Help!

[Starry1977]

Hi I had A very stressful event in August. My son was poorly. This lead me to develop a very tight throat with globus sensation, mucus very low in throat, horse voice and struggling to talk due to tightness. Nasty taste in throat. Gp put me on 30 mg on lansoprazole. After 4 weeks only improvement was tightness, still had yuk taste and mucus. She arranged a gastroscopy. I had to come off the lansoprazole before for two weeks. I tapered a week every other day then stopped as I didn't have much notice. Gastroscopy was clear other than a few benign stomach polyps. Day after procedure I had back and chest pain and stomach ache. At first I thought it was due to biopsies but didn't really subside. So I then tried nexium twice daily. I did this for 6 days and felt horrid so stopped. My throat felt better but now I've awful heart burn/chest pain. The taste in my mouth is worse,feels like sour milk coming up. I'm miserable. My procedure was 18th November I wish I'd never had it. I restarted Lansoprazole 2 days ago but I'm sure that makes throat mucus worse . I'm not sure if im dealing with acid rebound now or the procedure has upset my stomach. I also tried famotidine for 4 days with zero effect on the acid. I paid to see an ENT who couldn't see anything wrong and said maybe stress and silent reflux. Just at a loss this taste is awful and the my chest hurts. My throat will start mild burning towards end of the day. Ive lost a stone in weight since August.

[Buddy21]

Hi,, sorry to hear you have been feeling so unwell and I understand how scary it can be. A lot of the time the problems are low stomach acid (which by the way doctors do not always recognise or agree with) and all the medications that are given to us are decreasing the acid even more, this not helping but making the situation worse. Please research into low stomach acid.. particularly Dr Berg. He has many videos on line with great information. There are also many books out there which help and also explain low acidic diets to follow.

Please note that I'm no medical expert,, i am just sharing what has helped me..

Good luck xx

[Starry1977 in reply to Buddy21]

I just can't understand why I feel worse after gastroscopy. My throat symptoms I went with have pretty much gone but since the procedure I've nausea, chest pain and discomfort bottom of ribs. Gets worse throughout the day.

[Buddy21 in reply to Starry1977]

I too was on many different medications all of which made me worse,,abdominal pain, chest pain, hoarse voice. These medication all reduce stomach acid,, however if you are stuffing with low stomach acid then you can understand why these don’t work and can make symptoms worse. Like I said, I’m no medical expert. I can only tell you what I’ve experienced and while I do still have bad flare ups I am a lot better than what I was. You can do a home test for low stomach acid, it’s not 100% but it may give you an idea, just mixing baking soda with water. (Look up on google and it will show you the method and ratio) I do urge you to watch the many dr berg videos on acid reflux on line as it can help you understand and explain so much for you, this is what I did and I also follow a strict low acidic diet. Unfortunately there isn’t no instant cure, it does take a lot of time and lots research to understand what will work for you xx

[Deb2314]

Stick with lansoprazole. I had the same as you, still get horrible taste and dry mouth. It took a long time, and I mean months to finally be rid of acid reflux. The mucus and taste in mouth still continues, some days worse than others..... but the reflux that was taking over my daily life is no more. I'm still on lansoprazole and one day I will start to come off it to see if I can do without it. If not I'll go back on it. Just have patience and hopefully you see an improvement. Take care

[Starry1977 in reply to Deb2314]

Hi thanks I just can't understand why I'm feeling worse after the gastroscopy. I didn't have chest pain before. How long was it before you saw any improvement? My throat felt better off it but now I've got the chest pain and typical reflux symptoms.

[Deb2314]

They found i had H Pylori so had to take two different antibiotics. I never had chest pain, unless the reflux was bad and then I had the pain between breast bones. I say it was a couple of months at least for the lansoprazole to ease the reflux, but I continued and now it's around a year on and im still on lansoprazole with no reflux, but I do watch what I eat and drink.

[Lovechopin]

Hi, I can relate to new symptoms after endoscopy so I empathize. Had a painful nasal endoscopy 9 months ago and ever since the scope my soft palate hasn't felt normal, like it's drooping or something is stuck there. I think these procedures can really affect the nervous system which maybe creates phantom sensations. ENT insists the scope wouldn't cause this sensation. Like you, I wish I hadn't had the procedure though!

[ParkSchool5]

Hi, I have suffered with acid reflux for about 10 years. I have had several Endoscopies. I had one in 2019 and about a week later I had never felt so ill. I felt nausea, pain in my upper body, was very pale and shaky. My acid reflux was 10 times worse than before and even now I cannot bend over or sleep lying down, although the nausea has gone. I have to be careful what I eat and drink and have never really been the same since. I have been on PPI's for 10 years, Gaviscon at night, main meal at lunchtime. I know the Gastroscopy was to blame 100% as it all started a few days afterwards.

[Starry1977 in reply to ParkSchool5]

I agree. I'm still not right. I went back on lansoprazole for 5 weeks and although my chest felt better I've been getting worsening stomach pain. I stopped talking them two days ago and trying famotidine to help ride out the rebound. But I feel dreadful. I honestly don't know what they have done to me. I'm starting to wander if they've damaged the LES valve as I can feel fluid coming into throat at any time. Not just lying down. Food makes no difference. It's getting me very down that I'm never going to get better

[ParkSchool5 in reply to Starry1977]

I can really sympathise with you. Before I had the procedure my symptoms were manageable and I lived a pretty normal life but since then it has really affected my quality of life. I used to be able to enjoy meals out, drink occasional alcohol and enjoy my life but since the Gastroscopy everything has changed. I believe some damage was done during the procedure and I said this to my GP but you know how they stick together, she said she had never heard of it before! It's so frustrating as we are the ones living with the consequences. It has made me too scared to have another one done.

[Starry1977 in reply to ParkSchool5]

I know and I guess the only way to tell if any damage is done is to have another one. I was going to ask for a barium swallow and maybe as nother h pylori test incase they've given me that in procedure. My symptoms before were tight throat that had eased and lots of throat mucus. Sore throat which probably started after taking ppi. Day after procedure I had chest pain, few days later stomach ache, nausea. I think water brash as my mouth gets all watery. Very sore chest sore ribs near bottom of sternum. And I've lost over a stone in weight. I'm not overweight either. 🤷 I'm going to give the famotidine another two weeks to see if it's acid rebound then go back to GP. But I'm sure all they'll do is throw PPIs at me

[ParkSchool5 in reply to Starry1977]

I know, I have tried every acid reflux medication including Famotidine but none seem to help completely. I had a Barium Swallow two years ago as I couldn't face another Gastroscopy and it came back clear, but the funny thing is I have known since 2015 I have a small Hiatus Hernia and this came back with no HH? I even paid to see an ENT consultant and he said there was some inflammation and acid damage to my throat. Even some of my teeth have lost enamel. It's just so disheartening to know whatever you try it's ongoing everyday. Before the Gastroscopy I could sleep lying down, which I really miss. Having to sleep propped up causes back and neck pain and I never really get a full night's sleep. It might be worth you trying to Barium swallow as it may show any damage to LES. Regards.