I would appreciate any suggestions

[libragrrl]

Hi all-
I'm a new reflux sufferer. My problems started about a month ago. I don't know how anyone can live with this for years or even months for that matter. I just want to be put out of my misery when it's at it's worst. And having anxiety doesn't help. Whenever something strange goes on with my body, it gives me an anxiety attack. I'm getting better at calming the anxiety now when it flares with the reflux...guess I'm getting a little used to it.

I won't go into all the reflux details, (because I just don't feel up to typing it all out right now), but it does seem more like LPR since I haven't had any pain or actual heartburn and a lot of my problems are in my throat rather than my gut. I have a bubbling up feeling in my throat and the feeling of a lump there sometimes. I was having the feeling of food getting stuck at the entrance to my stomach in the beginning...when I was actually eating solid food...which brings me to my main concern and why I'm asking for suggestions.

I have lost almost 15 lbs. in the last few weeks because I haven't been able to eat much. Luckily, I have some weight to spare, but not much more at this rate. I'm almost down to 140. Food was feeling like it was sticking in my throat so now I'm afraid to eat anything solid. For almost a week and a half now, I've been on a liquid diet. But even with that, I'm not getting much in my stomach on most days. I drink as much water as I can to stay hydrated, but as far as actual nutrition goes, all I have during the day is a banana shake made with almond milk, banana, protein powder, a green fooRAB powder, and the contents of a vitamin capsule. I drink some almond milk by itself throughout the day. I can't get myself to take any pills...afraid they'll get stuck in my throat. I now dissolve my thyroid pill under my tongue.
Yesterday I got nauseous to the point of almost vomiting about an hour or so after I drank my shake, (wondering if the prevacid could have caused that? Yesterday was only my second day taking it. I'm taking the 30mg solutabs.) I've only felt nauseous one other time since this started.
I have my first appointment with a Gastro on Thursday. I would like to have seen an ENT, but there aren't any as close by as I'd like.
This all started with me in the middle of the night one night, out of nowhere,
I had a strange feeling in the left side of my throat and suddenly an anxiety attack came on. It's just gotten worse from there. I have had throat clearing issues over the years but always attributed it to my advair. Yeah, forgot to mention I have asthma. It gets really scary when the reflux is acting up and I have that tightness in my abdomen and it feels like my diaphragm isn't working properly and I can't get a deep breath in. Then suddenly, it will just relax. The shortness of breath seems to happen more when my stomach is totally empty. It feels like my stomach is just caving in on itself.
Well, I'm just going on and on aren't I? I didn't mean to...guess I'm venting here.
Ok...so back to why I'm here. I'm really worried about not being able to eat.
That's my main concern right now. I don't want to end up passing out or in the hospital being fed intravenously or something. I really need to get stuff in my belly. Has anyone had the same problem with eating as I have, and if so what did you do? I was going to get some Ensure shakes, but they have so much crap in them. Though I guess I shouldn't worry so much about that right now. I just need some nutritious alternatives to my shake I've been living on, especially after the nausea yesterday...now I'm afraid to drink the shake. I want to avoid dairy...I'm lactose intolerant. Plus anything that causes phlegm is the last thing I need. I stay away from soy because of my thyroid. I was generally eating pretty healthy before all this started and I still have no idea what triggered it. I can't keep going like this. It's very scary.
So...any suggestions?
Sorry for the loooong post. And thanks in advance to anyone who actually reaRAB it all

 

[painter207]

I sympathize with you because that's how I started....overnight. I woke up in the night with the gurgling in my throat. When I burp i'd have my food come up once in a while. I lost 27 # in 2 month. Stay clear of protien. Milk ,cheeses, shakes. Everything seems to turn into acid and it's hard to eat. I ate lots of meats, vegies, rice cakes with roast beef and almond butter.
I stayed clear of all sugars, carbs, caffien and alcohol. Now when you can't swallow it;s really hard. I'd gring down meats and vegies and make mashed potatoes if I were you. I never had the lump in the throat just the burning throat. Oddly enough it never hurt when I swallowed, just when i talked too much.don't know what else to tell you......just that this takes a long time. The first thing that cleared up with me was the phlem, then the backing up in the throat.







i

 

[danabarb]

Try looking up Digestinol on the Internet and if that is too expensive, try some strong aloe vera. The Digestinol has save me!!

 

[TEdds83]

Mine came on a little over a year ago out of the blue. It was in June of 08 it was a muggy evening and I thought I was having Asthma set it. I didn't have the burning going on really mine was all in the throat. Lots of mucus and my throat felt tight. It really scares me when that happens. I have anxiety too and that always sets it off. I got seen by the doctor and we figured out it was silent reflux. Now when if flares up I know right away what it is. I am on Prevacid. It realy helps. But I have to watch my fooRAB too. I am lactose intolerent too so I have to watch the dairy. Whenever I cheat with chocolate coffee, red sauces, sugars or fatty fooRAB I get into trouble. I was up until 3 am last night because of a big pile of spaghetti I ate with all that sauce. I had real bad stomach pains. I could just feel it bloating up. It was sore and hurt too bad. I guess this is what happens when we get older. I blame mine on hormonal changes with perimenopause. They say you can develope digestive trouble with the hormone changes. It is the case with me. I hope you can get yours figured out. Hang in there. You aren't alone. It takes awhile to get this all figured out. I blame it on aging...truly!
Take care!:wave::angel:

 

[libragrrl]

Thank you all for your responses They are very much appreciated.

painter207-
When you say stay clear of protein, do you just mean dairy protein? Just wondering because you mention eating meat and that has a lot of protein. I don't think I'd be able to get ANYTHING even semi-solid down right now. I tried mashed potatoes at one point and they just seemed too starchy. I was thinking of possibly trying really blended up pinto beans...i don't know. The almond butter sounRAB like a possibility. The weight loss is crazy...I think it's the only good thing that will come out of this This certainly isn't the way I wanted to go about losing weight though. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
The only time my throat seems to be sore is after I cough, but I don't cough too often, only when I feel I need to clear some goop out of there.

danabarb-
I looked up Digestinol...definitely could be an option. I was reading some other stuff on aloe vera for reflux. I'm willing to try just about anything to avoid being on prescription drugs for this. It just seems like there MUST be other options to heal this and at least get partially better, with natural remedies and diet change. I really don't even know yet if my problem is too much acid or too little acid. The doctors just immediately put you on the usual meRAB without even knowing exactly what's wrong. I haven't been able to see my primary physician. I just went to urgent care twice and the emergency room once. Of course, I really didn't expect them to do too much.
Hopefully, I'll get a good Gastro and find out more when I go on Thursday.

TEdRAB83-
Yeah, the throat tightness is scary. It seems like everything is happening on the left side of my throat when I feel the gurglies and pressure or when if feels like stuff gets caught. I have some xanax for the anxiety but I've been too afraid to swallow pills right now. Too bad, the xanax has always been wonderful. I haven't needed it for a few years because I haven't had any anxiety for that long. I tell myself that I won't eat anything to trigger this when I finally get it under control. I guess that's easier said than done sometimes. I wonder if mine is also associated with age. I'm 42...almost. I could definitely be perimenopausal. I'll blame it on aging too!

Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to reply. It really does help.
I forgot how informational this board is. I haven't been on here in quite a while.