Acid reflux...what does it feel like?

[Tracyfish]

Reason I'm asking...

For the past few days I've felt like I have a pill stuck in my throat...not like a sore throat, but lower like the adam's apple area. It kinda burns, especially when I eat hot (temperature-wise) food or drinks.

I've never had acid reflux (or heartburn for that matter) before and I'm not sure if this is what it feels like.

Today I bought some Zantac and took two doses, but it didn't really do anything. Is that type of medicine something you have to take a while to work or what?

I'm about to the point of going to the walk-in clinic tomorrow so maybe I can get some relief before Christmas.

[carriesmom]

I had reflux when I pregnant with my oldest. It was pretty painful. It feels like acid burning my throat. And that what it is. I would usually feel it right in the center of my chest or around my adam's apple. It wasn't necessarily the pill stuck sensation but it was burning for sure. Sounds like that might be what you have.

I usually take Tagamet or Gaviscon. I don't know much about Zantac.

[AmberK]

I had horrible acid reflux before I got my lapband out- I would wake up from a deep sleep from acid coming out of my throat and would make me choke/cough. It burned too.

But I've had that pill stuck in the throat feeling and usually its mucous that is stuck and I have to take mucinex to get it to start breaking up.

[Lyd]

Tracy - I had that feeling of food being stuck in my throat and it never went away. It turned out that I have a hiatal hernia that was causing some serious reflux. In my case, it was "silent" reflux. I didn't actually feel any burning sensation or heartburn. But, I had an upper endoscopy and my esophagus was inflamed and irritated. I took Rx reflux meds, and the lump in my throat eventually went away. I learned after some time what activities aggravated the hernia and resulted in the reflux. In my case, it was singing - lots and lots of singing.

ANYWAY, I would have it checked just in case you've had some long-term reflux going on that you didn't know about. Cause if your esophagus goes through enough of that, you risk cancer and other nasty stuff. As far as taking Zantac . . . if you've irritated your throat enough to feel the lump, it probably takes several days of medication before that sensation will go away.

Hope you feel better soon.

[MamaBee]

My mom gets that same feeling when she has Acid Reflux... I think acid reflux feelings can different from person to person... I've had it pretty bad when I was prego and still have it off and on if I eat and then lie down... I'll wake up with it... I've had it feel like acid is coming up my throat, heart feels like it's fluttering, and the pressure of something stuck in my chest.

As for Zantac... it can take up to 24 hours to work. I use Gaviscon... same as Liz... my dad would use that for years (before they found out about the hernia that Lydia mentioned - back in day they would go in with a tube and stretch it out... now they know better... ) Gaviscon is awesome... takes care it right away... at least for me... way faster than tums...

Hope you feel better!

[Tracyfish]

Thanks girls. After a pretty rough night of night being able to sleep because it was so bad, I'm going to have it checked this morning. I just don't want to chance it getting any worse on Christmas.

[LJSDesigns]

Hope it all goes well Tracy. I had acid reflux pretty bad and ironically enough, it was through the tests for it that my doctor discovered the lump in my neck which lead to my cancer diagnosis. Moral of the story, when you don't feel well for a long period of time, do what you are doing, get it checked out.

[pbrooks]

Originally Posted by AmberK

I would wake up from a deep sleep from acid coming out of my throat and would make me choke/cough. It burned too.

I can identify with that; sometimes it happens when I when I just lie/lay down. When I lose weight, it is not as bad.

[AmberK]

What did they say Tracy?

Originally Posted by Tracyfish

Thanks girls. After a pretty rough night of night being able to sleep because it was so bad, I'm going to have it checked this morning. I just don't want to chance it getting any worse on Christmas.

[Tracyfish]

Well being just a walk in clinic they said my throat looked irritated and gave me antibiotic. I've taken two doses now and actually it feels better. I was able to eat lunch today without any pain...yay! I've also been drinking Mylanta. If I still have any symptoms after the 10 days of antibiotic then I'm going to go to an ENT. For now I'm hoping its just an infection that will clear up.

[LJSDesigns]

Hope so too Tracy! With acid reflux there are a lot of good daily OTC meds you can take to keep it in control, after you get a proper diagnosis of course.