I have been taking OTC drugs for some time now for my heartburn..over the past few mths I have been having trouble swallowing and kept choking and freaking my family out. So..I finally decided enough was enough and went to my doc who said it sounds like GERD and he put me on 40mg daily of Nexium. He also referred me to a GI doc who is going to do an endoscopy next week. The nexium works better than the other antacids that I was taking but still having trouble swallowing and chest pains. It does feel like you're having a heart attack at times. It has made me very anxious and I get so nervous now going out to eat because of the choking. Plus it has affected my sleep. How can this happen all of a sudden in my early 40's ? Does the endoscopy hurt ?? side effects ?? I just want it all to be over with and after reading some of the comments it doesn't sound like it goes away. Plus like others my insurance does not want to pay for the nexium and it's $215 a mth.View Thread