My ENT Appointment Update, Acid Reflux but also slightly enlarged thyroid

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

Well, I went to the doctor this morning and the nurse before the doctor came in, asked me some questions and then he sprayed the inside of my nose with this spearmint smelling stuff and told me o breathe in and out and swallow, it went down in my throat but didn't taste like spearmint, tasted nasty. lol

Then a few minutes later the doctor came in, asking me what symptoms I've been having and asked me if I had any sore throat, trouble swallowing or heartburn. I told him I take a acid reducer and once in awhile I get acid backing up in my throat.

He said that was heartburn. Then he took this long scope thing with a light on the end and started sliding it up my nose and the down into my throat. I thought it would make me gag or choke or something but that medicine helped and although not pleasant, didn't feel it as much as I thought.

Good news is he didn't see any lesians or tumors but my vocal cords are swollen a little and that's causing the hoarseness and said it's being caused by acid reflux. He told me to cut back on spicy foods, soda and anything containing acid such as orange juice and what not. I go back in month and he prescribed me an additional acid reducer to take at night.

I told him about my thyroid issues and he felt my thyroid and said it did feel sightly enlarged but not enough to worry about right now and said my problem right now is acid reflux. He said he didn't feel any masses either in my thyroid.

 

[momof3boys]

I was dx'd with a mild case of gerd last year. They stuck a camera down my throat in december 2011, and did a biopsy, which came back clean. But I was prescribed the generic version of Prilosec. I was taking that once a day, and was told to watch what I eat, and do not eat anything after 7pm. I think alot of mine was the way I delt with stress. I havnt taken the medication since June of this year.

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

I also take the generic of Prilosec, Omeprozale but apparently it's not doing a good enough job so he prescribed another pill and of course cutting down on acidy foods will help

 

[momof3boys]

Yeah, I can never remember how the heck they spell that darn word! LOL I knew it started with an "O"! LOL

I was even taking tums during the day to help with the pain after eating meals. I remember the first time it hit me. I seriously thought I was having a heart attack! The pain was in my center area, but kind of over to the left too. So the first thing I thought of when I felt it on my left side, was I was having a heart attack! Little did I know the esophagus curves over to the left. LOL. My GI Dr that I saw, also did a test on me to see how I process my foods. He had me come in and eat two scrambled eggs, and a piece of toast. I got very little water. The eggs were mixed with this chemical stuff so they can detect with a camera how my food was being digested. It took 4 hours to do. I had to be scanned every hour the first two hours, then every 30 minutes the last 2 hours. But I did find out that I dont digest my food as fast as the normal person would. By the time I got done with the test, the food was not out of my stomach after the 4 hour mark, where in others, they say the food should have been gone out of the stomach by 4 hours after eating. So he said that could be contributing to my problems of gerd, causing the acids in the food still in the stomach, to come back up since they are sitting in my stomach longer than the usual.

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

In the past I've had major pain with heartburn, felt much like you did & I thought the pain would never end. Luckily that has't happened in awhile but now the hoarseness is irritating, when I work I don't have a voice by the end of the day.

At least it's nothing like tumors or anything. My doctor will be relieved I'm sure when he gets the report. I've had such burning pain it would feel like my chest was on fire. And at times when the acid backs up into my throat, feels like someone poured acid down my throat.

My problem is I love Pepsi and I drink it all the time. Gonna have to give it up I guess. Doctor said I just had to cut back but probably better I don't drink it. Was reading that certain medications like Beta blockers can cause acid reflux and I take those but it's probably more diet than anything.

And drinking Pepsi all these years probably contributed to my Ulcerative Colitis & now I no longer have a colon cause of the UC. And no longer having a colon has changed the way I can digest food, like you it doesn't leave the stomach like it should in so much time.

When I have anything wrong, it usually becomes a snowball effect, this being the latest snowflake to add to the snowball. lol

 

[momof3boys]

heck i LOVE Diet Coke! When my GI dr found that out, I said Id have to cut that out of my diet! Gosh I was so heartbroken! LOL But I did cut back on it, never could just give it up. But if I drink at least one cup a day, I have no issues. So maybe I was drinking too much of it? LOL

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

I sometimes drink way too much of it & he never said I had to cut it out completely, just cut down but I have a hard time leaving it at one. lol

I used to know someone that the only thing she'd drink all day is pop, no water, no milk, no juice or anything else, just pop. Even I have never drunk that much but I do drink more than average so need to cut down. I was off it completely for nearly 6 weeks but then I had no choice, I was in the hospital and they wouldn't give it to me. lol

And all I could think about was having a nice ice cold pepsi. lol. Had it when I got home and been drinking it ever since, never should have had it. I was drinking regular then, lots of calories but I drink Pepsi Max now, sometimes Pepsi Next

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

I was just reading that the hoarseness is a complication of Acid reflux and if not taken care of, it can get as bad as bleeding of the esophagas

 

[momof3boys]

Yeah my GI dr said to for sure cut back on the caffiene drinks, along with the spicy foods, etc. he said it not treated right, it can cause bleeding and lead to cancer if not taken care of properly.

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

don't want that for sure. My primary doctor mentioned once about taking me off the Omeprazole but now he'll be glad he didn't do that. I wasn't prescribed that for heartburn actually. My previous doctor prescribed it for me when I came to him for dehydration and diarrhea and figured I should be in the hospital but he said no and prescribed Omeprazole and told me to drink gatorade. less than 24 hours later I was in the hospital for total kidney failure, potassium of 9.4, dehydration and I was paralyzed for the first 12 hours of being taken by ambulance to the hospital.