LPR symptoms improved dramatically with Claritin
Hoping this helps someone! My LPR started a couple months after giving birth to my son. I have no idea why but I always just attributed it to hormonal fluctuations. I have also breastfed him for 18 months and I read some things about there being a possible connection between breastfeeding and LPR (or other reflux). My doctors had speculated it had spending to do with estrogen suppression from prolactin, plus relaxin levels slightly elevated from baseline while breastfeeding.
The throat clearing started to really wear on me and was driving me insane so i went to an ENT. She confirmed LPR and had me try PPI and a H2 blocker and an alginate and tums and so on. I tried nasal sprays. I tried alkaline water and sleeping on a wedge and quitting coffee (didn’t last long), all sorts of things. Even did a thyroid ultrasound. Nothing helped. The thing that helped the most was a ricola cough drop lol, which didn’t do much.
I’d been having some other symptoms that, I thought up until recently, were unrelated: intense facial flushing, post nasal drip cough at night, sensitive skin, random stuffy nose, maybe a few other things I’m forgetting.
Then, I was sick with a nasty cold a few weeks ago and took NyQuil for a couple night. I didn’t realize until a few days later that I didn’t have my regular morning coughing fit those days. Then, still bc i was sick, I took some Claritin and again, no lump, irritation for throat clearing and coughing!
I happened to have an annual check up scheduled so I asked my doctor about it and she said that it could be some sort of histamine intolerance. So I looked it up and learned that histamine intolerance can 100% cause LPR and other forms of reflux. So I’ve been taking Claritin every day since, for maybe two weeks now, and my symptoms have reduced by like 90%. Barely any throat clearing at all and if I do, it’s only a tiny bit and very short lived.
God I hope it keeps working or at least there’s a known cause and potentially some treatment options, rather than having it control my life!