The Fat Lady Isn’t Singing

Ha. In my last post I said that by this time next year I’ll have nothing to write about. Ha. With this condition I’ll always have something to write about.

The doctor finally gave me the right medication but I guess it was so long since I had been without it that I had a coughing bout anyway. I coughed for a week straight. I haven’t been compliant with my diet. So I have to take some blame. Now when I cough I have phlegm too. During my recent coughing fit I actually coughed out a huge hunk of the stuff. (That’s the end of the grossness, I promise.)

I hate to say what I’m scared of because I know that will make it come true. I don’t want to drink thickened liquids when I am old. Thin liquids make me cough sometimes. There. I’ve said it. I’m sure some dumb, but well-meaning speach therapist in my future will order thickened liquids. I’ll have to get a tatoo that says, “I have LRD and don’t need thickened liquids” in case I can’t speak for myself.

Daily Ramblings

This is just a post to express my frustrations at my doctor. I’m figuring out that the reason he won’t give me the medication that I asked for is because it’s not covered by my insurance. I have to pay full price. But the pharmacy said that as long as I don’t get the time-released version of Prevacid, then it’s only $10 out of my pocket.

“One third of GERD patients may have erosive esophagitis (EE).” says the ads. Pantoprazole (aka Protonix) is supposed to heal EE the same as Nexium or Prevacid does. I’m not saying the drug doesn’t work at all. Maybe it will for you. But it doesn’t for me.

Argh! Having LRD sucks! If you are reading this, then most likely you also have it or you think you may have it. Which also sucks.

Proton Pump Inhibitors

Since my last post I have made zero progress. Apparently the doctor isn’t taking me seriously. I’ve seen him 3 times since my diagnosis and I am in the same place I was before the coughing episode of June 29.

I go to see the doctor again in about a week or so. I am going to insist that he give me the Prevacid this time.

Meal check in

I didn’t do well yesterday. For breakfast I had one egg and two Grand biscuits. I think the biscuits have a lot of fat in them, but I’m not sure. I didn’t bring a lunch to work. I ate a Pop-Tart and a 1/3 of a bag of Fritos that was left over from Sunday. And I bought a bottle of lemonade (on the no-no list). I had a meeting immediately after. I coughed all through it. I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom and spit and blow my nose. That helped. I stopped coughing after doing that. My boss asked if I had bronchitis so I had to explain to him about LRD and that, yes, I have been to the doctor. So embarrassing. I’m surprised they hired me with this cough.

I was starved when I left work so I stopped at McDonald’s and got a hamburger, sm fries and a 16 oz coke. All are on the no-no list. In the future I have to make sure I don’t put myself in a position to need to eat fast foods.

For dinner Daniel made white rice and fried chicken. I had a hard time swallowing the chicken because it was so tough. I drank koolaid. I stayed up about an hour and a half and I didn’t cough at all at night. I did wake up about 5 coughing and then around 8, but hey, that’s a full night’s sleep as far as I’m concerned.

This morning I went shopping. I bought cereal and milk (no-no), fat-free lunch meats and bread, fruit, goldfish crackers, jello, and koolaid. So I have lots of yes-yes food now.

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.

Tell me how you really feel

So, why am I blogging?

Well, right now my goal is to have a record of what works and what doesn’t. Also to have a place to keep information organized that I find online. Like my “safe foods” and “foods to avoid” lists. Maybe in the future I’ll meet the 15 other people on earth with this diagnosis and we’ll all talk on a Ning forum.

I think I will have two types of posts. The first will be the accounting of what I ate for the day and the effects it had. I categorized those types of posts as Meal Check-Ins. The second will be my thoughts. I’ve categorized those as Ramblings. I think I should also have a third type of posts that will be more about the medical side of LRD.  

How do I feel about this diagnosis?

On one hand it’s like people say – it’s a relief to finally have a diagnosis. On the other hand, I don’t know how I feel. I only know why I feel.

I feel because this is a life changing diagnosis. I can’t go on clearing my throat every time I eat or drink something. I can’t keep taking the chance of choking. I certainly can’t keep coughing like this. I feel like I will never be free. Either I change my habits or suffer the consequences.

There! I said it. It’s about losing my freedom and my youth. I have my very first old people’s disease. This will never, ever go away.

I used to worry about getting diabetes. My father and my mother’s father both died of the disease. I didn’t want to have to change my eating habits and give up sugar. So now I get this obscure disease that’s forcing me to do something similar. The main difference is that I have to give up fat, not sugar. This doesn’t mean I won’t ever get diabetes, either. I may still get it and have to give up both fat and sugar. That will suck.

Today I will change my habits. Check in with me in a month and see how I feel then!

Saturday, July 19, 2008 – Day 1 of the Rest of My Life

Today I was diagnosed with LRD, or Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease as it’s more commonly known as by… probably 3 other people.

What is LRD?

How will it change my life?

How will I change my life?

How did I get it?

Good questions! I’m hoping that by blogging I will be able to answer them.

You know what’s funny? I was married to my first husband on July 19th. Let’s hope this ends better than my marriage did!