Purrs are on the way. It certainly sounds like GERD to me. Those are
exactly the same symptoms I have. Sometimes an antacid like Gaviscon will
relieve the symptoms if you have them even after taking the Prilosec. If
it's really bad at night, I go out in the living room and sit with my feet
up.

It would be a good idea to see a gastroenterologist, though. S/he will
probably want to do an upper endoscopy. [Suggestion: Ask them to put you
out. I've had it done both ways. When I'm not out, I gag during the test
and it takes me hours to recover from the sedative. When I'm out, I don't
know what they're doing, and I wake up completely with a clear head a few
minutes after the test is finished.] GERD can sometimes cause problems in
the esophagus, and the endoscopy can spot them so they can be treated. If
the Prilosec does it, great. If not, there are stronger things the doctor
can prescribe. GERD never goes away, but it is possible to treat the
symptoms, and it definitely isn't a mental problem.

Joy

"Karen AKA Kajikit" wrote in message
...
I've had this really weird and embarassing health problem for six
years (no, it's not BO :P ) - I hiccup and burp all the time and feel
like I can't breathe right and there's crud in my throat, and when I
go to bed at night I have a strong tendancy to wake myself up either
with the above or with outright choking... I'll go from a sound sleep
to sitting bolt upright in bed gasping for breath with my heart
pounding. I always thought it was just part of my general neurosis and
anxiety and I was 'just' having panic attacks in my sleep, so I
refused to go to the doctors about it (I DID the doctor thing years
ago and they said nothing was wrong), but John thought it must be
something physical... he thought sleep apnea but I've always said that
that doesn't 'feel right' to me because it doesn't happen ALL the time
- it comes and goes mysteriously and in between times I sleep soundly,
and my breathing is kind of screwy while I'm awake too. Last night I
was browsing and I came across something that might explain it
perfectly, and it's NOT 'all in my head'.

John's going to buy me some prilosec to try today, because if the
article was right, I've had GERD all along. It's hard to believe it
could be so SIMPLE! Please purr hard for the medicine to work and be
side-effect free...