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Wed 17 Feb, 2016 06:12 pm
Hello.. I NEED help.. Please bear with me, this is a little long... 3 weeks ago (on a Monday) I felt sick, I went to my doctor and he diagnosed me with a sinus infection, he proscribed Cipro (my first time ever having Cipro), after a few days I felt better. The fallowing Sunday I woke up with a pain in my chest, I assumed it was a pulled muscle from laughing the week before. By Wednesday it hadn't gotten any better so I got nervous and went to the ER. I was there for 6 hours, I had an EKG, blood work, chest X-Ray and was on a heart monitor. My heart was deemed good, no issues. It seemed to calm me down and I felt a little better. A few days later I felt like I had acid reflux, again I went to my doctor, he prescribed me Pantoprazole 40mg, the acid reflux seemed to calm down but I was getting a pain directly below my sternum, not a bad pain, more of a discomfort, and also seemed to have a little stomach ache. I then made an appointment with a Gastroenterologist, they couldn't get me in till this week, so I started to do my own research and read a lot of info that I wish I hadn't. By this passed Sunday I had myself so worked up, I didn't feel like eating or doing anything. On Monday morning i told my wife that I couldn't wait till Wednesday and that I wanted to go to the ER again, so we went. Again I had an EKG and bloodwork, both perfect (except my glucose was a little high, 200) and they also gave me an ultrasound because by then I felt a little worse. The ultrasound also came back good, everything was fine. The ER doctor prescribed me Pepcid 20mg. I then called the gastroenterologist to see if he had any cancellations, they did, so I went in. He asked me a bunch of questions asked about my pain and suggested I have an Endoscopy, so I set that up. I had the Endoscopy yesterday. Again, no serious issues were found, no cancer, gall bladder good, no ulcers. He did say that there was very minimal inflammation on the bottom of my esophagus and a little swelling in my stomach, but couldn't give me a diagnosis till the biopsy comes back (a week and a half). I was happy that nothing serious was found. When I got home from the Endoscopy I felt ok, I had lunch and I got a little discomfort it feels like towards the bottom of my esophagus, I also felt a little bloated. Today I feel the same except my chest is bothering me again, I feel like I have a little reflux, I don't feel like eating. I'm a nervous wreck. How is nothing found but I have issues??? I just want to know whats wrong with me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike
Wait for the results that are pending. In the meantime, eat foods that don't give you discomfort
The self inflicted anxiety and stress are not helpful to your body. Do something to distract yourself. Go for a walk, clean out the garage, get an early start on spring clean up around the house, enjoy time with your kids, etc.
@blwn350,
It sounds like the medical professionals have diagnosed and investigated it well so far and you should obviously keep up with the professional treatment.
I think you should calm down, and focus on letting the gastroenterologists get to the bottom of this. I had similar symptoms and freaked out in similar ways so I know where you are coming from.
Quote:How is nothing found but I have issues??? I just want to know whats wrong with me.
Didn't you say you had acid reflux? I mean it sounds like what they are presumably treating you for, if your lower esophageal sphincter leaks stomach acid it can cause a very uncomfortable feeling in the chest and throat (and the swelling in lower esophagus can also be explained by this). It can even cause the sinus problems etc. If this was identified as a problem what makes you think it's not the problem? If you are just worrying about what else it could be and ruling that out then that's great but sounds like they've ruled out other stuff and are giving you treatment for the acid reflux.
I had a similar experience and got myself all stressed thinking it could be esophageal cancer and everything but it was reflux and while that can really suck and be uncomfortable as hell it is what it is and is manageable.
You will want to talk to your doctor about diet (various things can make it much worse, from carbonated beverages to tomato sauce etc, and people can differ too so you will want to have ongoing discussion with your doctor about diet). Your doctor may advice you to eat smaller meals, and avoid eating 4 hours before lying down.
Your doctor may advise losing weight or other vices as both weight and things like nicotine or sedatives can cause the lower esophageal sphincter to leak etc.
Anyway, my basic point is that what you describe sounds like the gastroenterology issue that it is being treated as and if the doctors haven't found anything else wrong with you that may well be it. Unfortunately those issues may be chronic and that would suck but if they haven't found anything serious then try to relax and focus on what they did find (the acid reflux).
@Robert Gentel,
I also want to mention that the proton pump inhibitor that you were prescribed (the Pantoprazole) is not something that works immediately. It doesn't seek to treat the symptoms like antacids do, the way it works is to get your stomach to produce less acid. It's a long-term treatment so if you tried it briefly and didn't notice a difference don't discard it if your doctor prescribed it.
Hopefully you won't have to take it forever (I didn't have to) and you may need something else like a prokinetic agent for a while to get this solved for you but either way the lifestyle changes (better diet, losing weight if needed etc) can't hurt you and for acid reflux can be the difference.
Keep going to the professionals, of course, and hopefully they can get to the bottom of this. Good luck!
@Robert Gentel,
I've been taking the Pantroprazole for about a week now. Thank you for the advice!! I will keep you posted on my progress.
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