I’m 17 and I have suffered from severe laryngopharyngeal reflux for my whole life, the symptoms only becoming apparent at the age of 11 or so. Initially I had an extremely bad cough that teachers would report to my family, worried that I had asthma or croup. The cough was so bad it could be heard in other classes and caused me quite a lot of pain. From then on I was sent around to numerous different specialists trying to make a correct diagnosis of what this could be. Then at the age of about 14 or 15 I woke up one morning with bad chest pain that continued through the day and was eventually sent to the emergency ward because of the worry of not knowing what it was. All of these symptoms were put down to the reflux and I went undergo numerous day surgeries from the ages 13 - 16 to check my esophagus by my doctor, an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (ENT). He then referred me on to a gastroenterologist, because he felt he couldn’t do anything more to help me. The gastroenterologist made me aware of other symptoms I didn’t realize I had which were part of reflux; some being, constipation, constant bloating and reactions to specific foods.

Points to Remember:
There are two sphincter muscles located in the esophagus: The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and the upper esophageal sphincter (UES). When the lower esophageal sphincter is not functioning properly, there is a back flow of stomach acid into the esophagus. If this happens two or more times a week, it can be a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. As with the lower esophageal sphincter, if the upper esophageal sphincter doesn't function properly, acid that has back flowed into the esophagus is allowed into the throat and voice box. When this happens, it's called Laryngopharyngeal Reflux, or LPR.

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Related Resources:

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Good Foods, Bad Foods for Heartburn Sufferers