I don't have trouble swallowing, just have a feeling like something is in the back of my throat, which is a symptom of GERD. A couple of family members with reflux problems have had the same symptom. In addition, a few times recently I've had that nasty sour acid backwash in my throat, after eating a big meal (which I don't typically do -- I'm more of a smaller 4 meals a day person).

I did have my throat looked at by two ENTs last year, plus a CT scan of my neck and chest, when my left vocal cord went all paralyzed after a bad cold. I seem to have recovered completely from that. I had some hoarseness a couple of months ago which I think was related to the new asthma inhaler that I switched to, but it was minor.

I'm thinking I will attempt to cut back on the Diet Coke and will also cut the Zantac dose in half. I have a theory that the Zantac is preventing any actual heartburn symptoms, so stepping back on it should tell me if that theory is correct or not.