I am a 22 year old female who had a sudden onset of about a year and half of GERD (more specifically, LPR) symptoms. While I have no heartburn, I feel the need to clear my throat hundreds (maybe thousands) of times a day. It causes headaches and a loss of voice. For the past 6 months I have used multiple PPI's (Aciphex, Protonix, Nexium, Prilosec) and other medicines such as Reglan, Zantac, every antacid there is, Mucinex, etc. I still have this problem and none of the medicines have done much to help. I have had Upper GI's which show a severe reflux, and have been tested for allergies without avail. At the end of April I will be having surgery on my vocal cord as I have developed a cyst (which I partly blame on the throat clearing). In the morning I do not have any throat clearing problems until eating, then after every meal I have about an hour to three hours of terrible throat clearing. The nighttime is really terrible. I have made adjustments to my already healthy diet, I am thin and exercise so that is not the issue.

Do others have similar problems? If so, is there ANYTHING you do for relief? I am at a breaking point. I am going to a gastroenterologist in about two weeks and am seriously considering one of the plicator or stretta procedures. Does anyone know anything about them and their success (or not)?

Any advice would be helpful. I'd love to hear from anyone out there with advice. This has been going on for a long time and it never gets any easier.

Thank you and I hope to hear from someone soon.

I have had LPR for about a year and a half as well. My primary symptom is constant post nasal drip and I also clear my throat (although I try to stop myself from doing so since it does make things worse). I also went through allergy testing and nothing showed up. Have you had an ENT do a laryngoscopy? That will give a closer look at your throat. I also had an upper endoscopy and they found a hiatal hernia. I have been taking pepcid, which has worked for me (before breakfast and before dinner), but taking a little break since it might be contributing to headaches (I am prone to headaches as it is). You mentioned that you have taken Nexium? I know that the treatment for LPR is supposed to be at least two nexium/day for 6 months, so it just might be that you need a higher dose or a longer period to see if it's working. I have heard of the stretta, but haven't heard much in the way of success stories. I wish I had more words of wisdom, but I just want to let you know that, this probably doesn't help, but you are not alone and people on this board are very helpful.
Good luck,
Kathy

yes the throat clearing sux and is really annoying. I take mucinex and that seems to help quite a bit for me so you might wanna try it.

also i dont think the tons of mucus in our throats have anything to do with our digestive systems, it has to do with your sinuses. Ever since my reflux started ive been having terrible sinus problems(i have LPR). SO i would suggest taking sinus/allergy medicine like mucinex, that seems to help me the most, you can get it at walmart for about 10 bucks i think. Take care.

Kellir

Also you may want to try Flonase or Nasaquart..they are cortisone sprays for your nose.

Thank you for all your suggestions, unfortunately I've already tried them all! I took Mucinex for about a month and half, didn't do much. I have tried Flonase, Astelin, Nasonex, etc. No help at all. The headaches are more from the clearing of the throat than they are from the medicine, however. I think the biggest issue is that there is almost no mucus its just something there that I need to clear my throat for-i guess the acid. My ENT thinks it is partially a habit, but I make a very conscious effort not to clear it...but have to. I thought it was a post nasal drip and went to an allergist, but after multiple tests it showed I had zero allergies. Additionally, I have been taking the highest dosage of Nexium, Achiphex, Protonix available...80 mg per day. I'm just concerned that I've run out of options.
Kathy, what have you heard about the stretta procedure?

Basically at one point I was taking about 8 pills a day...2 nexium, 2 mucinex, 2 reglan, 2 zantac...plus nasal spray. I'm young so this seemed so excessive. I stopped after about 3 weeks and have switched only to protonix, which also is hopeless.

So theres my story folks...:dizzy:

This may sound crazy, but I had the same symptoms and tried the apple cider vinegar suggestion made to me. And when I eat a higher protein meal, I use a supplement containing Hcl. I know it sounds counterproductive to trying to ease the acid pain, but it worked for me. I followed up with my GI doc one year after my EGD and told her I was using vinegar with great results and she agreed that I most likely have low acid (not too much as she originally thought.) I have to say the vinegar goes down about as smoothly as a shot of vodka (ouch!), but I also shoot it straight and follow it with a gulp of water. I have been able to stop all anti-acid meds.
I have been using the ACV since January and haven't felt this good in a long time.
A book I read suggests that if you benefit from the vinegar, it might be worthwhile to mention to your doctor to see if they can test for LOW acid.

As for the stretta procedure, I think the concern is that there are complications. I actually think doctors won't do it because of complications, but I'm not sure. I am so sorry that you are going through this. It does sound like LPR, not sinus issues. I thought I had sinus issues and after 6 months of taking mucinex, flonase, pseudoephidrine (sudafed) daily, without any luck, I finally saw an ENT who diagnosed LPR via laryngoscopy. How long have you been taking the max for PPI's. I think it would be worthwhile to see an ENT who knows something about LPR. Where do you live? Most major cities have a teaching hospital and you can probably find a specialist.
Best wishes,
Kathy

I just tried apple cider vinegar last night (it was pretty terrible, even mixed with honey and water) I will try it a few more times but try and mix it with something else. About how long did you do it for before you saw results?

Thanks for your concern Kathy. I've been taking about 6 months of the max of PPI's, so if it was going to work, it should have worked by now. I live in the DC/MD area.

Does anyone know anything about lpr relating to gluten or celiac? I saw another post on here about that and thought maybe it had some sort of relation to what I am experiencing. I haven't eaten any bread today and feel better than the past few days. Anyone know anything about the inability to process gluten?

I actually live in Northern Virginia so we are close. George Washington University has two specialists in LPR. Try this link if you are interested:
http://www.gwdocs.com/services/eHA-eHA_Content_C-Generic_Content_Page_Template_VoiceTreat mentCenter.html
Hope the apple cider vinegar helps. It didn't help me, but people are so different in their responses. I couldn't tolerate Nexium (many side effects). And yes, I have heard both the celiac and gluten free diets are very helpful for some people. Good luck!

Hi LPR people, just have a question here... is your nasea also as bad .. like spinning moiton every now and then on the span of the day? And Head pressure that seems to come from inside the ear? Chills? if not am I dying?? :confused: Thanks

i've too had a lot of trouble with my throat in the last 4 months. I have all the classic LPR symptoms plus my ENT said it was the start of slight LPR, acid apparently wasn't that bad yet. I ALWAYS have the lump in the throat feeling and for me it feels like i swallowed a piece of food that was too big going down between my shoulder blades. It's worse when i'm really phlegmy but when swallowing food or water it's not bad at all, very strange!! the most annoying thing for me though honestly is whenever i turn my head left or right the lump feeling is worse and it feels like someone is pushing my larynx in. I can't stand it! Here's the frustrating part, i had my first endoscopy last week and all they found was a small polyp in my duodenum. currently awaiting biopsy results till they decide what we're going to do about it. other than that they didn't see any signs of erosion or reflux and all was goo. but why do i have reflux and have acid if i don't take the prevacid. and also if the LES muscle wasn't working right and it was relaxed (i assumed it wasn't working right due to GERD) wouldn't they have seen that and said they found that in the process of the endoscopy. So if there were no signs of acid, how in the world can i have LPR? I'm so frustrated i'd like to just throw all my meds out the window right about now. Do i even have GERD? I will ask more questions at my follow up visit as the day of my endoscopy i was too out of it! and if everything is all good inside of me where does all my pain come from? It's always pain in between my shoulder blades and mid spine along with tightness in neck and throat. I wonder sometimes if my posture habits have anything to do with the stiff neck and lump in throat feeling. Next stop, Chiropracter. I've had neck problems in the spine area for the last 4 years, i just wonder!!!

I'm having the same problems. I am suffering with reflux even when I drink water. I have severe indigestion. I can't stop burping and have a backache.
I had my gallbladder removed 8 weeks ago because my sonogram showed that I had stones. My gastro doctor thought having my gallbladder removed would eliminate the symptoms I was having....Not. I have had a battery of tests, endoscopy, found a small polyp, no problem but did not find any acid, reflux, ulcer. CT scan all clear except for a cyst on my ovary. and I just had a upper GI and a esphagealgram. Awaiting results on that one. I tried Nexium. 2 tablets a day. Didn't really help and made me feel weird so I take one a day and gas-x 4 times a day. I'm feeling really frustratred and a little scared. My gastro doctor doesn't think my symptoms have anything to do with having my gallbladder removed but does not offer any ideas about what it could be. Does anyone else have a backache with gerd or acid reflux?

Hi. I also live in the DC area and think I have LPR. I've tried all the allergy medicines/solutions to no avail, so my allergist finally put me on nexium (too many side effects) and now Protonix. It seems to be helping, but it's not 100%. Yesterday I couldn't stop coughing, from all the stuff draining down my throat, and then I got a headache :( This happens too often for me to take advil or something every time I get a headache, so then I basically can't function. Drinking lots of water seems to help, but the throat clearing is always there.

Dalgolds,

Have you done Nexium 80 mg per day (2 doses)? If so, have you taken them together, or split them up one in the morning one at night?

I have severe LPR, and I found that only taking the pills as a double dose at the same time in the morning helped, and helped amazingly well. Splitting them up would lead to a return of symptoms.