what's wrong with me?!!?? help

Mickeycaregiver

Hello Everyone, my experience with Acid Reflux Disease has been quite an ordeal. My Mother who is 87 years old and has had an Aortic Valve Replacement (in 2000) began having what she described as a hot burning sensation in her chest and neck. These episodes would last a day or two and then disappear for a couple of weeks only to return most often in the middle of the night and then keep up for 24 to 36 hrs. She was checked out by her GP and we were never given any diagnosis. Mom had enough other problems we were dealing with that it just seemed the Doctor never really addressed this one particuliar symptom. Finally, after a year or so of these episodes they began to happen more frequently and much more intense. EKG's, Ultrasounds, and other tests were run, but nothing showed up. Finally one really intense episode took us to the ER. Mom was admitted and hooked up to a heart and bloodpressure monitor. By morning the Doctor came in and moved Mom to Intensive Care, it seems her heart had actually stopped beating for long periods of time during the night and then when it would start up again it would race. She had both Tackycardia and Bradycardia. She was transferred by ambulance to a heart hospital that was two hours away for a pacemaker. After the surgery I asked the Cardiologist if this was going to eleviate the burning in her chest and he said no, it would not do anything for that. He said she had Angina and that was the pain she was experiencing. He was on his way out of the hospital at the time and just kinda threw that out and away he went. While Mom was in the hospital she did not experience the chest pain and I was hoping he was wrong and it had somehow stopped the burning pain. But it returned....and back to the ER again, where she was given some meds and sent home with a recommendation for her to see her GP the next day. Her GP did not think it was Angina and scheduled her for a couple of tests. He was right, she had acid reflux disease. To make a long story short, nothing seemed to be able to control the episodes which were no longer intermitten, but almost constant, just varying in degrees of pain. I read everything I could find on Acid Reflux and found my way to this board. I learned from one thread that Magnesium with Calcium and Zinc had been known to help (OTC at Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars for 100 tabs) when taken three times a day with meals. And for quick pain relief for those times when the pain was bad a product you get from the Health Food Stores Mag.Phos. 6X and for the nerves and anxiety that goes along with this kind of pain a product Kali Phos 6X. The GP's perscriptions; Carafate (which coats and protects the throat, esophagus, and stomach) before each meal and at bedtime; Prevacid 30 mg once a day; Metoclopramide 5 mg before each meal and at bedtime. At this time Mom has had two wonderful pain free (well, almost pain free) days and is feeling so much better. Mom was frightened every time the pain returned due to her previous heart problems and the fright made everything much much worse of course. The homeopathic Kali Phos 6X really helped with her anxiety and the Mag Phos 6X for the quick relief has helped her over the worst times and now the other meds seem to be making headway. It takes a few days for the Prevacid to reach it's peak of effectiveness.

I don't know if this helps anyone, but when you think you may be having a mild heart attack and your tests say it's not the heart, Acid Reflux can be the culprit. I don't know about others, but I'll take the Acid Reflux any day over the other.

Hope everyone gets relief, I know how chronic this can be.

Pained

Hi,

I have joined this forum because I have been following this thread in attempt to diagnose my own problem. You all have intrigued me with the connections, misdiagnoses, and observations about symptoms all familiar to me, and for that I am grateful.

I would like to pursue this line by adding my own experience. Hopefully it will contribute to the research you all are doing. I am a 39 year old male in good physical shape. I run my own restaurant and walk and or on my feet at least a literal 6 hours a day. I can exert myself physically without any increase in the symptoms, or heart activity, and so for this reason I have tentatively eliminated clogged arteries and the like heart-related diagnoses. The symptoms are those of GERD and the related. I'll try to describe them.

The "pain" that I receive is two-part. On the one hand it is a wandering pain in the upper chest area, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. This aspect comes and goes unexpectedly. I have had my stomach full, and almost empty, and neither extreme seems to alter the frequency. This first type is a dull pain, almost muscular feeling, never severe at all, just something that makes me say "what the..."... and want to press on the area. I can see attributing it to gas...e.g.

The second pain emanates from the sternum, and because of the way it accompanies the first I think they are related. Neither is it reflective of what I eat in the short term, although possibly in the longer term (say next day, maybe one digestion cycle). This second is a nagging sharp pain, although also not severe, and also not predictable. When I was younger, I got heartburn a lot, suddenly those symptoms disappeared, replaced by these. The old type of heartburn does still occur after predictable eating (hot spicy food, etc.). Lately I have been waking up with pinkinsh blotches in the areas I have been describing, I do not know if it is from my scratching those areas. I do have a weak sphincter (is that what they call where the esophagus meets the stomach?), used to get car sick as a child frequently, get nauseous very easily, and boat trips are 50/50 a ruin for me. Sometimes I can taste the acid in my mouth.

Now I have no problem reporting to a doctor, but I should mention I have no plan to have an operation, or take any drugs, for any diagnoses that is merely specualtive. Of all the research I have been doing (these symptoms are a VERY common problem, I have found...) my disease could be GERD, it could be panic attacks, it could be a duodenal ulcer, it could be erosion of the esophagus. It could be the water I drink, or the yeast I eat. It could be something to do with the percardium, or the ligaments and tissue attaching the ribs to the sternum. Cancer of course.

The most positive information I have so far acquired has been on this thread. Prilosec, I gather from it, may be worth a shot for me.

But I should add one more thing. About ten years ago I got in an auto accident, I used to often carry a pen clipped up on the neck of my shirt, and when our cars collided, the seat belt in restraining me kind of smashed that pen into my sternum, and I think it possible that some damage could have occured then, only now showing itself (bone spurs? broken sternum?).

As for the psychological aspect, I think the old anxiety can cause ulcers theory still has some truth in it.

I can say also I eat a lot of yeast, in dough and breads.

Again, I have no problem breathing, no problem with stamina or regular normal trips to the bathroom and otherwise feel 20 years old. So what do you think? Am I ready for glue?

Mickeycaregiver

No way are your ready for the glue factory.....too much good stuff left.

If there is one thing I have discovered for sure about Acid Reflux it's that the symptoms manifest differently from one individual to another, indeed, even one episode from another. I have also learned that to be sure of the cause of symptoms you must listen carefully to the characteristics of the cumulative episodes and then test your way into or out of the respective disease.

The test to determine Acid Reflux involves drinking some awful thick stuff and having X-rays that follow the soloution into the stomach. While lying flat on your back if the soloution starts refluxing back out of the stomach and into the esophagus you have Acid reflux disease. The next thing you want to know is just how bad do you have it? Is there damage to the esophagus? Is it caused by excess acid in the stomach or a weak Les Muscle that can't close off the stomach to prevent the acid from moving back into the esophagus?

I suspect you do have Acid Reflux from the symptoms you describe. I can't tell you it's not something other than Acid Reflux but I can tell you that if it were me and I wasn't ready to go in for tests I would try some of the OTC Prilosec for a couple of weeks along with the Homeopathic Mag. Phos. 6X and the Kali Phos. 6X from your health food store. If this treatment relieves your symptoms you are pretty much assured it is Acid Reflux.

Mag. Phos. 6X gives quick relief from the symptoms when taken 4 tablets dissolved in mouth. Mother takes two perscription medications daily for her Acid Reflux and uses the Mag. Phos. 6X as needed. She takes the Kali Phos. for relief from the anxiety that comes on with the episode.

We chose this method of treatment for my Mother because her age and health would prevent us from doing more invasive techiques/treatments. There is another test to determine the level of damage done to her esophagus which involves swallowing a tube with a light attached so the physican can actually see any damage in her esophagus and stomach. Both her physican and I would like to avoid having that test unless &/or until we can not relieve her symptoms with the meds.

Mom also had the pain in the sternum which we attritubed to the previous open heart surgery until we confirmed the Acid Reflux.

I wish you the best.
Mickey