As part of the most basic patient care, your dr should have gone over how s/he wants you to take the prilosec--and made sure you understood his/her instructions before you left the office!!! I have found out the hard way, just how much damage a 'little' acid or bile can do. By the time I found dr g, my esophagus was only open 3-5% in mult places, I had lost 45 lbs in under 6 months--at 5 feet tall, that's a lot of weight to lose when you're not trying--& my entire esophagus was covered with layers of scar tissue. Even very small bits of soft food would catch in my throat for hrs--with no way to move it up or down. If I drank more than a tsp of water at a time it would bubble back up-[think clogged drain]-& I would aspirate it into my lungs. I've had pneumonia 3 times. It was so bad, we had 2 options-1] do a balloon egd scope every 4-6 weeks, sllowwlly stretching the scar tissue & re-opening my throat-[we'll be doing the next one-#9 or 10? , i've lost count-this friday & I'm happy to report that between the egds & the prilosec-[it's helping stop further damage] my esophagus is now open almost 75%--- btw option 2-[which dr g refused to even discuss for a long time-after 11 months he finally told me what it would entail. Because the scar tissue has actually eaten holes {&filled them in] in my esophagus, & there's no way to know for sure where they are, a gi surgeon would 1st insert a semi-permanent feeding tube, then, in a very invasive surgery--probably several--cut out the scar tissue. After allowing several months for healing, s/he would then do mult surgeries to rebuild my esophagus--like what is done for severe throat cancer--which might or might not work, giving me a 50/50 chance of keeping the feeding tube for the rest of my life--& I just turned 48. We do finally have a diagnosis for the underlying cause. I have chronic vomiting syndrome [a layman's term is 'stomach migraines']. It starts in early childhood-i was about 2 or 3. The child periodically starts a series of severe vomiting-no fever etc-that is difficult or impossible to stop at home. Mom & dad had to take me to the er 2-6 times a yr til after I graduated high school. [of course, by the time the child gets to the er, they're dehydrated, which ends up going in their medical chart as the 'cause' of the vomiting] then, [i foolishly married young-18 yrs-but that's a whole other story], I got pregnant at 18 [son born when I was 19. 5 yrs]. I had a very complicated pregnancy, vomited huge amts of blood, lost 25 lbs etc--same with our 2nd son 2 yrs later-[in fact drs did a tubal ligation right after he was born, as they felt another pregnancy would be fatal then at age 21 {right after my 2nd son was born}, I developed horrific migraines that often mimicked strokes-- migraines are a normal progression of cvs. This continued for 18-19 yrs, til I developed the fibromyalgia, a side effect of which is fewer & much less severe migraines. I told my story to stress how important it is to get any medical problems [gi or otherwise-tho gi tops the list! ] checked asap, as they can quickly worsen, even become life threatening. And, it's so important to make sure you understand and follow all the dr's instructions. Don't blow things off--after all, i'd been having those silly vomiting episodes my whole life, & they were nothing more than a nuisance--until my throat suddenly sealed itself almost closed. There were several times I could easily have choked to death, without help. Also, if you are not comfortable asking your dr about your meds, your pharmacist can be your best resource--actually, s/he is better trained to answer the above questions than your dr..Very important: just like I only see 1 primary care dr [15+ yrs], I have one pharmacy that i've been using for almost 12 yrs. They're not 'just' a place to fill prescriptions, we're friends. They call me & my boyfriend by our first names, they know all the meds I take, my allergies, side effects, whether or not I might have a problem with a new drug, history, etc etc--and it's their job to know about meds. Pharmacists spend yrs & yrs learning about them--they do sooo much more than count pills & dump them in a little bottle!!Drs are familiar with many meds, usually in a more general way, even some herbals, but most of their training is geared toward diagnosis, testing, treating & so many other things. The pharmacists' primary job is to know all about drugs whether rx, otc, herbal, street[illegal], or whatever, including what they are used for, proper dosing--{drs are human, a decimal point in the wrong place can be fatal, pharmacists are trained to look for those mistakes, as well as drugs that sound {and are spelled} almost the same, but are for very different things,] pharmacists are also trained re side effects, allergies, interactions, drug classes--ie if you're allergic to drug a, you probably shouldn't take drug b. Same with interactions, if you're taking drug a, drug b could [or in some cases absolutely will] cause an interaction that can be anything from uncomfortable to fatal. Just as with your dr, make sure you patronize a pharmacy that is clean, is busy-[this means meds don't sit on the shelves too long, they have a good turn-over], but never too busy to answer any & all questions--again like your dr, they need to be willing to make whatever time is necessary to be sure you 1] remember how to take meds, & what they're for, if you take them regularly or 2] fully understand what any & all new meds are for & that you know when & how to take them. No good pharmacist would dream of letting you leave until they're satisfied that you are not going to make a mistake with any of your meds. Call [no, they don't mind answering questions on the phone & if they do--time to find a new pharmacy] or go in & talk to your pharmacist. It's not a bad idea to write down all your questions, beforehand, so you don't forget something important. I like to write out my list of questions & give it to s, c or n [my pharmacy team], when I drop off my scripts, then, we go over everything when I pick up my meds--often they have xtra info to add to my list of questions, they've all been so helpful & supportive thru the yrs, I don't know what I would do without them!!With all the health problems I have now, it's vital to have a medical team, all working together, that includes both me & my boyfriend--who's very involved in my care, rather than just a group of medical professionals, ea working their own niche with no communication. I think it also helps that dr f, my primary care knew me for some yrs before I became disabled. I really used to be pretty healthy overall, ran 5 miles 4-6 times a week, did lots of yoga, meditation, rode & trained horses before I could walk,my granddad was a rancher who was horse obsessed his whole life--guess who followed in his footsteps? [ also got lucky-i thought, tho no one ever seemed to want the job!!Ex-husband was in military--in 80's base stables were shipping in 50-250 mustangs right off the range several times a yr & I was hired at 5-7 different duty stations [as we were transferred from 1 to another] to gentle & train these horses for various purposes, from color guard-[parades etc], guided & unguided trail rides, [rental horses], for sale, 'specials' for the base commander & misc high ranking officers etc. To ride in spec I started others on the basics of showing,[not really my forte, I grew up with working ranch & trail horses] as well as barrel racing, pole-bending, presentation of colors-[flags etc], driving--mustangs are incredibly versatile--- was a police officer for over 6 yrs, even rode bulls [in my invincible teens-lol] then in my late 30's, [& for the last 11+ yrs] I suddenly became disabled, unable to work, housebound 75-85% of the time, often bedridden, unable to walk outside the house without a cane, & it seems especially over the last 2-3 yrs, more & more is breaking down, from little things to not so little. 1-the fibromyalgia 2]-ms 3]-pre cancerous moles removed 4] a lump on my scalp--where I part my hair--removed & biopsied, luckily it was ok. 5] baseline mammogram abnormal 6] pap test very abnormal--need biopsy 7]-all the upper gi problems 8]-lower gi problems incl ibs--need colonoscopy, but dr g wants to clear up 1 area at a time 9]balance problems, I go thru periods where I take bad falls, tho some cutting edge phys therapy has done wonders--if you live in the las vegas nv area, and are having any sort of balance problems, have your primary care refer you to the werner institute of balance on cheyenne--you need a dr's referral, any dr-- we gave dr g some cards & he has sent more than a dozen patients there just in the last month or so in a nutshell, I would recommend writing a list of questions--as complete as possible, no matter how large or small--contact your pharmacy, explain that you have questions re your meds & would like to discuss them with the pharmacist during one of his/her slow times. Take your list, along with any prescription bottles etc--if you feel you need the assistance, ask a friend or family member to go with you--{al goes to the pharmacy, drs, not just the waiting room, but sits in on the actual appts, all my drs encourage this, feeling the more involved he is, the better it is for me + he often has questions I haven't thought of, and/or remembers things we've discussed that i've forgotten {fms damages short term memory, as well as the sleep center & central nervous systems in the brain} the only time he doesn't physically participate is during certain procedures ie the balloon egds, the lump removed from my scalp, my mammogram, pap tests, mole removals etc--not because he's squeamish, he's not, & I think he would actually be interested in watching some procedures, such as an egd, but, especially the ones performed in a dr's office are usually done in a small exam room with tight quarters & al doesn't want to be in the way. } anyway, don't be embarrassed to take someone with you, or [with the pharmacist's permission, bring a small recorder & record your discussion, so you can listen to it later to refresh your memory--but still make absolutely sure that you understand everything before you leave--the recorder and/or friend are just for added insurance. Hope this helps, you & others--i can't remember who said this [go figure]--but--''there's no shame in asking for help when you need it, the shame is in needing help, but being too proud to ask for it'' good luck!!
