After my first child I began to have extreme chest pain. It felt like a heart attack, faintness, difficulty breathing, it was excruciating. At the time they lasted about 1 1/2 hr, but they were only a couple times a year for about 5 years or so. Over time they began to become more frequent and they would last for periods more along the lines of 12 hours or so, a couple months a year, a couple days a month, and now every time I swallow any type of food or any drink besides water.
Last year at the er I was told after a physical exam that it is most likely gastritis or ulcers and I should do a bland diet and take antacids. In July of this year is when the "attacks" began to become a constant problem. I try to eat bland foods, foods that are soft, and foods that are supposed to be easily digestible but no luck. This is the case even after taking antacids such as maalox, and PPI such as prilosec. I tried taking sucralfate for about a month or so hoping it would help but it was not.
I have lost weight dramatically. In early august I was about 200lbs, and as of now I am about 150lbs or so. This is beginning to scare me, I'm worried that if I go to the ER I will be told the same thing and nothing will change. One other thing, I have begun to have a burning in my lower abdominal area that occurs hours after eating. The pain in my stomach is usually immediate.