Help! My teen with reflux suddenly can't swallow!!!

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amother

cornflower

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:04 pm

She has been having stomach issues...burping, constipation, nausea, pain. Then all of a sudden a couple of nights ago she started having trouble swallowing!!! It is mainly happening at night. We tried starting her on liquid antacid, elevating her head when she's lying down...she has been getting horrible sleep...her anxiety over this is thru the roof which definitely only makes things worse...
What is going on and how do I help her????

ra_mom

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:06 pm

She needs to see a gastroenterologist STAT. Arrange an emergency appointment first thing in the morning.

amother

Crimson

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:07 pm

Speak to the doctor who is managing her reflux. If this isn't being medically managed, that would be the first place to start, pronto. I hope you received an accurate diagnosis.

amother

Blush

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:09 pm

ra_mom wrote:

She needs to see a gastroenterologist STAT. Arrange an emergency appointment first thing in the morning.

Echoing this - difficulty swallowing is a symptom that needs to be taking care of promptly.

gold21

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:10 pm

The acid likely caused some sort of irritation or inflammation in her throat.

This is actually quite common in people dealing with GERD/LPR.

The difficulty in swallowing is called "Dysphagia".

Not fun at all.

What meds does she take to limit the acid backflow?

nyc123

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:10 pm

She needs to go to the doctor. This is not the type of situation that you want random people giving you medical advice or solutions. She should be examined ASAP.

ETA: wow I guess we all responded at the same time with the same advice! I guess the message is clear.

gold21

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:13 pm

Sleeping near a humidifier or near an open window on a cold night can help reduce inflammation by the way. This is one of the best "natural" solutions out there, more effective than elevating her head at night. Definitely do that tonight.

Also, when you say difficulty swallowing, what do u mean exactly? Does this include difficulty swallowing liquids?

amother

Brunette

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:26 pm

Take her to a gastro asap. If she feels like food/ liquid is getting stuck they should check her out for eosinophilic esophagitis

oakandfig19

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:30 pm

I have horrible reflux, and sometimes I feel like there’s just no room in my throat for food and it takes longer to go down, bH I can actually swallow though. She should see a gastroenterologist for medication. I don’t think you should worry a ton about it but she should get on a regimen ASAP. She should also sleep with a wedge pillow if she isn’t already.

gold21

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 10:32 pm

amother wrote:

Echoing this - difficulty swallowing is a symptom that needs to be taking care of promptly.

I experienced this symptom and basically just took reflux meds until my throat healed. I ate soups... Yogurt... Soft foods.... until the meds kicked in.

amother

Khaki

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 11:24 pm

I agree that she needs to be examined.

But I don't agree that she likely developed EoE out of the blue.

This could be a hiatel hernia. It could be the result of inflammation. It could be the result of a medication lodged in a fold. It could be the cause of many things.

EoE is not the first suspect, IMO.

amother

Babyblue

Tue, Mar 12 2019, 11:35 pm

DH has reflux that sometimes makes him lose his voice completely.

He got a wedge cushion for when he sleeps which helps immensely. However, in your DD's case it sounds like you may need more than that.

amother

cornflower

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 7:13 am

Thank you so much for all of the replies! She has an upcoming appointment with a pediatric GI but I was desperate for something to do to help her in the meantime, this is a new symptom she didn't have when we made the appointment many moons ago (the wait for the good pediatric GI in my area is long, unfortunately). I did take her to the pediatrician just so she could be seen when this started and also to rule out tonsillitis or strep and he was the one who suggested the liquid antacid.
I agree that EoE is unlikely, my DH had it related to very severe allergic reactions but my DD doesn't have allergies, b"H.
Do you ladies think she will need an endoscopy? Will the GI be able to help her without waiting for test results? I can't stand to see her suffering!!!
Can someone please send a link to a wedge pillow, I will buy her one pronto but I don't know what I'm looking for. Thank you!

anonymrs

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 11:05 am

If there are allergies in the family, EoE is certainly a possibility. Per the current recommendation (TIGERS protocol) for EoE testing, Prevacid or similar PPI medication should be taken 6-8 weeks before being scoped for EoE. So you might want to start her on that asap.

mha3484

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 11:10 am

If you go with the PPI's (nexium type meds) please make sure that whatever doctor you use regularly monitors her iron levels. The acid your stomach produces is what enables your body to absorb different nutrients. For a teenage girl with a period and one day who wants to have kids having a healthy level of iron is super important. I messed myself up big time taking too high a dose of these meds without being properly monitored. These meds can be really important you just want to counter the side effects in the best possible way.

anonymrs

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 11:26 am

I just want to add that eliminating some inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy can be very helpful. Speaking from personal experience.

amother

Goldenrod

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 11:28 am

ENTs are also trained to help with this. They will likely put scope with a camera (I forget what it's called) up the nose to see exactly how the larynx, throat, and muscles flaps around it are working. My child was treated for a similar issue, at a younger age, by an ENT, with just one visit to the GI to rule out other issues.

gold21

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 12:26 pm

amother wrote:

I'm not sure that I totally understand your question. Can a doc help her before seeing test results? The answer is yes, with medication. Which liquid antacid is she taking? And why is it liquid, is it because she can't swallow the pill version? How long has she been taking this medication, and has she seen any results yet?

Yes, an endoscopy is usually recommended. Personally, I have not had one... yet. Lol.

An H Pylori test breath test is usually done as well, as is commonly associated with bad reflux. It's just a breath test, you swallow some weird liquid and then breathe into a plastic bag and they analyze your breath or something. She may very well be negative for H Pylori, but it's definitely worth checking out.

I don't know anything about EoE so I can't provide any insight on that topic....

(I will add that for me, my symptoms worsen significantly when I'm stressed. Stress must cause overproduction of acid or something. Just mentioning.)

Also, it's really important that you keep her room humid at night, because acid backflow is so inflammatory and drying.

Well...good luck.

mha3484

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 12:35 pm

When I did a full work up for GERD among other things I did a barium swallow and an endoscopy. The barium was nasty and the endoscopy was very tolerable. It is 1000x better then a colonoscopy. I slept through the whole thing. There was no prep involved. They also look for celiac disease so it is pretty important that they do it.

One regret that I had was that we first started figuring out what my issues were exactly, they started with the lower stomach (colonoscopy) and a few weeks later they wanted to do an endoscopy. If I knew more I would have done it together so I did not need to be sedated twice.

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Mar 13 2019, 12:46 pm

amother wrote:

Can someone please send a link to a wedge pillow, I will buy her one pronto but I don't know what I'm looking for. Thank you!

This is what DH has, I don't know if it is the best but we are happy with it!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod.....psc=1

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