What was it last year? /actuary
this has turned into exactly what it was last year and the year before and for like close to 20 years now. it’s what i refer to as “reflux”, but i think that’s a catch all term for the gastroenterologist had no idea what it is. now i have pain in my front too. i have dexilant and famotidine for it, both of which do pretty much nothing, and usually i have to just ride this out until it gets better.
at least i think that’s what it is. i haven’t seen a doctor this time around about it and it does seem to include my back more than it used to. the itching stopped. that might have been unrelated.
some of the pills i’ve been taking expired though, so maybe i should see the gastroenterologist. and also to make super sure this time it isn’t cancer. it’s really bad.
the time he did an endoscopy for this a few years ago and i was put unconscious, i was asleep with my eye resting on my arm. that really fucked up my eye for days and i’m afraid to get another endoscopy due to that. they didn’t pay attention at all to where i was resting my head. my eye hurt to close it. that made it really hard to sleep. flushing it out with water helped some, but that was torturous. an endoscopy shouldn’t result in blindness, but it almost did for me.
I’ve had bad after effects of endoscopes, too, although not that bad. You should see a gastroenterologist, and you probably do need an endoscopy, but you should discuss your concerns pretty explicitly with your care team.
You might do better with a weaker sedation, for instance, that would let you protect your eyes.
Uncontrolled reflux can lead to esophageal cancer, which is pretty nasty. Best to engage with the doctors.
(I am dreading my upcoming endoscopy, by the way.)
Hugs ao_fan. Agree that you should get it re-checked out and express your concerns about your eyes.
I also have periodic reflux. Since you have seen a GI guy in the past, I imagine you are aware there can be longer term issues with severe reflux. Specifically, it can cause you to get Barrett’s esophagus which is a precursor to esophageal cancer. It’s important you be monitored for this if indeed it is reflux rather than some other issue.
Doc also changed me from famotidine to prilosec which has helped my symptoms. YMMV.
Generally it seems to be a Tinnitus, I have occasionally in the past get a short high pitch dizzying sound, of very short duration.
This is different, It sounds like a large vehicle is idling outside my window. I feel fine and it gets drowned out by other noises, so I seem to hear fine (other than some age related issues I should get checked). Started a at home Ear Wax treatment if that is the problem.
Have flown recently and felt severe pressure going up as well as down, Always terrible pain coming down.
Thoughts?
In particular, there are two common types of sedation used in endoscopies, Propofol or a cocktail of Fentanyl and Versed. Most people prefer propofol, as you recover enough to go home faster, and many people feel good after getting it. Whereas most people feel loopy for most of a day after versed. Propofol also pretty much guarantees you won’t remember the procedure, and some people do remember it with versed. So propofol is becoming more popular. But the sedation induced by propofol is much deeper. Propofol requires an anesthesiologist to administer and to monitor the patient. And people under propofol aren’t aware enough to do things like protect their breathing or eyes. Versed is what used to be called twilight anesthesia, and you are never really unconscious. It doesn’t require a fully trained anesthesiologist because you will do things like clear your airway if your tongue accidentally blocks it or something. And i bet you will also avoid letting your eye dry out, especially as you are aware of the issue.
I am still having occasional discomfort in my lower left abdomen/side, but no other symptoms have returned. The GP, gastroenterologist, and cardiologist all gave me a clean bill of health.
Eustachian tube? IANAD.
I was flying one time with a stuffy nose. On descent, I felt a distinct pop and wicked pain in my right ear, so I sympathize with you.
Man, I had a wicked ear wax issue one time. After a couple days of drops to loosen everything up, finally just shooting warm water in it with one of those ear syringe things did the trick. The quantity of ear wax was astonishing. Weeks of discomfort and hearing loss gone in the span of an hour.
But that was after the PA at Urgent Care made it so much worse. She used some super high pressure something that just pushed everything deeper in the most excruciating way. (I actually considered that it might have been malpractice, but didn’t pursue.)
It was some drops recommended by a pharmacist for several days after that which loosened stuff up and then gentle pressure with the syringe that finally did it.
Source of the issue was after a water leak I was sleeping with ear plugs for a while since industrial fans and dehumidifiers were running 24/7 and causing a ton of noise. And sleeping on your side with an ear plug in the ear that your head is resting on is NOT a good idea, it turns out.
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Did anyone ever suggest candling?
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It might not be reflux. I’m not sure what it is. Ya I guess I should go back to the gastroenterologist. I’m also wondering it the extreme fatigue I experienced for over a month in September is related to this. I didn’t have pain then though so maybe not. Although when this pain started I was also fatigued but I think that went away. Although kinda tired right now.
I’m on dexilant and famotidine. I had used prilosec years ago and it didn’t really work. In fact nothing really works fast on this. I’m not sure the dexilant does anything either or if I just got better randomly.
Yes, but I was scared to try that. I’ve witnessed a person’s hair catching fire up close & personal and I never want to be anywhere near that ever again.
Seems like a great idea if you can execute perfectly, but I am a klutz and it just seemed like the cost/benefit wasn’t there.
They say reflux goes into your throat. This pain never goes into my throat. It’s like the end of my ribs in the front and this time it started in my back which scared me and I didn’t initially recognize it as the same thing until it moved to the front.
Gallstones?
Yeah, that does sound like gallstones, though I’m far from an expert on the topic.
I had this done a number of years ago. For me, it was just a huge syringe filled with nice warm water. I held the equivalent of a bucket up to my ear and she just shot it in. When the earwax released itself and exited the ear it was the most satisfying feeling ever…well, maybe not ever but for that day for sure.
I can imagine that if your PA just impacted the wax instead of freeing it that it could be quite excruciating. After all, that’s why doctors & such warn against using something such as a q-tip because it has a good chance of just jamming it all in there.
Yeah, when I finally got the wax out myself using essentially the same technique with significantly less pressure it was very satisfying.
Both knowing that I was getting it out, and the release of the pressure. It wasn’t all at once like it sounds like you experienced… it took a while. But man, I knew the second I’d gotten it all. No doubt about it.
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Same. Somewhat of a shocking sensation, definitely a little uncomfortable, but a big relief
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Prilosec works well, but it doesn’t work fast. I have Barrett’s esophagus, which was preceded by a lot of untreated heart burn from acid reflux. When i went in Prilosec nothing happened. And then two days later i woke up to the sensation of “not pain”. I’d been in pain so long that lack of pain felt like it’s own thing.
My heart burn didn’t really get into my throat, though, it stayed down low. But it always felt like it was at the base of the esophagus, it never moved around. So what you are describing sounds different. That being said, acid reflux is easy to see during an endoscopy. If they said you had it, you did. Having acid reflux doesn’t mean you don’t have gall stones, or whatever, though. You might have had minor acid reflux and some other issue that’s what’s causing the pain now.