Tag Archives: doctor

Reflux = Hoarse Voice

For most of my life, I have had a low and raspy voice.  The quality has fluctuated over the years, but this last year it has been terrible.  I lost my voice last winter and it just never came back right.  I also keep clearing my throat because it feels like something is in there.  After a friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer I decided that maybe I should get it checked out.  I went to Faith’s ENT, he put a scope up my nose and into my throat, and said that one of my vocal cords was swollen.  This is why it felt like something was in there.  He also said that the swollen vocal cord was probably due to reflux.  It turns out that reflux is different than heartburn and you don’t know when you have reflux.  He gave me a list of ten things that I shouldn’t do.  But before I tell you what was on his list, let me tell you about five of my favorite things:

1. chips and salsa

2. popcorn at night while I watch TV before bed

3. One drink, preferably a margarita, after the kids go to bed

4. chocolate

5. drink coffe

Now let me tell you what his list said for me NOT to do:  don’t eat mexican or italian food, limit chocolate, sodas, caffeine, and alcohol, no eating right before bed,  don’t eat and then exercise, limit caffeine, sleep with my bed propped up (yeah right!), and a few more things that I probably won’t do.  There is a quality of life aspect here that we can’t ignore!  I am a servant for most of my day to three little people.  I need to have at least a few guilty pleasures in my life!!!

That night I ate popcorn and had a margarita.  I probably had a coffee the next morning and chips and salsa for lunch.  I did everything that the doctor told me not to do.  After being gluten free for a year, I am sick of watching what I eat!

However, now that a few weeks have gone by, I have begun to accept his recommendations.  I have started to drink more decaf chai tea than coffee.  I don’t eat chips and salsa everyday for lunch and I don’t drink margaritas at night.  I have tried to not eat popcorn while I watch TV, but it is hard since Tom eats it.  I have had a glass of red wine here and there, but I justify it because it doesn’t seem as acidic as margaritas.  I have to say, I haven’t missed it all TOO much.  I can’t cut it all out completely because that is just no fun at all.  My voice does seem to be getting better and I can definitely tell that I am not clearing my throat all of the time like I was before. I will continue to try to limit the things that the doctor told me to limit and hopefully this problem will go away on its own.  Maybe I was just overloading my body with so many things that cause reflux that it couldn’t help but reflux.  Only time will tell…..

Well,  I am off to a birthday party at a friend’s house which means that I will be eating pizza and probably drinking a beer.  Some much for doing the right thing tonight….

Faith’s Five Year Check Up

When Faith turned three, I was a few months late getting her to the doctor for her check up.  Now she has to wait until a full year has passed before she can have another one.  She now has her birthday check up in February.  Oh well!

It was finally time for her five year old check up.  Faith asked me for days before her appointment if she would be getting a shot.  She had seen Miller and Wilson get one within the last few months and she was not happy about the prospect of getting one herself.  I told her that I wasn’t sure if she was going to get a shot or not, even though I figured she would.

On the way to the appointment I explained to her that she would probably be getting a shot.  Then I explained that she might even have to get two of them.  I told her that she had two choices:  she could get both shots today or she could get one shot today and another shot this summer.  It was her choice.  She maturely decided that she would rather get both shots today and “get it over with”.  And she did!  She bravely endured two shots in the arm and was very happy to learn that she wouldn’t be getting any more shots until she was 12.

Here are her five-year-old stats:

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