Nightmare on Gerd Street

49 years old, family of five, and own my own software company.  Had heart attack in Nov 08. Blocked artery. No idea I had it. Angioplasty and drug eluding stent. Put on Plavix, Aspirin, Coumadin, Simvastatin, Lisiniprol. Went through cardiac rehab for three months. Rehab went great. In best shape of my life. Then two months after heart attack, with one month to go in rehab, started to get terrible constriction in my throat - around my adams apple.  Cardiac dr took me off Lisiniprol - said it was acid reflux - take some OTC zantac. I did that. Didn't help. Then went to family dr.  He put me on higher dose of zantac (150 mg bid). Didn't help. Went back - he put me on protonix. He also did some blood test, all negative. Protonix didn't help. Went back to family dr. He put me on 300 mg of zantac bid last week. Didn't help. Throat constriction kept getting worse. Would come and go throughout the day. Then this week would not go away. Went to local small hospital emergency room. Waste of time. Did cat scan and chest xray. Nothing unusual found. Sent me back to my family dr.  Family dr put me on prevacid today.  Have only taken one prevacid so far (30 mg once a day).  Severe throat constriction continues. Hurts all the way up underneath my chin at times. Reflux starts very soon after eating. Drs just keep handing me off. Cardiac dr doesn't want to be involved though he needs to be with the heart meds I'm on. He did take me off coumadin last week. But still on Plavix, aspirin and Toprol XL. Plavix apparently is rough on the stomach. Can't see a GI or ENT here until end of April at the earliest. Live in a college town. Too many people and not enough drs.  Closest big hospital is 100 miles. Insurance may or may not cover depending on a number of requirements. Feeling helpless. If it is Gerd, it's destroying my life. Business is struggling. Tough on the family. Bad enough recovering from heart attack. Not sure what's causing this. Never had stomach problems until I went on the heart meds. Then the gerd didn't start until after two months on the meds. So frustrated. Seems like my stomach is overly acidic from the meds. Perhaps my liver is on overload as well.  Can't sleep well. Have head of bed elevated. Doing many of the helpful tips found on the web. Am I hopeless? Feel like it. Throat constriction, ball in throat, acid in back of my throat.......just destroying me. Question is can the Prevacid do something for me? How long? Any other ideas?

[itka]

have you heard of Manuka honey from New Zeland?
it is very helpful for my husband who suffers from gerd also. you can buy this on line
this honey plus Nexium helps a lot
best wishes ,itka

[selmaS]

Hi...it sounds like u r under stress and it may be adding fuel to ur fire.Has ne of ur drs suggested ur watch ur diet? Certain foods will add acid to ur already acid stomach.If u look in our health pages u will find many pages of info...one has foods that r safe with acid reflux and one has foods to avoid....keep in mind we r all different....u may be able to eat some foods that most need to avoid and unable to eat what most have no issues with.

Meds do take some time to see some relief.....try raising the head of ur bed and relaxation techniques.

There r alot of meds that will cause if not add to the gerd......Keep a journal of what u eat how u feel ect and try and see a pattern or trigger it will help in the long run for u to control this.

I recently stopped all my meds and am now getting ready to re introduce( do not do this as I am not on meds for my heart)....I am looking to see what or which combo may be causing my issues to continue even with the correct meds.


Godspeed
"selma"

[mifegr]

Hi, I'm a nutritionist.  Not a doctor.  However, I recommend you start seeing a holistic doctor.  The traditional docs have done all they can for you.  Holistic ones do different tests and treatments than traditional ones.  Find a holistic doctor that does a test called a Heidelberg Gastrogram (google this).  Very easy test to take and it's completely accurate.  Keep your chin up.  I'll say a prayer for you tonight.  Good luck!