2 months ago I ended up in the ER with chest pains, BP was high. Everything checked out normal. Chest x-ray, blood enzymes, nuclear stress echo. 34 yr old male.
Looking into GI now, but the local GI guys seem to work about 2 days a month. Meanwhile, my IM had me start prilosec OTC immediately in December. 20mg per day. I had heartburn and regurg for years, I've abnormally burped for even longer. I've been getting shooting pains up and down the center of my chest, outside of my chest, and even in my jaws and arms for a few months now. That is why I ruled out cardiac first.
However, my burping has gotten worse, and worse. I mean, I can't stop. Furthermore I'm gassier than ever now. Last Friday things changed in a big way. I woke up at 3am with chest pain, and my stomach gurgling. Gurgling loud enough for my wife to hear it for hours. This has continued every night since then, right around 5am. I feel hungry all the time, if I don't feel bloated (seems to be no in-between). I feel like I'm having heart palps, but it seems to be too low for that.
When I wake up I also have a dull aching pain under my bottom ribs for a little while. Then I burp, and burp, and burp. Then I might pass gas for a while, then I burp some more.I get some random shooting pains in my stomach, and after eating in the center of my chest.
IM had me double the prilosec last week am/pm. Two days later is when this insane gurgling and belching/gas began. So, I went back down to 1 a day. In fact, I tried 48 hours without any. No change.
I'm so unbelievably frustrated. I did have a gall bladder ultrasound done a month ago, GI doc didn't call so I figure it was OK. I am scheduled for an upper GI scope in a couple weeks.
Like many, my mind starts to race, and with this big time change last Friday, with no change since I'm worried this could be something a lot worse than GERD. IM doc checked H Pylori and nothing. I've noticed some foods (like long grain rice) pass through me REAL quickly with little digestion going on.
The shooting pains in my stomach and through my chest are very troublesome, that combined with burping and this feeling that I have a "gurgling" in my upper throat at times has me real nervous. I am not passing any blood or coughing any up. The pains are shooting, but do not double me over etc. I'm slightly nausous.
Eating eases the gurling and slight pain/nausea for a little bit, but then things get worse. Every AM Though, I wake up around 5am with gurgling, some chest pains, and burping, burping, and more burping. Some of the burps come from way down low and are very powerful. Some I "cause" myself for relief. Oh, when I burp I never taste acid. Haven't for 2 years now. I KNOW the upper GI should be telling in 2 weeks, but in the meantime:
1. Should I push for something now? (Bascially, ER?)
2. Could this all really be GERD and maybe esop spasm?
3. Could the prilosec be causing problems?
4. What could cause all this?