Gerd ? Help please !

I am a 24 yr old male, have had heartburn for abt 7 months now. yet to be diagnosed with a condition. Just recently had an endoscopy done and everything is normal. I get heartburn everyday, on a bad day its a constant thing.

have used nexium 40mg for 2 months with no effect. Any idea what this could be? Gerd ?

sometime i also wake up in the middle of the night feeling a bit light headed. does anyone have this symptom?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Sash

Hi Dbab, Thank you for your reply. The waking up at night does not happen very often but it sounds like it is an anxiety or panic attack. I wake up and feel like everything is a bit numb but i guess thats just in my head. Im afraid to go to sleep and end up watching tv and crashing on the couch. I will be seeing my doctor again next week, he said we will have to re-think this as the endoscopy was normal and no H Pylori. Hopefully he gives me some medication that works. How is the medication working for you?

With my constant "heartburn" I started on Zantac. Worked for a while, then didn't. Next went to Prilosec. Same thing. Next tried Protonix. Same thing. Next came Prevacid. That seemed to make things worse for me.  Now I'm on Nexium 40mg 2xday. I have been diagnosed with Erosive Acid Reflux Disease. My gastro suspects my Crohn's Disease is to blame for this. When I flare up things back up inside me. Travel too slow. Therefore my stomach keeps making acid to rid itself of the contents. This constant acid machine has eroded the beginning of the lining of my esophagus and small intestine. So far the Nexium is doing the trick. However..... when I begin a Crohn's flare up, the burning begins.

This vicious cycle has been going on for about 18 years or so. I had an upper GI and it showed the problem with the acid reflux. The muscle that keeps the acid from the stomach from backing up into my esophagus isn't doing it's job very well. I also had an endoscopy and it showed the erosion. Maybe more tests are needed for you. Maybe a change of medications. We all respond differently to meds. I laugh when I see the commercials for prescription drugs. They promise us the world but never tell us about the times they do no good or make things worse. Keep working with your doctor. Don't give up! If we don't keep pushing, the doctors won't keep trying!!

Good Luck! I know the pain you're feeling and it can stop your day dead in it's tracks!

Linlou

Sash~

When it comes to "natural" or "herbal" treatments there are three things that held me back from trying them. First, my insurance company won't pay for them. Second, I'd have to be extremely careful when combining some of my prescription meds with herbal treatments. Some have very serious consequenses. Third, there is no FDA regulation on these kinds of products. I'm sure there are people who have tried natural treatments and found them useful. I guess I figured I was already sick enough and didn't want to add to my health problems.

If you're really interested in natural treatments, you might want to post another question asking for just that. You may get more answers from those who have tried them.

Good Luck!     Linlou