I was born in late 90s, but from what I've heard or seen online, smoking cigarettes was so popular and common back in the 70s or 80s, people smoked on the airplane, cinema, restaurant, even in hospital. Was it a cool thing to do?
Today is my 150 days smoke free. I am a 29M, I smoked for 12 years on and off, I quitted before for one year but sadly relapsed. Smoked again for 5 years and this time I must quit. No looking back. I quitted because I felt like cigarettes had affected my health slowly.
I regret not taking good care of myself before. I regret putting the first cigarette into my mouth before. I regret letting my parents and girlfriend down by smoking. I want to live a healthy life, I want to take care of my parents, I want to enjoy my life with my girlfriend. I want to control my life again.
It is not easy to kick a habit of 12 years, it was a hell of a journey. But starting to see I gain my health back slowly is 200% worth it. I want to thank everyone in this sub. Whenever I feel struggling, I open this sub and see so many people trying their best to quit, there is no excuse for me. Let’s keep our chin up Warriors! I will not smoke with you again!
It started back in March. I had a bad flu while I was still smoking heavily. I coughed violently for three weeks and developed a sensation of something stuck in my throat. Three weeks later, I went to the ENT, had a scope, and saw that my throat was inflamed. The ENT suspected I had acid coming up to my throat and allergies (you know the drill), but I had never experienced any heartburn in my life. He prescribed me three weeks of PPI. On the same day, I made changes to my diet and quit smoking. My sensation improved a bit during that time. The cough and throat clearing were gone, but the globus sensation still persisted. I wasn't sure if the PPI was working or the infection went away or if stopping smoking did the trick. I had no idea.
Anyway, I did tons of research online and thought I had LPR. Three weeks later, I had an upper endoscopy with my G.I. Nothing was wrong—no hiatal hernia, and the LES was tight and worked fine. Everything came back perfect. My GI told me to stop the PPI cold turkey. I did, and no acid rebound happened to me. My symptoms were still the same, but they seemed to be slowly improving—very slowly.
One month later, I still had globus. Two months, three months—I cut out all trigger foods for GERD and stuck to a very strict diet for more than four months, but the globus just wouldn't go away. I also developed an itchy throat for about a month (I think it was from quitting smoking). I was losing hope and ready to live with it for the rest of my life.
I was anxious, so my parents took me to a traditional Chinese Medicine hospital. I'm from Taiwan, but I didn't believe in Chinese medicine—I thought it was just some kind of spiritual thing. But at that time, I had nothing left to lose, so I thought, why not give it a try? I got the medicine (soup-like) and drank it after dinner. The next day, I woke up and immediately felt my symptoms improve by about 70%. On the same day, I went to the doc and he did acupuncture. I took the medicine for ten days and had five sessions of acupuncture. Now, my globus has gone away completely. Like, completely—it has never come back. I suffered from globus for four months, and the magic remedy was Chinese medicine and acupuncture. I can now eat whatever I want.
If your endoscopy results are normal but you still suffer from throat symptoms, give it a try. I'm sure it will surprise you.
I am interested to know what actually made you realized something is wrong and triggered your LPR to start? I saw a lot of ppl live a very healthy lifestyles, don't drink, don't smoke, eat clean and exercise but still have LPR, so I am curious.
Back in March, after a bad flu, I had a feeling of something stuck in my throat, but there was nothing there and some tickling in my larynx. I never had heartburn, acid reflux in my throat or mouth, sore throat, hoarseness, or a burning sensation in my throat.
I wonder why ENTs always like to tell patients that they have LPR or GERD when they are unable to find anything specific. My ENT told me I had reflux (LPR or GERD), and I was put on Dexilant 30 mg. I followed the reflux protocol strictly: I changed my diet, slept on an incline, gave up coffee and soda, and avoided eating for three hours before bed, etc. I later had an upper endoscopy with my G.I, and the results showed no damage to my esophagus, a well‑functioning LES, and no hiatal hernia. I didn’t cough or clear my throat either. So I really doubted my ENT’s diagnosis.
I have followed this sub for a long time. I see many people who have tried hundreds of PPIs with no relief, undergone thousands of tests that all came back normal, and made tons of lifestyle changes—yet nothing helps. Still, they are convinced they have LPR, just simply based on symptoms? Is that really enough to think they have LPR? I’m not saying LPR isn’t real, but shouldn’t you have actual tests (e.g., 24‑hour pH monitoring or upper endoscopy) that actually show signs of reflux?
I know globus sensation is difficult to deal with—I’m a sufferer myself. But while you make so many changes and take so many medications that don’t help, why don’t you seek other medical advice? There are many reasons that can cause globus sensation, such as anxiety, stress, dysautonomia, muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), post nasal drip etc.
I’ve also seen many people in this sub who suffered for years and then suddenly resolved their problem simply with Gabapentin. So I wonder: why don’t we give ourselves a chance to explore other options?
I have throat issues such as globus sensation, feeling mucus at the back of my throat especially after eating and talking but when I clear it nothing was there, mild tickle in throat and I was diagnosed GERD or LPR by an ENT.
In March, I had a really really bad flu and I coughed out a lot of yellow and green phlegm. I was on antibiotic and other prescription pills to treat this flu. After 10 days, the yellow and green phlegm was gone, but he cough still remained. I could coughed up to 80-100 times a day because I felt there is always something stuck on the back of my throat and I was trying hard to clear it out. I wasn't surprised that I have phlegm in my throat because I was still smoking then. And slowly my voice easily got fatigue after a long period of speaking which I never experience before (my work requires a lot of talking). 3 weeks later, I went to the ENT and she did a laryngoscopy to check my throat and voice box, I had cobblestone throat which primarily caused by smoking and 3 weeks aggressive coughing. Luckily my vocal cords are fine. She diagnosed me with acid reflux and post nasal drip (which I think I have because I have Allergy since very young). I was given 30 mg dexilant, 10mg Zyrtec and Fluticasone as a treatment. On the same day, I stopped smoking completely, and I also change my diet, cut out all trigger, stopped eating 3-4 hours before sleep, slept on an incline.
After that day, the first thing I noticed was the cough is gone. I am not sure if stopped smoking caused the cough went away of the med did but surely it was a good thing. Then I force myself to stop the throat clearing habit, I will take a deep breathe and sip water instead of clearing my throat. As time goes by, all the symptoms seemed to get better but I noticed that the dexilant made my gut very sick. It made me burp a lot, like 50-60 times a day. So I stopped the dexilant after 3 weeks. Luckily I did not have any acid rebound after that. I kept managing my symptoms by diet and lifestyle change.
1 month later, I was referred to a gastroenterologist and he did a upper endoscopy to check for reflux, the result came back normal, I don't have any sign of reflux and no Hiatal Hernia, also my LES is working fine.
Month 2-3, I started to get a tickle in my throat 24/7 for 2 months, besides sleeping and eating which is really annoying. I read some article online saying that the tickle was causing by quitting smoking because the nerve starting to wake up and heal, due to the smoke paralyzed it which cause the nerve to be super sensitive (I think this theory make scene). After 100 days, the tickle has been better, from month 2-3 a 8 out of 10 went down to 2 out of 10 now. It comes and goes but I have no idea what triggers this feeling. I have 3-4 days in a row that I didn't feel any itch in my throat.
I read some user on reddit with similar throat issue also been diagnosed GERD or LPR but nothing really help, even PPI and diet don't help. I think my symptoms were partly caused by quitting smoking, but I think the flu also has something to do with it. I think laryngeal sensory neuropathy is what I am having now, I want to know if any of you have similar problems and if SSRI medicine helped you with the symptoms?
I have throat issues such as globus sensation, feeling mucus at the back of my throat especially after eating and talking but when I clear it nothing was there, mild tickle in throat and I was diagnosed GERD or LPR by an ENT.
In March, I had a really really bad flu and I coughed out a lot of yellow and green phlegm. I was on antibiotic and other prescription pills to treat this flu. After 10 days, the yellow and green phlegm was gone, but he cough still remained. I could coughed up to 80-100 times a day because I felt there is always something stuck on the back of my throat and I was trying hard to clear it out. I wasn't surprised that I have phlegm in my throat because I was still smoking then. And slowly my voice easily got fatigue after a long period of speaking which I never experience before (my work requires a lot of talking). 3 weeks later, I went to the ENT and she did a laryngoscopy to check my throat and voice box, I had cobblestone throat which primarily caused by smoking and 3 weeks aggressive coughing. Luckily my vocal cords are fine. She diagnosed me with acid reflux and post nasal drip (which I think I have because I have Allergy since very young). I was given 30 mg dexilant, 10mg Zyrtec and Fluticasone as a treatment. On the same day, I stopped smoking completely, and I also change my diet, cut out all trigger, stopped eating 3-4 hours before sleep, slept on an incline.
After that day, the first thing I noticed was the cough is gone. I am not sure if stopped smoking caused the cough went away of the med did but surely it was a good thing. Then I force myself to stop the throat clearing habit, I will take a deep breathe and sip water instead of clearing my throat. As time goes by, all the symptoms seemed to get better but I noticed that the dexilant made my gut very sick. It made me burp a lot, like 50-60 times a day. So I stopped the dexilant after 3 weeks. Luckily I did not have any acid rebound after that. I kept managing my symptoms by diet and lifestyle change.
1 month later, I was referred to a gastroenterologist and he did a upper endoscopy to check for reflux, the result came back normal, I don't have any sign of reflux and no Hiatal Hernia, also my LES is working fine.
Month 2-3, I started to get a tickle in my throat 24/7 for 2 months, besides sleeping and eating which is really annoying. I read some article online saying that the tickle was causing by quitting smoking because the nerve starting to wake up and heal, due to the smoke paralyzed it which cause the nerve to be super sensitive (I think this theory make scene). After 100 days, the tickle has been better, from month 2-3 a 8 out of 10 went down to 2 out of 10 now. It comes and goes but I have no idea what triggers this feeling. I have 3-4 days in a row that I didn't feel any itch in my throat.
I read some user on reddit with similar throat issue also been diagnosed GERD or LPR but nothing really help, even PPI and diet don't help. I think my symptoms were partly caused by quitting smoking, but I think the flu also has something to do with it. I think laryngeal sensory neuropathy is what I am having now, I want to know if any of you have similar problems and if SSRI medicine helped you with the symptoms?
Today is my 112 days smoke free, it's been a tough journey, I have been through health anxiety, depression and intense physical withdrawal and I cannot believe I would make it to 112 days. I sometimes still miss the throat hit feeling and would love to have a smoke, but I will not let my brain tricks me. Looking back what I committed to myself on day 1 and feeling my body is slowing healing, IT'S ALL WORTHY!
Hi everyone, I am a 29M, 4 months ago I had a really bad cold that made me coughed 100+ times a day for 3 weeks straight. I was still smoking at that time and my throat was hurting, I was scared so I stopped smoking completely and 6 days after I went to ENT. My symptoms were globus sensation and coughing. Feeling thick phlegm or something always in the back of my throat. The doctor did an endoscopy and saw severe cobblestone throat and suggest it was acid reflux causing it. Prescribed me 3 weeks PPI. While I was on medication, I stopped smoking, I ate clean, avoided all the trigger food and I slept elevated. The coughing was gone and I felt the globus sensation was less intense, but still feel it after long period of talking or eating. I don't know if my improvement is due to the PPI or quitting smoking.
I did a gastroscopy with my GI, the result came back showing I do not have GERD, my esophagus is normal, LES is normal, no HH. My GI told me to stop the PPI. I stopped completely after 3 weeks. I do not have acid rebound and seems like my symptoms were slowly improving during these time. The cobblestone throat was gone after 2 months.
But right now after 4 months, I still feel the globus sensation from time to time, the feeling come and go. Still feel it after meal but not every meal. I don't have heartburn, no sour or bitter taste in mouth, no hoarseness, no coughing and throat clearing. I only feel very light mucus sticking at the back of my throat sometimes, and sometime tickle in my throat. I am not sure if my years of smoking caused all these or GERD/LPR causing these.
Hi everyone, I am a little over 3 months smoke free and my throat is still feeling weird. at first it started from globus sensation, always feeling mucus or something stuck in the throat, but this feeling started to go away on the 90th day. But over the last two weeks I started feeling itchy throat, It doesn't feel like a lump in my throat anymore, it feels more like someone is gently brushing the back of my throat with a feather, very itchy. The only good thing is I don’t cough. I can’t stand this anymore. Am I done? Anyone experienced this before and how does it go?
Hi guys, I smoked for 12 years, 10-12 cigs a day before. Today is my 97 days smoke free, I don't have cough problem during this time but I somehow still feel scratchy, dry throat, also feels like some mucus in the back of my throat. But this feeling doesn't make me want to cough or clear my throat. The feeling comes and goes, sometime I don't feel it for somedays, but somedays this feeling will appear for 3-4 times a day, and each time last 20-30 mins. I went to ENT and the doctor said the inflammation in my throat were almost gone. I also did a gastroscopy and the result ruled out LPR or GRED. I wonder if this is normal?