LPR or Cancer? I am very scared please help!

[harris5998]

I am currently seeing a regular doc and an ENT (I can't see a Gastroenterologist because only certain docs take the type of assistance I am on I have no insurance) . Recently I began having trouble swallowing, like there is a lump in my throat. My regular doctor says "globulus hystericus" from anxiety, however Xanax and Prozac has not made this go away. My ENT says "reflux" and put me on Prevacid which I've been on for two weeks now. I don't have heartburn and have researched this and think I may have LPR instead.

However, I do have severe health anxiety. Basically, I feel like I have something life threatening. I am scared I have a tumor or cancer. I am 30 years old and smoked and drank from the age of 15 to the age of 29 which is almost 15 years. I feel like I'm waiting for a death sentence.

Anyway, the doctors don't seem to think so. ENT wants me to take 30 mg Prevacid every morning for a month then come in. If no improvement he may send me for a barium swallow.

I am scared because I feel like they are ignoring me and being slow. Why do I feel this way? It's like a lump/stuck sensation in my lower throat area in the center above where the collarbones meet. It seemed to get better a little but now it is back with severity.

Does this sound like LPR? Does anyone else struggle with this? I am afraid I have something bad wrong with me. I'm losing lots of weight but apparently this is a Prozac side effect which I just started a week or two ago.

I am miserable. I have followup appointments in July. I feel like my doctors think I'm a hypochondriac and I am determined not to bug them until my appointment and hope I can get some advice here.

Thanks,
Angie

[Rubythecherryakanader]

I have the exact same thing, I have everything that you have described, only difference is that am not a heavy smoker/drinker, am scared that this condition is cancerous, I’ll have to wait for my appointment with my ENT, I guess we can hope for the best, even though the fear of something serious happening is killing me.

[KPC17]

Hello.  I am currently experiencing the same symptoms as you reference in your post, as well as anxiety from the same worries. Ffrom what I have read, more likely than not I am suffering from Lpr, but I cannot help worrying about throat cancer.  

I am curious...did your lpr symptoms improve?

Thank you,  

KC

[marknmpls]

Well, I did my share of drinking and smoking over the years...I did give up smoking but still drink, but don't go crazy.  Well maybe just a couple times a year.

Anyway,  I read somewhere that smokers who are frequent exercisers (rare combo, I know) have the same early death risk as non smoking non exercisers.  And every year away from smoking reduces your risk of smoking related issues which I'm guessing are pretty low for a 30 year old.   Bottom line suggestion is follow up with doc on 7/15 but invest more energy into exercise rather than worrying.  Good luck.

[harris5998]

Nine weeks...that gives me some hope that maybe mine will heal too just not quite yet. I am impatient by nature and a total worrywart. I think I drank and smoked and stuff to quiet the anxiety. I will try the gum, thank you!

And, I will try to relax and reassure myself that I am moving towards being healthier. I suppose I don't give myself enough credit for giving up the bad stuff. And yes..there were some wild times but they were not worth what I am going through now!

My goal is not to freak out about this every day and be patient until my July followup. Hopefully I will see some improvement between now and then which would reassure me that my condition is healable and not cancer.

Thank you!
Angie

[marknmpls]

I had something similar but it was more of a throat burn with an occasional lump.  My doctor put me on Prilosec then Zantac and it cleared up in nine weeks.  What helped while I waited, even though it sounds goofy, was chewing sugar free gum all day.  The saliva keeps moving and helps with healing.

Plus relax.  That worry can lead to more acid.  Everyday off the butts and booze makes you healthier.  You can't spend the next 50 years freaking out.

Sounds like you had some wild times over the last 14 though. :)

[harris5998]

Thanks CalGal. My problem is that my worry is SEVERE. I mean, my followup appointment is July 15 but I am chomping at the bit ready to call my ENT Monday and demand a barium swallow or endoscopy or something. I just want to know what I'm dealing with and waiting is very, very tormenting for me. I know I annoy the heck out of the doctors. My goal is to wait until July 15th but my mind keeps thinking worst case scenario, have to get checked NOW, something seriously bad is wrong.

My doctors don't seem worried like I am. My family thinks I'm overreacting. I feel like I'm doomed. I'm being treated for anxiety and depression but why isn't it helping this health anxiety???

I have a ton of guilt at my substance abuse over the past 15 years and feel like that has doomed me to cancer and I wish someone could prove me wrong.

If any of you reading this were me, would you call the doctor and demand diagnostic testing on Monday or would you wait until July 15th to discuss it?

Basically my symptom is a feeling of a constant stuck lump a little ways above my collarbones in the center of my throat. I am able to eat, the food feels like it might get stuck but doesn't get stuck.

Angie

[CalGal]

Better to worry and try to do something to change things around than to just ignore it.

Good luck.

[harris5998]

Nope, I haven't been tested for that, I will be sure to ask. I also am not currently on any kind of special diet either, thanks for the website recommendation I will check that also. I wish I wasn't such a worrywart about this...

[CalGal]

Probiotics can help, but use the capsule version not the diary version. Dairy is somewhat of a no-no on GERD diets, so I hope you're following one. Check gicare.com for some suggestions.

Also, make sure you're tested for H. pylori - can be done as a blood test - and you didn't mention that you have been tested.

Your doc is following the standard 'protocol' in trying to find out if this is GERD or not. He's not brushing you off. They routinely put people on PPIs to see if that works first.

[harris5998]

No, so far Prevacid has not helped I have only been on it two weeks and my ENT said at least a month. I don't get heartburn at all. Just this lump thing. I do find myself burping quite a bit. Honestly it seems to wax and wane in severity. I had the nose tube thing done (but not all the way down to the esophagus) and my ENT said it looked a little irritated and watery which he says are signs of acid issues.

Do you know if probiotics could help this H. pylori thing? I do try to drink Dan-Active every day and sometimes I will drink Kefir but honestly some days I forget.

[boron]

Prevacid helped?

This "something stuck in my throat" feeling is common in gastric reflux (GERD) and this is most commonly caused by H. pylori infection of the stomach. GERD mostly affects esophagus. LPR mostly affects larynx and it does not cause heartburn typical for GERD.

Nice LPR article:
http://www.ucdvoice.org/lpr.html