Is this reflux?

I have had my tonsils and adenoids (adenoids) removed last summer at 37 due to chronic throat infections. Even after the surgery, I get horrible throat pain, pinching and burning, constant cough, a lump on my throat feeling that won't go away and horrible ear pain (deep and feels like a burning pain) and I can hardly touch them. My doctor is baffle since my ears look perfectly normal upon exam. It is worse at night and I wake up with coughing spells, pop a cough drop and try to fall back to sleep. Dangerous I know. I wake up just as tired as I go to sleep and it continues day after day, night after night. My son's speech teacher says it sounds like LPR not GERD. Any thoughts please?!

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the GERD forum.

It is very possible that what u r dealing with is GERD ....LPR has all the same symptoms and u have to treat it the same....u may want to try to avoid foods they trigger ur symptoms, so keep a journal so u know which of the "typical" foods affect u, and there are ways to  modify ur lifestyle as well as ur diet...like no eating b4 u lay down for at least 3 to 4 hours...elevate the head of ur bed....no tight clothes....

Can you suffer from LPR without experiencing any heartburn or other GERD symptoms? Yes! Many people with LPR do not have symptoms of heartburn. Why? In order for refluxed acid to cause heartburn, it has to stay in the esophagus long enough to cause irritation. Also, the esophagus isn't as sensitive to irritation as the throat is. Therefore, if the acid passes quickly through the esophagus but pools in the throat, heartburn symptoms will not occur but LPR symptoms will.

Symptoms of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux are:

Continual throat clearing
Chronic throat irritation
Chronic cough
Hoarseness
Excessive phlegm the throat
Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
Constant sensation of something in the throat
Swallowed food comes back up
Post nasal drainage
Weak voice
Cracking voice
Blockage of the breathing passage
Spasm of the larynx (voice box)
Wheezing

For more tips see the Health Pages.

[1sherwood]

Thank you for responding. I was  just diagnosed yesterday with LPR by a swallowing disorders ent specialist. I have to undergo a ph test to determine breakthrough reflux while being on 40mg of protonix for the last few months.  Truthfully, what can I expect to experience? And any tips or suggestions on how to deal with this diagnosis? Thanks again!

[selmaS]

  U should follow many of the same tips for GERD and I am sure ur Dr has given u some info and meds as well as diet and lifestyle tips...how well u follow them will depend on how u feel and how long it takes for u to feel better....

  Do look at the tips in the Health Pages for GERD and it will give u diet and lifestyle tips u can use until u get to ur Dr for more info.

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/list?cid=236