Posted 12/17/2015 7:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone,
First let me say that I fully understand that noone in here can provide an accurate diagnosis and that I need to find a way to get to a doctor ASAP!
I am a 26 year old caucasian male that has lived quite a healthy life. I don't smoke ( I used to in my teens, but quit when I was 19 ) and I am in top physical shape from eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week. My only 'sin' is that in the last 2 years I have drank way too much alcohol. It started with partying every weekend and then devolved into drinking every other day. (Yes, I quit)
Now for my symptoms:
Over the last year or so I have had this painful sensation when swallowing certain foods, mostly pieces of meat and home made french fries. It's like they sort of get stuck in the throat and then slowly scrape their way down my esophagus, which sometimes hurts immensly for 10-30 seconds. I never thought anything of it and concluded that it was because I ate too fast / didn't chew enough / it's just normal. Then one day in mid October I experienced this crushing pain all over my chest, literally felt like I was being pressed to death. It was so painful I could barely stand up. This lasted for a whole day, but then subsided and has not come back since. My only other symptom is every other day stomach acid in my throat. I used to think this was completely normal, but have now learned that this is most likely GERD.
So my question is: do GERD ever lead to these symptoms? From all I can read I mostly find information about 'burning chest pain', but nothing about difficulty swallowing nor crushing pain.
Any answers is greatly appreciated.