Got my blood test results back and all was normal. I thought for sure something would come up with my thyroid but it was normal. I've had pressure and pain in my throat and ears now for almost two months! Also have constant phlegm in throat and always clearing, sometimes it's hard to talk and even talking for long periods seems to fatigue my neck and throat. Doc put me on rhinocort for post nasal symptoms. Been taking that for about 2 weeks now and from what i understand it takes a few weeks before you start seeing results with allergy meds. I really hope all the pressure and tightness is from the post nasal drip. I am concerned with using a steroidal med while fighting GERD. I do have GERD but thought that the prevacid would stop everything. I've been on that for almost 3 months now and the heartburn is gone but still have indigestion and all this other fun wonderful stuff now! Funny thing is i feel fine and almost normal compared to how I was before getting on a PPI. Everyday was massive terrible heartburn to the point of almost throwing up. Sometimes i wonder if it's all from the Prevacid! doc says not to stop taking it but i just wonder!! HAVE SO MUCH PRESSURE and discomfort in my throat and neck and ears, can't even look extreme left and right without it feeling like someone punched me in the adam's apple! I'm so scared about cancer and all with the pain i get between my shoulder blades sometimes. Have appt. with gastro on Feb 15, they want to scope me!! It will be my first time. Getting old really stinks man!!! I'm only 32 and wonder what life is going to be like in my 40's and 50's!! any comforting words would be greatly appreciated right now

A couple things:
First, with thyroid, you can have normal TSH and still have a problem...have your doctor check for antibodies just to be sure. Also, make sure your doctor isn't going off "old" information (the new accepted values for TSH are lower.)

Next, the rhinocort...I'm not sure what that is. Is it similar to Nasonex or Flonase? If so, it would probably be fine to use if you have GERD. I use Nasonex daily due to some intense environmental allergies. If it's not, sorry...I don't know.

remedy, what does thyroid have to do with those symptoms? Can you explain what a low/high thyroid causes? thanks.

sometimes a swollen thyroid (called goiter) can feel like pressure in the neck.

...the reason I mention it is because, in my quest for relief from GERD/LPR/whatever, I was describing to my doctor this pain/fullness in my neck/throat so she did some blood work and an ultrasound. She confirmed Hashimoto's disease and the u/s showed that my thyroid was very swollen with nodules. However, my blood work for thyroid function (TSH mainly) came back completely normal.

From what I understand a thyroid condition can cause a low body temperature which can cause your food to metabolize(sp?) incorrectly. Kind of like a car I guess...until you reach the proper operating temperature, your not making the best use of the fuel you are consuming.

the rhinocort is budesonide spray, probly similar to nasonex, flonase, etc. As far as my thyroid goes, there is no visible swelling around my neck but boy it sure as heck feels like it! Also did some reading about post nasal drip (which i have terribly) and how that too can cause these symptoms. I am constantly swallowing thick secretions, clearing throat, and my ears always hurt. been taking the rhinocort probly two weeks now but don't think it's been long enough to get the full term effect yet. I would hope that my blood tests were figured using the most up to date numbers but they only sent me a paper telling me what was tested and they were all normal. i'm not sure if i even want to go to the gastroenterologist now if this could be all allergy related but i just don't know! i can't live like this everyday though, i know that! It's just constant pressure! it bothers me the most on the neck muscles on either side of the adams apple just above the collar bone. the muscles actually feel like they are tensed up all the time, they feel tight to the touch. Guess i should still get the scope work done though just to know if it isn't something in my esophagus.

Dont worry about the scope. Its not a pleasent feeling, but afterwards you are like "Thats it!". Its really nothing to worry about. Good luck.

it's getting much worse! I'm going to go crazy waiting another 2 weeks for the consultation with the gastro. Now getting pinching like pain all through the thyroid area and my left lymphnode seems a bit large and kinda crunchy if you move it around and turn the neck different ways. Turning my head left and right seems even tighter now with even more pressure on adams apple when head is turned at left or right, driving has been real fun! Still getting pain on and off between my shoulder blades almost as if i swallowed something too big and that feeling of when a large piece of food just slowly slides down scraping through your back. Now feeling like air is in my throat (burping feeling I guess). I'm not sure but i think it is worse after eating but the surprising thing is that while eating i only experience a very small amount of trouble swallowing which i believe is from whatever is causing the pressure and swollen like feelings. I get very gassy now. I've never been regular at all with bowel movements even before having heartburn problems. I guess that should've been my que to get checked. Also feels like i'm swallowing air when i swallow sometimes. Everything i eat i burp and taste, even liquids i burp and taste! I'm not so sure it's even related to post nasal drip anymore because today i was virtually free of any PND symptoms and i'm having problems. I am so worried to death guess from the guilty conscience of using smokeless tobacco for a long time and drinking. I stopped using the tobacco for all last week and seriously cut back on my drinking habbits and at first it seemed like it made all the difference but now the end of the week it's right back the same way again. No doubt in my mind now that over the months of tobacco and alcohol use is what caused my GERD in the first place. And knowing now that i'm particularly vulnerable more than most standard people!! I pretty much have myself convinced i've got some kind of cancer and just can't seem to get my mind off of this. I gotta tell you i hope the gastroenterologist seems more concerned than my doctor and can answer a lot more of my questions!

I appologize for writing such a lengthy post but i just have to get this off my mind! About how much does this endoscopy cost anyways! I have $300 deductable then after that i pay 15% of the bill. Anyone remember from their insurance statements about how much the total procedure was before insurance kicked in? thanks everyone