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Home > Archive > Heartburn Support > March 2006 > What to do next?
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| In October, I went to the ER because I was dizzy, having chest pains,
left arm pain and just didn't feel well for the few days prior
(couldn't eat, felt awful, etc). They did an EKG, Chest XRay, Chest CT
Scan and ended up diagnosing me with reflux. They sent me home with
instructions to see my doctor and take Zantac 150 twice a day.
I started to feel better (but not at all great--I couldn't eat more
than 1/2 a bowl of Cream of Wheat for the next week or so) and started
Nexium 40mg once a day as my doctor prescribed.
I had a barium swallow done in the next few days and it was really
challenging. I could hardly drink the liquid and was breaking out into
cold sweats as they moved me around and about to take the pictures.
According to my doctore, the report said I was full of acid from my
stomach up to my esophagus.
He wanted me to increase to Nexium 40mg twice a day and Zantac 150mg
once a day but I needed the Zantac 150mg for relief so badly he ended
up switching me to Zantac 150mg twice a day and Nexium once a day. I
started to feel better over the next several weeks and could finally
swallow food without worrying about choking or passing out.
At the end of November, I went to get a prescription refill and my
insurance wouldn't cover it. Instead, I had to get the generic
Prilosec. The next two weeks on that were horrible. I also developed a
bad sinus infection that my now former doctor didn't recognize quickly
enough and I didn't get treated with antibiotics, etc. long enough.
Toward the end of December, the insurance okayed the Nexium and I
started it again.
I was in massive pain from the sinusitis (which was later diagnosed by
CT Scan as severe sinusitis and thanks to a fantastic allergist I got
under control). But, I never got the acid reflux back under control
despite resuming the Nexium/Zantac routine. I was okay for a few days
and then awful for a few more. That doctor suggested I try Protonix
(and kindly gave me a ton of samples).
I went to get an endoscopy two days after I got the Protonix samples
and that doctor said that my stomach and esophagus were red and
inflamed but there was no damage. He also said there were striations on
my stomach that were likely indicative of all of the medications I'd
been taking but biopsied them anyway for H Pylori & Gastritis. Those
came back negative. He said to discontinue the PPIs and Zantac and try
Carafate. It worked for about 5 days but then I was back to chest pains
and burping like crazy. So I started the Protonix 40mg once a day and
Zantac 150mg at night and it worked okay (some days better than
others).
I started to develop frequent chest pains along with the burping and
discomfort. I did go see a Cardiology group to rule out heart related
issues (I had several EKGs and a stress test result that was normal. My
blood pressure and cholesterol is normal too. My heart enzymes are
good. I am overweight (although I've already lost 40 pounds since this
ordeal started in October)).
This past weekend it got really bad again, to the point of waking me up
at night with massive chest pain and burping, etc. I went to the ER
Sunday night and they said it's not my heart, but really bad reflux.
Yesterday, the doctor gave me some Xanax .5mg to try, which I did after
having some trouble taking a full breath (which I remember happening
last October). I broke it in half (I am just not crazy about all this
medication!) yesterday and it calmed me down a bit. I took it again
this morning but am still having chest pain and burping. If the chest
pain is anxiety related, I don't know how long or how much Xanax is
supposed to help or if I would be better off to try some Buspar.
He also gave me Aciphex and Prevacid samples to try. I took the
Prevacid this morning but I'm assuming it will take a few days to see
if that helps.
He said Plan B, which I could do anytime, is to see his GI doc that he
works with, who apparently specializes in tough cases. I'm leaning that
route for sure, since the GI doc I saw before wasn't much help.
I just don't know if I'm on the right track or night. It seems like
roulette everyday while I try to guess what medicine might make me feel
better.
I believe they've done a full blood workup on me and that came back
normal and I've had an ultrasound of my gallbladder that didn't show
anything unusual either.
Anyone know what I should do from here or what could be wrong with me?
Is there anything specific I should ask the new GI doc about? Is it
possible that PPIs just don't work for me (I do seem to get so much
more relief from Zantac). Ideas are so much appreciated. 
Thank you,
Laura
PS Vanny--I read your post about your trouble and I'm so sorry. I've
been reading your posts for awhile. I too seem to have developed some
joint problems on the Protonix, so I think I ought to discontinue it as
well.
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| Hi Laura,
You do have it really bad, but the doctors are at least trying so you are
fortunate there. I suggest that you study the life-style changes for the
management of GERD
http://www.gicare.com/pated/ecdgs39.htm and try and implement any that you
have not implemented to date. This also means cutting out any sweets, cough
syrups, ice-cream, etc. out of your diet - this is not particularly stressed
in the article. Certain medication can cause reflux and side-effects can be
looked up at www.drugs.com and www.rxlist.com Here is a good all
encompassing article on GERD:
http://www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc85.html Losing weight is a
really good idea and should help, but may not be enough to get the GERD
completely under control.
Keeping a patient diary might help you deal with the doctors more
efficiently and help you make the right decision. If you are interested in
diving deep into the subject then I suggest literature searches at PubMed:
http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/ and Medscape: www.medscape.com .
I sleep in a raised bed and am on a really bland diet and have managed to
get the protonix down to a maintenance dose of 20 mg per day. The joint
pains were incredibly bad last week, but have now simmered down.
If all the above does not help, then it looks as though you are a surgery
candidate. Howard is the resident doctor here and if you google at
google.groups or go through the archives at www.talkaboutsupport.com you can
read the various surgical issues and direct questions at Howard personally.
All the best,
Vanny
"Laura" <shopwithlaura@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1141843550.528510.236610@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
In October, I went to the ER because I was dizzy, having chest pains,
left arm pain and just didn't feel well for the few days prior
(couldn't eat, felt awful, etc). They did an EKG, Chest XRay, Chest CT
Scan and ended up diagnosing me with reflux. They sent me home with
instructions to see my doctor and take Zantac 150 twice a day.
I started to feel better (but not at all great--I couldn't eat more
than 1/2 a bowl of Cream of Wheat for the next week or so) and started
Nexium 40mg once a day as my doctor prescribed.
I had a barium swallow done in the next few days and it was really
challenging. I could hardly drink the liquid and was breaking out into
cold sweats as they moved me around and about to take the pictures.
According to my doctore, the report said I was full of acid from my
stomach up to my esophagus.
He wanted me to increase to Nexium 40mg twice a day and Zantac 150mg
once a day but I needed the Zantac 150mg for relief so badly he ended
up switching me to Zantac 150mg twice a day and Nexium once a day. I
started to feel better over the next several weeks and could finally
swallow food without worrying about choking or passing out.
At the end of November, I went to get a prescription refill and my
insurance wouldn't cover it. Instead, I had to get the generic
Prilosec. The next two weeks on that were horrible. I also developed a
bad sinus infection that my now former doctor didn't recognize quickly
enough and I didn't get treated with antibiotics, etc. long enough.
Toward the end of December, the insurance okayed the Nexium and I
started it again.
I was in massive pain from the sinusitis (which was later diagnosed by
CT Scan as severe sinusitis and thanks to a fantastic allergist I got
under control). But, I never got the acid reflux back under control
despite resuming the Nexium/Zantac routine. I was okay for a few days
and then awful for a few more. That doctor suggested I try Protonix
(and kindly gave me a ton of samples).
I went to get an endoscopy two days after I got the Protonix samples
and that doctor said that my stomach and esophagus were red and
inflamed but there was no damage. He also said there were striations on
my stomach that were likely indicative of all of the medications I'd
been taking but biopsied them anyway for H Pylori & Gastritis. Those
came back negative. He said to discontinue the PPIs and Zantac and try
Carafate. It worked for about 5 days but then I was back to chest pains
and burping like crazy. So I started the Protonix 40mg once a day and
Zantac 150mg at night and it worked okay (some days better than
others).
I started to develop frequent chest pains along with the burping and
discomfort. I did go see a Cardiology group to rule out heart related
issues (I had several EKGs and a stress test result that was normal. My
blood pressure and cholesterol is normal too. My heart enzymes are
good. I am overweight (although I've already lost 40 pounds since this
ordeal started in October)).
This past weekend it got really bad again, to the point of waking me up
at night with massive chest pain and burping, etc. I went to the ER
Sunday night and they said it's not my heart, but really bad reflux.
Yesterday, the doctor gave me some Xanax .5mg to try, which I did after
having some trouble taking a full breath (which I remember happening
last October). I broke it in half (I am just not crazy about all this
medication!) yesterday and it calmed me down a bit. I took it again
this morning but am still having chest pain and burping. If the chest
pain is anxiety related, I don't know how long or how much Xanax is
supposed to help or if I would be better off to try some Buspar.
He also gave me Aciphex and Prevacid samples to try. I took the
Prevacid this morning but I'm assuming it will take a few days to see
if that helps.
He said Plan B, which I could do anytime, is to see his GI doc that he
works with, who apparently specializes in tough cases. I'm leaning that
route for sure, since the GI doc I saw before wasn't much help.
I just don't know if I'm on the right track or night. It seems like
roulette everyday while I try to guess what medicine might make me feel
better.
I believe they've done a full blood workup on me and that came back
normal and I've had an ultrasound of my gallbladder that didn't show
anything unusual either.
Anyone know what I should do from here or what could be wrong with me?
Is there anything specific I should ask the new GI doc about? Is it
possible that PPIs just don't work for me (I do seem to get so much
more relief from Zantac). Ideas are so much appreciated.
Thank you,
Laura
PS Vanny--I read your post about your trouble and I'm so sorry. I've
been reading your posts for awhile. I too seem to have developed some
joint problems on the Protonix, so I think I ought to discontinue it as
well.
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| if you read the study by the company that sells nexium
you will discover that it does not treat GERD your
condition was excluded from the study.
also nexium is the generic of prilosec not the other way around
thay are both the same drug made by the same company its just that
prilosec is off patent.
if you go back to basics eat very small meals (maxmum of 2000 cal a
day) as an alternative to what you have and stop wasteing you cash on
worthless pills you will probaly recover.
moke
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|
| I wish that were true. Since October, I haven't eaten more than
1200-1400 calories per day. On some days, much, much less, which would
explain my over 50 pound weight loss.
I'm into week two here, and the Nexium 40mg twice a day seems to be
working well actually. I've also raised my bed and bought a wedge to
sleep on. I've also found (oddly enough) that if I don't sit down the
half hour to hour after eating, that helps too.
I hope you find something that works for you.
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|
| moke wrote:
> if you read the study by the company that sells nexium
> you will discover that it does not treat GERD your
> condition was excluded from the study.
>
> also nexium is the generic of prilosec not the other way around
> thay are both the same drug made by the same company its just that
> prilosec is off patent.
Wrong...nexium is not generic. Prilosec 20 mg is generic (and OTC), but the
other strengths (10mg, 40mg) are still prescription (unless it just
changed). Nexium is a long way from becoming generic. BTW, I stated once
before in here - nexium is the left side of the optical isomer for
prilosec...Pete
>
> if you go back to basics eat very small meals (maxmum of 2000 cal a
> day) as an alternative to what you have and stop wasteing you cash on
> worthless pills you will probaly recover.
>
> moke
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