Endoscopy

[Lemony]

I was recently diagnosed with two bleeding ulcers.  One was pyloric and one was, I think, duodenal (not sure).  My hgb went down to 7.05 before it started going back up.  I was in the hospital for one week.  The endoscopy was done by a excellent gastroenterologist.  Problem is, 24 hours after I had the endoscopy, I started losing my voice and whenever I swallowed liquids, it would go down the wrong pipe and I would choke. It did not happen when I ate food though.  The choking part has gotten considerable better but it is now going on four weeks and I still cannot talk over a whisper.  The gastroenteroligst never heard of this and sent me to an ENT dr.  The ENT dr. looked down my throat with a scope and states that he does not see any permanent damage to my vocal chords.  He did see inflammation though.  It is now beyond four weeks and it has not gotten any better.  I am quite concerned.  The ENT dr. said he could not give me cortisone because of my stomach.  He tried Zithromax but that did nothing.  Have you heard of this before?  How long can it last.  My gastro. wants me to have another endoscopy in three months to make sure both ulcers have healed, but I am very concerned.

[pikamom]

I did some research for you on GOOGLE search engine. Type in endoscopy complications. You'll find that it's quite rare, only 1%. But it does happen. Symptoms include choking. Could be a perforation, if an exam is negative you could still have a perforation and it would show up with a swallow barium test. Also type in larygeal and you'll find that if the nerve to the larynx is damaged the sypmtoms would be hoarseness and dysphasia (swallowing, choking). Your doctor won't be quick to point out that you've had damage to your vocal cords!

[avion]

looks to me it is transient vagal nerve palsy(recurrent laryngeal nerve), which can cause both symptoms that you are having. A course of steroid might be helpful.

[pikamom]

Steroids are hard on the stomache and she just had ulcers. What other treatment could she have for this obvious laryngeal damage? Will it get better with or without treatment? She is quite concerned and rightly so.

[avion]

pareneteral steroids with any proton pump inhibitor should be effective.

[Lemony]

Thanks for the comments.  The choking when I drink liquids has subsided somewhat.  At first, it happened every time.  Now, it only happens occasionally, or, if I don't concentrate on the first gulp.  The hoarseness and not being able to talk above a whisper is getting to me (4 weeks now).  The dr. said that he could not give me steroids due to my stomach ulcers still healing.  How would he be able to detect the larngeal nerve damage or the perforation?  He did put a fibre optic scope down my throat and then again down my nose to be sure.  He said he was inflammation.  As he performed this test, he kept asking me to repeat the word E.  He says that he could not see any damage to my vocal chords.  Is there another test he could perform to see if there is larngeal nerve damage?

[pikamom]

Well, I'm not a doctor and the only info I have is from online. The one site on perforations said a negative exam is not foolproof, and then if suspicion is high a barium swallow test would show the tear. As for the nerve damage I really don't know what test would show it. If I was you I'd get a second opinion from a voice specialist not affiliated with the doctor who did your endoscopy. Get there as soon as you can and tell him you think you had laryngeal damage from the endoscope. You could need voice therapy to restore your voice. I think four weeks is a long time and your voice should have recovered by now. You need to understand that doctors refer their patients to each other and they protect each other. If you have permanent damage to your voice, that's not something they'd want to admit. Get the second opinion.

[MeanOleRedHead66]

I have had a few endoscopes and one ERCP (EndoscopicRetrogradeColiangioPancreantomy...whew, say that one ten times fast!!!)and during one endo and the ERCP I woke up during the procedure.  Both times I lost my voice, but only for a few days.  I agree witht he other two posters... get a Second OUTSIDE opinion.  It saved me from having a surgery that I didn't need.  
Best of luck to you!
{{{HUGZ}}}
Denise

[Lemony]

Thanks again for all the help.  I think I will call a voice specialist. It sounds like my only hope.  Any other comments are certainly welcome.

[avion]

i thoughtit was cholangio-pancreatography.

[MeanOleRedHead66]

It very well could have been that!  LOL, I thought I was doing good, you have me beat!

{{{HUGZ}}}
Denise