Chest/throat/acid reflux/who knows?

[tag]

Hello - apologies for the rambling nature of this post but I wanted to try & get it all down accurately without leaving anything out.

Am now becoming quite concerned about this problem and would welcome any help or reassurance someone might be able to offer.

For about a month or so I've noticed an aggravation in my throat - like a tickle at the back or a feeling of irritation which extends a bit further down.

I began to notice it when jogging gently (an activity I had started back into after a long layoff) and it manifested itself after about 10 - 15 minutes when I was starting to ease off & think about walking or heading home (like I say, I was easing myself back in!)

Anyway, after a couple of weeks I noticed that the irritation was there almost all the time & particularly when exerting myself - eg, washing the car at the jetwash or something.

It doesn't really make me want to cough, maybe occasionally but it's not the norm. As someone who seems to have a degree of post nasal drip I've been noticing that this is a bit more prevalent currently through throat clearing and a general stuffiness & I know that this can possibly cause irritation.

Add to this a tightness in my chest and pain when leaning over or to one side with a full breath in and I was convinced that I had lung cancer.

(I have had this odd chest pain before - always seems to be there if I breathe in and then bend/tense - could it be a musular/tension thing?)

I should point out that I stopped smoking at the beginning of the year after a good few years of moderate consumption of cigarettes so this was uppermost in my mind as the cause of the problem.

The GP (not my normal one who knows what I'm like - ie a regular visitor) listened to my chest & heart & said all was clear sounding. He looked down my throat & said that I did look like I had some congestion (presumably the PND mucous at the back of my throat) and that I shouldn't worry as it was most likely a virus and to let it run its course without antibiotics.

This was two weeks ago and since then, not only has the irritation remained, I have now begun to feel refluxy with an occasional pain in the middle of my chest under the breastbone.

I know from an ill-advised trawl of Dr Google (aren't they all?) that acid reflux can cause/be caused by PND but I am now convinced that I have oesophegal cancer. I don't seem to be having trouble swallowing food and certainly haven't regurgitated anything - so far at least - so I'm very hopeful that this is just the usual overreaction on my part.

Additionally, I have been getting quite hot and sweaty after even relatively moderate exercise these last couple of weeks and find myself breathing a bit harder than I might usually.

Sometimes I've come out in a sweat just sitting still at home. I know what it feels like to be drenched in sweat through worry but these occurences have taken place when I'm not 'consciously' worrying about things - although I know that my health fears are always there so maybe they're acting subconsciously?

It has, of course been quite humid of late so perhaps this has been a contributory factor.

Anyway, I have an appointment booked with a GP (still not my regular one - wouldn't blame him for avoiding me) next Thursday but in the meantime, can anybody help set my mind at rest as I am becoming ever more frantic about this and once more my quality of life is becoming miserable to say the least..

Very many thanks in advance.

[baileys]

Ive got all the symptoms you describe, i even ended up in a&e last weekend with it, i dont have health anxiety but thought that i had better get the almost constant mid chest pain checked out.
It was diagnosed with acid reflux.
I get the PND which can be associated with acid reflux aswell.

[diane07]

Do you have the feeling in your throat when you first wake?

I have all these same symptoms as you and they are very annoying, but i don't have them when i first wake up, the same thing happened to me last summer and the summer before, strangely enough it seems to disappear through the winter months.

di xx

[tag]

Blimey - sorry to hear that you ended up in A & E but glad to hear that you found out it wasn't anything nasty.

I think the major problem I have is that symptoms mutate from throat to chest to back, back to throat again, etc, etc.. & it's so tiring and difficult to get a grip on it.

Thanks so much for the reply - it definitely helps to have someone relate their experience of the same problems & to know that 'it's not just me'.

[tag]

Do you have the feeling in your throat when you first wake?

I have all these same symptoms as you and they are very annoying, but i don't have them when i first wake up, the same thing happened to me last summer and the summer before, strangely enough it seems to disappear through the winter months.

di xx

Hello Di,

I don't think I have the throat thing when I wake up - though I believe the chesty pain & reflux feeling seem to be there from the off.

It's interesting that you mention the Summer as being a potential factor as I had wondered whether I might be getting more prone to hayfever these days which could be provoking the PND.

My eyes are definitely red & watery which might indicate this.

Having said that, antihistamine tablets don't seem to have much of an effect so maybe not.

Thanks for the quick reply - greatly appreciated.

[baileys]

I was told by the doc that people think of acid reflux as just a burning pain but it can affect people in all sorts of ways and some people dont get the burning at all..
Mine is throat, back and chest too and he said thats normal.
Try some gaviscon or something like that, it might help.

[diane07]

Antihistamine only take the edge off it all for me, but the PND definately subsides in the winter so i do think it is caused by some sort of allergy, just can't work out what its an allergy to!

di xx

[baileys]

Antihistamine only take the edge off it all for me, but the PND definately subsides in the winter so i do think it is caused by some sort of allergy, just can't work out what its an allergy to!

di xx

i get confused to whether my throat symptoms etc are to do with allergy's too, the PND is so annoying.
I had a blood test done which showed that i did have an allergy to something so im having skin prick tests done on Wednesday.
Hopefully i might get to the bottom of it all.
Just hope ive not got an allergy to fags and wine.:)

[diane07]

:roflmao:baileys,

let us know how you get on on wednesday, i may just go and have that test done myself.

di xx

[tag]

i get confused to whether my throat symptoms etc are to do with allergy's too, the PND is so annoying.
I had a blood test done which showed that i did have an allergy to something so im having skin prick tests done on Wednesday.
Hopefully i might get to the bottom of it all.
Just hope ive not got an allergy to fags and wine.:)

Good luck with the test - hope it gets to the bottom of the problem.
The day I become allergic to wine will not be a happy one.
That said, I'm glad to say I kicked the fags..

[baileys]

:roflmao:baileys,

let us know how you get on on wednesday, i may just go and have that test done myself.

di xx

Will do. Getting it done on the NHS too and it only took 10 weeks to get the appointment, i expected to wait at least a year for a non urgent case.

[tag]

Antihistamine only take the edge off it all for me, but the PND definately subsides in the winter so i do think it is caused by some sort of allergy, just can't work out what its an allergy to!

di xx

Di, Is your throat 'tickle' just that - a tickle?

Like a niggly little thing at the back of the throat or slighly below that doesn't really need a cough but is just..there?

It feels to me a little like when you've had a cold and it's progressing onto the coughing stage, but without the actual coughing - just a lot of throat clearing.

[diane07]

Yes, and sometimes it feels a bit like a lump, but i don't have trouble swallowing at all, i just feel the need to want to cough all the time to clear it.

[baileys]

Good luck with the test - hope it gets to the bottom of the problem.
The day I become allergic to wine will not be a happy one.
That said, I'm glad to say I kicked the fags..

Thanks Tag....yep a wine allergy would be a real blow, to put it mildly, but it also aggravates the acid reflux so maybe i need to quit.

[tag]

Thanks Tag....yep a wine allergy would be a real blow, to put it mildly, but it also aggravates the acid reflux so maybe i need to quit.

That'd be a shame. Fingers crossed then!

[tag]

Yes, and sometimes it feels a bit like a lump, but i don't have trouble swallowing at all, i just feel the need to want to cough all the time to clear it.

That sounds familiar - I just wish it'd clear up.

I've not really been somebody who suffers with acid or indigestion before now so hence it's a bit scary. I'm hoping that the GP I'm seeing next week will be able to prescribe something to alleviate the problem rather than referring me to the hospital - hopefully my symptoms will be enough for her to be able to reassure me herself.

[tag]

Typically, and probably because I read on the Web somewhere a while ago that difficulty swallowing is a symptom of Oesophogeal Cancer I am now seemingly experiencing what I think might be problems swallowing.
I'd like to think that the way swallowing food feels at the moment is the way it's always felt but as the majority of obsessives will no doubt be able to recognise, I think I am now focussing on it to a ridiculous degree.

It's like noticing your breathing pattern - it's something you do naturally & without thought usually, but as soon as you notice it, it becomes the only thing you can think of.

Am I being daft?

Does anybody else get a reflux-related swallowing problem?

Thanks.

[tag]

I'm sorry to bump this one back up but does anyone else get a feeling like they haven't been able to swallow properly?

Presumably if it were something nasty like 'O.C.' I wouldn't be able to swallow at all or at least with great difficulty?

I think I'm just being overly-observant of my swallowing pattern because I know to look out for it but it'd be nice to know if anyone else thinks this might be the case?

Thanks in advance.

[baileys]

With my acid reflux i quite often feel as though ive got a lump in my throat and its closing up.
I wouldn't say that i have difficulty swallowing but it can sometimes feel like that and if i thought about it too much, like you are, then it would feel worse.
I dont have health anxiety so it doesnt tend to bother me.
Remember anxiety can make these symptoms worse.
Like i told you in my previous posts, ive had it bad for 2 weeks but today its gone. No more chest pains or pain when swallowing and my throat feels a lot better.
Ive lived on gaviscon for last 2 weeks so maybe thats why but it will come back.

[tag]

Thanks for the response Bailey & apologies for doing the stuck record thing. :blush:

I appreciate that acid can come & go & can be triggered or 'assisted' by anxiety. I think the problem is that it becomes difficult for me to see that it could just as easily clear up & go away as I get trapped in that: 'it's here for good, it's something sinister' way of thinking which is so common to those who worry obsessively about their health.

I'm sure a bit of diversion wouldn't go amiss - switching my brain off would be a good start..

I've taken the Gaviscon tablets with some success but after speaking to my (long-suffering) GP on the phone today she's prescibed me some acid suppressants so I guess I'll see how those work out.

Thanks again for the reply, I am always very grateful to you & everyone else who takes the time to respond :flowers:

[baileys]

I was prescribed acid suppressants but i didnt find they worked for me, i seemed to get more relief from the gaviscon so i use that instead.
Oh and plus it said on the box of suppressants....do not drink alcohol.... i need me glass of wine.:)
They might work for you so give them a go.
I can understand how difficult it is for you to not worry, and im not going to tell you not to because i know you still will.
Mine was so bad this time that i really began to think that i may need further investigation to sort it out, but like i said, its gone now, my throat is still a bit tights but thats all.

[tag]

I'm afraid now that I'm having trouble eating & this is deeply distressing given that one of the major symptoms of oesophageal C is difficulty swallowing.

I don't know if it's because I have become so fixated on this particular aspect of things or what but when I eat anything now it goes down ok, but then I just feel incredibly full & a bit sick for a couple of hours.

This is really scary & only serves to confirm in my mind that I do have the dreaded C.

I'm not sleeping, waking up sweating at all hours then getting an hour or so's respite before coming to again.

I'm so fixated on this now that daily life is a nightmare.

Can worry & stress cause these symptoms of fullness & bloating? Is it my mind making this a problem?