Hi Doc. I hope you can explain what is happening to me. I suffer from severe heartburn, accompanied by localised pain in the chest area. I normally get it around midday and it can last up to five hours if I don't take Gaviscon. What really could be the cause of this. Someone suggested I cut down on cereal with wheat, and I did. It disappeared then came back after a while. When it starts to burn it feels like there's a sore somewhere between my breasts and my tummy.

I also experience at least once a month, a period where my burp smells really bad. That is normally followed by gas in my tummy, and most of the time, vomiting and Diarrhoea. I have seen my doctor who put it down to just too much acid in the stomach or indigestion. He called a gastro internal something. What can I do to make sure that this never comes back? What causes it and what are the chances of me having a stomach ulcer?

Please note that I am overweight and also HIV positive.