Really worried 😟

[Teenyflower]

Hi, don't know why I'm posting but I am just so worried! I've been having really uncomfortable feeling of food sitting in chest for a few months, and pain that goes through to my back. This is especially as soon as I swallow something I get a sharp pain in my back it's so uncomfortable and my appetite is getting less and less. I've had symptoms of reflux in the past so have tried my usual remedies but nothing is helping. I've never had this awful pain when swallowing before though. I just feel like something isn't right and I'm kicking myself for leaving it too long. I have angastroscopy booked in a week and a half but my anxiety on what they'll find is through the roof. I've convinced myself I've got oesophagal cancer.

If it's cancer it's best found early.

Saying that, it could be a lot of things, many of them benign. Have you spoken to your GP at all?

Yes after 3/4 weeks of symptoms I saw thw GP who put me on 2w pathway to be seen. It was a bit longer than 2w though because of xmas so I was seen 1st week of jan. However i thought it was for a gastroscopy but when I got there it was ENT who was only able to look as far as my throat, desiote me telling the gp the pain was in oesophagus or possibly stomach area. He said to take pantoprazole and if it didn't improve to go back to GP to be referred to gastro. I stupidly left it a few weeks as I felt like I was I proving but now it's worse than ever and I've been re- referred for a gastroscopy now.

Gall stones?

I did consider gall stones but in my back it seems to be left side rather than right, and I would say almost definitely in oesophagus

I had the same symptoms a couple of years ago. They stopped after I reduced my oestrogen in my hrt. It turns out excess oestrogen relaxes the lower oesophagual splincter and can therefore cause reflux. At the time I had an endoscopy which did not show anything.

I'm in the mini pill which is progesterone only so I'm guessing my estrogen isn't excessive 🤔 maybe it is just reflux but surely rhe ppi medication would've helped. I hate all the worrying just wish you could get it investigated right away 😪

Try not to panic. There's lots of things that could cause this (I'm a swallowing specialist and take case history's on this stuff a lot)

Yes, it could be cancer.
It could also be:

• oesophageal dysmotility
• cricopharyngeal hypertrophy
• achalasia
• an oesophageal stricture or web
• bad reflux
• a kink in the oesophageal caused my all manner of things like osteophytes or a curved spine
• severe candida

An OGD will tell you more. Please don't panic.

Reflux can cause a tightening in the muscle at the top of the oesophagus which can't be cured by PPIs but does cause the sensation of food sticking and pain.

Could it be a hiatus hernia?

Thank you all - it does help to know that there are other possibilities, I appreciate all responses. I think I am just kicking myself for not going sooner incase it is something sinister and also keep thinking about my young children, I really hope I'm worrying for nothing! And as you can tell... I am an anxious person unfortunately!

What was your results??
I’ve just been signed off with very similar symptoms. But the pain I get when eating things like chips/bread/meat - basically anything hard is on my right side and I vomit when I eat too much spice/fat or drink alcohol even though I’m in the highest dose of omeprazole
im waiting for an endoscopy via garstro on the two week emergency referral from the GP

My endoscopy showed inflammation and an infllammatory polyp at the gastro/esophegal junction, but the polyp had been there at an endoscopy 9 years prior so cant have been that causing the issue. I feel a lot better now on the most part. Im wondering whether it was an increase in reflux and eaophagitis causing the extreme pajn earlier this year.
Wishing you all the best in your investigations and hope they can get to the bottom of it for you