Heartburn that lasts for days.

paniccu

Veteran Member

Joined : Apr 2005

Posts : 1011

Posted 2/3/2014 5:29 PM (GMT 0)

Hi,
I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I am a 45 year old female who has been experiencing extreme heartburn over the last year or so. I do not get it frequently though. I won't have any issues at all for months and then BAM! something will trigger it and I will have a burning, squeezing sensation below my breastbone that I can't seem to get under control. I take Tums and it doesn't help much. I went to my primary doctor about 6 months ago and he told me that if I don't get heartburn two or more times a week that I can just take OTC meds. He suggested using Zantac. I purchased that and it does help a little when this happens, but not much. Last week I had quesadilla's with a spicy salsa that seemed to set my heartburn off. It hurt for a couple of days and then finally subsided. I was fine until yesterday when I stupidly used some cocktail sauce. After that I felt like someone was squeezing my chest tight and I felt burning. I took tums, Zantac, and I even tried Alka Seltzer. Nothing worked. I feel a bit better today, but I still feel it. I think I'm compounding the problem because I have health anxiety and when I started feeling bad I got worried about it and my chest felt even tighter. Anyways, can anyone relate to this? What did you do about it? I will go back to eating food that is low in acid, but I don't understand why sometimes I can eat whatever I want and be fine. I'm not even certain if food is the issue. I was also taking Ibuprofen at least once a day for the last week and I am wondering if I could possibly have a peptic ulcer. Are there things I can try before I break down and pay for extensive GI Testing? Thanks!

mysweetpanda

Veteran Member

Joined : Jan 2014

Posts : 662

Posted 2/3/2014 5:50 PM (GMT 0)

I know exactly how you feel. I'm a 50 year old female and I too suffer from anxiety, especially health anxiety. I was diagosed with GERD about 3 years ago and take Prilosec daily which works ok. When the anxiety really flares up, as it has in the last few weeks, I live on Tums. I made a trip to the ER a couple of summers ago because of the chest pain I was having behind my breast bone, which sent my anxiety through the roof thinking I was having a heart attack. They ran tests including a stress test which all came back fine. They said it was anxiety. I was sent to a GI doc who did an upper endoscopy. I was diagnosed with gastritis, and put on the Prilosec. I very seldom drink alcohol which can really aggrevate it. I would stay away from coffee or at least don't drink much of it. Lots of water helps and elevate the head of your bed or prop up some pillows. I do that and it seems to help some. I've never had an ulcer, so can't give my input on that one. I can totally relate to the health anxiety part though. I've been under a lot of stress lately and feeling any pain in the chest is certainly scary. I always thought heartburn was a once in a while occurance and didn't last long, but that's not always the case. Hope you feel better soon and keep us posted.

paniccu

Veteran Member

Joined : Apr 2005

Posts : 1011

Posted 2/3/2014 7:04 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks Mysweetpanda. I appreciate your input

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