Community Chat

[Kachina624]

@dennylilly.  The most common acid ready reducers are Tagamet, Zantac, and Pepcid.  I take the generic version of Zantac.  They can be taken on an "as needed" basis and are a lot more effective than Tums.

[Susan Louise]

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@dennylilly wrote:

I posted about my headaches recently and now I am not sure what is going on with chest pressure that is not pain.  I was given an EKG along with some type of bloodwork to check out my heart and it was OK.  Not sure if its anxiety or indegestion ( i am taking previcid for that and have for years).  The headaches are minor compared to this.  Trying not to worry but I am on vacation and to say the least this is ruining it.

Tell me your stories about this if you have any experience.  I am going to buy some antacids to see if that helps.  It is not pain but if its anxiety how do I not be anxious every time wondering if its gonna be pain?

Thanks again.

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@dennylilly   I took Prevacid for about 5+ years. When I started to develop indigestion and acid reflux, I would use pepto bismol a day or two after dinner each week. Funny (actually not so funny) thing was, I am not a spicy food eater...never had been. So the commercials about various OTC meds that showed folks eating spicy foods I couldn't relate to whatsoever.

So anyway...

Then I had to start carrying around Zantac because the episodes became more frequent. It seemed that the more OTC meds I took, the more issues I had with GERD/acid reflx and severe heartburn. It got to a point that my problem became so severe I couldn't lay in bed normally and I had to sleep at night with 3 pillows so my head was propped up enough so I didn't wake up choking! I was also eating the OTC pills and taking pepto bismal tablets like candy. I was really getting scared.

Then last Sept DH was diagnosed with being a type 2 diabetic. His Dr told him to cut out carbs and keep them to less than 60 a day. Since I was eating the same lifestyle and also found out I was becoming pre-diabetic, we changed our lifestyle, cleared out our pantry and started eating low carb/keto.

Not only did our blood sugar numbers normalize, but within 2 weeks of the new lifestyle I didn't need to take any of the OTC meds for acid reflux anymore! I was able to sleep normally with one pillow again. I didn't live with fear of waking up in the middle of the night choking on acid reflux.

I also worried daily about the long term effects of PPI drugs and early onset of dementia.

I highly recommend watching a 15 minute video about GERD/heartburn/acid reflux (link below):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1pj07mF574

Bottom line...our bodies just can't handle the carb load anymore...period. We can't eat the conventional diet anymore. Our bodies had enough.

You know, I just may have wound up in the hospital because of the severity of my GERD issues...especially if I wound up choking again in the middle of the night since I don't have 2 lungs anymore after having had lung cancer surgery.

It was a 5 year long painful journey...starting with just taking Pepto Bismal a couple of times a week after dinner. It ended with my eating the OTC like candy. All along the way the GERD/acid reflux/heartburn kept getting worse. That was the insanity.

I also could not take the OTC meds at the rate I was taking them for any longer without having additional medical health issues developing.

So it was an absolute blessing in a sense DH was diagnosed last year as a type 2 diabetic. We are in a much better place now. Not only have I not needed to take a single OTC med, DH is off his diabetic and cholesterol meds too. Think of all the $$$ we save monthly...

Keep in mind, whenever one is able to get OFF meds, they are healthier.

Lastly, I am mad at the pharma companies, the gov, and health institutes pushing 'certain' drugs and the upside down food pyramid to keep folks sick so they can still rake in the $. They want to keep having folks believe by taking this that or the other it will help them....and eating oodles of carbs...grains/rice/pasta and high sugary fruits. If I (and my DH) had known/seen the video I posted above years ago, we would have started eating differently a long time ago.

[OnlyShopsOnline]

I haven't read all of the replies.....but could be muscle tension across the chest, shoulders and neck.

[dennylilly]

*UPDATE*
I’m Heading home from vacation. I have felt pretty much the same. I just went on through it. I was not worried as much about the chest pressure/feeling once it went on and on and it obviously wasn’t a heart attack. I went back on the previcudbafter a couple days when I reconsidered that I probably shouldn’t change what my Dr gave me just yet. I took Tums a few times but am not sure if it made a difference. Sometimes I felt like it was some version of a hot flash or maybe a weirdheart burn no matter how much I try to evaluate it I have the feeling I cannot describes it any better than I did before so this will be a problem when I return to my doctor.

I dread going home because I will be less distracted in my normal life and more likely to think about it every time it happens. This is why I more inclined to think it’s gastric and NOT anxiety. My dr on the other hand from the beginning seems to think it’s stress and I know she’d like to put me on meds. I really want to avoid any meds. For anxiety I mean.

Just updating and asking you to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate all the things you have helped me with. It really eased my mind in many ways. Just can’t wait to be normal again.

[dennylilly]

*previcid*

[deepwaterdotter]

 Hope you and your husband made some happy memories to cherish throughout the year. 

[FlowerBear]

you might find some help on the site anxietybusters.   dr ronnie who i wrote to in an email was of so much help during some times of bad anxiety!  wish you the best.

[bobby5]

I forget everything you had done so far, so if I mention stuff you had done, sorry about that. If you have an endoscopy done, that will tell you if you have acid reflux and/or a hiatel hernia. If you have a stress test done, that will tell you if you have heart issues. I'm no doctor, but if both of those tests are negative, then it probably is anxiety. No one wants to have tests done, but knowledge is power & it should put an end to your worrying...or at least ease it a bit.

[DAD]

It could be muscoskeletal pain. The most common place is the breast bone. It's an inflammation & many people think there's something wrong with their heart. It takes awhile to get over. I was given a steroid & was allergic to it. So I took advil that is an anti imflammatory. It can happen elsewhere too. I felt like someone had driven a knife thru me right above my breasts & right in the middle of my chest. Of course they did exray, bloodwork & EKG. I had never heard of it before. My anxiety went thru the roof because I didn't know what could be wrong with me!

[Drlinda]

Dennylilly,

I was diagnosed with lpr.  Non-cardiac chest pain, cough, throat clearing and high anxiety.  Have to combine diet changes, acid suppression, and lifestyle changes.

Highly recommend Dr. Jamie Koufman’s Book Dropping Acid.

Hope you are feeling better.