Reflux- When is it serious?

[ghostrat]

Hey.
So yeah... Really just wanna hear about one question-
I do have reflux to some degree.
Not so often that it rolls up into the mouth and that. But get the burning feeling in my chest and upper stomach,.  
And the question is-
When is it bad and should be fixed?

Cause I mean... Sure its not pleasant. But the only way it bothers me is mental really. (fear of it turning into something bad. )
It comes and goes in periods-. But is most often there.
And lately its been there- (thinking a start of a new daily workout and lack of sleep the last few days might have irritated it a bit. )-

So it does burn. And In a few occasions, it will run up to the mouth. Other than that I feel the need to burb allot.
But like mentioned. It doesnt bother me in the way I think -"oh I have to sleep it off, or Av av I cant clean my home to day. ) - It bothers my in (Hmm will i get stomach cancer or something crazy? )
I have had two different pills placed before me from the doc. First had no effect and second kinda jolted my extra heart beats to make them more frequent, so stoppe those.
And well. . . . My doc, he hasnt made the biggest test on me when it comes to this, but maybe its not necessary?

But yeah. When is it crossing the line into dangerous, and should be checked again.
And thinking of this mostly today, cause it is a bit more painful than usual. But then again, ive only slept about 4 hours tonight, so blame that.

hehe- But yeah. please share some info.

(quick info about me, ) Male 24- Diagnosed with anxiety. And have some issues with extra heart beats. (pvc? i think its called in english ?) -

[run4you]

It's not good to not treat it... but what choice do you have?

I've been without a few necessary medications for a year now. One is for bipolar, two for asthma, and every once in a while, I can't take my zegerid (I have the erythema of the esophagus, biopsied to rule out precancerous... so pretty bad).

With health care the way it is, I have no choice.

You do the best you can with what you've got. Sometimes it's not perfect, but that's the way it goes :(

[ghostrat]

well just talked to the doc (phone) - Which suggested to try some liquid based medicine. (told her about the experience with the last pills that jolted my extra heart beats,. )

But worse of it all is I cant afford it before next month.- And that kinda scares me now, cause when i said that, the doc was like "well its not good to not do anything about it, "-

20 days until there money in my pocket again. . . Is it that bad that I cant buy it before then? or was it more like "well then you have 20 more days of heartburn"-

What do you say about this ?

[MIserableinKy]

Stress and anxiety is one of the worse things for these things. When my Gerd first hit me, I was eating peanut butter. It suddenly felt like my throat was closing. I immediately thought I had developed a peanut allery. I worked for an allergist at that time and knew what that meant. So I basically panicked. About 3 months later I finally got diagnosed with Gerd. (All my food was "getting stuck") It was gerd and after 2 months on Prilosec all was well again. I have now been living with this problem for 17 years. I do occasionally have spells where my food "gets stuck". I have learned not to panic. Now that I know what it is there is nothing to panic over. Do what Flycaster suggested. Watch what you eat. (Losing weight has helped me more than anything - Don't know if that is an issue for you, but 30 lbs. gone works wonders on Gerd!) Don't eat late. Watch the spicy foods. Raise your bed. Try sleeping on your left side. I used to worry about taking so much prilosec because when it first came out you were only able to take it for 6 weeks because they thought it had caused cancer in lab mice. They soon decided the prilosec was totally safe. Hey - it wouldn't be across the counter if it was too bad for you. I have been on and off prilosec for 17 years (Have also taken zantac part of that time - can't go without something for Gerd) I rarely even think about what it may be doing. I just know if I don't take the meds then my food gets stuck and that is certainly not a  good feeling. Relax and do whatever must be done. It is a very common thing with people. Good luck and know you're not going through this alone! (I really don't have much knowledge about the heart issue, but I feel I'm becoming an expert on Gerd.)

[ghostrat]

Thx for the answer. . . But yeah the heart is always on my mind. . . And getting so sick of it.
But lately the news have been filled with young kids getting heart attacks. .  . So it keeps reminding me about it,

But my doc never actually suggested a test for GERD- Just gave me the pills and that that. But maybe i should poke him and make him check then?

[Flycaster305]

Everyone has PVC and PAC heartbeats.  I work as a volunteer in a cardiac care hospital and one of my jobs is to monitor the screen to alert the nurses if something alarming is indicated.  PVC's and PAC heartbeats are shown, but never, ever does the alarm sound.  It's easy for me to say that you shouldn't worry about them, but... don't worry about them.

Given your anxiety issue, I'd suggest you have the tests that your doctor wants you to have to determine if GERD is a problem.  It sounds like it could be, and an Endoscope study will give you and your doctors some answers and what kind of medication would be helpful, in my opinion.  

In the meantime, stay clean and sober, raise the head of your bed about six inches, don't eat after 6:00pm.  Best wishes, keep us informed.