Burning not in the center but on the sides of the chest

Hi,
I am on lansoprazole 15 mg daily in the morning. I have never really experienced typical heart burning. Even thought I take the PPi i get the burning and burning is always on the sides of the chest and not in the center. I am not sure if it qualifies as heartburn or not. Can anyone confirm??

I have few more symptoms : sore throat when I wake up in the morning , sometimes pain in the tongue, sometimes pain in the mouth. Also every now and then i have mucus buuild up in the nose when I wake up and that stays for few hours before it gets settled.

I am not sure whether to stop PPI or not. Afraid that I might have reflux and it will effect my esophagus. I would really appreciate any help. I am 34 years old male.

Thanks,
Ravi

I have been taking PPI for almost 4 years now. I had endoscopy in 2013 and i had mild gastritis back then. I went to doctor today and he is going to try a different PPI.

So i have two questions now :

1) chest burning on the sides qualifies as heartburn ?
2) Can the PPI stop working ? , like in my case perhaps lansoprazole is no longer working for me

SharonZ,
I asked him about chest burning. He said the reflux itself can express itself in different ways and it should not necessarily cause burning only in the center.

Its very difficult to make doctor do something here. I am not sure If I can ask him to get me an endoscopy and even if I did I am not sure he will agree.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am switching the medication and will follow a GERD-Friendly diet. I am not overweight. I don't smoke. I have alcohol may be once a week, but will stop that also for a bit.