chest pain

[rj811]

im 20 with no past med compilications but, ive been having some chest pain....and went to the doc and had xray and ekg and everyting turned out normal. they said try prilotec otc for heartburn...im on day 2 taking it.....should i be worried its something else with my heart? it feels like a knot in the left side of my chest

[Jaybay]

Good for you!  I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better and that the Prilosec appears to be doing well.  Keep on doing what you're doing.  :-)

[rj811]

so ive been taking the prilotec otc for about 5 days and it seems to be providing me alot relief. i did some blood work with my doctor and everything came out normal and i have low cholestorol. they dont believe the pain is cardiac related, so that has made me worry less. so they say its reflux most likely and ive changed my diet and mantained exercising regularly.
thanks alot for your comments they have helped me alot
: )

[Jaybay]

My husband and my former boss (obviously much older than you!) had the same symptoms.  Both of them insisted it was cardiac-related.  My boss, after being told time and again by his cardiologist that nothing was wrong with his heart, called an ambulance one night when the pain became intense.  It turned out to be GERD - reflux.  Nexium fixed him right up.

My husband experienced a couple of very scary episodes that convinced him he was having a heart attack.  Now, my husband is a total idiot where all things medical are concerned.  He'd rather deny the problem and die in front of me than face it head-on and do something about it.  His symptoms did not scream "heart" to me, but they sure did add up to severe reflux.  It took me weeks to get him to go see my gastro doc.  Sure enough, a lifetime of untreated reflux left his esophogus completely fried.  He now has a pre-cancerous condition called Barrett's Esophogus.  It's similar to having a bad pap test - something to watch but not to panic over just yet.

Definitely keep up with your prilosec.  If you still don't get relief after the 14 day course of treatment, go see a gastroenterologist.  Did your doctor advise you about dietary changes?  Since you're young, I imagine you enjoy going out and having a few alcoholic beverages.  Where GERD is concerned, alcohol is a really bad idea, and even worse if you get bombed and go straight to bed.  Eating more than two or three hours before bed is also not a good idea.  While the prilosec keeps the level of acid in your stomach at lower levels, it's still there - you just won't feel it as much.

Please listen to your doctor and follow the GERD diet.  If your doctor didn't educate you, just Google GERD and diet.  There's tons of info available on the internet.  I know it sounds like GERD is really nothing serious and it's easy to just blow it off and carry on with your life.  The problem is that over time, all that acid in the wrong place can eventually cause cancer or other very unpleasant problems.  While GERD is easily treated, too many people just let it slide only to face terrible problems later in life.  Take care of yourself!

[namnam46]

Hi rj811,

I want to join Tuck in welcoming you to the PM Management Forum.  

I'm sorry that you have had to have this Cardiac scare at such a VERY young age.  There's not much that is MORE frightening than a chestpain because you IMMEDIATELY think of it being heart related.  

I've had this VERY same thing happen to me and I can remember how concerned I was to have THOUGHT I could be having a Heart Attack.  I'm VERY glad that they took you seriously and ran the ekg AND the x-ray.  I'm EQUALLY glad that they found the tests to be negative.  NOW you can breathe a "sigh" of relief!!

NOW, that being said I HOPE that you will let us know IF you are able to get relief from the Prilosec.  :)

PLEASE let us know how you are feeling as we tend to WORRY about you ESPECIALLY since you are a young person.  :)

Best wishes and looking forward to your update...............Sherry

[Tuckamore]

Hello Rj,

Welcome. I am glad that you found us and took the time to post. There are no physicians on this forum.

If you have had a complete clinical evaluation as you stated above, I would assume they have ruled out any cardiac possibilities. An EKG is a good diagnostic tool and should have revealed any cardiac (heart) abnormalities.

GERD can come with some nasty chest symptoms and often mimics a MI (Heart Attack). Taking Prilosec should ease your symptoms....however not all drugs work the same for everyone. If it does not relieve your SX talk to your local pharmacist and/or physician to consider another similar med that may be more effective.

If you are not improving by all means return to your PCP. I think you can relax that this is not cardiac....but again I am not an expert.

I wish you well and hope you will keep us updated.

Take Care,
~Tuck