Posted on 07/07/2010 9:38:08 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
Anyone here have GERD?
Reason I ask, last month I started having what I would described as mild to medium chest discomfort/pressure in the middle of my chest and lower sternum and weird aches on my left side arm pit area and in both arms usually just either side of the elbow. Not stabbing pain but aches like you have when you get the flu.
The only "pains" I have in my chest are not deep pains at all, but what feels to be shallow muscle cramp-like aches, something you would expect feel after doing 100 push ups or lifting weights.
No shortness of breath etc...
They came and went for a few days then one evening they hit hard and scared the bejesus out of me so I headed to the ER.
After half the night spent in the ER. Doctor found nothing abnormal with my EKG, blood tests, no sign of heart attack, blood clots or pneumonia. He said it was most likely GERD.
I don't smoke (I collect cigars, yeah don't ask...) and rarely drink and I'm not over weight.
No family history of heart disease. And I undergo a Class 1 Flight Physical every 12 months, and had a Treadmill Stress Test 3 years ago. Which was fine.
But my question to those who suffer from this, is this.
Do your pains at time mimic aches and cramps in the chest, without the burning you would think of with heartburn. And do you get aches and cramps in your arms or any other weird unexplained pains that your Doctors say could be caused by GERD?
I really don't get the burning sensation, but I take OTC Prevacid once daily and have for years to control HB.
The chest pressure and aches come and go randomly, not tied to any one activity such as exercise, laying down or sitting up right. Sometimes exercise even makes the chest pressure go away but not the aches in my arms. I don't know if a heavy mean will cause them as I have stopped eating big meals and opted for several smaller ones.
Its just a strange batch of symptoms, hard to describe and qualify. And to make matters worse the ER Doc told me that GERD mimicking chest pains can make your stress and anxiety level go up aggravating the pain and pressure.
Anyone else have this, can offer up any advice?
Its more frustrating than anything because it hard not to think its you heart when you have chest pains... which causes you anxiety levels to go up.
Get a consult with a cardiologist. Then make sure you get an echocardiogram and a carotid doppler.
yes, and it’s pretty common. Acid can sometimes come back up from the stomach when the valve doesn’t close tightly (I forget what that valve is called).
9 times out of 10 it can be eliminated by losing a little weight. Otherwise, take something like Protonix to cut down on the acid.
I suffer from GERD, so does my Mom..it all depends on the person. With me, its not severe, I take Zantac. When I eat something that gives me acid, I will have pain in my upper stomach and I sometimes the pain will spread to the back. Other times I won’t have pain in the upper stomach, just when I go lie down(Yeah I have a tendency to do that after I eat, I know, not a good idea)it will come up acid and I will have to go take a Zantac. My Mom had a more severe case of GERD, she had a sore in her stomach had to take Protonic, now takes Zantac just like me, had pain go from the upper stomach to the back, horrible pain..had to stop eating anything with acid for months. I guess the bottom line is, it all depends on the person, but your symptoms can be related to GERD, you think its chest pain but its really not. It confuses people to think they are having a heart attack when the issue is really in the stomach
This often common in women when they reach menopause. You may need to change your diet like all the good stuff tomatoes, etc.
http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Great-Herbs-For-Acid-Reflux&id=481994
http://www.ehow.com/how_2289940_use-ginger-treat-acid-reflux.html
I have heard ginger is good for it. You can try natural ginger or try Swanson’s Vitamins on the net. You can get a bottle of 100 Ginger pills for $2.39.
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SW535/ItemDetail?SourceCode=INTN042
Good advice. You beat me to the punch here.
No waiver required for military flying so you should be good to go on the civilian side. Don't know how long his recovery to flying status was. My aunt just had the same thing done and went home the same day.
Years ago I started having bad pains. I went in and got scoped. I started to have scarring on my esophogus. The valve at the top of my stomach doesn’t seal and at night the acid would burn above the seal. Meds never helped but what did help was making sure my head was elevated at night. Got that advice from the nurse, not the doctor.
Try this: buy a foam pad for your bed (cheap or expensive, doesn’t matter) and put a second flat pillow on your regular pillow. The flat pillow elevates your head just a bit along with your body sinking a bit in the pad to keep the stomach acid in your stomach.
No pills, no antacids, eat whatever I like, and never had a problem again. If you are having pains you already might have a bit of damage. I recomend getting scoped to be sure, it is outpatient treatment. If you have no irritation at all, then go to another doctor. More than likely the first doctor missed something then.
Good luck and I hope you feel better.
I’ve had severe GERD for over ten years and I rarely if ever have had the kind of pain you describe. But I wonder is there some damage to your esophagus that might be causing your pain. Have you been evaluated by a gastroenterologist? If you already have to take one Prevacid a day, you probably should be.
Beat me to it, my cousin had the same problems about two months ago, he died of a heart attack.
I’d agree with this and also see a GI doc..
I’d agree with this and also see a GI doc..
Agree with Beowulf9. When in doubt, with symptoms like these, see a cardiologist. Then a good gastroenterologist :-) Symptoms can be tricky.
I've been to the hospital, had an EKG, stress test, etc, and the last doctor thinks it may be muscular pain. I think you should have those tests just to help rule anything out. I think it may be related to back pain as well. I know it sucks, but you're not the only one who has it, and you're very likely going to be fine. Exercise seems to help as well! I've had this for almost 10 years now.
I had this. No drugs needed. Cut your carb consumption - especially eliminate wheat bread and pasta (not the advice ADM likes to hear given) - and it will vanish very quickly.
It was on Memorial day and my wife and youngest son were convinced I was having a heart attack.
VERY painful! Severe chest pain (the Barrett's esophagus has caused the area around my heart to become inflamed), Pain in left arm, trouble breathing etcetera.
I should be OK but have to keep a close watch on it and eventually will probably have to be on meds or possibly have an operation.
Here's more info.
Hope this helps.
prisoner6
I had GERD that was due to a brain tumor (that part of my brain controlled that part of my body), so my GERD might not have been the same as other peoples. But I didn’t experience the same symptoms you described.
You may want to get a 2nd opinion. Pain in the arms doesn’t sound like GERD to me.
Get an H. Pylori stool test done. Read up on it.
and a stress test. Don’t let them tell you the ekg is normal and your cardiac enzymes are negative, you could have a blocked artery and it won’t show up on either.
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