Symptoms of acid reflux/GERD or something else?

[hannahrose91]

I am a 20 year old female, and have been having some issues for about three weeks.  I have seen both an urgent care doctor and my regular doctor and they both believe it is either acid reflux or a gallbladder issue.  I am just not sure about acid reflux, because I haven't had any heartburn or burning pain at all.  Is is possible to have acid reflux/GERD without that?  The symptoms I HAVE been having are:

-For the first week, I would occasionally (usually a few times a day) get little bursts of pain in my rib cage (could happen on either side).  It was never severe, and only lasted a few minutes.  It was definitely not a burning pain though.

-After about a week, the pain pretty much completely disappeared and instead, I just had a tight feeling in my stomach, which was pretty much chronic.  But it did seem to feel worse after I ate.  After I saw the urgent care doctor, I was prescribed Omeprazole and also started eating healthy and avoiding caffeine to see if it would help.  For about a week, my symptoms disappeared.  Then, the stomach tightness returned  this past Monday and it still hasn't gone away.  I will admit that when I felt better I drank Starbucks and soda and wasn't quite as careful about what I ate (but, I don't constantly eat fried or junk foods or anything).  But now, I'm being super careful again, and taking the medicine still, but it's still not going away.

-I've been very constipated since the tightness started.  I've struggled with constipation a bit on and off for a few years, but it's definitely been a lot worse lately.  But then today, I suddenly had diarrhea instead.

-I think this may only be due to anxiety that I'm feeling over all of this (not knowing exactly what is wrong with me, and I'm very paranoid about having a serious health condition) but occasionally I will feel like I always need to take a deep breath to get enough air but I can't.  Then I start  yawning because it's the only way to get all the air I want.

-I think I also have lost some weight with no explanation.  I'm eating healthier, but I'm really not exercising because I usually don't feel like doing so with a tight, uncomfortable stomach.  I might be eating a little less than I used to, but I'm not starving myself to the point that I should be rapidly losing weight.

And currently, I am still having mostly the tightness in my chest, but I am also sometimes having a bit of pain again.  Not severe though.  I just don't know what to think, it kind of doesn't sound like acid reflux, but then my gallbladder ultrasound came back normal and I'm not having any severe pain or "attacks" like a lot of people with GB issues describe.

[hannahrose91]

Thanks everyone.  My doctor sent me to get a HIDA scan since my ultrasound came back normal and I was still sometimes having symptoms.  Apparently, the HIDA scan showed that my gallbladder isn't working properly.  I didn't get any details from the lady who called me with the information, so I don't know exactly what level it's functioning at.  She didn't say anything about gallstones so I don't think I have those, I guess it's just a functional problem.  I'm supposed to see a surgeon next week, I assume to talk about getting it out.  I'm not having pale stools anymore, and don't really seem to be losing weight either- I've stayed about the same weight for the past few days.  But, I am still having tightness/bloating in my stomach.  That is basically my only symptom- as I said, I have NEVER had any severe pain or gallbladder "attacks" at all.  The most I ever get is mild pain but even that is very rare.  I suppose the test must be right, but is it really likely that just the gallbladder is causing the bloating in my stomach, but none of the other typical gallbladder symptoms?  I just wonder if there could be some other underlying issue causing that that could also be causing problems for my gallbladder.  If I had any infections or bacteria or anything though, I would  think they would have seen that in the ultrasound and/or the HIDA scan.  But I don't know, I'm no doctor and know nothing about these tests and what they can and can't detect.

[Flycaster305]

Just to add to the others that responded to your post... pale stools and weight loss are considered risk factors for several digestive issues, such as gall bladder, pancreas and liver changes.  I'd request a full blood test to determine a baseline and if any infections, etc. show up, and go from there.  I hope you continue to post with what you find.

[selmaS]

  Hi, yes it is possible to have GERD without heartburn, but u can also have those symptoms bcuz of too little acid too.

Make sure u find a GI dr that will do more testing to check ur PH and advise u from there.

[nannynormi]

Find a good "INTERNIST"........They deal with all problems and usually stick with you til they figure it out!

[hannahrose91]

Oh, and one other thing that's been going on...a couple days ago I noticed my stool was paler than normal, which I read could be a sign of gallstones, but I called my doctor who said that it could just be a side effect of the medicine.