Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsD
I have a couple of suggestions for you:
Do you use menthol mints, gum or peppermint tea regularly/daily?
If so stop all menthol containing products for at least a month, and see if anything changes. Some people are very intolerant of menthol (peppermint).
Also avoid acidic things for a while too... citrus drinks, fruit, vinegar etc. Sodas contain both citric acid and phosphoric acid, and these may be irritating a nerve in your throat.
Doing an elimination diet like this may reveal your problem.
If you have an irritated nerve, it may be due to a past viral infection. Try some lysine supplements for a couple of weeks and see if that helps. These are inexpensive and have no side effects.
You might want to get a B12 test run to see if you are low. Nerves cannot repair themselves if this nutrient is in short supply.
Have you tried a cold pack on your throat before you eat or drink liquids? Cold would numb a nerve and if it does help it
points to a nerve problem.
If you are taking statins for cholesterol, you might consider discussing with your doctor, getting off of them. They cause nerve damage in some people.
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Hello MrsD and thank you for your repsonse (with more thoughts than any doctor has given me
) Let me resond to them one by one
Gum, mints, tea - no, I don't take any of these, neither do I smoke, drink coffee or soda, never! (okay, maybe one soda a year). An occassional cough drop that probably has menthol, but that's only one every week or two or three.
Citric acids and elimination diets - I've been on the elimination diet (or some variation of) twice in my life - first time was about 5-6 years ago trying to figure out what was causing my vertigo and the second time was earlier this year under the direction of a chiropractor trying to figure out my above two problems. This lastest try was extremely restrictive and I stuck it out for about 8-10 weeks, no grains of any kind, no carbs, no nightshades, no sugars except what occurs naturally in fruits and veggies, no deserts. After 6 weeks my intestines got very messed up to say the least, I stuck it out another couple of weeks and then gradually started eating normal again. There was no change at all in my swallowing or esophogeal issues, unfortunately.
At this point even my normal diet is very restictive. No gluten, none to very little dairy, extremely low sodium (less than 1000 mgs a day), high on the fruits and veggies, never ever eat in a restaurant or food others have prepared, as little processed food as possible. At this point I suppose I could give up acidic things (orange juice and my daily apple or orange) but I wonder if that would really make a difference. There is so little I can eat, I hate to have to give up one of the few things I do have. If I knew that was my problem I would stop in a heartbeat, but I don't know if that will do the trick or not.
Irritated nerve - this is a possibility I have thought of but no doctor has ever mentioned it. Many times in my mind the idea that something has been going on with my vagus nerve has occurred to me, but exactly what I don't know (scared it is a tumor of some sort). I don't get a lot of colds or other viruses, probably less than one a year. It has occured to me that a virus may have caused this as last year I had a strange cold last summer and than another run of the mill cold in November and my issues seem to have started after these. Again, no doctor ever thought of this. I'll definitely look into lysine.
B12 is normal as is vitamin D. I asked my doctor to check my magnesium and depending on what chart you are looking at or what type of doctor you are talking with my came out in the very low/normal range. I have since added a daily mag supplement and it is now in the normal range according to all charts but no change in symptoms.
No statins for cholesterol. The only meds I take are are small dose of HCTZ (this is because of one doctor assuming my vertigo is from Meniere's, whether or not it really is anyone's best guess but the HCTZ seems to have helped and I'm not willing to risk a vertigo attack by going off it) and a potassium supplement. As needed I take meclizine, promethazine and valium for my vertigo/balance. I don't take much of any of these.
I wish I had a name for the esophageal problem. It's hard to google it when I don't even have a name for it it and not one medical person I have talked with has ever even heard of this. The only clue I have from all of my tests is the doctor telling me I have deep tendon hyperreflexia, I asked him to explain this to me and he said when he hits whatever with his little mallet the reflex continues to jerk after it should have stopped This feels like what happens in my throat. There is a minor spasm in my throat which may or may not be normal to start with but instead of it stopping it continues longer than it should and that is the reverberating feeling that I get in my throat (yes, odd as it sounds going up to my ears) that makes me feel like I will gag) This is so hard to explain!!!!
Is there a drug to help with hyperreflexia?
I feel so stuck and am afraid I will never be well again and will never be able to lead a normal life where I can go out and enjoy doing things like I used to. This is affecting every area of my life and I feel so sad and scared and alone.