Silent Reflux

For months now I have had an annoying sensation in my throat, which I attributed to sinus drainage. I had laryngitis the week of Thanksgiving and that evolved into a cold or bronchitis. It took forever to stop coughing, even after I was no longer sick. And even after the cough went away, I have been left with this feeling of not being able to clear my throat. I do not have heartburn or any digestive symptoms. But it does sometimes seem like eating makes it worse.

I am so tired of making that throat clearing noise and constantly trying to swallow a lump in my throat that I did something very uncharacteristic yesterday. I went to the doctor.

I volunteer at my church office every Monday. I drive right past our doctor's office when I leave. He's a good friend and I knew if he was in, he would take a look at me even without an appt. So I decided to stop and see him. It occurred to me that I might be misdiagnosing myself and something could be wrong that I know nothing about.

I described my symptoms and he said, "I think I know exactly what is wrong with you." He then gave me some information about something called LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux), also referred to as Silent Reflux. Fifty percent of patients with this problem do not have any heartburn or indigestion -- just throat irritation and the constant urge to clear the throat.

He gave me Nexium and some guidelines for changing my diet. Why does everything have to include a change in diet??? I looked at the suggestions and asked, "Is there any chance the pill will just take care of it and I won't have to make these changes?" LOL.

Here are the guidelines: A low-fat diet. Limit intake of red meat. Avoid fried foods. Avoid cheese. Limit intake of butter. Avoid chocolate. Avoid eggs. Avoid caffeine (especially in coffee and tea), soda pop, and mints. Avoid alcoholic beverages, especially in the evening. And do not eat within three hours of bedtime.

Except for eggs, caffeine and an occasional glass of wine, I already try to follow those guidelines. I don't consume a lot of any of those things. But at least once a week, usually Saturday nights, I have anything I want and we tend to eat kind of late (after 7:00) on a regular basis because we work out first, then eat dinner. But other than on the weekends, I don't eat a heavy meal.

I do have a cup or two of coffee every morning. My doctor suggested that after the first cup, I switch to decaf. So I brewed my coffee "half caf" this morning.

My throat irritation bothers me during the day. It hasn't interfered with my sleep. So I'm hoping it's a mild, though chronic, condition and will respond quickly to the Nexium.

Just in case this ever happens to YOU, I thought the information might be useful.

Comments

Janette said…
Actually, you're describing Bruce's symptoms to a T. I wonder if this is what's going on? I'm going to copy this post, give it to Bruce and have him make an appt. with his doctor.

Thanks for sharing, Shari. This may be the answer to our mysterious medical problem.
Shari said…
Janette, my doctor told me to take Nexium at night and in the morning both for the first week, then only take it once a day. So I've taken it twice. After 24 hours, my symptoms have already noticably improved. I wish I would have gone to see the doctor sooner. I knew there had to be someone besides me with this condition!