Thread: In Desperate Need of HELP! PLEASE read my story...

One of my ENTs suggested a CT scan cause he saw that I was still apparently very congested even while on all these nasal and sinus and allergy meRAB. I just don't like to do cat scans unless they are absolutely necessary and this seems like an unnecessary test. What would he find in there anyway? And for it to be accurate, I'd assume I'd have to get off all my medication, which again, scares me to death cause I'm scared I'll suddenly get back to feeling horribly nauseous like in the beginning.

The confusing thing is, my original symptom was nausea. Now on all the meRAB, its just the throat thing. So I don't know what my REAL symptom is to base my diagnosis on. It's getting very confusing. Whatever the case, my doctors covered every base of what could be causing this problem, and I still feel sick, so what the hell????? That's all I want to know. Why isn't anything working? What else can it be, what else can I do, it's like neverending with trying all these meRAB for months and months and not getting better, only causing my frustration and depression and messing with my body.

Btw, about sinus issues, I never noticed having any before this. Can you have chronic sinus problems with no noticeable symptoms until suddenly?

Anyway, thanks again, Never again.

It is funny you mention nortriptyline. At one point, since nothing was working, the doctors said maybe it's anxiety. I told them I'm not an anxious person and don't have anxiety. They told me, maybe you have anxiety but don't know it, like it's subconscious. So I went to see a psychiatrist only once, and he prescribed me nortriptylene. I took it for 3 weeks only and stopped because at the same time was when I went to the "miracle" ENT who prescribed me all those other things which made me feel much better. So I stopped the nortriptyline since I thought that was no longer relevant.

Maybe I should go back on it? But I really don't feel I have anxiety or depression. What I feel is that this illness is GIVING me anxiety and depression.

The other thing that threw me off was that when I would ask other people or doctors about nortriptyline, they had no idea what it was.

Thank You for your response Mountain,

I guess in your case you saw that the Nissen would have done you more good than harm. Do you still think you made the right choice?

I personally, have a mildly incompetent L.E.S., I have some breathing problems, but I'm not really sure if that is related to my minimal GERD. It may be related to a mild scoliosis I have, or to my slightly enlarged liver. So, I don't know if I would be a candidate for the Nissen, because I'm still not sure what's up. I'm 24 yrs old now, and I'm soon going to go on Nexium for 1 month to see what will come of it.

I don't know if it helped me in any way. I took it for 3 weeks and didn't feel a difference. I google it but not much information comes up. I still don't get how it would be the right medication for me unless I'm suffering from depression. I want to know what's the actual cause of my problem, which no one can figure out cause no medication works 100%.

Does post-nasal drip go away usually? What's the best medication for that?

Would you guys recommend or not recommend trying Carafate?

I had my reflux under control for about 7 years. Then everything just stopped working. I even tried taking every PPI on the market, twice per day. Nexium messed up my gut pretty badly and gave me symptoms I didn't have before. Aciphex, Protonix, Zegrid all did OK, but not great. Prevacid Solutabs work best for me, but even on that my reflux was far from being under control.

I continue to sleep on an incline. I try to watch my diet and I've lost weight.

When the reflux got to the point I had a scary breathing incident, the surgery became a very real option for me. In fact, it was after testing, Modified Barium Swallow and Esophagram, that my Pulmonologist actually recommended the surgery.

I'm very happy that I had the surgery. Being able to breathe well is worth the price to me of the other consequences I have to live with.

Your Gastroenterologist would be able to tell you if you are a surgical candidate. They will want you to try all other options first though.

If you continue to have breathing problems, even mild, I'd recommend finding a good Pulmonologist. Having action plans and treatments in place have made all the difference in quality of life, and life itself, for me.

It's called a HIDA scan. In this test, a radioactive material called hydroxy iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) is injected into the patient. The radioactive material is taken up by the gallbladder to measure gallbladder function. This test also is referred to as cholescintigraphy. If you have any problems what so ever with the function of you Gall Bladder, you will have constant nausea that can't be relieved even with meRAB. I was told by my Doc that a normal Gall bladder works at a percentage rate between 40 to 60%. My rate happen to be at 8% which was the lowest she has seen in awhile. The test is not bad, it takes about two hours. You can get alot more details about the Hida scan on WedMd.

To Mountain Reader: Hello. You have been a constant contributer to the message boarRAB regarding Nissan fundoplication, and always have good insightful information. I had a Nissan fundo in Feb. 2009 and I am losing weight (cannot afford to lose anymore), but am most concerned with the gas bloating syndrome and lump in my throat that I have as a result of the surgery. Do you know of others that have these issues and are you able to burp? I cannot burp and have a lot of gas and I am miserable. I am returning to the doctor later this month and getting another upper GI done. I wish I had never had the fundoplication done - it has not helped my original symptom of bad taste in mouth and a lot of congestion. Now I have more problems than ever. Can anyone help????? Please write soon

Did this ENT CT scan your sinuses? Chronic sinus issues will make you feel like crap + cause chronic fatigue. If this is not a spasm issue in your throat, and I believe it is, but otherwise, you can have constant ongoing pain in your throat simply from the sinus/allergy/post-nasal drip issues. Reflux can also make your throat chronically hurt.

A normal gastric emptying study does not mean reflux doesn't exist. Mine was normal, and I've had SEVERE reflux. Even an endoscopy cannot pick up the fact that your throat muscles are tightening and going into a spasm. That is something a doctor isn't going to see on a test.

Try Levsin for that pain. You can even try Flexeril or Skelaxin if that doesn't help but I'd recommend that first. Flexeril is actually my fave muscle relaxant.

Promethazine, I always had great success with that for nausea, using the suppository, not the pill form.

The fatigue I go through makes me cry like you are talking about but I only do it on my worst days. I feel like my body has aged to 150 and wants to die. Being eat up with cancer, I wouldn't be shocked by either. When I was in physical therapy, they said my body had aged twice of my actual age.

I think we both need to learn a good way to cope with our health problems, I know how it can drive you mad.

You need something to make you feel better. Try a switch in medications, you might consider therapy to have someone to talk to about how down this is making you feel, and maybe physical therapy to try and build your strength back up.

I'll quit being a pest now, but I hope this helps ya.

Took an Arabien, went to bed, and could not go to sleep, because there's one more thing I felt like I should talk to you about.

The reflux. If your gastroenterolgist did the endoscopy and did not biopsy your esophagus and stomach area, they cannot determine just by looking, whether or not inflammation is there, FACT IS, it may look okay to the visible eye, doesn't mean it is.

But if a biopsy was done and no inflammation exists, I don't think I'd worry too much about acid reflux being an issue. Too much acid production in turn causes irritation to your esophagus, stomach, and even possibly your throat.

But where your ENT looked down in your throat and obviously saw a problem visible to him, something had to of been wrong there. With the types of problems you have with your sinuses/allergies/post-nasal drip, it could cause that irritation and be the cause of what is bringing on the spasm in your throat. The anti-spasmotic or muscle relaxants could very well make that problem go away but whatever is causing the irritation down in your throat neeRAB treated. CorticosteroiRAB may be a good option to try. One of those little suckers can make the worst sore throat vanish in a days time. I've tried allergy, sinus meRAB myself, nasal sprays: flonase, nasonex, etc, with only temporary help from them, might work a few weeks then nothing. You might just need something that will help clear up the inflammation down in your throat & dry up that mucus production, if possible, because inflammation is a hard one to battle and get rid of completely. Maybe you should ask your ENT about doing a biospy where he saw those problems down in your throat. It could clear up the question of what's wrong. Goodnite.

yh dats y im havng Laparoscopic nissen fundoplication surgery coz my meRAB are nt helpng n also i dnt want to keep tkng meRAB . Do you suffer from acid reflux everyday? howcome your not any meRAB? is it under control?