I've had some mild acid reflux symptoms here and there in the last 2 years or so, but in the last 3 weeks I started having really intense heartburn, palpitations (possibly anxiety related) chest discomfort and strong pressure beneath breast bone (left side), loss of appetite, at night occasionally having bitter taste from acid, and feeling very full after short meals as well as occasionally having abdominal pain around the belly button area (I had this occasionally for about 3 months, which is very sensitive to touch and seems to be on the surface, possibly irrelevant or muscle related).
The heartburn / chest pressure seems to be relieved a little bit by omeprazole (strong dose of 40mg morning and before bed), Peptac liquid and Famotidine but it seems to be ongoing and constant for about 3 weeks now and is not relieved in a major way by these medicines. Spoken to GP (only on the phone), done blood tests which came back normal, done 2 stool tests (which showed a little bit of possible inflammation of the bowels + a little bit of microscopic blood slightly above the normal rate) so I've been sent to do a colonoscopy, but to me it seems more critical that an endoscopy will be needed regarding the heartburn / acid reflux related symptoms (which seem quite severe and persistent to me).
I am generally a healthy 22 year old guy (no smoking, drinking, eating healthy, normal stools, no diarrhoea, no difficulty breathing) with no underlying health issues (but I should mention that I had COVID in the last month with mild symptoms), but these current symptoms (especially the strong pressure beneath the breastbone which makes me unable to sleep at night as well as bothering me throughout the day) worry me a little bit and since the process of testing and seeing a specialist is quite long I wanted to get some opinions and directions in this situation.
***Questions that stem from all this:***
Can it be normal to have ongoing symptoms like this relating to acid reflux constantly for weeks or even months without the medication / diet changes having a very significant impact?
Can COVID (which I had in the last month (most symptoms went away btw) cause or aggravate this?
How can the severe heartburn / strong chest pressure beneath breastbone be relieved?
Also any other type of advice, information or opinion will be really appreciated!
