Help! Chronic throat problems/ globus, but smoking helped?!

Digestive health
1

So I've been traveling around through India and now south East Asia for 6 months. This all started with 2 very bad bouts of food poisoning a week apart which I was prescribed two bouts of antibiotics, which ruined the flora in my stomach but that seemed to get back on track fine after a week or so. 

I then developed extremely bad sinusitus (it even started coming out of my eyes) which lasted mainly for about a month until I was prescribed antibiotics (azithromycin) again to mostly, clear it up. I had symptoms of my sinuses still giving me a headache and my throat feeling a little tight which was a newer more recent symptom.

This still didn't work so I went back to another doctor (All of these have been separate doctors as I'm traveling) who prescibed Augmentin which made me end up in Hospital that evening with a very tight throat an difficulty breathing. My vitals were all fine so I got sent home. That was the really start of it. I stopped the Antibiotics and just continued with a Nasal Rinse until I could see an ENT specialist a few weeks later (again in another location) who prescribed a gentle antobiotic (Clarithromycin) which seemed to clear the sinusitus up but not the throat. 

Since that (with another doctor) who diagnosed me with Chronic Allergic-Rhinosinusitus and GERD which was causing my throat problems. The sinusitus was and still is under control but he prescrbed proton pump inhibitors (Esomeprazole) for two weeks which didn't help at all. 

Up until this point I'd been pretty good health wise hardly drinking, eating healthy and staying active. Until I thought screw this I need some fun to stop thinking about it all of the time and had a few beers and a cigarettes which was exactly the kind of stuff I've avoided for months. I woke up the next morning and my throat was totally fine! After this I ended up smoking for about 2 months and during that period my throat was TOTALLY NORMAL no tightness or anything. 

However, recently I've decided to get healthy again and have been at a fitness camp for 4 weeks now exercising every day, eating extremely healthily, not drinking or smoking. Since then the lump in my throat feeling has returned and it's always there, I feel like I need to clear my throat sometimes, my voice goes hoarse, I can lose some low and high vocal range, and it can feel sore sometimes. 

The ENT said I've got LPR now and prescribed anti acid secretion drugs twice a day 2 weeks ago and they havn't made any difference. I've been to see a GI specialist and he's recomended a Gastroscopy which I'm seeing If my insurance will pay for.

Anyway, getting to the point has anyone else had these symptom before, especially with smoking helping as it's totally counter inuitive to everything I've been told and read. 

Also as I don't have a consistant doctor I have to re-explain this to everyone and they know I wont' be there for long so I'm not even sure if I'm getting breat treatment or being diagnosed with the right things now. For instance is it actually LPR? Or could it be something to do with the SInusitus? I'm lost and feeling a little helpless to be honest.

2

Sounds like Lpr to me. my issue was antibiotics also. I don't have heart burn, but I have the feeling of a lump in my throat, I am constantly clearing my throat, after I eat I have mucus in my throat, that happens immediately. I also eat healthy and take omeprazole. I have a terrible pain in my neck today that has been here for two days which is also associated with gerd. I get pains sometimes in my upper left part of back, burping after eating. U take the meds and it doesn't help. I too have been to different dr.s, I had an endoscopy and it showed a little swelling in the esophagus and a hiata's hernia which contributes to gerd. It's like a never ending battle, but I try and have high hopes and it's hard to do that sometimes with the mucus in my throat all day.

3

Nothing worse than traveling and not feeling well. LPR is where the acid backs up all the way to the back of your throat. I used to get this when bending over, laying flat in bed (now use a wedge under my pillow) etc. My only suggestion is to make a list of all your symptoms if you can fill in dates that would be great, then what meds (again dates) that you have taken including the antibiotics. Make copies of this list when you go see any new doctors. You may also want to check out some probiotics.

4

I'm wondering if you suffer from anxiety and the alcohol relaxes you and the cigarettes force you to take deep breaths! Look up LNA an alternate to LPR often post viral and a nervous system hypersensitivity issue x

5

Yeah that's the kind of thing I keep reading... that it's not easy to diagnose an effective treatment! 

I'm not giving up there's got to be a way to fix it, and you shouldn't either!

 

6

I've started to do that over the last couple of days. I'm getting to grips with the fact that I'm going to have to take control of it or it'll control me.

It's still not nice though.

7

Thanks for the tip. What does LNA stand for? I can't seem to find anything.

8

Hi Alex,   Laryngeal Sensory Neuropathy, so I had the wrong achronym, or viral vagal neuropathy. I've read it ofgen starts with a virus and then the nerves do not send the right messages to the brain as they become hypersensitive to anything happening in the throat. I'm sure I have this and am going to give pregablin a trial.

9

Hi Alex, I happened to come across this dicussion. Looks like the thread is almost a year long, but wondering how your symptoms have progressed during that time. I have very similiar experience with the throat clearing, vocal fatigue, and sore throat primarily on one side. I have also noticed that when I smoke the symptoms don't bother me as much, that I still don't understand. But my problems all started with a cold, that turned into a sore throat a few weeks later. Doctor at the time said it was probably due to the virus or allergy's and started me on Nyquil, claritin, and flonase. The symptoms started to mutate, which led to a feeling of globus and post nasal drip. Finally I went to an ENT specialist who checked my throat and suspected GERD. I started dual PPI treatment, and had done a lot of reading on LPR. The symptoms pretty matched what I was feeling, but within about a month I didn't notice any improvement. After going to 2 GI doctors, 1 telling me to up my dosage to 80mg, and the second telling me with my history that I don't have GERD I decided to do some further research and came across PVVN. The symptoms are very much alike, however since I had a virus prior to the symptoms  Ithought it would be worth looking into. I sent my GP a note asking to treat PVVN, he wasn't aware of it but happily sent over a prescription of Elavil. Within the first few days I started noticing some improvement, but very minor. I'm now finishing my first week, and have started noticing the throat clearing, hoarsness is doing better, at least more so than what any PPI or H2 blocker could have done. I just wondering if it was PVVN that you had as well, please send an update if you can.