LPR vs GERD

Hi,

I also have some symptoms similar to LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux) where the stomach acid comes in the throat and irritates throat. I have GERD as well .I fell lump in throat and chocking some times a lot while taking my saliva. My throat becomes dry and dryness in mouth also without any thirst. 2 weeks back i was chocking on food as well. I am going for a stoboscopy next week and will get back with more details. I am taking antacids from past 4 months but since i got some stomach infections and took lot of antibiotics my acid refluc was increased and i got LPR.

Four years ago, I went to the allergist because of my excessive throat clearing and hoarse voice.  He started me on shots which I still do.  I tried nasal sprays, saline nasal rinses, a neti pit and antihistamines but nothing made the throat clearing much better.  When I complained to him that I hadn't seen any improvement in what I came to him for, his response was, "You don't know how much worse you would have been had you not done the shots."  What a cop out! 

I went to the ENT who told me I was a textbook case for LPR (a condition I had never heard of).  I was overjoyed to finally be diagnosed!  I'm so sick of having all this mucus in my throat all the time and being a speech-language pathologist, I was aware of what all the throat clearing was doing to my vocal folds.  I also have larygospasms now and then.

He has prescribed Kapidex, which is a time released proton pump inhibitor that cuts down on the stomach acid.  My ENT said that in 2-3 months I should be cured.  Right now, I'm waiting on my insurance company to give prior authorization since it's a new drug. 

To say that I'm upset with the allergist for not raising LPR as a possibility is an understatement.  I try not to think of how much time I wasted going to get shots twice a week. 

I must also say that I feel lucky to have been diagnosed.  I went to see an ENT from the SAME practice and he never brought it up.

I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.

Tracy

Yes I have it too.  No heartburn.  Been to E&T and Internist...both confirmed.

I had an upper GI to verify no hiatal hernia or other problems.

Strict reduction of coffee, alcohol, soda drinks etc  has helped (I only weigh 155 lbs though)....have been on Prilosec for 1 month....not much help.  Now trying Apple Cidar

Vinager, Aloe Vera, honey etc.   May have to move to Nexium if these natural remedies

don't help.

Jeff

Indoor Mold exposure can lead to these problems, as can digestive problems, etc.

Think about the home/work environment history of your life and consider if exposure to wet/water damaged buildings makes your symptoms worse.

Hope this helps.

I was diagnozed with LPR also....

I have had "acid reflux"  for the last five years or so. My GP prescribed nexium. I was on nexium at first then insurance would not pay so I switched to prilosec OTC....I never really had heartburn symptoms in my chest-my sysptoms always felt like the acid came all the way up to my throat and almost felt like vomit in there a little bit. The meds were not always able to control it. About a year ago it got worse I started having problems with my throat. I felt like there was something caught in it and I was always clearing my throat. I also was having difficulty swallowing and felt like there was a lump in there. I went to the ENT and they said I had a mucosal cyst on my eppiglottis-most likely caused by an acid burn. I had to have it surgically removed. they put me on panatprozole a proton pump inhibitor 40mg once a day. Two months after the surgery my throat feels worse than ever. I went back to ENT and she said that now I have a small ulcer in my throat and my voice box looked puffy and irritated, probably from acid irritating it.  She put me on 40 mg twice a day to try to help the healing process and she referred me to gastro doc. The Gastro doc said LPR is a result of GERD. Some people only get acid reflux in their esophagus. But LPR sufferers have something that causes the sphincter in the upper esophagus to open and release acid into your throat.  I am set up for a bunch of tests on my esophagus to figure out how to treat me and prevent it from getting worse. They are going to attach a capsule to the side of my esophogus that will send info to a transmitter to monitor the amount of acid, coming up. They will do a motility test not totally sure what that is for but they run a camera up through your nose down into your stomach, and they will do an endoscopy to check for cancer. I also have to go to another appt for baruim swallow and radiology to see what is causing the swallowing problem and why sometimes food gets caught in my throat.....I am scared.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences...I'm happy to have found this site.

I, too, suffer from LPR.  Didn't realize my many years of occasional scratchy throat led to this enormous suffering (thought it was my sinuses & post nasal drip)!!!  It's been terrible dealing with this issue.  I've been on Prilosec OTC 2 twice a day (GI recommendation) for about 3 months & still not complete relief, it has helped alot but not enough.  Have changed my diet to avoid caffeine, etc., raised my bed, don't eat 3 or so hrs before bed, etc.  Seems it just decides to be a problem w/o any provocation at times.  I see where it can take 6 mos to get under control but I guess I expected pretty good relief by 3 mos anyway.  It started for me at first being nighttime symptoms, miserable trying to sleep, then changed to more during the day from the time I start putting anything into my mouth....throat gets slightly raw at times during the night with a slight feeling of refluxing (no heartburn ever, pressure).  I feel my tummy can't handle having the pressure of any food being in it.  I've had the swallowing difficulty, which led me to get it checked out with the GI.  They commented that the throat spasms to keep the reflux out of the lungs.  I have a follow up coming up in a couple weeks.  I also have severe sinus & allergy problems.  I'm looking for a good ENT near NE Georgia, if anyone knows of one.  I am willing to travel to Atlanta, Greenville, SC or Asheville, NC areas.  I've read that not all ENT's are familiar with LPR.  The GI did an endoscopic exam & found some changes indicating reflux but no Barretts, etc. 

This is a very scary problem to have.  It has made an impact in my life, for sure.  The swallowing difficulty that occurs occasionally has given me added anxiety as it feels like someone has their hands around my throat...more difficult to breathe.

Thank you all for sharing your stories & hopefully we can all get relief from this ailment.  Good luck.

I had posted once before when I realized I suddenly had LPR.  Started with prilosec which worked for 1 month, switched to Nexium (same as prilosec) - didn't work.  Finally found Pepcid AC works for LPR.  Was taking tums also when needed as it's the same family of drugs.  Bottom line is you don't want to keep treating this with drugs and not go to the source of the problem which is your autoimmune system is taxed with what you have been putting in your mouth for years and you need exercise daily.  Stop drinking all caffeine, period, this includes chocolate. Temporarily stop eating red meat (taxes digestion).  Stop ALL alcohol, period.  Stop sodas and all carbonated drinks.  Stop eating raw onions, tomatoes and anything spicey. Stop all citrus.  Stop dairy.  Immediately find a doctor who has the Genova Diagnostics relationship and get your blood tested for all allergies (food), silicia and also a 3 day fecal testing kit.    Google Genova Diagnostics and call to find out what doctors in your area you can go to.  Your problem is nutritional and your body is screaming for help.  I was in a panic state, and by cutting out all the above things, and eating just fruit (not citrus) in the morning and eating small meals throughout the day, a lot of vegetables, steamed and ones I don't eat often and salad with sardines, white fish and white chicken.  I improved almost immediately and only take one pepcid first thing in the morning and feel soon I'll be able to stop that.  The swallowing problem stopped three/four days into this diet and so did the phelm ball in back of throat.  If you cheat on this diet, don't expect it to work!  I had my blood work done and am waiting to see which foods I really need to avoid for 6 months.  I like challenges and this is a good one, but if you can't keep yourself disciplined, then stop complaining and know you'll have this for the rest of your life.  But if you're disciplined, you'll be impowered and can beat this without presciption drugs and come out better than before you were diagnosed!

I have seasonal allergies; however, in the past 7 years, I get an uncontrollable cough that lasts for months.  Docs were prescribing all sorts of codeine variants and nothing worked.   Went to see a new allergist and she wanted me on Nexxium because I was coughing so much, she thought I must have GERD-type problems.

Recently, I went to see the allergist because the meds weren't helping.  The more we talked, she said it sounded like LPR.   I couldn't believe it - I have post nasal drip, hoarse throat, lump in throat, coughing, no heartburn!   She gave me a pamphlett and some Nexxium samples.   Uh ... yeah, the Nexxium is stopping the post nasal drip and all my other "allergy" symptoms. 

My allergist says that she thinks there is a higher number of LPR patients that are misdiagnosed as allergies.