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New to this forum and I really need some help from people who have experience with this.

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 5/26/2010 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
First of all I am a 39 yr old woman.  I am 5"5' and overweight.  I have recently lost 40 pounds which is great but I am continuing to lose weight because I do not feel that great.

I never had heartburn until I was pregnant 11 years ago with my first baby.  I ended up having emergency gallbladder surgery 5 weeks after he was born.  I only gained three pounds that whole pregancy and when I went home from the hospital I was 30 pounds less than when I got pregnant.  This same thing happened during my next two pregnancies.  The heartburn always went away after I gave birth.  about two years after my last pregnancy I stared getting heartburn again.  I was on Pepcid for two years and then that stopped working.  I was then put on Prilosec for the last three years. 

about 4 months ago I had an episode where I got real sick and ended up in the hospital overnight. I have been having quite a few issues lately. This has been going on for about 4 or 5 months. I really do not want to go into everything but I have been having chest pain and been to the ER about four times. One time I was admitted for very low potassium. The other three times I was sent home with some medication for a rapid heart rate. I have now developed panic attacks because I feel so panicky about these pains and they cannot find anything. I have had four EKG and tons of bloodwork to test everything and everything other than low potassium shows up. I take about 1/2 of a .25mg of Xanax and that has been helping but today I have had the same pain but is on a different side. When are you suppose to go to the ER or just ignore it? I do not want them to think I am a hypochondriac but I also do not want to miss something. I also have been having things I call heart flutters not sure of the right term where it feels like your heart goes normal and then goes fast for a second and then slows down really quickly. . I am having an EGD on Friday which I am worried about but I have such trouble with acid reflux they think I could have a hiatal hernia (other symptoms I have are can only sleep on right side,hurts when I bend over, and I have pains in my arm and my jaw right where your jaw meets your ear.  I am so upset by all this and cannot understand what is going on.  I also have alot of belching and a weird feeling in my esophagus like something is there.

Posted 5/26/2010 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW,
It does sound like you've got GERD. What could be happenning is your vegus nerve (which runs down the back of your esophagus and attaches to your heart also) is getting irritated by the Gerd. It can cause heart palps and odd pains. Your LES could be very weak.

The anxiety spells and heart racing could also be your thyroid acting up. Pregency can cause some women's thyroid to go wonky. As your PF to do a full thyroid panel if you hadn't had one. There's four tests for it (TSH, T4, T3, and antibodies).

Joy
Posted 5/27/2010 12:41 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Crack,

It sounds like you could be suffering from GERD. Your doctor should send you to a Gastroenterologist for a 24 hour motility test to see how the acid is affecting you. There are other drugs you can try such as Nexium,, but if the LES is loose, then only surgery is going to correct the problem permanently.

I had a Nissen Fundoplication done in June of 2003. In addition to losing 50lbs, I haven't had problems with acid reflux ever again. I had a very slow recovery due to some other health issues I have, but it was the best thing I've done. I had all the same pains and discomfort you've described and it all went away after surgery

Talk to your doctor about further testing for GERD and good luck with results and treatments. I hope you feel better fast!

hugs,
Pam
Posted 5/27/2010 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Crack!!
I am sure you will get great advice here!
I am sort of in the middle of the same thing; have had GERD since 2000. I have been on and off PPIs, was off and started having sx. Had EGD which showed no barretts but lots of acid damage. THEN the chest pains. Very very scary. Off to urgent care (EKG, blood work, xray) and that was all normal, more chest pains, off to ER (EKG, blood work, xray) also normal. THEN stress test (went very well). started on prevasid and no chest pains. Nada. Not like that anyway. Have great cholesterol, am in great shape, so they ruled out heart problems, unless something comes back.
I would get advice here but for sure would do what I could to rule out heart stuff,l do all the tests
for sure see a gastro doc for EGD and whatever else to dx GERD
No point in trying to treat something if you don't know what it is.
Once you get diagnosed, likely several tests, you could discuss options with your gastro doc.
I certainly would not ignore chest pains (sure got my attention!) but I would not panic.
I have really cut my work schedule back, am now a "napper" which I dislike but I do feel better particularly as I am caffeine free :(
As was pointed out, it could be your vagus nerve being irritated. But, as you don't know, I would
totally get on them about further cardiac testing to make sure your heart is fine.

Welcome to the board!!
Lila
Posted 5/27/2010 11:51 AM (GMT 0)
I did have several EKG and blood work and Xrays for my heart and they say that my heart is fine.  I am suppose to have an EGD but I cannot make myself do it.  I am scared senseless not sure why.
Posted 5/27/2010 12:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hi!
Well you will probably hear lots about the EGD which is really no big deal. You can do it with conscious sedation or totally out. I think most people prefer CS but not me, have done it 2x with CS and once totally out and I will for sure be totally out next time. But either way it is a nonevent for you, no nasty prep like a colonoscopy, basically go in and take a nap. It will help your doc determine what your esophagus looks like, and again, no big deal.
hope you get some answers!!
Lila
Posted 5/27/2010 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
I've been through 3 EGDs. There is nothing to it. My first one I was terrified of the unknown. I had to ask for a strong dose of valuim to relax me beforehand. My second one I knew what to expect and I was able to relax and joke with the nurses so much they thought I had taken something to relax me. My third one followed my second one by hours. They did CS on me and I fought them so they had to do a complete sedation. I didn't remember doing any of this so there was no stress on me.

You go in, put on a a gown top (You get to keep your jeans and socks on), lay down on the stretcher, get an IV, rolled to the procedure room, They put a pulse ox on your finger, oxygen tube on your nose, doctor comes in and gives you a shot, as you fade out you feel them put a prop in your mouth... night-night!

You wake up feeling a little groggy, throat a little dry, and feeling fine. Just like you took a little nap.

Joy
Posted 5/27/2010 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
I have had the same symptoms and went through all the tests. I even have a borderline-abnormal ekg but cardiologist ruled out heart diease. Get the egd done will will go a long way to helping you find out what is wrong. It does sound like GERD. If it is, there are numerous ways to treat it including, medication, exercise, diet modification (no caffeine, no chocolate or highly spicy foods), and surgery. For me, I found that if I take a really good grade probiotic and reduce acid (I drink JAVA acid free coffee) it goes a long way toward eliminating symptoms. On those days where I do have reflux I take a couple cap fuls of aloe vera juice (cold processed) and feel better right away.
Posted 5/28/2010 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hope the endo went well. I do all that stuff without sedation. Versed doesn't do anthing for pain, just makes you forget it.

Which side is the chest pain? Arm and jaw pain, especially on the left indicate heart.

The least invasive and least nasty of the tests to see if you have a hernia is the barium swallow. They can also get an dea if you are swallowing ok or have something like nutcracker esophagus.

It's common for women to get a hernia from pregnancy. If it's just the garden variety hiatal hernia, it's no big deal. If it's paraesophageal (stuck in chest), then you need surgery because the stomach can twist and strangulate.

Having had all the tests and finally ending up needing the surgery, I recommend asking for the barium, even before an endoscopy or other esophagus tests. No sedation!
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