Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart attack

[ame]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I normally sleep on my back (apparently) or right side. But I have been trying to make an effort to be on my left. I got a second pillow last night just to try that out. I am really looking forward to Friday night right now, I can try all theset hings out AND not have my alarm blaring at 5am!

 

[maplefemme]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I normally sleep on my back (apparently) or right side. But I have been trying to make an effort to be on my left. I got a second pillow last night just to try that out. I am really looking forward to Friday night right now, I can try all theset hings out AND not have my alarm blaring at 5am!

Good luck, hope you get a good nights sleep! Zzzzz

 

[ame]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

THANK YOU! I REALLY hope I can too. My sister is shocked that the baby crying at night isn't waking me. If Im actually sleeping, Im effectively dead, and it takes a lot to wake me back up. Falling asleep is always the hard part.

My sister told me that she has issues with ice water, she did all through her pregnancy and it's still going on. Interesting...

 

[maplefemme]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

THANK YOU! I REALLY hope I can too. My sister is shocked that the baby crying at night isn't waking me. If Im actually sleeping, Im effectively dead, and it takes a lot to wake me back up. Falling asleep is always the hard part.

My sister told me that she has issues with ice water, she did all through her pregnancy and it's still going on. Interesting...

Ditto, I sleep like the dead but have a heck of time getting back to sleep once I'm woken up, or if I can't shut my head off enough to get to sleep.

Pregnancy does some odd things with the body in some people. My best friend has severe Crohn's disease, she has to really watch what she eats, yet during pregnancy she could eat anything and had no Crohn's symptoms at all!

Good luck Friday

 

[SC86]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I also had to completely cut out soda and anything carbonated out of my diet. I think it really helped me. Also any really fatty/greasy and super spicy also gets me. So I had to give those up (can't have any of my mom's curries anymore. boo!)

And regarding the directions on Prevacid/Prilosec OTCs, my doctor actually told me it was perfectly safe to take a pill everyday indefinitely if needed (but I usually don't since I have got it almost under control through diet/lifestyle changes). But you do have to make sure you get enough calcium if you do take it often, since it tends to leach calcium from your system, putting you at risk for osteoporosis later in life. Anyway, I am not a doctor so definitely talk you yours about your situation, but this is what mine told me!

 

[asscherisme]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I also had to completely cut out soda and anything carbonated out of my diet. I think it really helped me. Also any really fatty/greasy and super spicy also gets me. So I had to give those up (can't have any of my mom's curries anymore. boo!)

And regarding the directions on Prevacid/Prilosec OTCs, my doctor actually told me it was perfectly safe to take a pill everyday indefinitely if needed (but I usually don't since I have got it almost under control through diet/lifestyle changes). But you do have to make sure you get enough calcium if you do take it often, since it tends to leach calcium from your system, putting you at risk for osteoporosis later in life. Anyway, I am not a doctor so definitely talk you yours about your situation, but this is what mine told me!

My doctor told me it was OK to take daily as well. She said the time limits are on the packages to encourage patients to see their doctors to make sure there is not an underlying serious health issue. And for example to get counseled in ways to help reduce triggers or do things such as lose weight etc rather than just take the pill and do nothing. She said its more dangerous to your body to have the reflux (increased esophogeal cancer risk) than take the meds and control the acid.

 

[Gypsy]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Just wanted to chime in (haven't read anything anyone has written) but I was very badly anemic earlier this year and part of it came from taking antacids every day. They can impede the absorption of iron and result in low iron, which I'm sure you know can lead to anemia. I would go to a doctor and have you iron levels checked just in case.

Also Ame, I hope I don't give offense but I think you need to invest in some type of stress management. Just as a general rule from you posts you seem to obsess over things to a large degree and I'm sure that's not helping your health.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Ame, I hope you feel better soon.

Deco (or anyone else), do you know what the difference is between GERD and acid reflux?

 

[ame]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Thanks Zoe!

Just wanted to chime in (haven't read anything anyone has written) but I was very badly anemic earlier this year and part of it came from taking antacids every day. They can impede the absorption of iron and result in low iron, which I'm sure you know can lead to anemia. I would go to a doctor and have you iron levels checked just in case.

Also Ame, I hope I don't give offense but I think you need to invest in some type of stress management. Just as a general rule from you posts you seem to obsess over things to a large degree and I'm sure that's not helping your health.

I do absolutely obsess over things. I cannot relax til it's resolved. This whole thing came kind of out of left field bec I wasn't really doing much obsessing the days really leading up to all that, and my rings are in the safe, I didn't end up making it there this week, maybe next.

I get iron and all that checked every 3 months by my endocrinologist.

 

[makhro82]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I had this problem for about a year off and on and discovered it was acid in combination with gallbladder disease. Have them check that for you?

 

[ame]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I had this problem for about a year off and on and discovered it was acid in combination with gallbladder disease. Have them check that for you?

I asked, and as expected, the response was "it's just anxiety".

I am seeing a new GP next week, who is a nurse friend of mine's favorite because she's proactive and doesn't just wait on things. I am waiting to fire off the letters to this current doctor explaining why we (my entire family) is leaving this practice.

I had the endoscopy and they STILL have not given me results, so I am going to call the surgeon that did it for those today. He put me on Nexium and said my esophagus was great, my stomach was not, but I've been on that for almost a month now and I feel very little change. So I am going to mention that also.

Getting my leg looked at today again.

 

[allycat0303]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Ame,

I'm sorry you're going through this. I assume that you were checked out thoroughly by a doctor before this diagnosis was made. I've had a lot of woman (especially!!) that thought it was reflux or indigestion and it turned out to be unstable angina, or even a heart attack. Woman are notorious for displaying *atypical* symptoms of heart disease. I had a woman who said, "I was walking through the snow and was slightly more out of breath then usual" It was actually angina because she had severely blocked coronary arteries.

In any case, from experience, I'm not a big fan of pepcid. I don't find patients are helped by it. I usually prescribe pantaloc first, and nexium if it doesn't work (both are PPI's)

It sounds as though you've been having some health issues lately, I hope this gets resolved for you soon.

 

[ame]

Well, I am waiting to see the cardiologist guy, that appt isn't anytime soon but the gastro doctor that did my scope said that my stomach was very red and irritated but the esphagus was excellent and put me on Nexuim, but it's been almost a month and I feel not much better. I was told 4ish weeks. So if that doesn't work we might start looking at more options and go see that guy again.

 

[ame]

I am in my early 30s too and overweight. They don't take my symptoms seriously l assume bec of my age.

 

[makhro82]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I am in my early 30s too and overweight. They don't take my symptoms seriously l assume bec of my age.

Almost 30 here and overweight. He ignored me for a year before I demanded an ultrasound on my gallbladder. Turns out I was right and he was wrong. I learned an important lesson: Always go with my gut even if it is a bad one. They told me it was diet, stress, acid... I did everything they told me with no improvement and spent countless dollars on the ER! Hopefully you get a diagnosis soon of what ails you.

 

[allycat0303]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Ame.

Well there's no doubt that its rare in your age, there's this belief that estrogen (pre-menopause) is protective against heart disease. That doesn't mean it's impossible. There's familial type of dyslipidemia that is a genetic disorder prevalent in Quebec that causes heart disease in patients in their late twenties. We've done bypasses on a 29 year old female! She was diabetic and a smoker but still its young. It definitely needs to be eliminated. Its probably reflux, but other stuff needs to be eliminated. In any case, I'm glad you have an appointment for further work up.

 

[Lula]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

Ame, please be careful with the PPIs, such as Prilosec. I had symptoms similar to yours beginning in 2004, and my doctor put me on Prilosec. It helped, and I was on that drug for six years -- without any kind of follow-up. Long-story short, I ended up with a severe malabsorption syndrome due to long-term PPI use. I weaned off the PPIs, had many, many tests, including several endoscopies, to make sure I did not have stomach or esophageal cancer that was being masked by the PPI use. I ended up with a diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus. Not fun at all. While weaning off the PPIs, I started an elimination diet, identified many food triggers, and adjusted my diet accordingly. Mint, chocolate, vinegar, apples, fatty foods, alcohol, wheat, dairy -- all of these I eat sparingly. I also had to take a complex mix of vitamin and mineral supplements for over a year to return my blood levels to normal (B12 and D3 levels were particularly screwed up). I lost over 40 pounds in a little over a year. I, too, was overweight and exhausted all the time -- which I attributed to getting older. What a crock -- I feel better now than I have in over 10 years. I have more energy, and I look healthier, too. That medication was slowly putting my body into starvation mode because I was not absorbing nutrients from food. So be very careful with PPIs, especially long-term use of PPIs. From so many years of PPI use, I now have benign -- right now anyway -- "harmless," so the doctors say -- polyps all over the inside of my stomach. This is a common side effect of long-term PPI use, apparently. I will need to have regular endoscopies to monitor my esophagus and stomach for the rest of my life. I expressed my extreme dissatisfaction with the care I was provided, and I hope that my experience motivated the providers at my clinic to quit handing out PPIs like candy.

These drugs can mask other conditions, such as heart conditions, especially in women, as others have mentioned. They are not as harmless as most doctors would lead you to believe.

 

[ame]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

I certainly do not want this to be a lifetime drug. The doctor that did the endoscopy did the Nexium prescrip, not my normal one. But I am still going to see the heart doctor as well as a new GP. I hope that whatever is going on is handled, and correctly. I feel like a lot of doctors, my own included, don't take anyone seriously anymore because they can google their symptoms. I am sure many are wrong and over reactive but many are right. I googled my husband's before he almost DIED from ketoacidosis that this idiot said was just a virus.

 

[Begonia]

Re: Anyone have such bad Reflux that its similar to heart at

You have my sincere sympathies Ame...I've had acid reflux for 4 years and have tried pantoloc, xantac, pepcid AC, nexium, domperidone. None of them work for me, and the side effects (for me) were horrendous. Gotta be careful with those Tums too, better lifestyle modification.

"Mint, chocolate, vinegar, apples, fatty foods, alcohol, wheat, dairy " I agree with this list totally, and add tomatoes, citrus, hot and spicy foods, coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, the onion family of veggies.

I try not to eat after supper, and only clear beverages in the evening (like herbal tea). Watch propping yourself up with pillows, it can throw your back off. Better to put wooden blocks under the head of your bed. Left side sleeping a must now for me. I also drink a small glass of water before bed - seems to help somewhat.

I am trying DGL licorice, with musa, marshmallow root and slippery elm - coats the stomach and allows healing of your stomach lining and esophagus. That's working pretty well. My brand: Selekta G.I. Complex (for gastrointestinal I presume).

I suffer from panic attacks also. GERD and panic attacks can be related. You may suffer from the lump in the throat feeling at some point (called bolus?). That has an anxiety component. I am trying breathwork called Cardiac Coherence and do yoga. Works like a hot damn for stopping the panic attacks, but it takes time and daily committment. I can recommend a book if you like...

Sucks more than I can say, but you aren't alone...