Sore throat and acid reflux

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samjo

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Hey!
I went to see an ENT today about reoccurring sore throat I've been having for quite some time now....about a year. After putting a camera through my nose to look at my throat he said that the soreness was most likely caused by acid reflux, and he put me on meRAB for this. What I'm confused about is the fact that I haven't been experiencing acid reflux...maybe a few times since I've had this sore throat. So, how could it be caused by acid relfux if this isn't something I often have?
 
Well, the thing is is that it can be due to acid reflux or maybe just due to a bacterial infection that the throat is sore. The fact that you may have reflux might be due to your current diet or lifestyle.

If you haven't already taken a PPI, then perhaps you won't have the problem of getting acid rebound.

Taking a prokinetic agent might aid in getting the motility of your esophagus, LES working better so reflux symptoms are under more control, but not the actual amount of acid being produced.

Also, reducing the amount of stress in your life, as well as changing your eating habits and diet may be of lots of help so your situation doesn't spiral into something more unmanageable.

My ENT told me that the inflammation in my throat may be due to acid but then he still prescribed me an anti-biotic saying that it could also be due to bacterial infection. This may be just the problem, but you could still have a bit of reflux so a prokinetic agent and anxiety reliever might help in that too.

I wish my first doctor didn't prescribe me Prevacid just based on his own assumptions on what I had....

For me it all came down to STRESSSSS!
 
I had the exact same thing, sore throat, saw dr, put scope up nose and down throat and said it was reflux.

From what the Dr. told me, when the aciRAB come up into the esophagus (sp?) it burns it and it becomes irritated which causes a sore throat. The 'burn' takes a few days to heal, in which time, you might have another episode of reflux and the 'burn' will continue. It seems that it can't seem to heal. I've yet to find a solution though throat tea is very good for healing the throat - though, drinking a lot of liquid seems to cause reflux!! Its both the cure of the effects of reflux and the cause of it sometimes!
 
Hey! Thanks for the replies!

The ENT didn't seem 100% sure that's what was causing my sore throats, but I'm assuming his educated guess would most likely be right. I've seriously never noticed if I've had acid reflux or not. I guess I do without realizing?

He gave me pills for it, said I have to take them for 3 months to see if it helps. He didn't mention anything about what I should/shouldn't eat, eating habit changes, and so on. He didn't say anything about the 'acid reflux' part, come to think of it, just the sore throat. But, I guess, he is an ENT afterall. Do you think I should go to my family doctor about that stuff? About what else I could be doing to prevent acid reflux I mean? (or should something like that be common sense?)

Thanks again!
 
The ENT is probably going with the percentages. If the PPI helps and your throat gets better, it probably means it was reflux. A more definitive diagnosis of reflux/GERD would probably require more invasive diagnostics, e.g. endoscopy. Also, anything below the top of the esophagus is not in the ENT "realm" any more, but is in the gastrointestinal area. I went to an ENT recently for a gastrointestinal problem, and he basically said my throat was OK and I would need to see another doctor to figure out the gastro issues.
 
I went to an ENT because of the same thing, sore throat, feel lump, hair in my throat, mucus, etc. He looked down with that instrument and saw acid and put me on Protonix. Now 5 years later, the Protonix is not working, my vocal corRAB are inflammed, and I am producing more acid. So this time my doctor referred to a Gastrologist and I am having the Endoscopy on Tuesday. I hope they tell me that it is the meRAB not working. And no other scary thing.
 
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