Chronic Heartburn

Chalkbot

I'm trying to save myself a trip to the doctor by consulting the wisdom H/A.

So I have chronic heartburn. I wake up in the middle of the night with intense pain in my chest, and I avoid certain foods (fruits, chocolate, etc.) instinctually because they always cause pain. I even have difficulty swallowing potatoes or beans, or anything of similar consistency. It will feel like I'm choking and I'll have to stop eating for a half hour or so.

On my own accord I started taking Prilosec OTC. I'm sure you've seen it on TV. After some time (a couple weeks) of taking it once daily, I pretty much feel normal again, it solved all of my problems with no apparent side effects. Neato!

But I got to reading the box more carefully the other day, and it says I'm not to take more than 14 pills in 4 months unless directed to do so by a doctor. Holy crap! Well, it is a once daily pill, and there are more than 14 days in 4 months, even if you use February as one of the months (I checked). So I stopped taking it for now, because I've way exceeded that. I assume it's because it's hard on your liver. My dad died of liver complications so I'm generally cautious about things like that.

Problem is, after 4-5 days of not being on Prilosec, I'm slowly returning to my original state, i.e an active volcano in my chest. If I go to a doctor, what is he most likely going to say? "Keep taking Prilosec, heres a bill for $100?" "Here, take this other thing instead?" Perhaps, "Take Prilosec once every few days?"

matt has a problem

This sounds like it's more than just run of the mill heartburn. How long have you had the problem? Did it just develop suddenly, or did you go from having heartburn once or twice a month to gradually having it every day? Have you taken other things previously, Pepto, Tums etc?

If it's been going on a while and has been this severe the whole time, you could have an ulcer.

Usagi

Go to the doctor.

If your problem is serious enough that Prilosec isn't working he will probably do some tests to determine what exactly is causing your heartburn, and if it is only a temporary thing or if you have GERD. He may give you a different medication, one more tailored to you, and will probably talk about your dietary habits and your stress level.

Chalkbot

It developed slowly over a period of maybe a couple years. I described the problem at it's worst, when I finally decided to do something about it. I never really took anything like Tums or Pepto on a regular basis. So I essentially went from doing nothing, until it became more than a nuissance when I decided to try Prilosec.

Also my family (both sides) has a history of acid reflux disease, so it might be that. I don't know. To be honest, I never really did any research at all. I guess it really could be something more serious. Thoughts?

Edit:

Usagi wrote: »

If your problem is serious enough that Prilosec isn't working...

Just to clarify, Prilosec IS working 100%. I feel totally normal while taking it. My concern was with the warning on the box that says I'm not supposed to take it more than 14 days in 4 months... and I guess now that the problem could be something more serious...

Disco11

I have a history of Chronic heartburn for years now.. You might have have an ulcer caused either by this bad boy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori or the more run of the mill kind. If you do have an ulcer and it perforates it can be very bad. I have been on proton pump acid inhibitors for a while now and they do miracles... The thing about a lot of the over the counter stuff is that your body develops a tolerance.

Dioltas

I had a huge problem with this when I was younger (weirdly not so much of an issues anymore, though I never saw a doctor about it). Would wake me out of a dead sleep, really irritating. What I found to be most helpful was sleeping with my upper body at an incline, not perfectly horizontal. For me this meant creating a sort of wedge with thirty billion pillows, but I believe they actually sell wedges for this very purpose. Either way, something to try.