Yesterday, my son's partner and the mother of my 2 yr old grandson, spent most of the day in the hospital emergency room. She is 33 yrs old and morbidly obese. She had been complaining during the last week of constant heartburn. Yesterday morning she said she was dizzy. She is attending school to be a Medical Assistant, so she decided to go to school and have her blood pressure taken. Her blood pressure was on the high side for her, 150 over 120. One of the other students took her to the hospital. After a long day, they told her she had Acid Reflux and prescribed Protonix and Ativan, for anxity. She feels the dizzyness and fatigue she is feeling arn't related to the heartburn. I think it is possible, but I also think she is at great risk for a heart attack. Could prolonged heart burn cause dizzyness???
I know it's tough dealing with something like acid reflux. Dizziness is a common and uncommon symptom of GERD (Acid Reflux) There are steps you grandson's friend can take to reduce the episodes and reduce the severity of the episodes.
First off, I hope she is seeing a doctor, and if not she should seek professional help. We can offer suggestions but ultimately the doctor knows best. That being said, there are some great resources here online to help. To read about GERD and find tips on how to cope with the lifestyle changes, you can get the basics for understanding the problem here. The symptoms database is a good place to start if you are having a symptom you want information about. It will also help you prepare questions you need to ask of your doctor.
There are some steps she can take to help lessen the acid reflux. She should be eating 5-6 small meals a day. Snacking sortof, not eating one big meal a day. Not eating late in the evening before bed is also recommended. When she sleeps, she should sleep elevated and/or on her left side. That will help ease some of the nighttime problems. You can read more about treatment and alternatives here.
Finally there are lots of folks in the same position as you who have shared their stories and hints for coping here online. You can read from our resident experts, like Dr Eisner (his profile and postings located here) Jan Gambino writes alot about infant GERD, but has some great insight into how to deal with it on a daily basis. (Her profile and postings located here)
I hope you find something in this information that is helpful. Remember, have her get in touch with a doctor to plan a management care plan. Take care and please stay in touch!!
Vicki M