I am super scared... had heartburn for the first time about 2 months ago... Was the scarest thing... After a long stressful weekend it came back this week... I am uninsured so a doctor visit is out... I am scared to sleep, afraid I won't wake up... How long does this last? What can I do to stop it? Taken Alka-seltzer like 3 times today...
lissamonkey
3/23/08 12:41pm
Well I broke down & went to a doctor... a friend told me about a place & it was only $150, so I figured that wasn't much. She said it seems to be bad heartburn brought on by stress & given that my family has a history of having heartburn in their 30's that it's no surprise. She suggest I take Prilosec 20 mg twice a day until it's better, plus liquid antiacid. It's abit better now, though it feels like I have a huge scab in my chest. I am still scared, think I freaked myself out too much...
3/25/08 9:48am
Hi Lisamonkey,
Acid reflux can be a scary thing, especially since it can exhibit symptoms for conditions from heart attacks to asthma attacks. I am really glad you went to see a doctor.
You said you feel like you have a big scab on your lungs and in some respects that can be true. The acid eats at your esophagus and at times it might have gone into your lungs. When it does that, it can create scar tissue. The scab you refer to.
Here are a couple more links. There is a link here in the drug database that will tell you about Prilosec, it's effects and side effects to watch for. The liquid antacid will help with the immediate problems, but here are some great tips to help you avoid and episode and deal with acid reflux.
Also, try some of these ideas.
Acid Reflux Diet
- First of all, try to eat small, frequent meals instead of three big meals a day. Small amounts of food each time would exert less workload on the stomach and therefore requires less acid secretion for digestion. Make sure to include foods that are high in complex carbohydrates in each meal. These foods, such as rice, breads and pasta, are able to tie up excess stomach acid and are often easy on the stomach.
- Avoid high-fat meals such as those from the fast food chains. High fat foods will remain in the stomach longer, thus causing the need for more stomach acid in order to digest them.
- But remember, don't overeat! Eating too much of any foods will stimulate the stomach to secret more acids for digestion.
- Avoid or limit alcohol
- Maintain upright position during and at least 45 minutes after eating
- Try elevating the head of bed six to eight inches when lying down.
Good luck and stay in touch, let us know how you are doing!!
Vicki M
3/25/08 10:49am
Trying to relax which is hard for me... since I stress a lot (working in retail & near the protest in Berkeley makes it sort of hard)... Still taking the Prilosec. My chest feels sore (my breast hurt & having to wear my bra on a looser hook)... so it's hard to tell about the heartburn... Boyfriend plans on talking to a co-worker about heartburn (he use to get it all the time too)... he took some natural stuff & it seems to have gone away for good... So except questions about it. :)
3/26/08 11:14pm
3/30/08 11:54pm
Hi Lisa,
There are some postings about natural remedies that might help. First off, are you following the diet changes that have been suggested? Even though you are taking the medicine, it won't help if you are still eating as you had been when the acid reflux started.
These tips are very useful
Acid Reflux tips
- First of all, try to eat small, frequent meals instead of three big meals a day. Small amounts of food each time would exert less workload on the stomach and therefore requires less acid secretion for digestion. Make sure to include foods that are high in complex carbohydrates in each meal. These foods, such as rice, breads and pasta, are able to tie up excess stomach acid and are often easy on the stomach.
- Avoid high-fat meals such as those from the fast food chains. High fat foods will remain in the stomach longer, thus causing the need for more stomach acid in order to digest them.
- But remember, don't overeat! Eating too much of any foods will stimulate the stomach to secret more acids for digestion.
- Avoid or limit alcohol
- Maintain upright position during and at least 45 minutes after eating
- Try elevating the head of bed six to eight inches when lying down.
Also, the stress is a trigger and believe me I know what it's like to have a stressful job! Tracy Davenport had an article here about psychological stress and it's effect on GERD. Ladyisis had a posting located here, where she was dealing with many different issues, acid reflux and stress being two of them. You can read the advice that was given to her and her responses.
I hope this helps. Just try to relax a bit, don't eat badly or quickly, make sure you take care not to eat large meals, and try not to eat just before bed.
Good luck and please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M
3/31/08 10:49am
Hi Vicki. Well I have been watching what I eat, which is hard it feels like everything I love is a no-no. Still taking the Prilosec twice a day... my breast feel sore... is that a side effect? It makes it hard to tell the difference if I am having heartburn pain or breast pain. I went to the ER this past Friday night. They gave me this greenish liquid, that had to drink quick that numb everything. Was told since there is little or no pain in my stomach & I don't really have an acidy taste in the back of my throat that it is stress related. Gave me a small prescription for Donotal(given genric Belladonna 20 pills) & xanac (genric Alprazolam 0.5 mg 7 pills) for the anxiety. Was told to use both when the heartburn feels bad, that they should help me sleep. I've seen the papaya pills at a health store, are they safe to take w/Prilosec? Is there anything else I can do about the anxiety or stress? This is all so hard w/o health insurance... I was in tears about the cost as we were trying to decide to go to the ER...
-Lissa
4/10/08 8:36am
Hi Lissa,
I am sorry you are having such a time of it. Instead of finding papaya pills, try eating some papaya fruit. It'll be something to eat, (when there is a lot you shouldn't) and the fiber will do your stomach good. Pineapple is also a good source of enzymes that help the stomach digest properly. Dr Eisner also suggests chickory tea to soothe the stomach.
You may also want to read this SharePost about fast foods that may not aggravate GERD:Tracy's 9 Best Fast Food Picks for Those With GERD.
I am not a doctor, but it seems that the hospital thinks there is something more going on than just heartburn. Stress can certainly make things worse and unfortunately because you anticipate the pain, you are having problems with anxiety. I am not sure about the breast pain, that again is something a doctor needs to know about and diagnose.
I know it's difficult, but you need to learn to relax a little. Breathe in, breathe out and then do it all over again. Getting upset can not help and can actually make things worse.
You can read a little more about stress and the affects here:
Psychological Distress Increases Acid Reflux Severity
You might want to document what you've done, where you've been and what you've eaten and had to drink within the 24 hours before you started feeling the pains. Keep a daily journal if it helps to write it all down. Then the next time you see a doctor or a nurse, you can show it to them to see if they see anything that could be causing the problems.
I know it's tough especially since you don't have insurance but most hospitals have programs for folks who do not have insurance. Call the hospital administrators office and see if there is something that might help you. Remember, it is illegal for any hospital to refuse treatment for medical emergencies. They can not turn you away. Please take care of yourself and stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M
4/12/08 3:18am
Having a bad day... they put me on a new antidepressante Lexapro... suppose to take 1/2 of a 10mg pill everyday... Well it makes you have dry mouth... so I drank a bunch of water... well it turns out I wasn't suppose to do that... I hadn't been eating much cause of gas (again the doc. over the phone here guessing) made me feel full & anytime I tried to eat I couldn't... So my body was rebeling cause of lack of food... Called the doc. thinking I was dehygrated & toungue feeling swollen she told me side effect of drug doing that told me to relaxe (I was/am anxtious cause I was/am alone tonight)... Well I forgot to tell her about pains (tinglings) in my legs & arms (bad in the hand that has nerve damaged)... so I called again... when she called back she was POed she was like you haven't eaten you going to make yourself hypoglausmic drink water wasn't good... I am scared & didn't know this... I had told her I felt full cause of the gas... I even said I was sorry to call again... I drank some of that yougart w/ the antibonics in it & snacked a bit... everything hurts & I still have dyria ... I asked her if I could take something for it... but she thinks it "maybe" a bug so to let it run it's course... never mind I believe some of the med.'s side effects are this... So how am I suppose to keep nutrents in me if I am going to the bathroom like 5 min.'s later.... oh & the pains in my chest are back now too... panic?
Lissa
5/22/08 8:07am
I was in your shoes. No medication helped Told to eat vegetables all the time. What I did do is get some pH sticks and measure my acidity. I downloaded an antacid diet and learned what was acid. I use this most of the time, but now I am managing much better. What is no good is fried food, coffee, tea, tomatoes all of these cause trouble. There are a couple of firms that sell digestive treatment - they were pretty expensive so I didn't try these. I still have a lot of fatigue, but I continue hunting for this...stress sure doesn't help. Take some time out and try to meditate. Also tell yourself that your thinking doesn't help and you could try some positive assertions.
Good luck.
4/12/08 10:31am
Hi Lissa,
The water probably dilutes the medication without giving you any benefit of substance in your tummy. Try drinking flavored waters or juices if you are thirsty. You can offset your electrolite balance if you don't get enough into you. V8 and tomato juice are good too.
Here are some tips for helping to cope with the diarrhea. According to this article, Zinc has been found to help children who are suffering with diarrhea. You can read it here. If you have a cold or a flu bug, it will also help with that.
You can get more information on Lexapro here, but I suspect it is the cause of the dry mouth. There are also otherside effects to be aware of. The tingling could be caused by withdrawal from the Lexapro. Also the diarrhea. Here is a link that talks specifically about that. Did you try to stop taking it at some point? It is a medication that you need to ween off of or you can tell your doctor you are having side effects and perhaps they can prescribe you a different medication.
Take care Lissa and let us know how you are doing.
Vicki M
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Hi Lisamonkey,
You've come to a great place for information about GERD and related issues. I will give you some links to check out. Online information is not a replacement for a doctor's advice. If you are really experiencing problems you might need to go to one of those urgent care places to make sure there is nothing seriously life threatening going on.
First off, you might want to read about Acid Reflux here in the overview. You can check your symptoms here in the symptoms database. Could be you have symptoms that are not normal for acid reflux, but then you could have symptoms that are related and you just didn't realize. Next, you can check out the drugs database. There are many prescription drugs available, but there are some over the counter medications as well. You can check these against anything you are currently taking. Finally you can read about current treatments for GERD here in the treatments database.
I hope you find this information helpful. There are more links that I will send along a little later.
Take care and stay in touch, let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M