@tess0831
Glad you are planning a call with the doctor. I am needing an Endoscopy which I do periodically for my Barrett's but can't do it right now because of COVID-19. I don't know if the Barrett's or the hiatal hernia causes the Esophageal spasms or why I have them but they detected them with a test called a Barium Swallow. It is a very noninvasive test that watches what happens when you swallow this white chalky liquid. It is less invasive than an Endoscopy but they look at different things. As far as prevacid, I actually take something called omeprazole which is supposed to help with the reflux because once you have Barrett's it can turn into cancer if you do not keep the reflux to a minimum. My gastroenterologist told me that as long as I am good about taking the omeprazole, I should not have to worry about any cancer so I am taking it religiously. I mentioned prevacid because I think it is the nonprescription version of omeprazole. I think I just get it by prescription because it is cheaper that way. My omeprazole says "substituted for prevacid" on the bottle so I think omeprazole is a generic version of prevacid. But your doctor will be able to tell you if anything like this would be helpful. I took Nexium for a while many years ago as well but my doctor did tell me only to take it for a period of time.

In addition to taking your temperature regularly, you may also want to get an oximeter. You can get them online for very little money and it is the thing you can clamp on your finger that measures the level of oxygen in your blood. If you feel like you are having difficulty breathing, this can help you to see if you are getting enough oxygen. I just ordered one myself and had to click around a bit to find one that did not cost a lot but finally did. I thought it would help to put my mind at ease when I get this feeling of heaviness on my chest and shortness of breath. Or it may tell me something is wrong (hopefully not). You can read about them online and what the readings should be. Lots of people are getting them now because of COVID which is why they were a little hard to find, but I thought it might help you to tell if this is a lung thing for you or something else. I find that anxiety has similar symptoms and I know I have that periodically.

Keep us posted on what you find out and how you are doing.
Best to you.

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