Question: Hello. I am a 34 year old female. Last September, I started having to clear my voice quite a bit to talk. I saw my doctor and he advised me to drink more fluids. I used to teach English, so my voice was worked quite a bit. By December, I had developed a cough. It was more of a dry, hacking cough. I would cough when I talked and even coughed when I laughed. I began to notice I was starting to have difficulty swallowing as well. I saw my doctor again, and he gave me an antihistamine to take. He said that it was probably a reaction since I am highly allergic to dust. In January, I went back again because the antihistamine didn't seem to be working. I was having more difficulty swallowing food and fluids. I actually had two instances in which I felt like I was
choking on my food. He then put me on a mix of Roxithromycine, Miflonil/
Budesonide (inhaler) and
Omeprazole (20mg 1x daily). I was also given an injection of
Kenacort. I was given a full blood panel in which he said my results were good. I also had a chest x-ray, which was completely clear and normal. The coughing I have now is mainly when I eat (worse with things like bread and pasta) and since I clear my throat so much, it feels dry and raw. I also have the sensation that I am swallowing a small pebble or something every time I swallow...even just saliva. The next step is an
Endoscopy, which I might have this week. I fear there is something really wrong with my
esophagus. I tried to look up similar symptoms online and I get some terrifying results. I fear it's something bad, like Barrett's. I haven't had any stomach issues (only back in 2011 when I went to the doctor for stomach pain and
vomiting - everything came back normal), but nothing like that since then. Which is why I didn't think it was GERD. I feel like I can't eat or talk properly, and since swallowing is something your body has to do, it's constantly on my mind and I am stressed out and losing sleep over it. Is there any chance this could just be something minor? Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.