Hi this is my first post and I'm glad I found this forum. I don't have a specific question, I guess I'm just looking for the support! I've had heartburn and reflux since I got pregnant in 1983. For years and years I took Zantac for it, it was the only thing that helped.
In 2006 I had my gallbladder out and then in 2007 a GI dr actually noticed my history and said I needed an endoscopy and found Barrett's Esophagus. I ended up having ablation done and at the 3 mo and 12 mo follow up EGD's and biopsies showed the Barretts was gone.
I've been on a PPI ever since and except for a vague pressure feeling in my chest sometimes, I was symptom free and could eat/drink as normal. about a year ago I got sick with a cold and started having severe chest pain, I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. The pain was a LOT worse if I leaned or bent forward. I went to the ER and of course they couldn't find anything wrong.
Ever since then if I got congested (I have a lot of post nasal drip which I'm realizing now could be from the GERD) I had the same symptoms come back but not as severe. I started wondering if I have costochondritis but when I mentioned it to my dr I didn't get a response lol.
Over the past few months the pain has gotten worse with pain in my chest, ribs, under my left breast, and the worst is in my back between my shoulder blades (which feels like it did before I had my gallbladder out!) I have indigestion and gurgling and have to keep trying to burp which I've never been able to do for some reason.
My GI increased the PPI To 40mg a day but that didn't seem to help. I've had 2 more normal EKGs, 2 motility studies one of which showed slow motility but the one after that was normal. Then he did another EGD were he saw irritation and gastritis again but biopsies came back okay thank God.
While he was in there he injected Botox into my esophagus which helps people with esophageal spasms but I couldn't tell a difference so now I'm scheduled for a chest CT scan this coming week. I have to admit I'm terrified of getting esophageal cancer.
I lost 35 lbs last year and even though I've slacked off lately and gained some back I plan on losing 40 which will put me at a healthy weight and should help with all this.
I keep wondering if after a while the PPIs aren't as effective any more (I'm back down to 20 mg omeprazole now) and I've had to start taking Zantac again which does help. I'm also reading up on acid vs alkaline foods and any natural alternatives.
The back pain is the worst, plus I hate that feeling I get, like I'm a ticking time bomb. I'm sorry this is so long and thank you for listening. If anybody has had similar problems I'd love to hear from you! 
Edited to create paragraph breaks.
Post Edited By Moderator (dencha) : 1/7/2013 8:13:24 AM (GMT-7)