Hello! New to the forums here. Found this place by chance, glad i did.
I'm hoping to share my concerns and get some opinions on them, trying to keep things brief. Skip to the end if background info is too long.
I am a 23 yo male, average body, no smoker and I don’t drink often.
Around a year ago i had an episode of heartburn, tightness of upper stomach and dry couch (the couch had been going on for longer) and i went to the doctor because of these symptoms.
I got medicine for heartburn for two weeks to see if it helps. It kind of did, but the symptoms didn't vanish so i just got more medicine for the heartburn. Had better / worse days and i got really worried it might be something serious. My doc sent an application for gastroscopy, but it got denied based on my age and the fact i had it done 8 years ago (i had long been suffering from heartburn. A little weaker LES & allergy to legume was the diagnosis back then, got medicine and I had no troubling heartburn until last year).
Had to accept it, but after two months last November I went back again to a specialist who reassured me that it was quite unlikely I had anything serious. And so that was it, until my symptoms resurfaced almost two months ago once again. Went to a different gastroenterologist who gave me medicine for heartburn for two months and if it didn’t improve she also gave me the paper for gastroscopy, so I can get it if I want.
*To shorten the message, these have been my symptoms during this summer:*
-Tightness in chest (worst of it cured after taking ‘pantoprazol’ for a week)
-Food going down slightly slower (with dry foods, not always)
-Heartburn, better and worse days. Also burping every now and then. My current heartburn medicine has not been too helpful. Initially it helped, but lately heartburn has been coming back.
- Shortness of breath
- This weird sensation when I drink or swallow food under my sternum, feels like in the lower portion of oesophagus. Not too painful, brief and not with every bite or gulp (not even every meal) but this has troubled me the most, since its new and the “pain” is always around the same spot and little to the right it feels. Has lasted for two weeks, not daily but anyways still present.
- Vague mild pressure / bloating in upper stomach, usually right after eating or when I have not eaten for a while.
-Also, irregular pain in what feels like in my diaphragm area, usually when I have not eaten. This lasts few seconds at most and doesn't hurt really much, but it scares me still.
-Oesophageal spasms not too often.
-Minor regurgitation and heart palpitations after eating / drinking, not always.
-Sometimes i get this "cold" feeling in the back of my throat, like a icy breath but obviously it's really not cold.
So, the slight pain and the fact that my symptoms persist after 1 month taking heartburn medicine are my main concerns. Without it I’d just accept that it’s mild GERD, I’ve heard some people have it unfortunately way worse. I have this gnawing paranoia that it’s something dire, but due to the trauma of my last gastroscopy I am VERY hesitant to go there again. I’ve had no unusual excrement or vomiting, and I feel like I can eat as much as in the past nor has any food gotten really stuck, some dry baguette might need fluids to wash it down but that’s it.
TL; DR
Based on my symptoms now (presented above), should I just bite my teeth and go to the gastroscopy, or do these symptoms sound just like regular GERD with maybe some paranoia/carcinophobia mixed in? The post was long, and I’d really, REALLY appreciate any thoughts or opinions. If I need to clarify something, I will do it when I can.
Thanks in advance.
Post Edited (Zainth) : 7/26/2018 9:15:52 AM (GMT-6)