Hi Steph. I'm so sorry you went through this. I ended up in the ER with similar symptoms (actually wrote about this in HP earlier this year). I was also diagnosed with GERD and given all kinds of drugs that did *nothing.* Based upon a reader comment to the HP piece, I went to an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. To say it was miraculous would be inadequate. I just wanted to share that in case you continue to feel like this (mine was eventually diagnosed as "globus disorder," but Western medicine has no good cure for it --- they treat it regularly in Chinese medicine).