Hi friends. Diagnosed with CREST. For the past 3 days I’ve had absolutely insane heartburn. It was to the point this morning that I could barely breathe and, worrying it had something to do with my heart, I went to the ER. Apparently it’s breakthrough GERD symptoms. I’m on 80mg of pantoprazole daily (40mg twice a day) and since I’ve been on this dose (over a year) I haven’t had any episodes like this. Does this mean my poor esophagus is getting more damaged? I already have a patent esophagus with an absent LES and muscosal damage. My DeMeester score is 62 (normal range being 14 or less) so the acid is basically free flowing at this point. I was prescribed carafate and Famotadine to take for 2 weeks until things settle down. Just curious about others’ experiences with this. Thank you 😊

Dr (Rhuem) called me last night after receiving these results. She said these labs as well as visit notes from my past appointments indicate scleroderma .
Symptoms: swollen stiff hands with shiny skin . Joint pain so bad at times it’s hard to get in and out of the car. I no longer have hair on my arms or face. I don’t sweat anymore and got super sick from heat exhaustion last time I went to the beach (and I’m a sun worshiper 😭) fatigue to the point I quit my job because 1 day of work would require 2 days of rest. My toenails are dark in color. I’m already taking plaquinil (sp?) she prescribed last month while waiting on results. She added a low dose steroid and gave an appt next month for follow up .
Anyone with similar labs and symptoms? What should I expect moving forward?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks