pain in mid-chest and poor motility

[montos]

Hello,
I'm a 37 yr old male (5'11", 225lbs) who has been suffering with Gerd for about 10 years.  I initially took prevacid 30mg prn and have been taking it daily for the last 3 years or so.
Around a year ago I was experiancing a constant ache in my stomach that seemed to follow a large or fatty meal.  I went for a barium swallow and ultrasound and both were negative.  I increased my prevacid to 30mg twice daily for 2 weeks or so and the problem seemed to resolve with a few minor recurrances in the last year.

For the last few weeks I have occasionally been experiancing sharp pain in my mid-chest after eating (like something is ripping or twisting).  As well I have the sensation my food is just sitting in my esophagus and not moving.  I find I'm refluxing food back up 3 hours or more after a meal.  I get a shortness of breath sensation as well occasionally.

I experianced something like this briefly 2 yrs ago or so but it went away fairly quickly.

Is this related to my GERD? (my compliance in the weeks leading up to this was not perfect)
When I finally see my family doctor in a few days what should I ask him to consider?

Thanks

[selmaS]

HI...well I do not have control of mine..I am hoping that another condition I have once that is maintained I may be better able to keep my gerd under control.

I was able to go yrs without meds...it seems to cycle and unfortunatly it has been not responding to the meds.

I have a hiatial hernis as well, so it can be part of my problem.

Good luck at the drs and I look forward to ur update
"selma"

[montos]

selma,

Thanks a lot for the reply.  I'm going to see my doctor today and I will discuss these conditions with him.  I'll post an update after.

How do you control yours?  Is it well managed?  (looking for a glimmer of hope here)
:)

Thanks

Montos

[selmaS]

HI...I have 2 different types of motility disorders listed below.When u see ur dr u may want to ask him about them and have testing to see what type u indeed have.Whether or not it is related to gerd I do not know...in all the info I read it says the cause of the motility disorders is unknown.



Achalasia and Esophageal Motility Disorders

WHAT IS AN ESOPHAGEAL MOTILITY DISORDER?
The esophagus is a muscular tube that extends from the neck to the abdomen and connects the back of the throat to the stomach. When a person swallows, the coordinated muscular contractions of the esophagus propel the food or fluid from the throat to the stomach. If the muscular contractions become discoordinated or weak, interfering with movement of food down the esophagus, this condition is known as a motility disorder. Motility disorders cause difficulty in swallowing, regurgitation of food, and, in some people, a spasm-type pain.




WHAT IS ACHALASIA?
Achalasia is one of several subtypes of esophageal motility disorders. It is characterized by the absence of muscular contractions in the lower half of the esophagus and by failure of the valve at the bottom of the esophagus to open and let food into the stomach. People with achalasia experience a progressive difficulty in eating solid food and in drinking liquids that can take years to evolve. They often experience regurgitation, and sometimes have spasm-type chest pain. They require much more time than the average person to eat a meal because food traverses the esophagus so slowly. People with achalasia also sometimes lose weight when their condition becomes advanced.

Post an update.

"selma"