Jane Craig

Hi, I'm new to this board. I am a 53-year-old female with symptoms of what sounds a lot like LPR--coughing, hoarseness, mucus-like feeling in throat, nasal congestion. I also have a feeling in my upper chest of uncomfortable pressure, like I can't quite get my breath...relieved by coughing, but only for a couple of seconds.

This feeling gets worse during the day, especially as the day wears on (late afternoon), but I don't cough at night or have sleep disturbance. In fact, the symptoms are less bad in the AM than in the afternoon.

I'm had episodes of this for about twenty years and my internist always thought it was allergies and asthma...it would come and go. I took antihistamines for years along with Advair, but it didn't seem to help much. Flovent and Flonase DID help a bit.

This March I began to have problems again, and this time the coughing and upper respiratory symptoms were so bad that I went to an allergist --and tested negative for allergies. After asthma meds didn't really help, he finally prescribed Nexium (40 MG 2X daily, morning and night) and referred me to a pulmonologist and an ENT. The ENT told me that my larnyx was inflamed near the esphagal opening, and also has two small nodules.

I have been on Nexium since May 1, and have had partial symptom relief--the coughing is much better, but the hoarseness persists. He told me to give up caffeine and alcohol, chocolate and peppermint, to raise the head of my bed six inches, and not to eat 2 hours before going to bed. I have done all of this, although I see from this board that a more stringent diet might be needed. For example, he said I could still drink decaf coffee, and gave me no dietary restrictions other than the items I listed.

Any thoughts? I'm worried about the (only) partial symptom relief...

I see the pulmonologist tomorrow and go back to the ENT June 20 to see whether treatment has improved my larnyx.

QUESTION: I also have pain in the middle of my ribcage, up under the breastbone/solar plexus, and slightly to the left. There have been a few times in the past few months when, in bending over, it has distinctly felt like something was slipping out of place in that spot. "Hernia" occurred to me immediately; that's what it feels like, like soft tissue protruding. And it hurts. Does this sound like a hiatal hernia?

When this happens I have to stand upright immediately, and press on the affected spot until the sensation goes away. It happened this past weekend and as I stood upright to make it go away, I noticed I reflexively raised my left arm as well, while pushing down on the spot with my right hand.

Since it happened, it is quite sore and I'm afraid to bend over.

The area has now gotten somewhat painful--believe it or not, I haven't mentioned it to any of the doctors because they're all specialists who don't really deal with that body part.

Has anyone had this type of pain?

Jane C.