chest pains and reflex esophagitis

Posted By Greg on January 18, 1998 at 12:28:08:









Hi, I'm sorry this is so lengthy, I just want to be clear.
2 days ago I was at my computer at work at about 9:30 am and started getting very intense chest pains that would come in waves causing shortness of breath, long story short I ended up in emergency care at the hospital where the doctors performed tests to rule out MI protocol (heart attack?).  All tests returned negative and they released me after giving me a GI cockail briefly informing me that I might have some form of relex esophogitis due to acid indigestion. I was given a prescription for over-the-counter Zantac and dismissed.  I made an appointment to see a heart specialist and to undergo some tests, earliest appt is mid Feb which I am eagerly awaiting.
I'm confused by the prescription and am trying to obtain more information about this condition.  I've never considered myself as having serious heartburn and I can't believe that this is what caused the very sudden and painful chest pains.  It's never happened before and it started on a normal day after a normal breakfast of a single, small bowl of ceral (my usual).  I'm in pain now (mid chest, upper stomach area) all day long even while taking the medication though it's not nearly as intense as the emergency situation.
I'm concerned that I've somehow damaged my esophogus and want to know how to reapir the damage.  I've been healthy all my life and have never taken medication long-term.  I don't like it, I'd rather figure out how to get healthy again.
As a side note, I came down with a really bad flu over Christmas (few weeks ago) which lasted for about 4 days.  This was different than previous flus as the pain attacked my spine, causing severe aching up and down my back.  The spinal pain appears to have returned today and is here as I'm writing this note.  I guess these are my questions:
1. Can the esophogus really explode into chest pains in a sudden fashion as I've described?  If so, can it really be treated with antacids?  This makes no sense to me.  If this is caused by acid indigestion, I'd expect the problem to increase over a period of time, not erupt in a massive emergency.  In addition, how can Zantac correct the problem?  I'd expect I should change my diet or something.
2. Is it possible I've got some kind of infection which causes symptoms similar to a flu with severe spinal pain?  If so, is it possible I've still got it and it's partly responsible for my esphogus condition and spinal pain?
3. Is it possible the spinal pain is simply from sleeping (lying down) a lot?
4. Any other ideas?
Thanks for any help.