Lump In Throat - Have GERD, but medication doesn't help!

SOLUTION. I am 15 years old and used to have he same problem but not anymore. It is caused by acid reflux and anxiety. Take some light heartburn medication like Zantac DO NOT take tums. Tums have calcium therefore calcium causes heartburn to occur. Also when you get this feeling, say to yourself, "as long as I can breathe its fine cuz this hasn't choked me yet and it happens a lot that means it never can hurt me just make me scared" also fill a glass of water and slowly sip it (COLD) this will help with the gas sensation. 15 and becoming a doctor I expierience many symptoms all of you have:) ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

Dear All,

 

If you have GERD not not feeling better definitly ask your doctor increase your medication if you are taking 10 mg, go for 40 mg, if still have the symptoms go to 60/80 mg. I did have all the terrible GERD symptoms and by increasing my medication to 80 mg i feel better.

Get tested for Celiac

I use a travel pillow ; the horse shoe one at night it gets me a nights sleep. I dont know why it worrks it just does ; I have all the same symtoms. good luck.

I too have the same thing! Choking, lumpy feeling! They say I have silent flux. I have no acid at all. I also get a stabbing pain, more like a prick on either side of the throat. The sides differ every night! Am I going nuts? They looked down my throat and write it off as silent flux. They put me on every pill none of which works! I've had this since 2004!

I have been diagnosed 3 months ago with having GERD. I dont get what caused it or how to get rid of it. Never had any problems before this. I have that feeling of food in the the throat or a lump, its really annoying. I can understand the anxiety that it can cause. I had the scope down the throat and was told I have Barrett's Esophagus caused by the acid getting into my throat and the throat trying to protect itseld by builing up a layer of tissue in the throat. It prevents ulcers from happening. This lump thing is annoying because is can last for hours, minutes, etc... Some days I feel it and some days Im fine and dont feel a lump. Im just not sure what I can eat anymore. Super frustrated as this is all new for me. I have cut out spicy things, soda, and tomato based food. I am prescription prilosec 40 mg once in the morning and once at night but still felling yucky. Still feel the lump, still have pains in the stomach off and on and lots of bloating. I wonder if any of the medications prescribed for GERD work. Again, I am new to this all and not a happy camper about it.

This is to everyone....my name is Zoila. I have had GERD for three years and since then, I have accepted with God's grace that this symptoms are part of me because if you accept it, then it becomes less significant rather than depressing over it. Just like if you're carrying a small seed and thinking of it so heavy, it becomes heavy. My mom has the same symptoms when she reached 30 just like me. It may be hereditary. Mom says it gets better as you grow old because you get to accept that our body is changing as we grow old. I have learned to minimize my GERD by less dairy because I think I'm lactose intolerant. However, just recently at age 33, I remember going home with a feeling of breathing hard and pain like GERD but with something stuck in my throat. I did panicked for a few days.....but you just need to hang on and pray, pray, pray a lot. THINGS TO REMEMBER TO OVERCOME THESE SYMPTOMS: 1.) PHYSICAL ASPECT- your body is changing so try to adapt. Eat less carbohydrate because they give us that fullness bloated feeling. I remember I changed my rice intake from 1 cup to half and I felt lighter in my stomach. I eat lots of fruits. I make this fruit cocktail (canned fruit cocktail then I add in papaya, banana, mangoes and cream but no sugar) as my snack and dessert. The fiber in the fruits helps regulate bowel movement aside from the fact they are nutritious. Make it a point to withdraw bowel at least once a day to make digestion activity in your stomach more flowing and not stagnant. Drink mineral water with high PH level or combine mineral water with alkaline water to normalize acidity PH level in your stomach. Another important tip too. I think my GERD was partly triggered by wearing very skinny jeans. I remembered I bought two pairs of skinny jeans and booomm, just started from there. I'm not saying it's the culprit. I'm just saying it may be one of the many factors because they tend to press very hard to our stomach area which stress our internal organs....I don't know. All I remember is my GERD is becoming less prominent when I wear more relaxed slacks and pants. I also bought a bottle of Difflam anti-inflamamtion gargle. Just a little drop of it with little water then gargle three time a day helps calm my throat. Perhaps this stuck feeling is the inflammation of our esophagus due to acid reflux. I may be right or wrong, but it helped me a lot. The gargle also gives a numb feeling in your throat so you don't get to feel that stuck sensation then cause you to panic. Those cold hands and feet and constant swallowing of saliva are signs of panic attack. Get a lot of massages. I remember I schedule once a week massage to relax all the muscles in my body. Perhaps out body's muscles are too uptight because of everyday stress. Have your stomach part massaged too.....really really helped a lot 2.) EMOTIONAL - all the excess acidity in our stomach can also be sourced by anxiety. You may say this is not about anxiety but everyday activities in our lives gives us stress and these build up. I remember after going to a gastro doctor, my feet also led me to a neuro- psychiatry doctor. I told her my story and she says I'm having anxiety attacks. She gave me anti-anxiety pill for a month but I only take it whenever anxiety attack comes in and whenever I feel those heartburn symptoms and stuck in the throat. I take it before going to sleep. Please remember that if you're given with once a day medication like protonex (antacid), even though the doctor told to take it in the morning or at noon, I prefer taking them at night before bedtime because meds usually have drowsy feeling., If you take it daytime, your entire day becomes lousy and abnormal because you seem to be feeling lazy and tired. Then they ake you feel more depressed when you feel that drowsy abnormal feeling. Never miss a sleepless night because it even aggravates acidity in your stomach. I remember I also asked for mild sleeping feel Rivotril (1/8 tablet before sleep) to really give me a good sleep. I took it for about less than a month until such time I feel sleepy and relaxed at night without drinking all the meds and pills. Remove all the things around you that bothers you even little stuff. I remember I used to watched tv on a big screen. This time, I brought back my small tv in my bedroom. It lessens the stress on my eyes which may have connection to my upper abdominal pain just like the theory about motion sickness. The eyes is connected to our stomach. Remove those anxiety activities temporarily while your body is still not strong to cope. I remember I have been issuing lots of post dated checks in my business and it aggravates my anxiety so I stopped doing them temporarily or minimized them in a more controllable level. Lessen your debts, arrange disorganized house or workstation...anything that can contribute to your anxiety, try to address them because together these disarray things in our lives build up and one day just simple explode. 3.) SPIRITUAL - this is the most important part to consider, our spiritual healing. I remember when I submit to this calling, all the fears and anxieties seem to fade away. I remember I went to see a priest and made confession. It really lightens my feeling. It you have enemies or relatives and friends that you seem to be having trouble with, make amends. with them. Trust me it will help lessen the burden. THEN PLEASE READ THIS BOOK....."THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE." Read the book one chapter a day and ask for grace that the holy spirit will touch you and heal you. This is the ultimate medicine that healed me completely. It will help you overcome this paranoia, this depression, this feeling of lousiness and meaningless in your life....all the fears of life and death....this book will help you see life differently and take each day with all the burden and monotony of daily tasks more glorified for HIM. It will simplify your life and your goals in life, thus, remove all these unwanted anxieties. All this GERD that you are depressing about will soon fade away and what remains is a strong faithful being that you are. PLEASE believe me, I have been through what you have been going through. After you read the book, you don't have to thank me. Just spread the good news that you have been healed through this journey that you are experiencing right now. Best Regards to ALL Zoila

You guys -- this lump in the throat is due to acid reflux but most a/r sufferers don't have it.  I never had heartburn nor do I burp very much so it took a while for me to accept the diagnosis.  I could not tolerate the scope going down my nose into my throat at all!  I will never allow it to be done again, there are other ways to figure out what's going on.  My ENT told me that the sensation of the lump in the throat is because the gland at the top of the esophagus gets inflamed.  It is called the orolarynx (I think, but usually it's called the esophageal opening).  Sometimes this is the only symptom.  I'm on Nexium but I'm not entirely symptom free.  It's better than it was, it was miserable pre-diagnosis, I was convinced I had thyroid tumors and could feel them!   I have also learned that an ENT is not who we should get our a/r management from.  Everyone with this symptom should see a gastroenterologist.  I have an appointment to see one very soon.  

I've had this feeling for about three days now. Heartburn started about a week ago same time every night no matter what I ate. Then three days ago this food stuck in throat feeling started. Went to an urgent care office was told it was GERD or HH I was put on generic brands of Pepcid (2x a day) and Prilosec (at bedtime) I started these yesterday woke up this am with no issues until about 5pm then the food in throat feeling came back and after tums and Pepcid it's still there. Calling pcp first thing tomorrow hopefully she can tell me more!!!! Could this be something I really need to worry about? Like cancers? Or is this something that will just pass by? I've also been under a ton of stress lately so my fiancé thinks maybe its anxiety??? I've never had issues before but you never know any help would be appreciated. I'm new to this and all the support would e great :)

I would say that stress aggravates it. I was diagnosed with a/r and didn't believe that suddenly out of nowhere at age 47 I would have this ailment, but that's how it presents. Even with daily Zantac I will get the symptoms if I'm especially tired or stressed. or if I over eat bread-heavy foods. You could ask for Nexium in the morning which is taken on an empty stomach with cold water. The cold water protects it from being partially digested before it passes through the stomach. I could be on both drugs but decided to use only one, and deal with the occasional return of symptoms, they are manageable to me. Before going on a second pill, I would try giving up coffee and high-acid or spicy foods. I'd rather give up triggers than take more medicines. Good luck.

I wanted to ask all of you if you have been tested for H Pylori ... I had lump in throat.. tired... belch like a man lol... and I was refered to hemotologist... he ran alot of tests and come to find out I was positive for H pylori. They did a treatment on me which wasn't fun on the good ol' gut but it was 14 days of two antibiotics and prevacid. Now I will tell you that H pylori is bacteria the lives in the stomach lining and loves acid ;o) I to have occasionally lump in throat feelings but I find it comes and goes.. so it seems right to be an acid issue but also when I do take a medication I seem to have it or notice it more..

I would think its worth testing for H Pylori... over 50% of people have it but don't ever have symptoms.

I hope this helps

I dont typically post on these things at all.. but find the lump in my throat comes and goes.. haven't had it in quite awhile and when I dont eatgreat... it comes back.. so I believe mine is an acid thing, but I also have anxiety.. and that can be the cause sometimes too...
Don't WORRY because that will make you have more symptoms and you will think something is truely wrong... trust me been there.

I was tested for H Pylori and was postive... maybe that will help ??

If you want your mind put a lil at ease blood work will put you at ease for cancers... most of the time.. but I am not a Doctor.. just someone who has suffered with anxiety and GERD.

I have the same problem and am told by my gastrologist that it is due to the valve between your stomach and throat being too relaxed as you age. This causes stomach digestive fluids to back up on your throat & causing scarring , lumps and sore throat. There is a new procedure called the LINX procedure.
http://www.hoag.org/Services/HoagUSCSurgicalCenter/Pages/LINX-Reflux-Relief-at-Hoag.aspx?gclid=CIryz732zbUCFQLhQgod63MAxA

Caution, care and research need to be done before one does this procedure as it is relatively new with not many records.

nope, your not alone. I also have GERD and let me tell you when i have eposides they are so bad that i cant even go into work. I have tried nexium and donnatal and neither of them worked for me. My DR gave me prevacid 30mg and they work like a charm, i tend to get relief within 2-3 hours of taking it. your should switch over to prevaicd, if your in the states i believe you can get prevacid 24 which is a half dose. good luck i hope this helped.

I know exactly how you all feel. In January I was rushed to the emergency room for pain in my chest and back (I thought I was having a heart-attack). I am 37 years old and have had no surgeries. After the ER I was sent to a GI who put me on protonix. While on the protonix the feeling of something in my throat grew worse. The protonix was actually swelling my tongue. I then had an upper endoscopy which found nothing. I then went to my endocronologist who did a thyroid ultrasound and found nothing. I then went an had an abdominal ultrasound in which they did find a 2 cm gall stone. Is the stone causing my problem, I don't know? I then went to an ENT who gave me some medication for thrush on my tongue. Barium swallow has been done as well with nothing showing as wrong. The GI now recommends I see a surgeon for a consult to see if my gallbladder should come out. I burp all the time and still have a feeling of something stuck in my throat. I feel like going to doctors is a part-time job. I am a librarian in NJ and run my own location so this has been such a damper to my state of mind. I wish everyone luck and appreciate any feedback.