possible GERD or something worse?
Posted , 3 users are following.
female, 27 years old. diagnosed with depression & anxiety. currently taking Sertraline 50mg. symptoms of acid reflux, upper back pain. symptoms have been with me for a week+ worse durning the night. below i have tried to describe my symptoms in full but please excuse my bad writing. any advice is appreciated.
upper middle back pain and right shoulder blade pain. feeling in right shoulder feels like a tight knot with some frequent stabbing pains. pain radiates down into right arm. deep breathes give me a shooting pain in my right shoulder blade. pain starting to radiate up into my neck and causing tension headaches (feels like the back of my skull is being squeezed) slight jaw and ear pain but nothing concerning.
sharp tight chest pains in middle of chest, mostly at night. feels like i'm having heart palpitations and shortness of breathe. (these have been very scary to deal with as i'm scared i may have heart issues and very close to rushing to the ER) presumably from gas in my chest caused by acid reflux, feels like i have a burp stuck in my chest which i cant get up and becomes painful. feels like acid is always coming up my chest. when i actually can get a burp up, it's a belch 5 times in a row and is painful in my chest. will sometimes get a cold/burning sensation in my chest.
constantly feels like i have a lump in my neck which is painful but no physical feeling of a lump (could be globus sensation caused by anxiety) constant mucus in the back of my throat which i can't seem to cough up, constantly swallowing it down but just comes back, gets very annoying. horrible sour taste in my mouth too which i cant seem to get rid of despite eating gum, brushing teeth , using mouthwash.
complete loss of appetite. i am very nauseous and have no appetite. i cannot seem to stomach eating or thinking about food. was worse at the start of the week but have now started slowly introducing food back in but very slowly as i can't seem to finish just one slice of toast before i get nausea again. no puking though which is a good sign. i always seem to have a burning sensation in my stomach aswell which i can't tell is hunger pains or the acid in my stomach.
fyi: i have been to the doctor already 2 times. 1st time, doctor said the pain in my back may be a pinched nerve and prescribed me Tramadol 340mg (first night trying it made me feel very spaced out and just horrible so i refuse to take it. i'm very weird about taking pills so excuse me) and also a gastro tablet Pantoprozole 40mg (these didnt seem to do anything for me so stopped taking them) started taking Nexium control 20mg and they seemed to calm down the burning sensation in my stomach but thats about it and taking a tablespoon of Gaviscon every night before bed. been taking 500mg paracetamol for my back pains but no relief. 2nd time i went to the doctor, still complaining about back pains and acid reflux symptoms. told me to continue taking Nexium but to up my dose to 40mg and to continue taking the Gaviscon before bed as the Gaviscon seems to be really helping calm down the feeling of acid in my chest at night. and referred me to a physiotherapist for my back also have a blood test for next week. i really do not want to rely on PPI's for the rest of my life as ive heard that PPI's can destroy your stomach and coming off them can cause rebound acid reflux. symptoms are all still there and feel like nothing is really working. i am starting to think this is way more than just acid reflux and could be a hiatal hernia, LPR. maybe even my gallbladder or pancreas, pneumonia. i know that anixety can make your reflux far worse than it really is because you are overthinking everything but the hypochondriac in me is still really paranoid that it may be something serious. if symptoms become worse or are still there by the end of the week, i am going to make another doctors appointment to ask to get tests done.
please excuse my panic writing as it may not be very clear. any advice is greatly appreciated.
0 likes, 5 replies
joseph98786 Hyouka27
Posted
hi, there are symptoms you describe as having gerd and you need an endescopy to confirm this ask your doctor to make an appointment for you. the rest of your symptoms more than likely related to stress which is brought on by over worrying why you feel nausea and chest pains etc. if you try to relax and have your endescopy asap that will answer your questions and probobly reassure you that nothing sinister is going on. best of luck with everything.
pippa58442 joseph98786
Posted
I had an endoscopy to diagnose why I had heartburn but it didn't show anything. My gastroenterologist could only presume I had a weak oesophageal sphincter that was opening when it shouldn't and letting the acid spew out. The endoscopy didn't really give me peace of mind; instead it triggered severe depression due to the sedation.
pippa58442 Hyouka27
Posted
If your antacids are working, that is a good sign. Follow your doctor's advice and keep taking these medications. Anxiety can make reflux worse . I have constant reflux and have experienced globus, a bitter taste in my mouth a persistent cough and a sensation of having to clear mucus from my throat. I have also experienced chest pain with it. Anxiety and stress actually triggered my reflux. I find taking milk alongside antacid tablets really helps the heartburn. I would give milk a try presuming you are not intolerant to it. Obviously, if your symptoms continue past a week, get worse or you develop new symptoms, you should see your doctor.
Hyouka27 pippa58442
Posted
hello. thank you for the reply. i have completely stopped taking the PPI and have seen a huge improvement but still take the Gaviscon before bed as i still feel as if i have acid stuck in my chest but i am now burping with no problems but still have bad taste in my mouth along with the feeling of having a lump in my throat accompanied by a sore throat and the mucus in the back of my throat. the hypochondriac in me started to google some things and now seem to think it may be my gallbladder as back pain/shoulder pain is related to gallbladder along with acid reflux symptoms, one thing is that i'm not getting any pain in my stomach or ribs where my gallbladder would be. but i am still paranoid and want to make sure. i'm worried about my throat though as it's getting painful but no problems with swallowing. the excess mucus in the back of my throat is getting very irritating though , and i'm suspecting that my throat may be sore from the acid coming up my stomach into the back of my throat. ive finally started to eat aswell but slowly as my throat hurts alot and watching what i eat too incase of a flare up. i will make a doctors appointment tomorrow for next week and hope to see what comes out of it.
pippa58442 Hyouka27
Posted
It's not a good idea to google your symptoms. Let your doctor do the diagnosing and you will get accurate answers. It sounds like the PPi disagreed with you if stopping it improved your symptoms so much. Keep taking the Gaviscon, try milk and stop worrying. Worrying will get you nowhere and will make you feel worse. Try distraction techniques like a hobby and light exercise. I am not in the least worried about my reflux. I accept it as part of me and keep,Gaviscon handy.