Margaret B
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i might get an xray of the adenoids to determine how big they are. hopefully that could give me clues
Can enlarged Adenoids cause an extremely sensitive gag reflex?
- Thread starter Margaret B
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Falling Upward
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I have had hyperactive gag reflex my whole life and now my son who is 12 has got the same symptoms. I can't believe that this has genetically passed on.
Texas fountain.
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I've always had a hyperactive gag reflex ever since I was little. I have really bad allergies and constant post nasal drip. I am in karate and I used to do track. The problem is whenever I running or doing something physical, I cannot do it to my full ability because my gag reflex triggers and I have to stop and suppress it. What triggers it off is the post nasal drip. I figured that when I am exercising I am breathing in more quickly and harder which causes the mucous to drip down faster. Once it gets triggered off I usually have to swallow hard to push all that mucous down. This is really a big problem because in track I could barely run two laps without that kicking in and causing me to stop. Because of that, I could only do the 100 yard dash because I couldn't do anything else that involves me running in a longer amount of time. Same thing happens in karate when we are doing cardio.
I've taken swimming lessons a few months before to learn how to swim and it gave me a problem there because when I breath out underwater it get triggered to. I've never been able to swim completely across the pool without having to continuously stop because of this. It also made it difficult learning how to properly do the different strokes because I'd have to keep stopping and grab the wall so I don't gag underwater and drown.
If you try to stick your finger or something down your throat you will feel your gag reflex kick in to avoid that. That's exactly how it feels because of the constant mucous dripping down. This doesn't happen only when I am exercising. I can still feel it when I am just sitting but its not as exaggerated as it would be if I am doing something physical.
For at least a year, I've been to a few doctors. One said I have a hyperactive gag reflex and I just had to live with it, another doctor barely examined me and just said it was possible that the post nasal drip was triggering it off (all of this I already know). I went to another doctor in philly a few weeks ago.
She scoped the inside of my nose and back of my throat. She saw that I had a lot of adenoid tissue. She then suggested that the gag reflex was being triggered by my acid reflux instead of the post nasal drip so she gave me another prescription for Omeprozol and flonase for my nose.
I do have acid reflux which was determined early this year and I understand how it could affect the gag reflex but I do not agree that that is whats causing it to be so sensitive. I've had this problem longer than I've had acid reflux and if it really were reflux I would feel the acid coming up and irritating my throat.
Obviously the post nasal drip is whats causing this but there shouldn't be any reason that my gag reflex is THAT sensitive to where it affects me when I exercise.
I begin researching adenoids and I have found one post on another message board where a doctor stated that "In children, enlarged adenoids and tonsils are leading causes for hypersensitive gag reflex." When I was younger a doctor wanted to take out my adenoids because they were big but my dad didn't do it because he read of some of the complications of having it done at such a young age.
Does anyone know anything about adenoids affecting the gag reflex like it does mine? I've researched the web and didn't find much about it accept one or two places where adenoids was mentioned along with the gag reflex. If anyone knows anything please respond.
I've taken swimming lessons a few months before to learn how to swim and it gave me a problem there because when I breath out underwater it get triggered to. I've never been able to swim completely across the pool without having to continuously stop because of this. It also made it difficult learning how to properly do the different strokes because I'd have to keep stopping and grab the wall so I don't gag underwater and drown.
If you try to stick your finger or something down your throat you will feel your gag reflex kick in to avoid that. That's exactly how it feels because of the constant mucous dripping down. This doesn't happen only when I am exercising. I can still feel it when I am just sitting but its not as exaggerated as it would be if I am doing something physical.
For at least a year, I've been to a few doctors. One said I have a hyperactive gag reflex and I just had to live with it, another doctor barely examined me and just said it was possible that the post nasal drip was triggering it off (all of this I already know). I went to another doctor in philly a few weeks ago.
She scoped the inside of my nose and back of my throat. She saw that I had a lot of adenoid tissue. She then suggested that the gag reflex was being triggered by my acid reflux instead of the post nasal drip so she gave me another prescription for Omeprozol and flonase for my nose.
I do have acid reflux which was determined early this year and I understand how it could affect the gag reflex but I do not agree that that is whats causing it to be so sensitive. I've had this problem longer than I've had acid reflux and if it really were reflux I would feel the acid coming up and irritating my throat.
Obviously the post nasal drip is whats causing this but there shouldn't be any reason that my gag reflex is THAT sensitive to where it affects me when I exercise.
I begin researching adenoids and I have found one post on another message board where a doctor stated that "In children, enlarged adenoids and tonsils are leading causes for hypersensitive gag reflex." When I was younger a doctor wanted to take out my adenoids because they were big but my dad didn't do it because he read of some of the complications of having it done at such a young age.
Does anyone know anything about adenoids affecting the gag reflex like it does mine? I've researched the web and didn't find much about it accept one or two places where adenoids was mentioned along with the gag reflex. If anyone knows anything please respond.
itzjusme101
New member
Hello, again, KyleG . . . a while ago I answered your post about your gag reflex problem. I said that I have it, too, with post-nasal drip, but mine only seems to affect me sometimes when eating.
I had never given any thought to the tonsil and adenoid thing, but you may very well be right. I had swollen tonsils numerous times when I was little as well but my parents also disagreed with having them out due to complications.
Something to consider but just know that I had the same problem as a child and now the gag reflex as an adult. I believe you just may be onto something there.
Lindaru
I had never given any thought to the tonsil and adenoid thing, but you may very well be right. I had swollen tonsils numerous times when I was little as well but my parents also disagreed with having them out due to complications.
Something to consider but just know that I had the same problem as a child and now the gag reflex as an adult. I believe you just may be onto something there.
Lindaru
[email protected]
New member
i went to my ENT some time ago and he told me they were slightly larger than they were supposed to be but he didnt see the need to take them out
Kyle, I think part of my problem is the nasal drip as well. I find myself talking on the phone and lying down on my bed and feeling the gagging reflex growing. Could the nasal drip also be a result of exercising? Since I breathe heavily and the inner part of my nose could be expanding to allow oxygen in but at the same time allowing nasal drip to go into my throat? And maybe the nervousness somehow causes nasal drip as well? Is there any throat tranquilizing/stabilizing medicine out there? It feels like no doctors know the answer...
friendly older kid
New member
I've tried using Lozenges that had a numbing effect to it. I used it before I went to my swimming lessons a couple times but it did not really work that well.
I know that the nasal drip is what triggers it off. its just a matter of finding out why your gag reflex is so sensitive to the nasal drip when it shouldnt be.
If your someone like me who has bad allergies and has always had constant post nasal drip, then it should have desensitized the gag reflex long ago because it should be used to the mucous being there but idk
I know that the nasal drip is what triggers it off. its just a matter of finding out why your gag reflex is so sensitive to the nasal drip when it shouldnt be.
If your someone like me who has bad allergies and has always had constant post nasal drip, then it should have desensitized the gag reflex long ago because it should be used to the mucous being there but idk
KYLE I HAVE THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM YOU DO
oh my god. i can't believe i found you kyle. i am not alone in this world i have the same exact problem you do. i can't exercise, it happens especially in the morning, when i eat up to a point where i'm almost full, when i drink/eat anything sugary/sticky, and most importantly, when i'm nervous i gag. i really hope that you are still doing this healthboard thing, because i noticed that your last post was on october. please. i need answers. i'm tired of going to doctors and waiting weeks to get one appointment and having to go back to school and going back to where i started. it's been four years. i can't play sports like a teenager, i can't meet new people, and when sometimes i feel like i should just quit school because i can't do presentations and when i think about the future, i gag. i've been on prilosec/nexium for around 5 months in the past and none of it worked because i realized it was on the top half of my throat that seemed to close, not my stomach so i stopped seeing gastroenterologist docs. i just recently went to an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor and they too told me that i had post nasal drip and that my upper throat seemed swollen as well so they put me on some nasal spray but i still don't see results... i've had 2 esophagrams and there was no physical throat aspect they could find. i need answers.... kyle get back at me please i hope you're there.
oh my god. i can't believe i found you kyle. i am not alone in this world i have the same exact problem you do. i can't exercise, it happens especially in the morning, when i eat up to a point where i'm almost full, when i drink/eat anything sugary/sticky, and most importantly, when i'm nervous i gag. i really hope that you are still doing this healthboard thing, because i noticed that your last post was on october. please. i need answers. i'm tired of going to doctors and waiting weeks to get one appointment and having to go back to school and going back to where i started. it's been four years. i can't play sports like a teenager, i can't meet new people, and when sometimes i feel like i should just quit school because i can't do presentations and when i think about the future, i gag. i've been on prilosec/nexium for around 5 months in the past and none of it worked because i realized it was on the top half of my throat that seemed to close, not my stomach so i stopped seeing gastroenterologist docs. i just recently went to an Ear, Nose, Throat doctor and they too told me that i had post nasal drip and that my upper throat seemed swollen as well so they put me on some nasal spray but i still don't see results... i've had 2 esophagrams and there was no physical throat aspect they could find. i need answers.... kyle get back at me please i hope you're there.
Hello edmund. It has been quite some time since I've been here. I do still have the problem but I haven't been pursuing it recently.
The difference is I never have the problem from eating or anything else. Since it is happening while you eat I may suspect it being reflux and I see that your on anti acid medication. It hasn't really affected me in anything other aspect other then physical exertion. Although I do feel it from time to time even if I am just sitting down doing nothing.
It is true that acid reflux can cause such a symptom but mine is completely unrelated to it because I've had this problem since I was little and I only developed acid reflux 2 years ago.
I've been to a few doctors here and there and have tests done and nothing is physically wrong in my throat. I have deduced that what causes it for me is the post nasal drip. I had really bad allergies ever since I was young but it is under control now but that doesn't stop the post nasal drip. When ever I get this feeling, I usually tend to feel a lot of post nasal drip dripping down in the back of my throat. So basically, for what ever reason my gag reflex is extremely sensitive to post nasal drip and its a matter of finding out why.
Yours seems to be from nerves and I do not have this problem even if I am nervous. When you get this feeling again try to focus your attention on your throat and see if you can feel if you have post nasal drip. If you go see another doctor trying bringing up post nasal drip, maybe that doctor might have some knowledge on why PND would cause someones gag reflex to react even though the PND isn't acidic (which is what happens when you get a sinus infection and your mucous turns green or yellow)
If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll start coming to this board more often now in case anyone else has any more info or questions.
The difference is I never have the problem from eating or anything else. Since it is happening while you eat I may suspect it being reflux and I see that your on anti acid medication. It hasn't really affected me in anything other aspect other then physical exertion. Although I do feel it from time to time even if I am just sitting down doing nothing.
It is true that acid reflux can cause such a symptom but mine is completely unrelated to it because I've had this problem since I was little and I only developed acid reflux 2 years ago.
I've been to a few doctors here and there and have tests done and nothing is physically wrong in my throat. I have deduced that what causes it for me is the post nasal drip. I had really bad allergies ever since I was young but it is under control now but that doesn't stop the post nasal drip. When ever I get this feeling, I usually tend to feel a lot of post nasal drip dripping down in the back of my throat. So basically, for what ever reason my gag reflex is extremely sensitive to post nasal drip and its a matter of finding out why.
Yours seems to be from nerves and I do not have this problem even if I am nervous. When you get this feeling again try to focus your attention on your throat and see if you can feel if you have post nasal drip. If you go see another doctor trying bringing up post nasal drip, maybe that doctor might have some knowledge on why PND would cause someones gag reflex to react even though the PND isn't acidic (which is what happens when you get a sinus infection and your mucous turns green or yellow)
If you have any questions feel free to ask, I'll start coming to this board more often now in case anyone else has any more info or questions.
I do not actually know for sure, but I know of some people who have had their uvula reduced to prevent sleep apnea, so I am thinking they must be able to do the same with adenoids.
You might want to ask an ear, nose and throat specialist about it. That way you would still retain your immune function if you could keep enough of the adenoids and maybe get your reflex taken care of.
Maybe someone else here knows?
Let me know what you find out!
Lindaru
You might want to ask an ear, nose and throat specialist about it. That way you would still retain your immune function if you could keep enough of the adenoids and maybe get your reflex taken care of.
Maybe someone else here knows?
Let me know what you find out!
Lindaru
well at our age you don't really need your adenoids since your body is strong enough to take care of the immune fuction.
It is quite difficult to have not yet found anything on the internet that relates the adenoids to the gag reflex except that one post where a doctor mentioned it but didn't go into detail.
Does anyone else know anything about this?
It is quite difficult to have not yet found anything on the internet that relates the adenoids to the gag reflex except that one post where a doctor mentioned it but didn't go into detail.
Does anyone else know anything about this?
Rotties for life!
New member
To KyleG and Edmund395:
My name is Adam and I as well am going through the same problems as you guys are. I constantly have the feeling of a lump in my throat and constant gagging almost everyday. I cant exercise or do anything due to the fact that it will make me gag. When I get nervous is the worse!!! I start gagging almost instantly. Please tell me you guys have found a cure! I have gone to GI doctors and ENT doctors and still cant find a solution. Can anyone help me???
My name is Adam and I as well am going through the same problems as you guys are. I constantly have the feeling of a lump in my throat and constant gagging almost everyday. I cant exercise or do anything due to the fact that it will make me gag. When I get nervous is the worse!!! I start gagging almost instantly. Please tell me you guys have found a cure! I have gone to GI doctors and ENT doctors and still cant find a solution. Can anyone help me???