What Kind Of Doc Do I Need

[gertie]

It has been 2 weeks since I had a viral inf or strep throat not sure which. I started experiencing horrible throat pain & anything sweet in my mouth taste so horrible it will make me nauseous for hours. Other food taste don't seem to be affected altho I am not hungry & have to make myself eat. My main diet has been a bite or 2 or pear & some kind of meat. I thought this would eventually get better but so far not & I still have a slight sore throat & the nerve near my ear is quite sensitive. The PA at my PCP's office that checked my throat didn't know what I was talking about. I have experienced some weird things with POTS but this is insane. I literally feel like I'm going insane because no one knows what I'm talking about & I can't find anyone that has experienced this.

Should I see an ENT or Neuro? I'm think Neuro because of the nerve sensitivity. Thanks.

[tjanzing]

It has been 2 weeks since I had a viral inf or strep throat not sure which. I started experiencing horrible throat pain & anything sweet in my mouth taste so horrible it will make me nauseous for hours. Other food taste don't seem to be affected altho I am not hungry & have to make myself eat. My main diet has been a bite or 2 or pear & some kind of meat. I thought this would eventually get better but so far not & I still have a slight sore throat & the nerve near my ear is quite sensitive. The PA at my PCP's office that checked my throat didn't know what I was talking about. I have experienced some weird things with POTS but this is insane. I literally feel like I'm going insane because no one knows what I'm talking about & I can't find anyone that has experienced this.

Should I see an ENT or Neuro? I'm think Neuro because of the nerve sensitivity. Thanks.

My guess would be a neurologist (do you have a POTS specialist?) I fight thoat pain and sensitivity near my ears also. I'm sorry I don't have any answers but these problems came with POTS for me. I hope you find some relief soon!

[gertie]

Thanks Tessie, I've always had throat, ear & gland trouble too, but what's driving me nuts is the distorted taste & nausea. I do not have a Dys specialist because there's not one anywhere near me. I'm lucky to find a dr that's heard of Dys. I can't see a neuro until Feb but I made an appt with ENT for last of Dec.

[potsgirl]

I think that's smart. I would have suggested the ENT doc first, then go on to the neuro if nothing comes up with the ENT. It does sound like more of a throat/ear issue, which of course can also make you nauseous. And it may or may not be connected to your POTS - sometimes you just can't be sure. Let us know what you find out.

Cheers,

Jana

[erik]

Man, that's a tough call. I think even if it's underlying thing is neuro, an ENT might be more versed in "reading a clinical presentation" along those lines... just a guess. I have a stereotype of a neuro pulling out some probes and doing conduction tests and such... when this is a case of taking appraisal of the full clinical picture. I may be wrong (or biased) but ear-nose-throat doc seems to deal with that situation more often. Like one service tech that pulls out the "computer" and runs complex diagnostics on your car... while the other takes a quick look and says, "hey your gas cap is off, which set off the check engine light".

[erik]

Oh yeah. Be sure to mention the initial asymetrical presentation as well as if this changed... that's a potential "dermatome" sign... a neuro-thing but one even an ENT would know of.

[extern14]

I agree with Jenna. Go see the ENT first and if they can't see anything, more than likely they will refer you to a neuro. However, you could get lucky and they could see something and that solve your problems. I hoping for this solution. You are in my thoughts. Good luck and hang in there.