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[Kelly]

I have  been suffering since March with a sore red throat, rough itchy tongue and roof of mouth. It's been so bad I have taken time off from work, don't socialise and generally feel miserable all the time . I have seen an ENT consultant and oral surgeon who both said my throat was fine. The ENT even said stop thinking of your throat ! Easier said than done when its on fire!  I have had countless antibiotics and thrush treatment but on one visit mentioned i had been having heartburn trouble as well and now I am having an endoscopy on Tuesday.  My female doctor said no way could this be related to the menopause but is she wrong ?  Is anyone out there having similar trouble . I am miserable and my life has stopped ! Now thinking of cancelling holidays! My bad throat just never goes away! I want my life back! I am 54 and although I had a few bouts of cystitis  at the beginning of the menopause 3years ago I thought that was it .!

[honeybun]

Heartburn is a horrid thing. I was diagnosed with nervous dyspepsia years before meno. Have you tried any over the counter meds to see if they help although you may need something stronger.
Gaviscon liquid or Zantac could be a starting point.

Look at your diet as there are trigger foods.
When I have a flare up I go back to my "white" diet.

Fish, chicken,rice,pasta,potatoes. And so on it goes. Bland, bland bland.

Digestive problems are common in meno.
You have nothing to loose by adjusting your diet and taking Zantac.

Eventually I went down the alternative route but that takes a long while.


Honeyb
x

[Mrs January]

Hey Kelly

I too have the  sore throat feeling...I have a drink with me all the time, and some boiled sweets that I suck if to hurts too much...didn't know it could be due to Peri but guess anything is possible. My job involves me taking at length to children and young people and sometimes I have to pause for an extra drink

Take care

Mrs January

[Kelly]

 Thanks for your replies hopefully the endoscophy will help me .Taking gaviscon but red raw throat all the time is driving me crazy and I don't want to go anywhere or do anything.  Not interested in eating much at all honeybun.  Just very low and miserable at the moment . I have emailed Dr Currie for help .
Mrs January that sounds like a condition teachers are prone.

[Annika]

So sorry to hear what you having to deal with Kelly especially when you would think the doctors would know    Has anyone mentioned allergies to any type of food or drink?  Usually its tomatoes for me...silly cause i love them but even spaghetti sauce starts my tongue burning painfully. i never had anything like this until i was approaching my late forties and heading towards meno. Anyway good luck and i do hope you can get it sorted soon. xx

[honeybun]

You would obviously have to have it diagnosed but it sounds like GERD to me.
I don't usually suggest googling anything but if you look at the NHS website it gives good information.
It can be treated but you really need a diagnosis and treatment.

It's diet related but needs medication to get things sorted out.

After years of medication I decided to go down the natural route but GERD needs medical intervention before any damage is done.


Honeyb
x

[Kelly]

Hopefully the endoscopy will confirm it and I can get treatment.  A lot of web sites relate Gerd to the menopause. I certainly never had anything like this until my fifties. Why are we never warned about any of these things?
There is no menopause nurse at my surgery and its often difficult to see a female doctor . Thanks Honey bun .would welcome any advice on the natural route .xx

[honeybun]

I think you need to get a proper diagnosis first before trying natural stuff. I had an endoscopy and a barium swallow and spent a good few years on PPIs before I eventually went the alternative route.
If it is GERD then you need meds to get things to heal properly.

I did have these problems long before meno and now I struggle occasionally but manage to maintain things normally.


Honeyb
x

[Kelly]

Thanks sparkle i can really relate to your symptoms but I thought I had got through the menopause because I hadn't had a period for three years. Do you get funny sensations on your tongue and the roof of your mouth? They drive me mad too. The docs think its just a sore throat don't they.  they don't realise that you don't want to go anywhere or do anything when you have it day after day. One even asked me if thing were okay at home! well they would be if I didn't have a sore throat all the time!   Bit concerned that you are not sorted out after eighteen months. That frightens me! Are you functiong okay,socialising and working with the symptoms or not? I hope you are managing to have a life as I know what a nightmare it is. Let us know how you get on at the Ent.appointment.
I have asked for the sedation so hopefully kill get it as I am not looking forward to it at all !!

[CLKD]

My tongue scratches the roof of my mouth continually due to allergic rhinitis which can begin at any age.  Beconase nasal spray helps.  As do new anti-allergy pillows which have cleared symptoms at night almost completely. 

Acid reflux is definitely meno-related.  As oestrogen levels drop so does muscle tone which can affect the oesophagus ….. and hiatus hernias are 'common' in ladies of a 'certain' age.  So antacids will ease symptoms.

I can no longer eat jam! probably due to the pectin in the product.  My mouth, behind my teeth etc. burns immediately.

Let us know how you get on!

[honeybun]

It is more prevalent in meno but I had acid reflux and my investigations done long before meno.
I suffered dreadfully with heartburn in my last two pregnancies and I think damage was done then.
The GPs that I saw were very happy to give me prescriptions for increasingly strong medication. I insisted that I had tests and went privately for an endoscopy and biopsy. All was clear, no hiatus hernia and no ulcers and no GERD. More pills were given and I became more and more dependent.
I eventually got a referral to another private consultant. He told me I was in a vicious circle. The more pills I took the more I needed and the more side effects I would have. The side effects were heartburn and the runs 

At that point after about ten years I had had enough. I went to an alternative practitioner and he helped me get off the pills that were blighting my life. It took a long while and a few miserable months before I got better. The bowel damage had been done and I then had IBS. Again I treated it with natural medicine.
I now generally manage things very well. I have flare ups and sometimes need a couple of days of prescription meds but I am soon back on the alternatives.
I wish I had known what could happen as I took my PPIs. I would not have started them at all.

It is important to get a proper diagnosis and then make a decision from there.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

I find that if I eat late at night then try to sleep  heartburn strikes  which necessitates antacids.

[Js]

Hi ladies I kept getting  indigestion and discomfort under ribs  so Was sent sent for an endoscopy (I also had sedation) and found I had a hiatus hernia which I control by taking gaviscon only when I need to and don't have anything to eat 2 hours before bedtime and find it helps I got a sore throat and thought I was getting a cold after a few days it just went I put it down to the acid in stomach hence the acid reflux which is very strong and comes up from the asophogus and can feel like its. Ironing your throat  doctors was going to prescribe ranitidine but I didn't fancy taking it every day so I watch what I eat .whether it's anything to do with meno may be I never suffered with indigestion before

Js

[Kelly]

Hi ladies well everyone was right and the endoscopy was okay with the sedation. I have a small hiatus hernia and patchy oesophagus but as specialist nurses do the test nowadays there was no. Doctor to speak to afterwards.  I have to go to my surgery tomorrow. They wouldn't prebook me an appointment so its back to the eight in the morning ringing trying to get through again!  I consulted Dr Heather and she seems to think that low oestrogen levels can very likely cause acid reflux. I am back at Ent in a couple of weeks and I am going to write all my questions down.
Don't worry Sparkle you haven't Worried me. At the time I got the reflux I didn't have any problems at all but in the run up to Xmas I was very stressed over something and wonder if it brought it all on.
Honeybun sounds like you have had a really bad time over the years .

 This site is a lifeline .xx

[Linsey44]

Thats good Kelly you have been reassured by your endoscopy.  These things are never pleasant.