Any gastro docs in here?

[blykins]

I've been struggling with GERD since this past spring.

I have never had heartburn, just the inability to catch a full breath after eating, along with the feeling of trapped air right between my ribcage at the very bottom.

I went and saw my family doctor, gave her my symptoms, and she did some tests. She gave me a breathing test to check lung capacity, chest x-ray, and a test for H.Pylori. All came out ok.

She put me on Prilosec OTC. I started taking that and within 2 weeks, it had taken away my symptoms and everything was peachy.

Last week, the symptoms came back and it's getting back to the way it was before the medication.

I'd like some advice on what to do next. I'm thinking that I need to go get an endoscopy to make sure everything is kosher.

I'd like to hear some thoughts.

[392cobra]

Originally Posted by blykins

I've been struggling with GERD since this past spring.

Last week, the symptoms came back and it's getting back to the way it was before the medication.

I'd like some advice on what to do next. I'm thinking that I need to go get an endoscopy to make sure everything is kosher.

I'd like to hear some thoughts.

Get the endoscopy.You need someone to take a look see.
I've had one and it's no big deal.

[Doug I]

Between all the members here there is an incredible skill base.

I'm sure that collectively we could handle any surgery you'll need and we can adapt almost any tool to do things it was never meant for

Plenty of hammers to handle the ani ... aneni .... anestina ... the knock out gas (never could spell anesthesia), lots of gas lines that could be used and calendars on the wall to distract you.

Seriously - see your Doc and tell her your concerns and go from there.

[blykins]

I've already called and left a message for her to call me back. I plan on having it, but I was just wanting another opinion as to options in the future. If it is just acid reflux and medicine won't cut it, then what?

[HI Cobra]

Check it out. They noticed a restriction where my esophagus meets my stomach when they were looking at my spine. Come to find out it was scar
tissue from a acid reflux condition and if not dealt with could lead to cancer.
He put me on the Prilosec and that took care of it. I go in once a year for
the scope to check things out. so far so good - I lost a friend a while back to
esophagus cancer - bad way to go.

[Smokingcobra2]

Had the same problem a couple years ago- Doctor checked me out=

I had swallowed a Corvette
joeg

[Bobcat]

I had one several years ago .... just don`t do what I did . I had a flight later that day ( early afternoon ) and they told me I would have to go the next day because of the anesthesia . So I asked the Doctor how big a deal it would be to do it without the anesthesia .... just numb the throat . His words ... " not a big deal , you won`t have any problems " . So guess what I did .
That`s when I found out there is a huge difference between what a Doctor says is no big deal and what I think a big deal is .
Numbing the throat doesn`t help when they put something the size of a fire hose down your throat , at least it felt that big !
Anyway he said I did great ... I swore I would never listen to him again
The next one was with the anesthesia and really was no big deal .... and I was able to drive after an hour or so .... and it gives him time to really check things out .

[blykins]

So what symptoms did you have, what did he find, and what did he prescribe?

[Bobcat]

My symptoms were food not going all the way down sometime ... almost like a muscle spasm right at my breast bone ( and it hurt like crazy ) and then I had to wait about 30 seconds for the food to go down . I was also having stomach pains/burning and some internal bleeding . Turns out I had both acid reflux and multiple ulcers . Protonix and retirement have worked wonders .
He also said to not eat within 2 to 3 hours before going to bed (was impossible with my travel schedule ) and to elevate the head of my bed about 3 inches . It keeps the stomach acid from backing up , and to cut out all caffeine .
Good luck .... they are able to down some really neat things these days .... but it all starts with the correct diagnosis , and the endoscopy is the best way to start as he can check out both the stomach and the esophagus at the same time .
I had to make some major lifestyle changes , but don`t regret it at all .

[blykins]

Since this past spring, I have made a lot of changes. I used to eat fast food CONSTANTLY. I hardly ever eat it anymore. I used to drink 5-6 Cokes per day. I drink nothing but water now. I don't really know what could cause it, I don't really feel that I'm under any stress.

[blykins]

The doctor is supposed to call tomorrow with an appointment, so hopefully we can get this done and get it over with.

I hope that if it's nothing major, then they can just give me a different medicine as the Prilosec has given up on me.

[Scott S]

Brent I have been taking Prilosec OTC for years once or twice a day, every once in a while the heartburn will flare through the drug so I keep some prescription Prevacid on hand to get it back under control.

The best thing I ever did to reduce GERD was lose some weight, I dropped about 20 lbs and it made all the difference in the world.

I had the endoscope done a couple of times with no problems to be found.

Scott S

[blykins]

I'm thinking that I'll have to try a different drug barring there's nothing major wrong. I've heard Nexium is the bomb. LOL

[Scott S]

Originally Posted by blykins

I'm thinking that I'll have to try a different drug barring there's nothing major wrong. I've heard Nexium is the bomb. LOL

Yes Nexium works very well too and the price is dropping. You can get generic Prilosec at Costco now for about 20% cheaper than the brand name. I hope the other two drugs go over the counter soon.

Scott S

[David-JBL]

Did the EGD find the cause of the problem?

[Bill Bess]

Brent, I had the same problems as "Bobcat", and my doctor did all the tests for GERD.
Exercise, lose weight, Protonix twice a day and now everythng is all good.
No real problems for a year or so and I can eat whatever I want, although I still have somewhat of a problem swalling certian types of food, it can stick in my throat. Plenty of beer always works to make things good agian....HA....HA!

Best ergards, Bill

[bomelia]

I assembled my own endoscope from one of those round web cameras, some flexible tubing and a long usb cable (you'll need at least 30 feet of each). The nice thing is you can do this in the privacy of your own home, right in front of your computer. Oh, you will need to patch a small led light on the front of the camera too. Email pictures to your doctor... do not try self diagnosis.

Mike

[blykins]

I'd like to see you use that Mike.

[HI Cobra]

Mike,
If you can run that thing down to your stomach you have absolutely no gag
reflex. They have to knock me out to do that. They tried to run a tube through my nose to get to my stomach one time and only managed to coil it
in my throat no matter what they tried - no fun at all - they gave up and i was
worn out from trying to barf. That won't happen again.

[bomelia]

It goes in the other end.

Mike