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How do know if you have LPR or GERD? Is it possible to have both?

Hi. I am not sure whether I have acid reflux or not.  Off and on for the last few months I've had some issues that have concerned me.  I will have sore throats that come and go, sometimes I feel like I can taste blood coming up from my throat (I don't ever have any blood in my mouth, I can just taste the blood even though there's no blood visible if I spit) and a strange feeling in my upper chest.  I really don't know how to describe the feeling other than maybe if feels a little like a wavy feeling?  It's not really pain exactly, just more like I feel something strange, like the sensation of something moving around in the top of my chest like under my collar bone.  All of these symptoms had gone away for a week or two but the sore throat and chest feeling have now returned.  I try to keep a food diary but I can't always find a connection between what I eat and how I feel.  But this week  I ate some pizza and I was fine for a while.  But several hours after eating pizza and even the next day, I had a sore throat and the weird chest feeling.  Over the last few months, I've had lab work done at a GP's office (everything was fine), been tested for Covid-19 twice, and I've been to an ENT doctor.  The ENT doctor looked at my throat and said it was a little red and said it's possible I have LPR but they don't know for sure.  I took Omeprazole for a couple of months but it didn't seem to do any good.  I don't know if these issues that come and go could be due to flare up of sinuses (which I know that I do have problems with that) or if this could be GERD or LPR?  Or could I have both GERD and LPR? I rarely get heartburn but I will frequently burp after eating.  The night I ate the pizza I burped a lot and could taste the food (sorry, I know this sounds disgusting).  What I don't understand is, if it was the pizza that caused this latest flare up, why would it take several hours before the symptoms appear and why would it continue the next day?  Is that normal for GERD or LPR?  Or maybe it's just allergy or sinus issues and it was a coincidence that it was worse with the pizza.  I hope someone can give me some insight.  Thank You!  
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Avatar universal
I would suggest seeing a gastrointestinal doctor. A lot of things can be mistaken for GERD or indigestion. You tried a proton pump inhibitor for several months and it didn't work. That could be a sign that perhaps this isn't acid reflux and maybe it is somebody other sort of abdominal problem such as an ulcer or gastritis or something.

My concern here is that You talk about tasting blood in your mouth with upper chest pain - with acid reflux you would experience regurgitation of food or acid .... not blood. Blood is a immediate indicator of a serious problem and if you're coughing up blood you should go to the hospital.
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Thank you so much for your reply.  I never cough up blood but I have felt like I could taste it before (it was usually during times when my throat would feel really raw and sore).  Other times I'll  have more of a metallic taste (but that could be from the mulitvitamin and D vitamin I take).  I had thought about trying a gastrointestinal doctor but haven't done it yet, I"ll probably do that.    Thank you for your help!
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