Acid Reflux Chest Pain Can Be Severe
What can be worse than waking up in the middle of the night with severe chest pains? You are doubled over, there is a burning sensation in your chest and the pain is excruciating. Half asleep but knowing that something is terribly wrong and that you might even be having a heart attack, you dial 911 to get help. The ambulance arrives and you are whisked away in the middle of the night to the emergency room. Family members gather to provide support to each other while waiting to hear from the doctors. How embarrassed you are when after hours of medical tests and constant monitoring by the hospital staff, a physician comes in and tells you that you did not have a heart attack. You are thrilled-knowing that you are going to live. Then he tells you the bad news that what you experienced was a severe acid reflux disease attack. Wow, you are really feeling stupid. But you do learn from the medical resident that you are not uncommon-there are many people who end up in the emergency room with severe chest pain that is caused by acid reflux. Now knowing that something you ate made you so sick that you thought you were having a heart attack is frightening-the chest pain was very real! The last bit of information provided by hospital staff is that you should call your family doctor in the morning and make an appointment with him to start treating your condition.
Driving home from the emergency room with your wife in dead silence makes you realize exactly what she is thinking. She has been telling you for several years that you need to lose a little weight and to start watching what you are eating. Knowing you better than anyone else, she has nursed you through several minor episodes of acid reflux attacks by giving you antacids. At least you are not getting an 'I told you so', but sometimes the silence is worse than the lecture. The excruciating chest pains that came with this latest attack did give you a wake up call and you know that you really need to see your doctor. When preparing to see your doctor make sure that you have copies of the medical tests performed in the emergency room. Once he reads the hospital's diagnosis that you had a severe acid reflux attack, he will want to schedule other medical tests to see how severe the problem is or if there are any other negative side effects such as stomach ulcers or even cancer. Make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle, eat better and follow your doctor's instructions. In doing this you might avoid a future episode of severe chest pain in the middle of the night. |