My GI doctor wants me to get an EDG. The soonest I can be seen is 4 weeks out. Is there any point?

I know it sounds stupid but my thought was that the change in my medication is helping, and so are the newer meds they have put me on. So if the pain, the feeling of something stuck in my throat, and the lack of appetite are all getting better will there be any thing to even see after 4 weeks ? To me it almost seems like I should just keep up the medication. It seems like, say, you skin your knee. You go in and they put some goo and a bandage on it and recommend you to a knee doctor just to be safe. The knee guys says that yes they should take a look, let's see you in oh. . . 10 days. You go in in ten days so they can look at a pink scar and tell you that the goo worked. . . see ya latter gattor! I just feel like that in 4 weeks there will be nothing to see.

Ohhh, now I get it! I'm with you all the way on that one Lizzie. I'm actually a former nurse (UK equivalent of RN) and you'd be surprised at how many unnecessary investigations are ordered. That's particularly true in the US, which is where I suspect you might be if you say you've been given an appointment in only four weeks for mild symptoms. If you were in the UK you'd probably wait at least four months!

I'd say, however, that it depends on what your exact symptoms were, and what the medication was that helped. If it was an anxiety-related problem with swallowing - which is quite common - and anti-anxiety meds cured it, then I'd agree you don't need to have the investigation.

If, however, you've had this on and off for a long time, then it could be a symptom of GERD. If that's the case, it might be worth investigating. I say "might be" as I started getting clear symptoms of GERD nearly 40 years ago, and various doctors tried to insist I get investigated and go on treatment. Knowing the side-effects of PPIs, I decided to manage it myself and have done so very successfully to this day. From getting attacks of severe pain several times a week, I rapidly went to getting mild attacks once or twice a year and have stayed that way ever since.

Is there anything you eat, or a time of day at which you eat certain foods, that makes it worse? If you can pinpoint a particular food, then avoid it, or eat it at another time of day. My main problem was eating bread too late at night, but we all have different things we don't tolerate well.

If you're getting a problem during the night, have you tried raising the head of the mattress slightly? This cut my attacks dramatically. I also moved up a size in trousers, as I discovered tight pants were compressing my abdomen and forcing gas and acid upwards!

But I'm just speculating here that it's GERD. It might well be nothing at all. The test of that would be whether it came back after you stopped taking the meds.

You also referred to the doctor changing your meds, which makes me wonder what you were on in the first place. Some meds can cause GERD. Corticosteroids (prednisone for example) can do this. I've recently had to start using a steroid inhaler for asthma, and have found I can only use it once a day instead of the prescribed twice, as it tends to trigger GERD.

To summarise, why not keep an eye on the situation, see how it evolves, then decide whether or not you want to have the investigation? No point in putting yourself through what can be quite an invasive procedure for nothing at all. On the other hand, if your symptoms keep coming back when you stop the meds, it may be that your doctor won't continue prescribing them without test results. You sound quite capable of figuring it out for yourself!

Thank you for the info. I do have chronic back pain and my GP felt that the meloxicam could be the culprit. So we have stopped that medication and added carafate to the mix. The Dr. She referred me to could have done the EDG tomorrow and I felt comfortable with that. But the person I would have to count on for the ride to and from has let me know that he can not give me the ride to get the EDG done, until mid next month. I am frustrated because I felt that getting in as soon as possible was very relevant, but after talking to the nurse I get this feeling that when ever is just fine. So at this point I feel like canceling the whole thing and just (lol) following my gut on this one.

That's just what I'd do!