GERD OR SOMETHING ELSE

Recently after a gastroscopy i was told i have mild chronic upper gastritis and Mild Reflux esophagus , for the Past week i have had the feeling like something is stuck in my throat

( i have read somewhere that this is reffered to as silent reflux)

My voice can also be horse at times and i seem to have a runny nose , although this may be due to the cold tempretures at the moment .

recently i seem to be burping alot after eating and even after drinking water although this seems to have settled down a little too .

I however DO NOT HAVE HEARTBURN just the lump in my throat which varies in severity and at times makes me feel like i am chocking .

following the Gastroscopy my doctor put me on somac (pantoprazole) 40 MG once daily .

1. How long do i have to take the medications before i start to notice some relief ? as i am worried about the side effects of long term use of PPIs .

2. does anybody know a way to get rid of the lump sensation in my throat ? i went back to the doctors yesterday and he couldnt see anything just told me to gargle salt water and come back in a few months .

3. does this sound like just a case of reflux or something else ?

4. Although it is classed as "silent reflux" is it still damaging the Esophagus ?

i am looking to Natural Therapies to cure this as i am only 21 and do not want my quality of life afftected long term , or is it worth going to another doctor to get a second opinion ?

Thanks in Advance
Josh

josh9321 said...
Recently after a gastroscopy i was told i have mild chronic upper gastritis and Mild Reflux esophagus , for the Past week i have had the feeling like something is stuck in my throat

( i have read somewhere that this is reffered to as silent reflux)

My voice can also be horse at times and i seem to have a runny nose , although this may be due to the cold tempretures at the moment .

recently i seem to be burping alot after eating and even after drinking water although this seems to have settled down a little too .

I however DO NOT HAVE HEARTBURN just the lump in my throat which varies in severity and at times makes me feel like i am chocking .

following the Gastroscopy my doctor put me on somac (pantoprazole) 40 MG once daily .

1. How long do i have to take the medications before i start to notice some relief ? as i am worried about the side effects of long term use of PPIs .

2. does anybody know a way to get rid of the lump sensation in my throat ? i went back to the doctors yesterday and he couldnt see anything just told me to gargle salt water and come back in a few months .

3. does this sound like just a case of reflux or something else ?

4. Although it is classed as "silent reflux" is it still damaging the Esophagus ?

i am looking to Natural Therapies to cure this as i am only 21 and do not want my quality of life afftected long term , or is it worth going to another doctor to get a second opinion ?

Thanks in Advance
Josh

As far as I know if its "silent reflux" it is still damaging your esophagus. I have that lump feeling, feel like im chocking when I eat and I burp after eating. It is worth going to a doc for a second opinion. I didn't get treatment for awhile due to a bunch of docs that didn't know what they were talking about and my condition got worse.

There are a lot of things you can do for GERD. I can tell you what I had to do last year to get rid of mine.

I saw my chiropractor, who helped me a lot.
I lost a few pounds
I stopped smoking
I went Gluten free
I went Dairy free
I raised my bed up six inches off the floor
I cut down on alcohol
I never ate after 7 in the evening.

I am not suggesting you should do exactly the same! I am just telling you what I had to do to get rid of it, rather than run to the doctors for pills.

I have only recently got it back, which is a shame, I had an accident which has really upset my stomach, and rather than take anything, I hoped it would go away, which was a bit silly of me and now I am planning on taking some PPIs for a few weeks, no longer than 8.

Seeing a Naturopath might help, but I am a firm believer in helping yourself, there is so much information out there!

I ordered a book online recently and it was very helpful and I have taken onboard a lot of what this author says, here is a link to his book, which is very cheap actually! and worth having a look at.

I am not a doctor, but I think the lump in your throat might disappear once the medication your taking really starts to work, also sometimes a lump in your throat can be caused by stress, although its likely part of the GERD symptoms.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005VDSZFS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o05_

Hi John, the lump in the throat feeling is very common with GERD/LPR and stress definitely makes it worse. When I first experienced it I found it really hard and I know now my worrying about it made it worse. I found chewing gum made it less noticeable and I also found it diminished somewhat after I reduced my PPi dosage. I'M hoping to reduce further as I also don't want to be on them forever, time will tell!

hey Guys just an update ,

i have been on somac for three weeks now and the digestive enzymes among other things the naturopath prescribed for one week .

After a week i must say i feel better , after changing my diet and taking measures to alieviiate stress , i still have nasal drip and seem to alot of mucous in the back of my throat and occasionally feel as their is something stuck in my throat and have difficulty swallowing along with beltching alot , however i feel 70% better .

occasionally i have pain in my stomach but given there is so much happening its to be expeted

the next step will be weening off the PPI when i go back to the naturopath in 3 weeks and see how i feel then.

will keep you posted

keep you chin up

Josh