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Gastroenterology  (Expert Forum)
 | 
Are these symptom of Gerd?
Answered by
Kevin Pho, MD - Internal Medicine
Kevin, M.D. Boston - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Gastroenterology issues such as Acid Reflux (GERD), Barretts Esophagus, Colitis, Colon/Bowel Disorders, Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis/Diverticulosis, Digestive Disorders, IBS, Stomach Pain.
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MedHelp Member's Question

Are these symptom of Gerd?

by weiwei, Feb 12, 2003 12:00AM
I'm female 35. I'm taking 3 weeks of Nexium now. I feel much better about Gerd although doctor gave an endoscope a week ago and found nothing abnormal at my Esophagus.



But I still feel tired when I walk espcially in cold weather or uphill. When walking, I felt heaviness and sorness or tiredness at my esophagus, and also somtimes to my back and shoulder. A little bit short of breath.

I can't walk together with others, for they all walk faster than me, I have to stop to rest due to these problems.



Are these also the symptom of Gerd?

By the way, I have been ruled out for heart problem by all kinds of tests.





What should I do about this?



Thanks
Doctor's Answer

by Kevin Pho, MD, Feb 12, 2003 12:00AM
Hello - thanks for asking your question.  



As you can imagine, GERD may present in many different ways.  Regarding the epigastric discomfort specifically, GERD-related chest pain may mimic angina pectoris, and is typically described as squeezing or burning, located substernally and radiating to the back, neck, jaw or arms, lasting anywhere from minutes to hours, and resolving either spontaneously or with antacids. It usually occurs after meals, awakens patients from sleep, and may be exacerbated by emotional stress. The preponderance of patients with reflux-induced chest pain also have typical reflux symptoms.



GERD needs to be distinguished from gastritis, infectious esophagitis, pill esophagitis, peptic ulcer disease, non-ulcer dyspepsia, biliary tract disease, coronary artery disease, and esophageal motor disorders. Unexplained chest pain should be evaluated with an electrocardiogram and exercise stress test prior to a gastrointestinal evaluation. The remaining elements of the differential diagnosis can be evaluated by endoscopy or biliary tract ultrasonography.



If you are still having symptoms despite being on Nexium, ambulatory pH monitoring is useful in evaluating patients with atypical reflux symptoms or those who have not benefited from a trial of antireflux therapy. This is something you may want to consider to see whether your symptoms are related to GERD or not.  



I stress that this answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.



Thanks,

Kevin, M.D.



Member Comments (8)

by weiwei, Feb 12, 2003 12:00AM
What is ambulatory PH monitoring?



Thanks a lot

by kevinmd, Feb 12, 2003 12:00AM
To: weiwei
Ambulatory ph monitoring is done with compact, portable data loggers, miniature pH electrodes, and computerized data analysis. The pH electrode is positioned 5 cm above the manometrically defined upper limit of the lower esophageal sphincter and patients undergo the test for 24 hours on an unrestricted diet.  



The current consensus is to consider the percentage time with the intraesophageal pH below 4 as the most useful outcome measure in discriminating between physiologic and pathologic esophageal reflux.



You may want to ask your personal physician to see if this test would benefit you.



Thanks,

Kevin, M.D.

by toy drive, Feb 12, 2003 12:00AM
Yes they are symptoms of Gerd.I am a 31 yr old male who was a marathon runner running 60 miles a week Then on July 9th of 2001 I started coughing like clearing of throat,shortness of breath 24/7 and so one.Well I went on Nexium 80mg a day then endoscopy, then 24hr ph which showed massive amounts of acid reflux>I had surgery on 3/4/02 doing better but not 100% maybe 70%.Still on meds.Do your research and you will find a lot of cases getting your symptoms.I am not saying you have reflux but it sound like similar to mine.

by squick, Feb 27, 2003 12:00AM
I have just recently been diagnosed with GERD and only after

insisting to be tested, it didn't show on an upper gi test,

and have been treated for allergies (which I do have ) and Astma

for the last six years or so...the only symptoms I had was coughing and back pain...I would wake up everynight coughing and often cough during and after a meal.My doctor kept inisiting that I didn have GERD/ACID REFLEX..for I didn't have heartburn or food coming up into my throat like most GERD patients do.I went to a Gastrointerologist and had the Esophageal Manometry that measures the muscle pressure in the upper digestive tract and found  the test to be positive. I was also sent home with a 24 hr esophageal test that measured the (PH) levels. It also showed that most of my episodes were a night while sleeping and some lasted more than 25 minutes.....My concern  is because I went for so long with the symptoms before being diagnosed is

there a great risk of permanent damage that I can't reverse.

I'm now asking my doctor for an EGD test.I'm now on 40mg of Protonex twice a day...Is anyone else out there having luck with this med. My husband also elevated our bed up 8 inches and this helps the coughing episodes at night....

by wishingyouwell, Mar 01, 2003 12:00AM
To: squik
hi squik , it has been my exp.that certain acid reflux  meds work for somwe better than others i have been on several. previsid ,propulsid,protonix and  couple of others i can't think of at this moment ,however the protonix seem to do the best job for me. i would discourage you from using propulsid for any reason it was pulled from the market because of the dammage it was causing to patients heart not to mention it was reported to have killed many .they allowed the drug back onto the market to a select group of patients( again i would not use it if were you ) . i would also talk to your doctor about getting the upper scope you were talking about, it should show any and all dammage if any that the gerd has caused .i do have dammage but it is nothing i can't live with .there is also a surgery they can do to correct the problem if the meds fail to work .i hope this info helps ,god bless. wishing you well

by junglejane, May 20, 2003 12:00AM
i have hypothyroidism and also have been diagnosed with gerd. my question is... does anyone have tingling in their chest and pain in there mid back related to gerd. the only way i know to describe this is like when you are frightened and you get that adrenaline rush in the pit of your stomach. sometimes its radiates to my arms and hands , but not often. i also have chest pressure and throat pressure and a metal taste in my mouth. i am taking synthroid .01mg and nexium 40 mg daily. i am trouble discerning whether these symptoms are that of gerd or the hypothyriodism. at this time, my t3/t4 are with in range., i still have some symptoms of the hypothyriodism as i was diagnosed about 6 months ago.i was told that would get better with time.

thanks

by Linobszarny, May 22, 2003 12:00AM
Hi,

I too have been recently diagnosed with hypo and I experience alot of burning sensations, chest pain/burning some stabbing type pain in the back on occasion which I am thinking may be due to acid, and weird feelings in my throat.  It is very unsettling for me too as I dont know if these symptoms I am getting are from being hypo or GERD.