# Is this part of GERD? Am I getting worse?



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

It's been quite a few months. At first I thought I had throat allergy because anything slightly unusual in the air or in the flavor of what I eat can make my throat itchy beyond description and get me into fits of uncontrollable coughs to the point where I actually throw up.Tried all throat and allergy meds and nothing worked.Then after my long trip it became painful while the fits of itch is still there. And I've been having difficulty swallowing. It's like it's painful in my pharynx when I swallow even liquid, and I can feel food getting all the way slowly down my esophagus even when I eat something as soft as a banana and when i drink water. This has been going on for a month or so since I came back from the trip.I always thought that my acid reflux was mild and never paid much attention to it, 'cause I didn't feel the acidic taste in my mouth unless on a bad day. But recently for the past month I had to elevate myself when I sleep, otherwise the coughs come and the fits make me throw up and feel all acidic. I've been having hunger-like upper stomach pain more than before, too. (Edit: the pain is pretty bad and is typically in where the two rib cages meet at the upper end of my upper stomach).Is this part of the GERD package? Am I getting worse? Help.Thanks a ton!Cherrie


----------



## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I am sorry to hear all you are going through. Most of your posts hide this deterioration in your digestion. Have you ever had your condition seriously looked at? I know when I am slightly bothered by something, I simply shove it into the "Denial Room" where I hope it will just go away. Silly us. Usually it just gets worse. At least knowing where you stand will help you decide what path to take.If this all turns out to be digestion related, let me send you a bottle of the Provex. There seem to be some problems with long-term PPI use. As someone who once went nowhere without a bottle of Maalox tablets and whose digestion only got worse and worse, being able to eliminate the problem rather than treat it leaves more room in my Denial Room for truly serious end of life stuff.At least, that has been my experience.Mark


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It may be time for a lung function test and a endoscope of the esophagus to see what is going on.Asthma can be more of a cough than a wheeze and GERD can set asthma off. Allergy meds do not necessarily treat asthma.K.


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Thank you both sooo much, Mark and Kathleen!Yeah... I just kept hoping that it was going to get better and thinking that maybe it wasn't that much of a biggy... my "denial room" is pretty filled up, isn't it, LOL... Both of you are so right -- I do need to urge my dr to get me tested... last time (which is pretty recent) I saw him I told him about how bad the cough was, but he wasn't taking it seriously, not half as serious as he looked at my other problems -- I wasn't making the link between my GERD at the time and either was he... LOL, it's prolly also because I must've been the biggest happy-go-lucky patient he's ever seen -- not that I try to, but it's just how I am (unless I'm running a sky-high fever or having incredibly horrible pain in my belly) -- so in short I wonder if I am to blame, too, for him to think that there was nothing much going on with me...I'll definitely be firm and ask for these two tests when I see him again... Gosh it's hard to make my dr believe I feel real bad when I don't look as sick as I feel... Thank you both again. Really appreciate it.Cherrie


----------



## firstone (Jul 21, 2007)

Hope you feel better....


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks, Firstone!unfortunately I'm still feeling kind of the same... will see the dr and get him to order tests for me...thanks again for the well wishes,cherrie


----------



## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

Good luck Cherrie! I don't cough but I do get a persistent odd feeling in the back of my throat, kind of like a tingling numbness that gets worse as the reflux gets worse. I don't necessarily feel acidic with my GERD either, I do get terrible heartburn and pain in between the ribs though. I'm one of those people who goes into the doctor half dead and laughs and jokes my way out of there too







Doesn't help me much when I need them to take me seriously (that combined with the fact that I'm there so often for my stomach I start feeling like he'll think I'm a hypochondriac going in there for anything else). My denial room is huge. Starting with me desperately needing a hearing test, sigh. But I'll stop waffling on now, just wanted to wish you luck. Let us know how you go!


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks, {{{Amy}}}!I know what you mean.... and it's so confusing sometimes 'cause I really didn't know whether my sore throat is from GERD or from an infection until it gets to this point where I can clearly feel the swallowing problem... And talk about making the dr feel i'm a hypochondriac by appearing very high-spirited throughout an appt -- we're like twins in this respect -- oh why oh why would I do that?? Thanks again and I'll send an update when/if he agrees to send me to these tests.Cherrie


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Just a quick update --I just went to the appt with my new GI -- He said it wasn't good (







) and booked me for an esophagus endoscope for tomorrow afternoon. And they call the test something that's really long, I can't remember what it is now... Anyways, He also said that I'd be pretty out of it afterwards and I'm not allowed to eat/drink anything tomorrow after 7:00 a.m. ... fun... not...I'm not sure what to think of this dr. -- I wish he talked about my symptoms and stomach problems more than the other non-health issues like how the media misrepresents a given group of people (I agree with his points, but that was not what I went to him for)... Will the scope (whatever kind it is called) be really painful? I hope not... I'm kinda scared... Cherrie


----------



## MyOwnSavior (Dec 21, 2006)

Cherrie said:


> Just a quick update --I just went to the appt with my new GI -- He said it wasn't good (
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The endoscopy? Nah. I don't even remember it, to be 100% honest. I mean, they put me under, and when I woke up I was like, "Huh, we're done already?". Of course I had a colonscopy and endoscopy done at the same time, so maybe they only put me all the way under because I was having both. I don't know, but if I were you I would asked to be put all the way out, because I believe you can be left kinda-conscious. But I could be wrong...As an aside, I'm not even sure what your doctor would hope to accomplish by talking about things like "How the media misrepresents a given group of people"...? Of course, I guess it would help if I understood exactly what it was he was saying, heh.







But anyway, I know where you're coming from, because there have been times when I've been totally frustrated with my GI dr. I mean, "Don't think about your IBS so much"? That's the best advice you've got? Come on...! But then I started working and, by God, I don't have IBS symptoms as much anymore... of course that might just be because at work I stand up all the time and when I'm at home obviously I'm sitting down more (which always causes me problems for some reason)... But anyway getting back on track - no, I wouldn't worry about the endoscopy. You won't remember a thing. But I do remember feeling slightly ill afterwards, but that might have just been because I hadn't eaten in at least 36 hours because of the colonscopy and I had two tests done, so I was pretty much "scoped out", haha...


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi~ Thanks!It was an EGD (lol, don't ask me to spell out the acronym, too long for me, lol







)... Was a freeze (edit: lol, I meant "breeze") and I was unconscious the whole time and didn't feel a thing.







I'll know the biopsy result in about a week.Hehe, I don't understand why my dr said that to me, either -- so totally not relevant to my medical problem and so totally not chitchat material, either (he can't expect to make anyone feel relaxed by talking about politics with them, hello~







). Weird. At least yours was still talking about IBS, not that I wouldn't be a lil offended by what he said -- like the least thing I wanna think about is my IBS! Ha, dr.s, they are imcomprehensible...Thanks for the support!Cherrie


----------



## MyOwnSavior (Dec 21, 2006)

Cherrie said:


> Hi~ Thanks!It was an EGD (lol, don't ask me to spell out the acronym, too long for me, lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No problem, glad to hear everything went ok for you!







Let us know how the biopsy results turn out though! Here's hoping for the best...Oh and lastly - my GI doctor is a female. Just... to be clear







I do feel like she's more empathetic than, say, most of the male doctor's I've been around. But maybe that's just an abnormality as far as doctors go...


----------



## hope* (Aug 1, 2005)

Hi Cherrie,I'm so pleased everything went well for you, fingers crossed for the results xxxI have to see my consultant next Tuesday because of acid problems, the back of my throat feels sore alot and i feel pressure in my chest, they did think i had pulled a musle in my chest, but now they think it could be Gerd i will be having another Endoscopy done (last one was two and a half years ago all clear) he will let me know the date next week.


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi Hope, hi everyone ~Thank you all so much for your support!I've gotten the results back, sorta -- they only called me and said that there isn't any permanent damage and booked me for another appt next Tuesday and will talk about it with me in detail. Meanwhile, I've been on Prevacid, which kinda helps -- my coughs are better and I only cough occasionally now after a month being on it, but I still have a daily sore throat and have to use 3+ pillows to elevate my head when sleeping (my neck and back are really sore now)... however, prevacid is so far the best meds i've used ... other things just didn't help one bit... Oops sorry about being whiney -- i guess prevacid also has a sorta good side effect for me -- it constipates me a little, so my D is better (it's become a pattern that it feels better for a few days and then my belly decides it's time to flush it all out so I'll have a couple bad days with D, but it's better than daily D, so can't complain there







), although I still have multiple BM's daily. So, if anyone has ibs-d and gerd, you might want to try and see if prevacid does anything to make your D better Hope, I'm so sorry you're having acid problems, too... if you have a sore throat that's not a cold, then it's likely to be reflux... But if you're not coughing, that's a good sign. Sending you lots of good thoughts and hope the appt/test goes well. In the mean time, you might want to elevate your head when sleeping, which does help... Everything crossed for you.Cherrie


----------



## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It may be better for you back to slant the whole bed rather than try to prop yourself up with pillows.If your bed has legs you just put a brick or two under the legs (start with one if not enough go up to two).If you do the futon on the floor type of bed see if you can get a wedge pillow made from dense foam as that will support you better than regular pillows.


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks, Kathleen! Great ideas! I'll definitely buy the wedge pillow to get more support for my back Cherrie


----------



## Hoping (Nov 25, 2007)

Cherrie--I did the multiple pillow thing too and my neck has been paying the price! A wedge pillow is a great idea. You might also try putting something IN BETWEEN your top and bottom mattress to prop the whole top mattress up at an angle (if it doesn't disturb a bedmate!). I have an old comforter folded up and slid in there. It's working nicely, actually -- until I can get out to get a foam wedge pillow. Glad your results came back with nothing serious!


----------



## hope* (Aug 1, 2005)

Great news Cherrie, i'm so pleased for you xxxx


----------



## madge (Oct 1, 2006)

We have a Select Comfort air mattress. It's hard to raise the end of the bed, because we have a very heavy, oak, bookcase headboard. I'm wondering whether it works to put something between the mattresses (under the air mattress), or whether the air will just shift if I do that. Anyone?Actually, I've let some of the air out of my side of the bed, so it's softer. That way, my hips, because they're heavier than my head, seem to be lower. Helps some. But I'd like to find some other way to raise the top end of the bed.


----------



## Blackjack dealer (Dec 11, 2007)

Moved to the Products/Websites/Services Forum.


----------

