Okay so cutting back on the Diet Coke definitely helped, but yesterday and the day before I had some heartburn/sour stomach issues that required Tums. So I called the doctor this morning and they had an appointment available this afternoon.

Meanwhile -- related or not? This past Saturday I did a long bike ride, 62 miles. The previous Sunday I rode 52 miles. About 10 miles from the end of both rides I developed a bad side stitch -- cramp in my my diaphragm -- that made deep breaths very painful. The first time it happened, the pain went away as soon as the ride was over. The second time it happened, it took about an hour for the pain to subside. Dr. Bing Search indicates that a possible cause is a hiatal hernia, which can also cause acid reflux. But it's also possible that this is all just a coincidence. Due to cooler weather I was not drinking as much water as usual, and when I eat during rides it's a mix of Gu and fig bars or cereal bars, so it's possible that I wasn't drinking enough to digest the Gu properly. Also this might sound weird but both times the temperature had gone from chilly to warm, so I had taken off my vest and put it in my jersey pocket. I don't usually ride with anything filling my pockets so it's possible I was arching my back a bit and the change in position was affecting my breathing.

Interestingly, during Saturday's ride I was chatting with someone who also has had recent problems with reflux. For her the symptom was difficulty breathing. She has had throat problems related to an accident which she thought might be the cause, so she went to her ENT who scoped her throat and found swelling due to acid reflux. For her one of the main culprits was peppermint. She feels that a PCP would probably have initially misdiagnosed her and focused on lung problems. I think she's probably right because one of my family members had a similar experience last year, with lots of lung function tests and months of taking asthma medication that was not needed. On the other hand last year I went to an ENT who refused to believe that a larynx problem could affect my breathing. So I suppose it all comes down to the fact that the human body is complicated and hopefully we can find the right doctors to help us sooner rather than later.

I still have the checkup with the pulmonologist scheduled for later this month, and will be mentioning the reflux problem to him regardless of how things go today. But hopefully today things will go well.