Anxiety and LPR

Hey there, this is just a quick thread as I really need to put my mind at rest. For the last 3-7 months, I've been experiencing the following, with some variance. The symptoms at the top of the list are my most recent ones:

- A constant stream of mucus/post nasal drip in my throat, but not in my nose. Usually worse when I wake up or immediately after eating. Hot water, cough medicine etc do nothing to it and I think it causes a sore throat first thing in the morning
- Mucus stuck in my throat. Same problems as above. Very annoying..!
- Constant throat clearing. It isn't forced but it needs to happen due to the stuck mucus.
- Burping, even after drinking water. It usually causes more mucus to be produced, or at least I think so.
- Burning sensation at bottom of throat, usually kicks in when most gassy and goes away while eating. This is probably the most worrying symptom., as it can even happen if I don't eat anything at all, sometimes first thing in the morning.
- Bloated feeling after meals larger than, say a bowl of breakfast cereal. This is highly annoying as I used to be able to eat a lot..! It sometimes causes palpitations.
- Shortness of breath, this only goes away if I become bloated.
- Feeling of gas moving/gurgling up throat whenever I cough, breath in or bend over. Not quite the same as burping this.
- Anxiety/Racing thoughts only kick in when the above symptoms do.

I'd like to highlight the last one because it's the one I want to focus on here. I've tried the following things:

- Diet restricted to ludicrous levels such as bran flakes, salmon, potatoes, chicken salad, garlic, nuts and seeds and other bland foods. This includes following Dr. Kouffman's reflux diet, so no citrics, caffeine, chocolate, mints, alcohol or tomatoes and very little sugar or dairy. No effect, even on days with NO sugar or dairy.
- Lifestyle changes include raising the head of the bed, exercising more, eating less more often, getting more sleep and stress relieving techniques such as antidepressants, hypnotherapy and CBT. No effect, except for 10 minutes after hypnotherapy maximum.
- Traditional remedies such as baking soda/sodium bicarbonate, increased water intake, alkaline water, throat lozenges, ginger, manuka/raw honey and natural liquorice. No effect. The well known "baking soda test" suggests I don't have acid reflux, and yet the problems continue.
- Medications such as Setraline, Diazapen, Lansorprazole, Omeprazole (both PPIs at double dose), Ranitidine, Gaviscon Advance, normal Gaviscon, Tums and others I can't remember. Only Gaviscon Advance has any effect, and it's very little but it also makes me more bloated. Otherwise, no effect.

Notice how the only thing that really seems to work at all is the hypnotherapy? On days where I can keep my mind completely off my symptoms, I can enjoy a few hours of no symptoms at all. Not even any throat clearing! This confuses me as I am taking an antidepressent and still get symptoms. Furthermore I took a rapid spit test by Biomed which claims I had a single episode of Pepsin reflux (low at 35ng/ml). Could the reflux/LPR proven by the spit test be all down to health anxiety? I'd hope it can be, as all my problems started during a particularly stressful time of my life, and my stress is still ongoing for the most part.

Exercise ! Try to get off the anxiety meds slowly and start building exercise into your life to reduce anxiety. The pills can actually make it worse over time. I used Clonazapam for a few years off and on and started to realize as I had gaps in the usage that when I was using it more frequently my anxiety worsened, I was forming a dependance on it during those periods. Accept that life produces anxiety and use exercise , walking , running , whatever works for you to reduce it. Most anti-anxiety pills are addictive, something to be very cautious about. The class of drugs known as Benzodiazepines are very physically and mentally addictive, do some searches on the issues people have getting off them. They can do more harm than good. Not easy walking away from them , like an alcoholic who needs a drink when times are tough these pills do the same thing to you, they become a crutch.

Exercise has the added benefit of regulating a lot of your system functions like movement of food thru your stomach , bowels etc., helping in weight loss, as well as making you feel better about yourself. No pill can do as much for you.