Hey, I’m writing this not necessarily to gain any advice, but possibly to find people who are going through something similar. I am only 19-years-old, and I have been struggling with a pretty bad form of LPR for slightly less than a year.
Several years ago, I was going through a more challenging episode in my life, during the peak teenage years, which led to some unhealthy habits, such as drinking and smoking (I wouldn’t say it was extreme, but also definitely not healthy). I managed to get out of that period of my life successfully and started living relatively healthily. It is surprising, however, that this period did not trigger my LPR. The first time I noticed my symptoms was last summer, sometime after my high school exams and graduation. I had bronchitis, after which I had a persistent cough, throat clearing, and throat pain. This was mentally draining as it did not go away for months, and I assumed it to be some complications related to the respiratory system. Once I started noticing that my throat ‘calms down’ when I am swallowing, I started realizing that it might be something else. I also have a history of LPR in my family: my dad also has it, which made it easier to identify. I saw a GNT who prescribed me a 2-month course of PPIs (20 mg esomeprazole), which helped immediately (I could feel a significant difference 2-3 days after starting taking it). My boyfriend and I went on a trip, and I was even able to enjoy nice meals and several drinks. During the 2-month course, I did have a small flare-up, but I was able to manage it quickly by jumping back onto a very strict diet. After the two-month course, I was able to more or less return to normal life (I did make many adjustments to my diet: quit coffee, quit most spices and sauces, tomatoes and tomato-based products, carbonated drinks, started using a very minimal amount of oil when cooking, etc.). After finishing the PPI course, I remained symptom-free for around 4 months whilst on a pretty normal diet (I was able to drink alcohol once a week, eat out sometimes, etc.). But at the end of those four months, I got a very bad flare-up, the worst one I had so far. The first week, my throat was hurting so much that I had to take paracetamol every day because I couldn’t swallow anything without it. As soon as I started feeling better, I completely lost my voice. That’s when I went to see my GP, who prescribed me a 2-week course of omeprazole, which I combined with a very, very strict diet (basically only boiled chicken, steamed vegetables, and plain rice…). This helped, and I started feeling better, but I haven’t been able to return to my ‘baseline’ since (it’s been over 8 weeks since the flare-up started). I still wake up with a very dry mouth, bad taste, I have the urge to clear my throat after food, and my throat hurts most of the time. I just got back to taking PPIs (20 mg esomeprazole), a longer course, hoping that it will finally help me get rid of the symptoms. I’m on day 6, so I know it’s still early on, but so far I haven’t seen any progress, which is very discouraging, as last time it helped so quickly.
Even though my dad is managing his LPR well and he hasn’t needed medication for years (he gets occasional flare-ups, but he manages to resolve them with diet), it seems like I have a more severe form. I am really scared of my LPR getting worse with age, considering it’s already so bad.
Not only are the symptoms really tiring, which has led me to feel chronically exhausted, but I also feel like, as a young person, I have lost such a big part of my life, which I am grieving, and nobody around me seems to understand me. I know that I have to stop feeling sorry for myself, but I am honestly really struggling. My social life is non-existent, I don’t remember the last time I saw my friends (as you can understand, in your first year at university, everything revolves around drinking, or at least eating…). I just miss having a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail in peace. I miss going to a restaurant and ordering what I want, not what’s least likely to make my reflux even worse, and stressing out about all options containing trigger ingredients. I miss not having to cancel plans and not having to make up excuses every weekend. I really miss having a cup of coffee in the morning. One other thing I’m struggling with is constantly seeing people around me enjoying their lives, eating and drinking whenever they want. Food was such an important source of comfort for me after a bad day, and I completely lost it. Now it feels like a complete chore to eat. It’s also really annoying because it feels like “I don’t deserve it,” considering I have such a healthy lifestyle: I sleep well, I work out at least 4x a week, I don’t eat any sugar, processed food, etc. (I know this is not a very good mindset). And I genuinely understand that I need to stop being so dramatic, but I can slowly see myself going down the road of depression, especially considering I already struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. I just feel so alone in this. And I know it sounds funny, considering my dad had it, but he has a very cynical approach to it, which does not help me or make me feel understood.