I am here because I could not sleep due to heartburn/Gerd. Went to a holiday party, forgot to take my omeprazole and here I am at 3am. I accidently came upon this website. My guardian angel must have guided me! I have been reading everyone's posts and am learning so much and also being scared to death! I have been on meds for about 30 years. I have a hiatal hernia. After reading about the side affects of long term use I decided to try controlling it with diet. I did well for a few years, lost weight, very little problems I could control with apple Cider vinegar or baking soda. For whatever reason I fell totally off the healthy wagon and the discomfort and pain came back with a vengeance. I finally got an app for a scope. She said she had not seen such an angry esophagus in a long time. She put me on meds for 2 months and did repeat scope and much relieved that there was improvement. First round of biopsies were negative, still waiting on the second round results. After this episode tonight and reading all of your experiences has really made it hit home for me how deadly serious this is . There is one thing that I do experience sometimes when I get an attack of heartburn that I have not seen anyone mention and that is I get what feels like my heart pounding. EKG's are always normal. Has anyone ever experienced this as well?? I apologize for the long post. Thank you for all being here and sharing. You have opened my eyes and helped me to become a better patient. I will pray for those who are going through tough times right now!