new member with gerd and ibs

Hi to everyone.  I have had gerd for about two-three years now and I have had ibs for a year.  My gerd is driving me crazy!  I take prilosec that does not help at all.  I quit drinking regular coffee and switched to decaf and I drink caffeine free pop.  Anything that upsets my stomach, upsets my heartburn and that is a big problem.  For about the last two weeks or so, my heartburn has been at its worst.  I have a difficult time swallowing.  I can't eat or hardly drink when this happens.  It also affects my sinuses more now and there are times when I can feel the pressure building up in my chest and it can make me feel like I can't breathe properly.  I also have panic attacks on top of all this.  I have been lucky and that my panic attacks have been small ones for now.  Also when my heartburn builds up, I can feel my heartbeat pick up some until I can release the pressure by belching.  Does anyone else have some of the same problems that I have been having?  If so, how have you been able to cope with this?  Any help would be deeply appreciated.

Yes, I do have a GI doctor and had an endoscopy done last year.  He said the only thing that it showed was some inflamation in the top part of my stomach.  I have an appointment with him in three weeks.  Hopefully he will be able to help me get some relief from all of this.

I agree with Denise. I went through several differant doctors and 2 differant surgeons before they figured out the symptoms were not controlled with medication. I finally had my supervisor print out all the days Icalled in sick to work and took that to my doctor. That was when I finally got sent to the surgeon that is doing my surgery tomorrow. Write your questions down I forget to write down my questions and then I think of something I wanted to ask on the drive home. Good luck to you and let us know how things are going for you
Mary

It's called a Nissen. They wrap the top of your stomach around your esophagus like a bun. It strenghtens the LES. I'm having the Esophyx procedure in December. They go down your throat and staple the top of your stomach around your esophagus to strenghten the LES.
Good luck with your visit.

Joy

Unfortunately prior to the surgery I just had to deal with it. The medication never did anything for me. Occaisonallyt I would get some relief from Gaviscon but for the most part I had to to just take it easy and rest when I could Make sure I did not eat to close to bedtime and ate a basically soft diet. Hope things go well for you. try to relax because stress only adds to the problem
Mary

Susie,

As far as the swallowing problems are concerned, I also started having swallowing problems (dysphagia) roughly 3 1/2 years ago when my reflux appeared. Mine is bad to the point where I have non-functional dysphagia, meaning that I end up losing 30-40 lbs when my reflux flares up, including difficulty drinking......sigh. So, the swallowing problems are probably related to your reflux and it's kind of a tricky thing to deal with. I sometimes feel like I have a lump in my throat or that my throat is closing up or really tight, but that's just the sensation you get (MANY doctor visits and tests later there really isn't anything there :)) Unfortunately, that sensation is strong enough to give you swallowing problems. Same thing goes for the breathing difficulties/shortness of breath. It's just another GERD symptom, though very uncomfortable as well.