I don't know what to do anymore. Recently whenever I ate a fatty meal I would get heartburn- tightness, burning in the chest esp. at night when lying down. I told a friend who is also a doctor about this and said that it only comes when I eat something heavy otherwise I am fine. He said just to prophylax before eating a heavy meal with zantac or something and as long as you are not getting it on a constant basis irrespective of what you eat, you are fine. Since he told me that, I got worried that I could get it even if I ate a small meal. And thats exactly what happened - now I get it regardless of what I eat!!! What the heck. Is this just psychosomatic, me tricking myself to believe I am having heartburn OR is it really heartburn? Please someone shed some light. I feel so bad now.

Learn to relax. Anxiety will make your heartburn worse if that is what you have. Yes, there is a mind/body link. You can break it if you want. Ignore the problem as much as you can. The more you focus on it, the more likely you will have the mind/body problem.

Hi Sameulmouse,
thanks for your advice... So do you think that the anxiety is making the already existing heartburn worse or is it just creating similar symptoms of HB but not actually HB?? Also what do you mean by mind/body link?

[This message has been edited by sherrie (edited 04-18-2003).]

Sherrie, Sometimes, consistent episodes of discomfort
is the bodys way of communicating.
Maybe you ARE just anxious.
However, if you have conscious concern then it is important to listen to your body and seek medical help.
I'm sure your Doctor friend has the right answer on a certain level.
However, if your friend has not done a full examination of your body or imaging tests or blood work, then it's possible that your friend might be making a judgment before exploring all possibilities.
Sometimes it's prudent to get connected with a Doctor of specialty who can offer guidence for day to day self care.
Heart Burn can be a symptom of a wide variety of medical problems. Not just nerves.
In the instance that you problem could be nerves then working with a professional on some level to help you with your anxiousness might be the next course of action.
However, investigate the physical unit first.
I know I was told many many things about my Gastrointestinal problems having a basis in my flawed thinking and anxiousness.
However, 3 surgeries and many Doctors later we found very real organic conditions that contributed to my Gastrointestinal discomfort as well as my anxiousness.
Once we got my blood sugar to stop dropping to the coma levels a lot of my anxious feelings went away.
It's amazing how much an organic problem can influence the whole emotional foundation.
The goal is getting better.
I think it's wise to explore all medical avenues in the attempt to bring your body out of distress.
kat

I'm confused, why has nobody mentioned that these are possible gallbladder symptoms?

And just because someone feels like they're going crazy because of their digestive issues doesn't mean it's all in their head.
There could be a serious problem.

I agree that as this happened after a fatty meal, that it could well be gallbladder related. Sounds like you have acid reflux too. If it is not gallstones, then you can also have inflammation of the gallbladder that is causing your problems too.

If I were you, I would go and see a doc and get it checked out. I don't think that this is all in your head.

Good luck

Yeah, the fatty meal jumped right out at me.

If I were you, I'd start keeping track of what foods seem to cause the most problems.
I mean, apparently it could be anything from gallbladder to wheat allergy - or who knows.

Also, I don't know how old you are, or your family history.
But if you're over 40, overweight, and/or have a family history of any kind of heart disease, and you get pain in your chest, particularly during stress/anxiety, or most particularly after exerting yourself, and most especially if you get left shoulder or left arm pain along with the chest pain, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make note of that and tell your doctor soon.
Coronary artery disease can sometimes seem very similar to heartburn. After all, there's a reason they call it "heart burn" - it's in the same region.
Even heart diseases are VERY treatable nowadays. But like everything else, the sooner it's found the more successful the treatment. So you don't want to take any chances there, particularly if you're in a risk group for heart disease.

Hopefully it IS just something like acid reflux, agitated by anxiety.
But what if it isn't?
I think it's dangerous to assume physical symptoms are caused by emotions. It's a doctor's job to evaluate that possibility - AFTER ruling out physical causes.

In the meantime, of course avoid stress - since stress DOES make pain worse, that's for sure. Try not to get worked up.
And if heavy meals cause a particular problem - I'd try avoiding heavy meals for the time being.

I just saw a commercial last night for some kind of acid reflux medication... and the guy in the commercial said "I was told to try sleeping on an incline."
If the pain worsens while lying down - maybe that's something to try in the meantime?