Difficulty Swallowing

[worried1030]

Background info: I am a 23 year old male.  I have recently been diagnosed with GERD (symptoms for over a year before diagnosis).  My personal physician also said it I might have an ulcer and/or hiatial hernia, based on symptoms I described during my visit. I started on a Prilosec regimen once a day  (in the morning) last week.  

Overall, the heartburn symptoms have improved, but the belching has not.  Also, I constantly feel like I have a lump in my throat while eating and sometimes have diffuculty swallowing, especially solid food. Food seems to catch at the top of my throat.  It also seems like the more/longer I eat, the harder it is to swallow.  I also have lots of phlegm during/after I eat.  I guess I have a few questions.

1. What things should I be explaining/asking my physician to allow for a quicker diagnosis/resolution to my symptoms?
2.  How likely is it that I have a serious illness?  What are some red flags to watch for knowing my situation?

Thanks for your help.

[worried1030]

Thanks for your response.  That is excellent information. I am going to talk to my doctor about this on Monday.  It will probably be a couple weeks before I get an appointment with a specialist, but that is better than dealing with this for years and it getting very bad.  As you pointed out, not treating this can lead to horrible consquences.  

Besides the normal responses like no caffiene, alcohol, spicy foods, small meals, ect.  is there any natural remedies/tricks you found that might improve my symptoms?  

Thanks again for the response.  I truly appreciate it.  It is nice to have support from others with similar issues.

[clyoung]

Hi Worried,

I had the same problems...difficulty swallowing, feeling an obstruction in my throat (like a bubble or something), phlegm and even problems breathing when the acid gets up in my throat.  After an endoscopy, they discovered that I have esophagitis (which makes it hard to swallow), esophageal spasms (acid is causing my esophagus to spasm), Barrett's Esophagus (from years of the acid being in my throat and burning it) and a hiatal hernia.  They've got me on 3 acid reflux medicines a day, another one for my esophageal spasms, I took a spray in my throat for 3 months that made the swallowing better.  Things are getting better but this is a lot of medicine to be on.  I'm hoping to have a fundoplication soon so that I can get off of all of this stuff.  My acid reflux started when I was in my mid teens and now I am 39.  I would suggest asking your doc if you can have an endoscopy done.  If it eventually gets bad enough, you could develop Barrett's which increases your chances of esophageal cancer.  This is some of the stuff that I've learned.  Let me know if you have any other questions.