GERD and Heartburn

Hi there everyone,

For the past few months (Since about February of this year), I've been experiencing some health issues that I've never had before. I'm a twenty-four-year-old mother of one, in relatively good health. When I was a teenager, my OB-GYN discovered a few nodules in my thyroid that were watched for a year, and found harmless, though she said I do have mild hypothyroidism. My mother also has this.

Around January, I came down with bronchitis. Several weeks after that, upon returning to my doctor, I was told then that I had a few spots of pneumonia on one lung. I was treated for the pneumonia, though I never physically felt too much better, and (again returning to the doctor) was told the pneumonia had cleared up.

Several weeks after this, I woke up in the middle of the night, around 3 am. I felt like someone had just been sitting on my chest - it was tight, uncomfortable, and I felt very conscious of my breathing. I also felt very dizzy. My husband took me to the ER that night, where I was told that it seemed I was having some kind of acid reflux from eating too late in the day. I was given over-the-counter heartburn pills, and sent home. My breathing seemed to ease up over the next few days, though I felt no symptoms of heartburn. Once or twice each day, though, I felt like I would have "attacks" - my chest would suddenly feel very tight, and I would feel short of breath. After experiencing this for several weeks, I went back to the ER. I was told then that they thought I may have pleurisy, an aftereffect of my pneumonia. I was given muscle relaxers and antibiotics. Those did nothing for my discomfort.

It's been months since then - and I have been in the ER several times, at least once per month. The feeling of tightness in my chest has worsened to the point where, from about the center of my breastbone up to the top of my throat, I feel like someone is choking me. I have an excess amount of saliva - I'm always swallowing or spitting - and it's extremely difficult for me to swallow the saliva. My throat is always a little sore, and I feel like there is a lump in my throat around where an Adam's apple would be.

To this date, I've had five EKGs, a 2D echo ultrasound of my heart, complete lung function tests, several bloodwork analyses done, and a CAT scan of my heart and lungs. Nothing has appeared to be wrong at all with my heart or lungs. Just recently, my doctor finally told me she thought she could feel some nodules in my thyroid gland. My blood was tested for thyroid issues, and it was found that my thryoid levels were "at the lower end of the normal range." My doctor put me on levothyroxin pills once per day for hypothyroidism. I also have just had thyroid ultrasounds done to locate the nodules, and have an endoscopy coming up to attempt to find why I have trouble swallowing. However, an ER doctor that I saw recently told me my thyroid levels were normal, that he couldn't feel any nodules, and that my lymph nodes seemed fine.

At this point, I am quite frankly terrified. My doctor is extremely abrupt, and gave me very little information on what the problem could possibly be. She first told me she thought it was "all in my head" and offered to give me depression medication, and then mentioned that it could be something as serious as cancer, but "who knows?" I'm terrified about thyroid cancer/esophagus cancer, or another type of very serious problem. I've been sick, experiencing the shortness of breath, chest/throat tightness, and difficulty swallowing, for months. I'm fed up, scared, and frustrated. I also am a stay-at-home mom to a beautiful four-year-old daughter, so I've scared myself silly that something could happen to me. I'm tired, in pain, and have a hard time eating, because the lump in my throat and chest tightness feels worse after eating, or when I try to sleep. I'm having problems taking care of my daughter, and just not sure if anyone else has ever experienced anything similar. I'd love some input!