything is worth a try !
Posted 12/13/2017 3:55 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all, an update on my condition in case it is useful to others:

As I mentioned earlier, I had constant 24/7 pain and unpleasantness for months, despite being on twice daily PPIs. For much of the time, it literally hurt to walk, presumably because the vibrations from my foot moved up to my hypersensitive esophagus. For an entire month I had to whisper because talking was too painful.

Well, I'm now happy to report that I've basically been symptom free and medication free for the last 6 months. It's hard to tell what made me better, but here are some observations. Obviously this won't work for everyone, as I don't think this was a traditional cases of GERD:

  • PPIs did nothing. I'm confident about this because (a) my symptoms got worse over the first 6 weeks I was on them and (b) I later ran a 4-part block experiment (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off) and recorded my symptoms each day. There was no difference in symptoms between the "on" and "off" weeks. If anything, my symptoms were worse during the "on" weeks.

  • A few months into the pain, I decided to start some light weightlifting. Like clockwork, my esophageal symptoms always went away for 30 minutes after lifting. This had never happened before, as I had constant pain. Over the subsequent weeks and months, my symptoms began to improve. While it's hard to say whether weightlifting helped over the long run, I am very confident that it made the pain go away over the 30 minutes following each session.

  • Shot in the dark, but I thought I'd give Palmitoylethanolamide a try. I've done a lot of research into this and posted my comments here. While there's a good chance that it's useless, it may be worth trying. FWIW, I started to feel better after I started taking it, and the research is fairly mixed. One thing is clear though: It's safe, with essentially no recorded side effects.

  • Candies, especially Ricola, tended to help immediately. I know this sounds ridiculous, especially for pain of this magnitude. And to be fair, candy wouldn't do much when the pain was at its worst. Nevertheless, there was always a noticeable and immediate improvement after I ate each candy. And the time in which I started eating candies more frequently correlated with when I began to start feeling better over the long term.

  • Eating more frequently, with snacks throughout the day balanced by smaller main meals. Moving to this type of diet correlated with me starting to feel better over the long term (although as mentioned above I also made a lot of other changes around this time).


I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
123