Is this Gerd, LPR or allergies?

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I suffer from chronic sinusitis and GERD (heartburn type). I have constant congestion and post nasal drip almost 365 days a year - worse in the winter months though. I also have heartburn based GERD but have had no heartburn since I use a single dosage of Prilosec OTC daily (originally was on Nexium but doc said I could use Prilosec. I can remeraber having some acid regurgitation before I went on Prilosec but don't have that now.

Sometimes when I eat I get a feeling of mucus in my throat. It usually isn't much and it isn't every time but more often than I would like (I would prefer never!!). Sometimes it isn't there, sometimes it may only be enough that I have to clear my throat a few times and it is gone or sometimes it may be more and I will be bothered with it for 15-20 minutes. BTW, my wife experiences the same thing and she also is bothered by sinusitis. I have also read where several folks with chronic congestion have the same problem. It seems if I take an antihistamine it is much less.

I ate a huge meal earlier today and had no problem (had to clear throat once after eating and no cough at all) but tonight I ate some Green Onion Dip (I love that stuff but it has diary in it and I have read that dairy will make any mucus thicker) and the mucus build up was so bad that I ended up throwing up a ton of clear mucus. I forced myself to because the mucus feeling stayed about 15 minutes after I finished eating. Needless to say, that bothered me and has me a little concerned. BTW, once I threw up the mucus the sensation of it being there left in about 2 minutes and now I am fine. There have been a couple of times that I threw up mucus because I was so congested but this is the first time it has ever happened after a meal.

I know this can be a sign of GERD or maybe LPR but the post nasal drip from my sinusitis can cause it too. Sometimes I have a lot of throat mucus in the mornings but I have noticed that if I take an antihistamine on a regular basis that the mucus production is fairly low. I still have the congestion, a lot of sniffles and runny nose even with the antihistamine but no throat mucus most of the time. Also, i never experience any regurgitation of acid or food even with a huge burp after eating.

I don't have any symptoms of anything between meals - no cough, very infrequent clearing of the throat, no globus sensation, no sore throat or hoarseness (I think these are symptoms related to LPR). I read once that people with LPR have these symptoms on a constant basis ????? If it was LPR wouldn't it be at every meal and not just some of them??

So is this likely to be GERD related or sinus related? Post nasal drip is certainly common with sinusitis but I have read that LPR suffers have it sometimes as well. Could it be a reaction to the dip I ate that it somehow created more mucus than when I ate a huge meal earlier today?

As I mentioned, once I threw the mucus up, I had no more sensation of it, no need to clear throat or anything. And as I said, I had actual mucus and not just the sensation of it. I have no other symptoms of LPR other than this.

I am just a little concerned especially since I read about how LPR suffers get little relief even with PPIs

Any ideas?

Thanks

Chuck
 
After reading on the internet, I think I know why I had the reaction I did tonight and not earlier when I had a huge meal. The onion dip contains milk and sour cream which causes mucus to be thick and hard to get rid of. This caused it to get hung in my throat until I was able to throw it up. That also explains why I didn't have any more problems once I got the mucus out, i.e. the symptoms of something in my throat was gone.

Thanks
 
Have you had an endoscopy? I too have GERD and Prilosec helps me, I sometimes take it 2 times a day. It depenRAB on what I plan to eat and if I plan to eat late at nite
I have constant PND and mucous too.
BUt you do need to ask your gastroenterologist these questions.
 
No, the doctor said since my GERD was controlled after two weeks of Nexium that he didn't see the need to do the scope and I haven't had a case of heartburn in over seven years.(I realize that LPR doesn't usually have heartburn) I can go several days without taking the Prilosec and still have no issues. I have actually considered trying to get off of it totally to see if my heartburn comes back or if I will no longer have problems without meRAB. I can eat anything I want (raw onions is the only thing that even remotely causes me problems so I simply don't eat them) without any flare up.

My PND build up (the only symptom of LPR that I have but also a symptom of chronic sinusitis) is minimal if I take an antihistamine and basically non existent in the summer months. Mine isn't constant by any means - I don't have any symptoms between meals or in the morning hours and I don't really have PND symptoms except in the cold temps with dry heat and again it mostly controlled by antihistamines.

The doc said he felt any mucus buildup I had was due to my chronic sinusitis that I have had for 20 years and that PND can occur with spicy or hot temp fooRAB and is somewhat normal with folks who have chronic sinusitis. He also said that LPR would be more severe and chronic than I have and would not be changed by allergy meRAB that I take (if I skip the allergy meRAB, the mucus is much worse). BUT I have read posts of people who's doc misdiagnosed - that is why I was asking.

I feel pretty certain it is sinus related since it is so infrequent and the only symptom I have is PND and even it is not constant but is controllable when it is. Actually if this scenario tonight hadn't occurred I would even have asked the question. Then I read that milk products will thicken the mucus which is why it seemed worse than usual.

Also, the mucus issue I do have is always corabined with nasal congestion and runny nose which I have mainly controlled with allergy meRAB.

I considered requesting an endoscope but will wait to see if I get more symptoms and/or more frequently. If it gets worse I will definitely push for one. Right now I feel great 99% of the time.
 
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