HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

What's wrong with my throat? Is it burned by hot food or is it burned by acid reflux?

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 9/3/2020 9:02 PM (GMT 0)
I was a perfectly normal person...all until Sunday. August 23rd 2020. I started developing a weird ball in my throat feeling before that went away and developed into CONSTANTLY feeling like mucus is stuck in there and like my throat is just sooo tight on the base of my neck. And it has been driving me insane since! I don't know if I burned my throat or what but let me explain the time events...

On Saturday, august 22nd, i made myself a delicious chef boyardee pizza. I ate a few slices and I started burping it, it kinda burned my throat as I burped? But no actual acid was coming up or anything. I went to bed that night, still burping it and I was worrying then... that it couldn't be good on my system but I didn't know what else to do. I'm so dumb, I should've took a pepcid. But I've never really had to before and I hate taking any medicine so I guess this is what happens for being stubborn.

Next day, Sunday, i did something even more stupid! I heated pizza rolls up in the oven around 1pm. and those gave me HORRIBLE heart burn! the burps i got from those were burning my throat really bad. even though i didn't feel any acid. i only ate about 6 of them. and as i was eating them, one kinda scratched my throat so i have been worrying if something like that happened too to cause my throat to feel tight for the next following week.
well, around 2pm... i took one chewable tum. didn't faze the atrocious burning burps at all.

later that night, i started to feel like i had a ball in my throat. it started out as this.
then monday it transitioned into feeling like a lot of mucus was just sticking to my throat, i kept clearing it over and over.

tuesday, august 25th, the same mucus feeling stuck in my throat was still there and i started having these horrible episodes where my throat felt like it was getting tighter and tighter even though i could still breathe. (i believe this was caused by anxiety worrying over my throat condition?) but im not sure.

the next few days continued to go just like this.... except now my throat would feel sore and itchy on and off. at one point i was convinced it was tonsilitis or something? especially when i looked back in my throat where my tonsils are and they looked red and kinda inflamed? but it wasn't. so? that made me super confused even more.

so until sunday again on august 30th when i went to the ER... i got prescribed anxiety medication and 20 mg Famotidine. doctor said it's likely caused by acid reflux and my anxiety/stress over my phobia of going to my upcoming dentist appointment.

but i don't know... things just don't add up. so i've ate pizza all my life and suddenly? my throat is messed up all because i got a bit of heartburn for 2 days for eating the same pizza i've always eaten. it's really beginning to make me feel horrible and like there's no hope. my throat has began to ease off on the tightness the last 2 days (ever since i started to take the acid medicine. i don't think i need the anxiety medicine until i go to the dentist) but... i've never really had acid to come up in my throat before. my mom has had the kind of acid that comes up in your throat, where it feels like it has cut off your breathing. i have never even experienced that (yet). and i'm way too terrified to have a follow up with the GI doctor. i'm terrified of being sedated and terrified of having something stuck down in my throat.

i just don't know what to do! i want to be normal again. i'm tired of my throat CONSTANTLY feeling tight and like mucus is stuck in it. even though, it's starting to feel a LITTLE better than last week. i fear it still won't entirely heal and i'm really depressed that i may not get to eat pizza or any of my favorite tomato based foods again. sad
how could this of happened?? and has anyone else ever experienced this before??

is it possible to just have burned my throat on the hot pizza or scratched it on those pizza rolls to cause this? i didn't really get a yes or no answer from the doctor the other day.

* i would also like to add, despite the tightness in my throat, i have been able to breathe and swallow perfectly fine. i have not had ANY burning in my chest.

all of these symptoms just make no sense.

Post Edited (elena188) : 9/3/2020 3:06:38 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/8/2020 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
since nobody has answered you, I'll try and help a little. This is just from my own experience. I have had these symptoms for 9 months now. It sounds to me like you have LPR (silent reflux = acid reflux without heartburn) and globus sensation (swollen feeling in throat). Mine happened very suddenly as well. After lots of reading I decided for myself that acid blockers, PPI, etc. are the worst option. Typical Western medicine approach of only covering up the symptoms and not looking for the root cause of the disease. These medications make things worse long-term.

This is what has helped me:

Don't freak out by what you learn online, you can go down the rabbit hole and it will cause you so much stress that the symptoms worsen. Question everything. Everyone has different opinions on this.

To heal the burning in the throat: 6 weeks of low acid diet (not just Dr. Koufman's "Dropping Acid" book), but anything that has a pH of 5 or lower before being digested (find free lists online). This diet sucks, but it got rid of the horrible burning sensation.
You can read about LPR on refluxgate.com, but don't buy the online course (not worth the money in my opinion).
Avoid the typical stuff: do not overeat - small meals!, no chocolate, no tomatoes, no caffeine, no alcohol, no spicy food, elevated sleeping (there's good cheap wedge pillows on Amazon), no more food 3-4 hours before bedtime. Do not drink anything 30 min before and 1 hour after your meals. You don't want to dilute your stomach acid while it works on breaking down your food. Alternative medicine believes that you most likely have low stomach acid than too much acid (which is why acid blockers don't work).

I've tried different diets (some doctors say go keto, some say go vegatarian, there's the bi-phasic SIBO diet (because you might have SIBO which could cause your reflux).

I was already vegan, so I tried vegan keto for 2 weeks until I got a horrible keto rash and my body felt terrible (do not recommend). Recently I found a nutritionist online that works with gut problems and she recommends high carb, low fat and low protein. This feels right for my body (I just miss my daily tofu).

Btw, if you have had any abdominal surgeries, you might have adhesions that are causing your problem.
I have been seeing a DPT that does visceral manipulation and Craniosacral therapy. After 5 sessions my globus sensation finally went away. People can also get globus from tight neck muscles, so look into that. Could be stress related, because the other symptoms were freaking you out.

Don't forget to do deep breathing every day for stress relief.
If you feel depressed (been there), try Joy-Filled by Happie Healthy Hippie (this stuff is natural and helps a lot).

To heal the esophageal lining: try licorice, marshmallow root and slippery elm.

Hope this helps a little.
Posted 9/9/2020 10:47 AM (GMT 0)
Elena188:

Keep in mind that anxiety can cause/make your symptoms seem worse. Since your symptoms have evolved over the past few weeks, I would follow a GERD-friendly diet and stay away from things like pizza. Just because certain foods haven't bothered you in the past, doesn't mean that they will never bother you. Give yourself some time and follow up with your doctor. Don't cause more anxiety by worrying about never eating pizza, and certain foods again. We aren't medical professionals on this Board, that's why it's best to follow up with your doctor.

Sharon
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply