Not feeling much Relief from PPI(pantoprazole)

[yazzyspazzy18]

So here's my story. I never had heartburn before in my life. I was prescribed 40mg of prednisone for 5 days and was never told to take an antacid or ppi while I was on it. Fast forward to the 6th day I was woken up to chest pain and my heart fluttering. I wasn't sure what it was and couldn't fall back asleep until hours later. I went to the ER two days later for the chest pain and they gave me an oral steroid to take along with 2 weeks worth of famotodine to take. I was on the 20mg once a day even though I was instructed to take it twice a day. I only felt the sharp chest pains at nigh so that's why I took it once a day.

Since the start of November I have been experiencing chest pain that feels like someone is sitting on my chest. I went to the ER another instance after the first time I went for the chest pain (this time the chest pain was consistent and wouldn't go away) and they gave me the same liquid steroid and the chest pain was gone for another three days but then came right back.

Fast forward to the end of my famotodine treatment and I was having debilitating chest pain. I decided to go to the ER again because I felt like I couldn't breathe. The doctor prescribed me 40mg of pantoprazole to take once a day. I started the treatment and on the third day the chest pain had miraculously gone away. On the seventh day I went to a pulmonoligs to get tested for asthma and they made me use an a nebulizer that contained albuterol, something I may be allergic to.

The difficulty breathing came back from using the nebulizer and so did the chest pain. On the ninth day of being on the bland diet, I decided it would be safe to drink matcha. I was sorely mistaken. An hour after drinking it, I felt the worse chest pain and it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I could not breathe so I took a famotodine and the chest pressure subsided tremendously but never went away. So it's the 13th day of being on pantoprazole and I have some slight relief from the chest pain but it's not like it went away completely like it did on the 3rd day.

I read on the instruction manual that came with my pantoprazole that it doesn't need to be taken with food. I still take it within an hour of taking it but do you guys think because I'm not taking it within 30 mins of consuming the pantoprazole that I'm not feeling all day symptom relief?

I don't know if I should continue taking the meds since it hasn't been two weeks since I started taking pantoprazole or should I wait the full four weeks to see if it's gotten rid of the chest pain? I'm new to this whole GERD thing since I've never suffered from acid reflux before in my life. Is it normal to get GERD after being on oral steroids?

I also have ADHD and i can't take my adderall because my doctor said that since it's a stimulant it can be a trigger for my GERD, so I'm refraining from using it until I feel like the chest pain is fully gone for a couple of days. I can't drink coffee as I'm traumatized from the matcha incident. I want to know anyone else's experience of how long they were on their ppi for to feel like their GERD went away.

I'm not sure if I have gastritis and never got tested by an gastroenterologist but a few doctors believe I have GERD since I only experience the worst chest pain after I eat. I also experience sleep disturbances from my GERD and wake up in the middle of the night to pee and can't fall back asleep for four hours at a time. What have you guys used to help you sleep through the night from GERD since I'm pretty sleep deprived?

For anyone who started taking ppi for any moderate GERD symptoms, how long did you take your ppi meds for to feel like you no longer had GERD?

[forjonny]

My PPI lasted about a month and then I was back to pain, pressure, GERD type issues. I have a small hiatal hernia. For my GERD issue this is what I do: Saltine crackers, a shot of red wine, DGL tablets should help. I also do Keifir yogurt once in awhile. Those anti-acids will be bad for you eventually. You need acid for digestion of calcium and proteins. But hey, don't follow my advice as I am not a doctor but have the same thing as you. An empty stomach hurts me too. Chew your food to death before you swallow it what  has been helping me too.

[yazzyspazzy18]

Hi! I'm sorry to hear you have GERD. I got an endoscopy done in late January that confirmed I didn't have GERD but gastritis induced by the steroids. I stopped taking the ppi's after being on them for 3 months and it's week 6 since I stopped my last ppi and still have rebound. Granted it's not as bad as it used to be but it's gradually getting better with each passing week. I really hope you find a cure for your situation. I know ppis are the worst to be on long term but in my case, it was necessary to heal the inflammation in my stomach.