Silent Reflux-A Personal Story

Bobs1wife

A couple of months ago I went to my ENT doctor to see what I could do about my constant sinus problems. Upon telling him the symptoms and then doing a through the nose scope right in the office, he said "You have acid reflux." I said "No, I don't". Never had any heartburn, burping up of food, or nasty taste. But he was insistent that was what I had. Shortly before I went in I had some throat swelling and a bit of trouble swallowing. One time!

Just to err on the side of cautiouness, I made an appt with my GI and since it had been 10 years since the "dreaded colonoscopy" he hit me up for that, and I agreed to make an appt for the upper and lower scopes. Well, surprise! I had grade B esophagitis, a stricture that needed stretching, got biopsies, and thankfully they came back as being fine. And no Barrett's found. I am now on daily meds and hopefully everything will heal up just fine and be back to normal in the next few months.

I still have trouble believing I have reflux that had caused inflamation and stricture, but then I guess that is why it is called "silent". The good news is that through awareness, I knew to get checked out. I would agree that upper endoscopy should be as routine as mammograms, and colonoscopies. Those with silent reflux would at least know they had it and treat it before it becomes Barrett's Esophagus or cancer. Silent reflux, and I had never even heard of it! Linda

rose20

I could have written this myself...
Wow, Linda, I could have written this myself. In 2009 I too was sent to an ENT. I had a funny feeling on the left side of my throat like a choking feeling. My regular doctor looked down my throat and said all looked well but sent me to the ENT. There they did the scope through the nose down into my throat and he said it was red on that side of my throat and it was acid reflux. I too said the same as you, "I do not believe that, I do not have heartburn or trouble eating," so I left not accepting that diagnosis because at the time my brother was suffering with GERD and I had none of his symptoms, but now we find out my brother has stage 4 esophageal cancer. I also was sent to a GI who did a colonoscopy on me but no endoscopy. I have no idea why that was not done at the same time. I even told him of my brother having cancer. Makes me wonder if I too should insist on an endoscopy. They first told my brother it was acid reflux and then later changed it to Gerd and now esophageal cancer. Your post is good advice for us all.

Tina Blondek

Thank You
Hello Bobs1wife
Thank you so much for sharing. You are correct, being aware of the facts is so important. Glad to hear you were on top of all of this! If left unchecked, you too would be suffering from EC in the years to come! Hope Bob is doing well. Keep in touch!
Tina in Va

sandy1943

Hi, I had " silent reflux" I
Hi, I had " silent reflux" I did have indigestion sometimes. I could eat anything I wanted, was never up at night, so I didn't realize I had bad reflux. I had a severe hurting in my chest and back a couple of times and was checked out for my heart, which was ok.I found out later this hurting was acid reflux. None of my symptoms were a reason for concern, even though I mentioned it to my dr. It was after my food stuck, that he sent me to a specialist. Besides,acid reflux and barretts It had turned into stage 111 cancer.
I wish dr's would take any kind of chest discomfort seriously enough to have a scope done. I belive this would save a lot of lives. I was one of the lucky ones.
Glad you knew enough to be checked out, Sandra

GerryS

I agree............
I couldn't agree with you more, I was lucky to catch mine early, Endoscopy should be routine. Take care Linda,

Gerry