Do you wake up every night to the stinging pain of heartburn? Are you losing sleep from your reflux symptoms? Is the intensity of your heartburn suddenly so bad you just can’t take the pain? You may have a more serious condition causing your heartburn. In fact, what you feel may not be heartburn at all. That’s why it’s important to recognize other symptoms and see a doctor for a proper diagnosis.

If you have severe, persistent heartburn, and don’t experience relief from diet changes or over the counter medications, you may have a condition called gastroesophegeal reflux disorder, or GERD. This is ad condition where your stomach allows acid to pass backwards into the esophagus. While the most common symptom of GERD is heartburn, you may also experience regurgitation, difficult or painful swallowing, sore throat, belching, feeling horse, a bad taste in your mouth, or bad breath. Besides the annoying pain and lack of sleep, GERD can cause permanent damage to the lining of your esophagus. This damage can lead to serious problems, including ulcers and cancer.

Another, less common cause of chronic heartburn is gastroparesis. This is a condition where the stomach doesn’t empty properly due to nerve damage. It often occurs in individuals with diabetes, but that is not the only cause. Along with heartburn and reflux, gastroparesis also presents with an early feeling of fullness, nausea, vomiting, bloating, lack of appetite, and weight loss.

A hiatal hernia is another condition that presents with chronic heartburn. This is caused when part of the stomach slips through part of the diaphragm and into the chest cavity. In addition to heartburn and acid reflux, symptoms of a hiatal hernia may include: vomiting, bad taste in your mouth, belching, hiccups, chest pain, bloating, coughing, trouble swallowing, and discomfort, pain and pressure in the abdominal area.

A peptic ulcer may be the cause of your heartburn. Because symptoms are similar, a doctor should check for ulcers when diagnosing you with GERD. Along with heartburn, ulcers also present with nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, and slow bleeding in the stomach. While ulcers and GERD may have similar causes and presentation, they require different treatment, so proper diagnosis is important.

If you suddenly get a severe case heartburn, you may not be experiencing heartburn at all. Often, the initial chest pain associated with heart attack is mistaken for heartburn. That is why it’s important to notice other symptoms that come along with your severe heartburn. You should see a doctor immediately if you’re also experiencing: a tight, crushing pain in the center of your chest, pain that spreads to your neck, jaw shoulders, or arms, shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, or nausea.Â

Another condition that may also be confused with severe heartburn is a gallbladder attack. If you experience heartburn, nausea, and a strong ache in your abdomen, you should see a doctor as well.

As you can tell, many of these problems have a similar presentation which is why it is important to see your doctor and give them a comprehensive list of symptoms. That way, you are more likely to get proper treatment. Good luck on getting treated.

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