Strange Sudden Symptoms

Let me start off by saying that I am a 21 year old healthy male that is slightly overweight. I have a long history of having an iron gut. Throughout my life I have been able to eat habanero peppers without a single incident of heartburn and large meals with no problems at all. However, on June 6th 2008 (more than a month ago) I ingested a large amount of gin (about half a bottle). Instantly after drinking this gin I started having shortness of breath (immediately, and I noticed his even in my semi-drunken state).

I am not an alcoholic, nor did I have a history of alcohol abuse. I had just turned 21, 6 months prior and had been drinking on and off throughout those recent months. I had interactions with many hard liquors such as whiskey and vodka, but experienced no problems. I had never had gin though (Seagram's Extra Dry Gin to be exact), and after the first drink I began experiencing some very strange symptoms that the doctors keep calling "GERD" (a fancy name for acidic indigestion...a symptom, not a condition, imo).

My lower throat became irritated and I started coughing. I began burping a lot, having trouble swallowing, experiencing minor shortness of breath, and getting worse morning breath. This all happened suddenly, I could probably count the seconds after drinking the gin. The experience is as if one were to run till they reached their peak and could not run any longer, they stop to catch their breath and with each inhalation find it hard to take deep breaths without having that annoying chest/pit of throat irritation, it lessens as they catch their breath and goes away, but it is 24/7 for me (not the catching the breath part but the sensation).

I visited a GP who ran an EKG, chest x-ray, barium swallow, and many pulmonary tests. All came back fine. Even the Barium Swallow (Upper GI) showed no reflux at all or hernias. However, a gastroenterologist ordered an endoscopy and said he found a "very small sliding hiatal hernia" (3-4 cm), and told me they found no evidence of any irritation or inflammation from it. They took several random biopsies as well that came back negative for H Pylori or any type of glandular tissue.

I've tried Protonix, Nexium, Prevacid, Aciphex, Zegerid, Prilosec, PepcidAC, Zantac, and Tagamet. None of these have helped at all aside from giving me gas and bloating.

Again, I have never, ever, had a single episode of this sensation in my entire life, save for the night (June 6th 2008) that I drank gin for the first time, it was instant. They can't explain how the hernia could be causing these symptoms if it was so instant. They said it could've "irritated the hernia", but they can't explain how the habanero sauce and other spicy foods I had eaten in the past did nothing to "irritate it".

I don't know if my symptoms are due to this small hernia (as I hear many people have them with no symptoms at all) or something else. I am 21 and do not want to feel like this or take pills for my entire adult life, so I want to opt for surgery if the hernia is indeed the culprit, but they don't recommend it (they don't even think the hernia is the problem) and would rather have me become a life-long antacid customer, something I don't plan on embarking on.

I find it extremely hard to believe that I could go from having an iron gut to developing GERD in an acute, sudden, and instant fashion, merely after trying some new liquor. I am very in tune with my body and would have felt the slightest symptom had this ever been a problem before. This is too strange to be a mere coincidence.

I am extremely skeptical about antacids, and going through an antacid trial without any relief has made me even more discouraged.

I stopped drinking completely and started up some home remedies for indigestion that have greatly helped, but it has not eliminated the symptoms completely. My mother has a hiatal hernia from pregnancy, and her brother has one as well. But both of theirs are large and show up on a barium swallow. They also cause chest pain for them and other symptoms I don't have. Likewise, they don't get the 24/7 throat burning like I do and they've had theirs their whole lives, so I don't know if genetics is a factor or not. When I lie down, my symptoms get better, and what I eat is not a huge influence as I have it 24/7 around the clock. I can eat a bland diet or go for Mexican food, there are no "triggers".

I've been out of my mind about this, sobbing actually and breaking down daily, becoming nostalgic for times when I did not feel like this. I feel this is mostly self-induced due to the nature of the gin ingestion and I can't help but keep beating myself up over something that didn't need to happen. I think anyone would find it most comical to see me in such a state, seeing as how I am around 238, 6'2 and an ex-football player, it looks rather awkward for such a big guy whose had everything from stitches to toe nails removed to make such a big deal over this, but it is so damn life altering.

I've done everything from having almost every test in the book, tracking down medical researchers, to attempting to contact acupuncturists/Chinese medicine practitioners and chiropractors. I even almost bought some strange "manuka honey" scam for $75. The entire hotline of free "health coach's/nurses" at my insurance company knows me by name and are baffled at my condition. When they got sick of hearing about it, I started calling depression/at risk hotlines because this discomfort is destroying my life and causing me great distress. Even the people on the depression hotlines were pretty much confused as to how my situation came on so sudden, especially with the gin involved, even if it may have been an allergic reaction.

My gastro doc doesn't even think the hiatal hernia is causing my symptoms and has now tried prescribing me anti-depressants due to my incessant calling, but I am a nervous wreck and have no one to contact aside from family who I am sick of burdening with this. I am taking good care of myself with a 75% fruits/vegetables and 25% meat/bread alkalizing diet along with the supplements of Acidophilus, Spirulina, Alfalfa, Digestive enzymes, and Nux Vomica (suggested by a homeopath). I have never, ever, had a single incident of this in my entire life before June 6th, so this is extremely shocking, it has turned my life upside down. I have no prior history of hypochondria, anxiety, or depression.

You'd see how strange this is if you knew me, as I am the stereotypical "tough guy" and I swear I would've rather broken 15 bones than have this, it's the worse thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm too young to have to endure this, I'd have no problem if I got this when I'm 70 or 80, but 21? I don't want to be on meds my whole life for this discomfort, nor do I want to go through some risky surgery or have to deal with a lifelong digestion problem. It all happened instantly after drinking Gin for the first time, and I swear I'd never drink a drop of alcohol again if I could just make this go away. I've even tried spiritual venues, which is extremely uncharacteristic for me as I am usually one who praises "logical and rational thought". I find myself being driven insane by this ailment...I am very articulate, so I find myself engaging in long maniacal dialogues with myself over this condition in order to try and calm down. I've tried stress management, meditation, and even considered yoga, nothing can sate this intense discomfort. This past month and a half has been literal hell.

I would really like an opinion on how a healthy 21 year old male could suddenly and instantly develop chronic 24/7 round the clock symptoms like this out of the blue, with no inflammation or problems shown in an endoscopy aside from a very minor and small hiatal hernia that cannot even be directly linked to the symptoms (so they say thus far).

I am searching for an alternative cure as the antacids, h2 blockers, and PPI's have done nothing to help my situation. I am not interested in temporary symptom relief, I want to nip this thing in the bud.

Thanks for reading this, and I'll be checking it periodically to see if anyone has any advice for me. Tweet