Yes, count me in as one of the many with this fear.
I’ve had heartburn forever, and have been on low dose Prilosec, now nexium for regular acid problems. But I haven’t really taken care of my body all of that time. Lots of risk factors, smoking for a few years in my 20s (I’m 40 now) and recent regular, heavier (than I like to admit) alcohol use which has helped cause some of my current issue.
Two years ago I started having burning between shoulder blades, I attributed it to acid and tried various things. It seemed to go away for a bit.
Three weeks ago I was having some issues swallowing completely, like food wouldn’t go down all the way, or I would burp and some would come back up in my throat. It caused some coughing fits and almost vomiting. It got to the point when it was hard to swallow anything down and it sent me to the ER. They did blood work, x rays, etc. Everything was normal, no anemia, etc. They said it likely was esophagitus and go to the gastro to get it looked at. Wonderful.
Thing is, no gastro in our area I called will take me bc we let our insurance lapse (too expensive) and couldn’t afford the tests anyway. I called my GP, who informed me that I wasn’t a patient anymore bc of past due bills. We have struggled to pay them AND pay for our sons type 1 diabetes needs. It’s not intentional, we simply have to let some things slide to pay for insulin.
I’m really scared. I haven’t been here in a long time because my health anxiety is mostly in check, but this one has me...because I can’t get the tests I need. I made the mistake of reading other EC experiences and theirs began with the same symptoms I have...ans aside from being an old male, I have so many risk factors.
I don’t know if I need reassurance or not. The burning in my back between my shoulders is so scary, I’m worried I’ve let this go for far too long because we simply cannot afford care (and make too much to get benefits, isn’t that neat?). Any advice or words of reassurance? I really appreciate it.