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Felt Lump In Throat, Feeling Nausea And Abdominal Pain. Diagnosed With Gastritis. Any Treatment?
Question: Hi,
For the past few days I have what feels like a lump in my throat. When I eat I get a pain in my throat that travels down to my stomach. This is a sharp gnawing pain. I have also had episodes of extreme nausea, vomitting and upper abdominal pain (above my naval). I have seen my physician for this and also visited the er the first time it happened. They did an xray and bloodwork and came back with a diagnosis of gastritis. I have suffered from gerd for most of my life and was also told it could be that as well. I am concerned because it is hard for me to eat because it feels like food is getting stuck in my throat and is causing pain. My dr has ordered an ultrasound of my stomach but it will be a month before I am able to get an appt. Help! Thank you
For the past few days I have what feels like a lump in my throat. When I eat I get a pain in my throat that travels down to my stomach. This is a sharp gnawing pain. I have also had episodes of extreme nausea, vomitting and upper abdominal pain (above my naval). I have seen my physician for this and also visited the er the first time it happened. They did an xray and bloodwork and came back with a diagnosis of gastritis. I have suffered from gerd for most of my life and was also told it could be that as well. I am concerned because it is hard for me to eat because it feels like food is getting stuck in my throat and is causing pain. My dr has ordered an ultrasound of my stomach but it will be a month before I am able to get an appt. Help! Thank you
Hello!
Thank you for the query.
All your symptoms might be caused by acid reflux. Even throat when long enough irritated with the acid, gets swelled and can give such lump feeling. It is also possible that your GERD triggers anxiety, and gives throat spasm.
Instead of abdominal ultrasound, upper GI endoscopy seems more advisable. You need to know, that many GERD-like symptoms have some reason. The most common is severe stomach mucosa inflammation due to Helicobacter Pylori infection. Such infection in many cases leads to peptic ulcer (it can be the reason of the pain) and in some cases leads to stomach cancer.
That is why it is necessary to have upper GI endoscopy in every GERD like symptoms cases. This test will rule out peptic ulcer and cancer, and will also tell if there is Helicobacter Pylori infection. This infection should be treated with antibiotics. It is possible that after this bacteria eradication all your symptoms including anxiety and IBS will go away.
So in conclusion, you should get scheduled for upper GI endoscopy. In a meantime you should use anti-inflammatory tablets for throat irritation and make your diet more soft.
It is advisable to avoid coffee, soft drinks, fatty foods. Increase mineral water intake. You should have your last meal two hours before sleeping. Your head should be put little bit higher when sleeping.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Thank you for the query.
All your symptoms might be caused by acid reflux. Even throat when long enough irritated with the acid, gets swelled and can give such lump feeling. It is also possible that your GERD triggers anxiety, and gives throat spasm.
Instead of abdominal ultrasound, upper GI endoscopy seems more advisable. You need to know, that many GERD-like symptoms have some reason. The most common is severe stomach mucosa inflammation due to Helicobacter Pylori infection. Such infection in many cases leads to peptic ulcer (it can be the reason of the pain) and in some cases leads to stomach cancer.
That is why it is necessary to have upper GI endoscopy in every GERD like symptoms cases. This test will rule out peptic ulcer and cancer, and will also tell if there is Helicobacter Pylori infection. This infection should be treated with antibiotics. It is possible that after this bacteria eradication all your symptoms including anxiety and IBS will go away.
So in conclusion, you should get scheduled for upper GI endoscopy. In a meantime you should use anti-inflammatory tablets for throat irritation and make your diet more soft.
It is advisable to avoid coffee, soft drinks, fatty foods. Increase mineral water intake. You should have your last meal two hours before sleeping. Your head should be put little bit higher when sleeping.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your quick response. I recently had a breath test to test for Helicobacter Pylori infection and the results were negative. I will talk to my doctor about having a GI endoscopy instead of an ultrasound if the ultrasound will not show anything. Also, how possible is it that these symptoms could be related to gerd? I have had it for as long as I can remember and never had these types of symptoms before. Thank you!Is there any otc medicine I can take in the meantime that will help with my symptoms?
Hello!
It is very good you have had this Helicobacter Pylori test however it does not rule out peptic ulcer or severe stomach inflammation. There is also possible that this symptoms are due to hiatus hernia. Upper GI endoscopy seems unavoidable in your case.
Your symptoms do sound like stomach related. Especially if the pain appears after an hour or two of a meal. Of course it can be something else like partial bowels obstruction (that is why abdominal X-ray were performed), gall stones, but if the blood work were fine, and you do not have bowels related symptoms (constipations, diarrheas, blood in stool, mucus in stool) GERD or peptic ulcer seems more probable.
To improve your symptoms you can take Omeprasole 40 mg once a day (in the morning before meal) or Pantoprasole 40 mg.
Hope this will help.
Regards.
It is very good you have had this Helicobacter Pylori test however it does not rule out peptic ulcer or severe stomach inflammation. There is also possible that this symptoms are due to hiatus hernia. Upper GI endoscopy seems unavoidable in your case.
Your symptoms do sound like stomach related. Especially if the pain appears after an hour or two of a meal. Of course it can be something else like partial bowels obstruction (that is why abdominal X-ray were performed), gall stones, but if the blood work were fine, and you do not have bowels related symptoms (constipations, diarrheas, blood in stool, mucus in stool) GERD or peptic ulcer seems more probable.
To improve your symptoms you can take Omeprasole 40 mg once a day (in the morning before meal) or Pantoprasole 40 mg.
Hope this will help.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you very much. I did forget to mention that I have been taking prilosec otc for the past 6 months. I am sorry this is coming through as 3 different questions. In regards to my last response about being on 20mg of Prilosec once a day, do you think it would help to take 40 mg instead?
Hello!
Yes, Prilosec 20 mg might be not sufficient dosage. Especially if you do not feel any relief when using it. You can try Prilosec 40 mg once a day for 30 days and see if it makes any difference.
And remember also about not having coffee, soft drinks, fruit juices and fatty foods.
There is also a medicine that in some GERD cases is very helpful, when Omeprasole is not sufficient - Metoclopramidum (it also helps with nausea and vomiting). However it is probably on prescription only.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
Yes, Prilosec 20 mg might be not sufficient dosage. Especially if you do not feel any relief when using it. You can try Prilosec 40 mg once a day for 30 days and see if it makes any difference.
And remember also about not having coffee, soft drinks, fruit juices and fatty foods.
There is also a medicine that in some GERD cases is very helpful, when Omeprasole is not sufficient - Metoclopramidum (it also helps with nausea and vomiting). However it is probably on prescription only.
Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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