Hi. I am a Nurse Practitioner in Internal Medicine, so of course I am trying to self help here. Sunday night I awoke at 2:30 AM with burning discomfort in what felt like my esophagus. Never had anything like this before. I got up, took some TUMS thinking it was GERD. I began taking Pantoprazole 40 MG in the mornings. It is now Friday and I am still having sxs. It feels like burning behind my sternum and i can feels much more pain when I eat or drink anything. It is definitely more noticeable after i swallow until it passes into my stomach. No nausea, no emesis, no other sxs. I still think it is GERD, but how long should I wait to have this evaluated by Gastro? Should I be concerned?