I can't believe this. I had the most aweful pain, I wrote in prior posts, with chest pain, can't breath well, burning in throat, throat pain, swallowing pain, heart pain, back of chest pain.. I was freaking out, went to 6 docs, xrays, echocariogram, ekg, cultures galore, ... Some of the quacks told me about heartburn, but I dissed him, thinking he is just a quack. Then, I was talking to my mom, who has heartburn, and takes prisolec )sp?). anyways, I looked it up, this is what I have. I figured, I have some protonix, why not take a pill and try it. I did, I felt some relief. I see my llmd on Monday, should I keep taking the protonix, or buy over the counter provosilic ? I can't beleive this, I bombarded my llmd with emails, freaking out, thinking it was lyme, and I feel terribile now, I can't even face him. What am I going to tell him on Monday, I am pretty sure this is GERD, acid reflux. I am positive he will know what to do, but I am so ashamed that I sent him so many emails, and called him, freaking out. I have a bad case of GERD, but I don't really want to take the protonix without his permission. Maybe just buy over the counter for now? Please help me out guys. What do I tell my llmd? Jenin
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
I'm so glad you've finally found some relief. You really had a tough time there for awhile.
When you see your doctor on Mon just be honest with him. He should be glad that you figured it out, problem solved. Less work for him.
In the mean time maybe talk with your pharmacist to make sure that the protonix RX or OTC prevacid or OTC zantac won't react with any of the medicines you are all ready on. And if you choose to continue the protonix RX make sure that it is not expired. If it is questionable definitely switch to the OTC acid blocker (prevacid or zantac).
Take care Jenin.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
just tell him. He won't be too shocked. GERD can be really bad.
I would do over the counter for now, but check with a pharmacist about drug interactions, as sammy said.
Warning, the prilosec may not work nearly as well as the Protonix.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
GERD can be pretty bad.
If it goes on long enough, can actually burn a hole in your esophagus.
Not pretty.
Just tell your LLMD that you think you know what may be the cause of your symptoms.
I am sure that he/she being someone associated with people
Infected with Tick Borne Illnesses, understands our daily struggles
In figuring out the simple things like herx vs. medicine side effect.
I am sure he will appreciate that you erred on the side of caution.
After all, your health is what you are both after.
Make sure it is the GERD though.
Gall bladder attacks and pancreatic attacks gave me "heartburn" really bad.
I swore I was having a heart attack or something.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by btmb03 (Member # 18394) on :
Don't feel bad, I've had it so bad in the past I called EMS--it CAN be very scary.
And...hey don't be so hard on yourself.. we're not made of steel, good advice above!!
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Ask to be checked for h.pylori. A common cause of reflux and common infection in lyme patients I'm told. My reflux went away for several years after I was treated.
I seem to have it back now. It runs in people who live together and is a bacterial infection however the doctor's say it is not contagious. Yeah, right.
My dentist and her sister (an M.D.) disagree. The say it is contagious. Their whole family had it and were treated and never had a recurrance.
My doctor (not LLMD) would not agree and would not treat my husband.
I know this will shock you, but the tests aren't that accurate. Mine was positive, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten treatment even though my sisters all had it and my doctor said the tests aren't that accurate.
Terry
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Get checked for h.pylori, get an endoscopy if needed, and try carafate (it coats the stomach lining) try some prilosec otc. Avoid spicy food, acid, peppermint etc. Dont lie down after eating for 3 hours, elevate the head of your bed 6 inches.
Posted by Al (Member # 9420) on :
Lyme in the gut, Dr. Virginia Sherr
Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
Terry beat me to it.
Get tested for H. Pylori for sure. It is a simple bloodtest if you have never tested before. They just prick your finger.
Clearing H. P. will clear your heartburn and other symptoms too. Not addressing H.P. can result in ulcers and stomach cancer.
It is really worth ruling out.
Any GP can run the test.
Posted by jenin98 (Member # 12617) on :
but I don't have a primary doc, nor a GP doc. Can my llmd take this test. I am sure llmd know about this stuff.
Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
yes. llmd can. I am only surprised he/she hasn't already thought of it.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
You may need an esophogram done.
Could be a stricture as well.
Wild Condor is right though.
Do not lay flat for at least 1-2 hours after a meal.
Head of bed should be elevated to 75 degrees.
Keep us posted on what your doc says.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by jlc (Member # 18061) on :
I had responded to your posts in the past about chest pain. I had the same thing. I was ready to call 911 the last attack I had because it was much worse than other attacks.
I have had other issues with my heart due to lymes so I was certain it was that until my EKG came back great.
My LLMD was on vacation and once he got back he had me stop my antibiotics for a week (they can make this worse). I am taking something now for GERD. He said was having spasams in my esphogus.
I didnt' get the burning feeling like you do with heart burn. And it left areas numb and tingly after the attack. But he said it is all related.
So far I haven't had another attack. I call him Tuesday to find out the next step.
Posted by Jason21 (Member # 16393) on :
I have been a heartburn/GERD sufferer. Most of the others' recommendations are good.
Be sure to check for h. pylori. I had a duodenal ulcer 26 years ago which was confirmed by a barium xray. This was right around the time of the discovery that 80-90% ulcers were caused by h. pylori, but most docs were not aware of the h. pylori connection.
The doctors kept telling me it was stress, but I am a pretty easy-going person so blaming it on stress did not make much sense to me. I believe I caught h. pylori from my college roommate.
A few years ago I began to have the specific, familiar abdominal pain and cramping I had back when I had an active ulcer. However, I knew about h. pylori by this time.
I went to my fam doc, and he gave me biaxin and an acid reducer and sent off a blood test for h. pylori. The meds fixed me right up, but my h. pylori results came back negative, so don't put too much faith in the testing.
H. pylori is a clinical diagnosis, just like LD.
Studies have shown that h. pylori sufferers are more prone to GERD, so I wasn't surprised when I developed GERD about 2 years ago. (This was after I had contracted LD but before I was diagnosed with it.)
An endoscopy just showed I had evidence of an old h. pylori infection and a slight hiatal hernia.
On my gastro doc's recommendation, I began taking a stomach acid reducer.
The H2 blockers ( Zantac, Tagamet, Pepcid) did not do much for me, so I tried Prilosec, which is a PPI (proton-pump inhibitor). I now take Prilosec OTC every day, along with my LD meds, and I very rarely have any GERD symptoms.
I also stay away from peppermint (I used to chow down on Altoids) bz it relaxes the lower gastroesophageal sphincter and can cause or worsen GERD.
Now that I have been diagnosed with LD, I wonder whether Lyme or some other tick pathogen caused my gastro problems. Hopefully, I will be able to get an answer to that question one of these days.
[ 19. January 2009, 07:14 PM: Message edited by: Jason21 ]
Posted by jcschultz (Member # 16599) on :
Try Apple cider Vinager. It works wonders on GERD/Heart burn.
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