Symptom help
Question:
A few months back I had tightness in my chest and what felt like heart palpitations. So I went to the doc and they run an ECG and find high voltage spikes or something to that effect. So they do an echocardiogram (sp?) to check for an enlarged heart, but find nothing. The problem has continued for months since then, mostly at night when I sleep on my back. I’ve also had back pain and what feels like swelling of the adams apple (difficulty swallowing) and when it’s real bad, then urge to throw up. I’ve also started to notice this during exercise. I’ve never had "classic heartburn" symptoms though. So I go back to the doc and they saddle me up with a 24 hr monitor to rule out heart problems. So now he prescribes an antacid, without doing any gastric tests. Everything is stress with this guy. From what little I’ve read in this group, this can be a complex problem, anything from Acid Reflux to GERD or spasms of the esophagus. Apart from finding a new doctor, what else can I do to narrow this down?
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> A few months back I had tightness in my chest and what felt like heart > palpitations. So I went to the doc and they run an ECG and find high > voltage spikes or something to that effect. So they do an > echocardiogram (sp?) to check for an enlarged heart, but find nothing. > The problem has continued for months since then, mostly at night when I > sleep on my back. I’ve also had back pain and what feels like swelling > of the adams apple (difficulty swallowing) and when it’s real bad, then > urge to throw up. I’ve also started to notice this during exercise. > I’ve never had "classic heartburn" symptoms though. > So I go back to the doc and they saddle me up with a 24 hr monitor to > rule out heart problems. So now he prescribes an antacid, without doing > any gastric tests. Everything is stress with this guy. From what little > I’ve read in this group, this can be a complex problem, anything from > Acid Reflux to GERD or spasms of the esophagus. Apart from finding a > new doctor, what else can I do to narrow this down?
See a gastroenterologist or surgeon. You need an upper GI endoscopy (EGD) and 48-hours ambulatory pH testing to rule out GERD. HMc
