e***@lycos.com
2008-03-09 09:07:11 UTC
Hello Howard,
I've never contacted you before, but I've been reading your
informative
postings in
this group for several years and I have great respect for what you
have to
say. So I was wondering if you might help to answer a question
for me.
A little history.... I am 39 and was diagnosed with GERD in my early
twenties. But the GERD
symptoms I was dealing with in my 20s and early 30s were nothing
compared to what I have been dealing with in the past few years.
Ever since
2005, I
have had the most intense, persistent burning in my upper esophagus
and
throat. I am not overweight (5 feet 9 inches - 147 pounds). I eat
sensibly... no
coffee, no alcohol, no chocolate, no caffeine, no citrus, no junk
food, no
spicy food, no fried food, no fast food and I don't smoke.
In the past three years, I have rarely had any relief from my
heartburn, no
matter what medication I try. Be it strict regiments of PPIs and H2
blockers... Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Aciphex, Protonix, Ranitidine,
Famotidine... I have tried them all and taken each one properly, but
it
seems my heartburn has gotten so severe, nothing
can extinguish it at this point. Even Gaviscon barely provides me
with
any temporary relief.
My heartburn has become stubborn beyond anything I could
have ever imagined. Since the burning does get so intense and never
completely goes away, it's extremely difficult for me to fall asleep
and
stay asleep. I
honestly have not had a real night's rest in three years... and my
heartburn
seems to only be getting worse.
Much of the burning comes from my throat and the upper part of my
esophagus.
The burning is constant and can be agonizing at times, particularly
when it's in my
throat. So in December 2007, I went to an ENT, who put a scope through
my
nose and
examined my throat. He said that he could see slight irritation, but
nothing
any
more serious than that. That really surprised me because the pain in
my
throat can get to be so intense and this has been going on for quite
some
time. I was expecting to hear that I had developed some sort of a
throat
ulcer. The ENT said I should see a
gastroenterologist, since I was having so much burning and
had not had an endoscopy since 2000.
So on February 5th, I had an endoscopy performed at the Raleigh
Endoscopy
Center. The only finding was erythema in the lower third of the
esophagus,
nothing more. Again I was surprised because all of my pain comes from
the
upper part of my esophagus and throat, plus the pain from that area
can be
excruciating to the point that it is debilitating... and this has been
going on
for the past few years. I was just a little shocked that there isn't
any
physical, observable evidence of the pain that I'm experiencing from
that
area.
So here's my question...
During my 20s and early 30s, my refluxate was very mild and extremely
tolerable. It hardly ever had any burn to it at all. But ever since I
entered my late 30s, it literally feels as
though I am refluxing Drano or Liquid Plumber... and that causes me to
be in
constant pain.
Is it possible for stomach acid to become stronger and hotter as a
person
ages? Can the chemical makeup of the acid be much more caustic in a
person's
forties than it ever was in their twenties?
I ask because that is exactly what it feels like has happened to me.
Thank you in advance,
Blake
I've never contacted you before, but I've been reading your
informative
postings in
this group for several years and I have great respect for what you
have to
say. So I was wondering if you might help to answer a question
for me.
A little history.... I am 39 and was diagnosed with GERD in my early
twenties. But the GERD
symptoms I was dealing with in my 20s and early 30s were nothing
compared to what I have been dealing with in the past few years.
Ever since
2005, I
have had the most intense, persistent burning in my upper esophagus
and
throat. I am not overweight (5 feet 9 inches - 147 pounds). I eat
sensibly... no
coffee, no alcohol, no chocolate, no caffeine, no citrus, no junk
food, no
spicy food, no fried food, no fast food and I don't smoke.
In the past three years, I have rarely had any relief from my
heartburn, no
matter what medication I try. Be it strict regiments of PPIs and H2
blockers... Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Aciphex, Protonix, Ranitidine,
Famotidine... I have tried them all and taken each one properly, but
it
seems my heartburn has gotten so severe, nothing
can extinguish it at this point. Even Gaviscon barely provides me
with
any temporary relief.
My heartburn has become stubborn beyond anything I could
have ever imagined. Since the burning does get so intense and never
completely goes away, it's extremely difficult for me to fall asleep
and
stay asleep. I
honestly have not had a real night's rest in three years... and my
heartburn
seems to only be getting worse.
Much of the burning comes from my throat and the upper part of my
esophagus.
The burning is constant and can be agonizing at times, particularly
when it's in my
throat. So in December 2007, I went to an ENT, who put a scope through
my
nose and
examined my throat. He said that he could see slight irritation, but
nothing
any
more serious than that. That really surprised me because the pain in
my
throat can get to be so intense and this has been going on for quite
some
time. I was expecting to hear that I had developed some sort of a
throat
ulcer. The ENT said I should see a
gastroenterologist, since I was having so much burning and
had not had an endoscopy since 2000.
So on February 5th, I had an endoscopy performed at the Raleigh
Endoscopy
Center. The only finding was erythema in the lower third of the
esophagus,
nothing more. Again I was surprised because all of my pain comes from
the
upper part of my esophagus and throat, plus the pain from that area
can be
excruciating to the point that it is debilitating... and this has been
going on
for the past few years. I was just a little shocked that there isn't
any
physical, observable evidence of the pain that I'm experiencing from
that
area.
So here's my question...
During my 20s and early 30s, my refluxate was very mild and extremely
tolerable. It hardly ever had any burn to it at all. But ever since I
entered my late 30s, it literally feels as
though I am refluxing Drano or Liquid Plumber... and that causes me to
be in
constant pain.
Is it possible for stomach acid to become stronger and hotter as a
person
ages? Can the chemical makeup of the acid be much more caustic in a
person's
forties than it ever was in their twenties?
I ask because that is exactly what it feels like has happened to me.
Thank you in advance,
Blake