Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease

Here’s the background. I have been clearing my throat for many years. My aunt says as long as she can remember. I was diagnosed with GERD in 1999 or 2000. I forget. That diagnosis came after a choking episode at work where they had to call 911. My doctor at the time put me on Prevacid, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). I stopped taking it when my insurance coverage ended and started taking over-the-counter medications. Those were fine for several years.

In the past few years my throat clearing has gotten noticeably worse. It got to the point where I figured out that I could never leave my husband. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to date. How could I ever eat in front of someone who didn’t know me? I’d clear my throat the entire time and they’d never ask me out again. So, my marriage is safe.

Then came June 29th, 2008. My sister’s birthday – we had her over and cooked out on the grill. I choked on rice. It was too dry. My choking starts as a hiccup which is caused by the dry foods. In my first major choking episode back in 1999, it also began as a hiccup. I took a drink of water, which only blocked my airway. So I learned not to drink water when the hiccups start. I just have to ride it out. Actually, more recently I learned to chew gum when the hiccups start. The chewing helps calm the muscles. I also walk to allow gravity and natural digestion to do their thing.

Back to June 29. That choking episode started my coughing. At first I thought I had gotten a cold, or maybe it was allergies. Except that cough medicine didn’t help at all. No matter how strong it was. After almost 2 weeks of misery, I went to the ER because the cough was keeping me – and everyone else in my house – up all night. The ER doctor gave me on Robitussin laced with Codine to help me sleep. It didn’t work. Not at all.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The cough was continuous, 24 hours per day. I had no sleep, nothing helped. After 3 weeks of it, I went back to the ER. I told them they have to do something. That’s the doctor that diagnosed the LRD. What gave it away was that I had 2 chest x-rays that were perfectly clear plus the fact that the cough got worse when I layed down.

I made an appointment with a primary care physician who had never heard of LRD. Figures! I asked him for a refill of the Prevacid, which he gave me only 30 days worth. He also gave me a prescription for something else to help with healing.

But, when I ran out of the Prevacid and he didn’t call in the refill. Since I ran out, little by little the throat clearing is coming back. I’ve figured out that if I chew gum, that stops the throat clearing. I clear my throat a lot. All day long.

There’s nothing that stops the choking once it starts. I walk, trying to get the digestion started. I spit when I hiccup. And chew gum. Currently I am taking 30 mg of Prevacid daily.