Only her hairdresser knows for sure

So, do I have GERD or LRD? Did one cause the other? Are they the same thing, just different? Inquiring minds want to know.

GERD stands for GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease. LRD stands for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease. So they are both a reflux disease. But one happens in the Esophagus and one happens in the Larynx.

How much they are alike and how much they are different is something I want to know. I’ve Googled and read and read. The problem is, I don’t trust what I am reading. I remember when my cousin’s daughter got brain cancer. Everything you read was bad news. The internet is skewed with sensational stories, not real information. Or I should say, the sensational stories are mixed in with the real information to the point where you don’t know which is which.

Here’s what sounds right so far: you have two reflexes. One just above your stomach (esophagus) and one in your throat (larnyx). If your stomach acid rides up out of the first one and burns your esophagus, you have GERD. But if it makes it all the way up to your throat, you have LRD.