Please help! - severe pain

[lizinbc]

* new to this and desperate- I hope this is the right place to post?*
My husband is in so much pain, since Oct 2010 he has had some bad chest pains on and off throughout the day. We have long thought that he possibly has a hiatial hernia, although never diagnosed. These chest pains have progressively gotten worse. He has a lot of trouble swallowing, and when he eats, he is in pain afterwards (double over, sometimes puking)
Within the last two months, this pain has started to radiate across his chest, through the rib cage and into his back. I have never seen someone in so much pain, although he tries to hide it. We have been to the ER time and time again..
First they gave him drugs for his back pain T3, apodiazapine? and arthrotec.. we went again a few days ago and the doctor said those were making his chest pains worse.. so they put him on Rabeprazole 20 mg. ( they said it may take a few days)
Last night we drug him to the ER, and that was the most pain he has ever been in. They gave him 3 doses of morphine before he could even breathe properly and relax. His back was spasming terribly and his chest was really tight. they sent us home with a prescription for morphine and buscopan every 4 hrs..
They are going to do a scope in a week or so.. but they all seem to think this is GERD? could it possibly be this painful?
All tests come back normal (EKG, ultrasound, xrays, bloodowork) no gallstones

i need help - I feel like we are just getting the run around from doctors.. who all say they dont really know what this is.. I am hopeful that this scope will help, but they said they will try to get him in, in a week or so, but it could be months.
This is terrible to say.. but I dont want to leave him at home alone.. because I dont feel he can cope with this pain anymore.
He goes to work each day (although not this week) because he has to.. but I know its hard for him. We just had a baby in October and he can only hold him for a minute or so until he has to bend over something to catch his breathe/not puke from pain.

*So sorry this is so long.. just want to be thourough and desperately hope someone can shed some light/hope on this!
Thanks in advance, Elizabeth

[kev543]

ask the doc to check for H-pylori. it is a bacterial infection. in most cases there are no symptoms but in some people it can mimic a heart attack and causes gerd. It's treated with antibiotics and to test for it is pretty simple and fast. Don't go to the emergency room just maje a doc. oppointment and ask him/her to check him for it.

[lizinbc]

thanks! He is taking a ppi now.. I think.. not nexium .. rabeprazole?? we ended up in Emerg on Sunday and he is taking morphine everyday now.. he has pretty much slept for the last two days.. hes lost about 20-25 lbs in the last month because he cannot eat anything... thank you for the referral to the GERD diet!!! we kinda have been going by trial and error so this is great!
Thats what he though too- he was sure he was going to have a jammer anytime.. but his heart is good. he's got a shaved chest/patches shaved now because when he went in.. he couldnt get a breathe in, stand up and they thought thats what it was too..
So with the nexium.. do you still have these extreme pains? "i had acid reflux for a while and the nexium worked wonders - I dont take it anymore though.
Thanks for the reply! I hate this.. i feel so helpless and he is in so much pain.. so maybe I can go shopping for some GERD healthy choices