Anyone had these symptoms - Digestive Disorders Message Board

damians · 03-12-2006, 11:11 PM

Hello all, hope you can help.

For the past 3 months I have had the following symptoms

Chest pain, mostly left side, but just recently moving to the right as well. Also goes into the shoulders and arms. (Had heart tests done and all clear)

Lump in throat, and occassional sore throat

Severe pain in lower left ad, for a few minutes that went to an ache.

Aching sort of pain left and right ribs

Bloating

Constipation, although I go a couple of time a day, they are harder than normal and break easier with mucus. Occassional diarrhoea, with a real urgency to go.

My initial doctor thought it could be IBS anfd reflux and put me on prevacid for the later.

This still did not help, I would get blocks of days with the chest pain and blocks of days without it. I went to a GI and had an endoscope done whcih came out normal, he still thinks it is silent reflux which is not causing any damage. He said to keep taking the meds for another month to see if the pains stops, i am one week in and no still here.

I also have food intolerences to dairy, wheat, rye and barley so have taken them out of my diet but this has not helped as I seem to be bloated more now.

Sorry this is long but I am worried about the aching in the ribs and bloating etc, has anyone else had these sypmtoms?.

Thanks

MommaBee · 03-13-2006, 12:48 AM

Gall Bladder?

aswander · 03-15-2006, 05:19 PM

Hi there.

You have acid reflux, and quite a bad case of it. There are 2 main kinds of acid reflux, and you, lucky boy, have both! (which is completely possible). But you can treat it better. I'll explain:

Acid reflux is most commonly known as GERD. But GERD just describes just one type - which is mostly characterized by heartburn. In addition, there is a second type that most doctors don't know about - LPR. LPR is laryngopharyngeal reflux. The 2 most common symptoms of LPR are feeling of lump in throat/trouble swallowing and/or chronic cough.

GERD is caused by the weakening of the lower esophageal spinchter muscle (where the stomach meets the esophagous). Acid goes up the esophagous and causes heartburn.

LPR is caused by the weakening of the upper esophagageal spinchter muscle (where the top of the esophgous meets the throat). When acid leaves the esophagous and enters the throat, it causes really weird symptoms, because it's not heartburn, but the throat has no natural protection against acid. In addition to causing chronic cough or lump/stuck feeling, you can feel like you have constant sinusitis, extreme sensitivities to smell (thanks to the acid causing erosions in your sinuses), bad breath, the taste of acid in your mouth, and even weirder, massive enamel erosion on your teeth from that super strong hydrochloric stomach acid getting into your mouth.

So you have both kinds, my dear. It happens, I have both too, though for me, LPR is the most problematic.

But there is a treatment. As I said most doctors never heard of LPR, so they don't know how to treat it. The magic cure is a 2x daily dose of a PPI, not a 1x dose. 1x doses are for those people with GERD only. You have to treat the LPR more strongly, and cut that acid off at the knees, because it's rising up even higher.

I'd also recommend that you abandon the PPI that you're on, and get on Nexium 2x per day (40 mg per pill). Nexium is the newest PPI, and the most different of all the PPIs. While Nexium typically doesn't make a difference in people who just have GERD, it commonly is most effective for people with LPR. Also, 1 pill a day won't cut it, you should start off with 2, and once you're stabilized, then you can experiement with your dosage. But start on 2 ASAP!.

If your doctor has any questions, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants published a really nice article on how LPR is different from GERD a few years ago, called "Laryngopharyngeal reflux—It’s not GERD".

Also, go visit the GERD board! We're awesome!

damians · 03-16-2006, 05:10 AM

Aswander

Thanks for your reply, I live in England and docs down here tend to put Gerd and LPR together as a list of possible symptoms of gerd.

I asked for nexium which they gave me and the chest pains have sort of stopped, still some pain but it comes and goes rather than being constant. I have not had a sort throat or lump for about a month now so hopefully that part is under control.

Since I started taking Nexium i have had a strange lump/bloating sensation around the 5th rib on the right hand side, feels like a ball pressing on my ribs, that comes and goes, i was intially worried it my be my gallbladder but i am told I would have lots of pain with that.

Anyway thanks for your reply I have to go and see my GI in three weeks so will ask about LPR and see if he knows anything about it.

aswander · 03-16-2006, 05:23 AM

Damians,

Have you been taking 1 Nexium per day or 2 Nexiums per day? If you can spare a pill, I'd suggest trying 2 Nexiums today, and seeing how that makes you feel. Also, if the UK is anything like the U.S., your doctor should have have a closet stuffed with free samples in his office.