You say you’re not overweight. Are you takingn bisphosphanates to try to retard the development of osteroporosis? GERD is one of several common side effects.
If so, you might want to stop taking them.
Also: avoid chocolate, tomatoes, tea, nuts, cheese.
You say you’re not overweight. Are you takingn bisphosphanates to try to retard the development of osteroporosis? GERD is one of several common side effects.
If so, you might want to stop taking them.
Also: avoid chocolate, tomatoes, tea, nuts, cheese.
You say you’re not overweight. Are you takingn bisphosphanates to try to retard the development of osteroporosis? GERD is one of several common side effects.
If so, you might want to stop taking them.
Also: avoid chocolate, tomatoes, tea, nuts, cheese.
I thought it was acid reflux due to nerves or something, so I would eat Tums constantly.
Then 5 years or so after I retired from the AF, it got so bad I developed something called Schlotzky's (?) Ring, which is like a big speed bump in your esophagus.
It also got worse and worse, but like a typical male, I ignored it, until one day I swallowed some chewed-up steak, and it got *stuck* there.
Wouldn't go down, couldn't choke it up, and let me tell ya, when it gets stuck there and you can't do anything with it, your mind says "this ain't right!" and panic gets after ya. It was stuck there for about five hours (forgive me Lord but God **** it, do something, come up or go down!). That convinced me to go to the doc and get it diagnosed.
Anyway, daily dose of Prilosec keeps it under control, plus my doc makes me get the esophagus scoped every few years, because that acid reflux and stuff opens you up to cancer of the esophagus.
I got a good doc, wonder if ObamaCare (TM) will decide I don't deserve that relatively-expensive scoping now and then.
Freepmail coming your way....
My symptoms used to be like yours. I hated when it hurt on the left side because there was always that suspicion about a heart attack.
I cut out dairy and tomato products and a few other things and rarely have the extreme pain anymore. I don’t eat within 3 or 4 hours before bedtime.
Zantac, Prevacid, Nexium and a few others didn’t work for me, when things are/were bad I take a swig of Maalox Asvanced after every meal.
I had GERD with heartburn only rarely. It was detected because it was so severe I was aspirating; the acid was damaging my lungs, and the immune response to fluid in my lungs was giving me a terrible hacking phlegm. The chest pains sounds like you’ve aspirated. (Aspiration is inhaling fluid.)
That said, I’m a big fan of getting multiple opinions when a first opinion doesn’t seem to satisfactorily explain the symptoms. I can’t guess how GERD is causing the arm pains, other than maybe you are coughing a lot in your sleep. I’d concur that it’d be a wise step to check with a cardiologist. (The left side thing gets me nervous.)
OTOH, beware! “When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail” Don’t presume the cardiologist has to be right just because he can add to a diagnosis. Check with your initial doctor to see find out how he thinks GERD can explain your arm pain. If GERD treatment (Zantac, modified diet, banning late-night snacks, sticking to low-acid foods in the evening) solves your problem, don’t go looking for trouble.
Lots of good advice, all.
Here is mine I give to all my patients/friends colleagues etc when they describe these symptoms.
After all is ruled out, heart, liver, gallbladder etc, and before you try the expensive drugs, make sure you try papaya. Yup, papaya. It is a natural fruit enzyme that can be bought as a natural food supplement in a chewable tablet. Check with your natural food stores. I was a skeptic until it saved my wife from a possible gastric bypass or worse. It is truly a miracle for her.
I believe as we age, we may lose some of or somehow reduce our natural digestive power, and I also think that the papaya naturally supplements our own digestion.
Give it a try. It's all natural, no drugs, and hey, whaddya got to lose? We get a 350 count jar for $15. Lasts us about 2 months. Good luck!
I agree with all who say see the Cardiologist.. and then the GI fellow.. Until then... Raise the head of your bed by putting bricks, or blocks of wood under the legs of the head of the bed to gently raise the head (pillows slip out at night). No eating for at least one hour before bed, take a snort of your favorite antacid before bedding down. Double the dose of your favorite stomach med (zantac,prolosec,axid, tagamet) for at least a month... Most of all NEVER assume the pain in the chest is GERD until proven...
Your symptoms sound a little like percarditis, but that would have been quickly ruled out with an EKG. Pluracy is also possible, but I think you'd have more difficulty breathing, which you don't describe and it's also a very simple diagnosis for a competent doctor.
Muscle pulls and tears in the rib cage can cause symptoms like you describe, as can back problems - yep, back pain can actually manifest itself in the chest, weird, I know. But, I'm with the many others who have suggested getting a 2nd opinion with a cardiologist, and especially get an echo cardiogram. In matters of the ticker, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
If I did my CRS made me forget it.
My wife’s case of GERD made her feel like she was having an anaphylactic episode. It got to the point that she was afraid to eat anything. She would also experience mild discomfort in the chest. We started her on Prilosec and the symptoms disappeared entirely.
I would suggest trying a daily regime of one Prilosec in the AM over Prevacid. See if that helps. GERD apparently can affect everyone differently.
My husband is in great shape, rarely drinks, doesn’t smoke, and has GERD. It’s basically when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus and causes discomfort. If untreated, over time it can damage the esophagus, causing a type of ulcer within the esophagus. The good news is that with medication it can be controlled and if controlled, the esophagus can heal and sometimes no more medication is required. My husband tried Prilosec (didn’t really work for him, and Prilosec OTC (over the counter)is different and you’re lucky if it works), Nexium (worked to heal the esophagus and he was off the medication for a year symptom free, but then symptoms came back); now he is taking Dexilant DR and it works great. He can now enjoy coffee and acidy foods like tomato sauce without any pain. I think his case was more severe then most, as he had to search for a med that really worked. He has no other health issues and the doctor thinks his stomach just happens to produce to much acid and the medication suppresses this just enough for him to be comfortable. Of course I’d also check with a cardiologists as others have said, but if it’s GERD count yourself lucky as it’s controllable.
If you have too much acid in your stomach the simplest solution is to drink Milk which is a base and neutralizes the stomach acid. Get it from a good dairy, like Brouguires (sp). Don’t buy the standard supermarket milk as most are tainted with rocket fuel.(at least in So Cal they are)
Also are you taking Potassium Glutonate supplements? If not, you should. They are available at the vitamin rack in your local supermarket.
Except for Bayer aspirin or multi-vitamins, I don’t pop pills. All of that other stuff is synthetic garbage from Indiana that will only make you sicker in the long run (i.e. liver damage).
I went to the doctor a year ago with the exact symptoms you have described. In a lot of pain in my chest and what felt like a burning sensation going up my neck, hurting under and down my arms and in my upper back. The pain was so bad I couldn’t open my mouth. I thought I would vomit.
He sent me to the ER immediately. Ran a heart test, blood tests, scans, x rays, you name it and passing all with flying colors, the doctor diagnosed me with having costochondritis.
It does not go away in a few days. Or a few weeks. Or a few months. A year on I still have pain only it’s not nearly as severe as it was in the beginning.
Stress brings it out often or when I lift anything slightly heavy.
I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. You suffer. I forget what they gave me but it didn’t put a dent in controlling the pain.
No one should have to suffer like I did. I was new to the area, a new patient, the doctor decided he didn’t know me well enough to prescribe any pain medication once the 5 day emergency meds ran out. I had to live with that pain. I thought I would die I hurt so bad.
It’s very very painful and lasts too long. In some cases it never goes away.
I had to sleep sitting up in a recliner for months. It hurt that bad. Everything I read on it said nights were painful for anyone having this. Believe it, it’s true.
The gastrointestinal ailment celiac disease can also cause angina and GERD type symptoms. It is worth checking because celiac disease is fairly common but rarely suspected because its symptoms are difficult to distinguish from other disorders.
Two years with heartburn, and one episode where the doc & I both thought it could have been a heart attack... I imagined the pain was similar to what one would feel when struck through the sternum with an arrow, lodging into the back just behind the heart.
That’s not fun. I stopped drinking coffee, avoid all sweetened or carbonated drinks, and changed my diet completely. Lost 20 pounds, and feel great. I still sometimes get mild heartburn if I eat anything with onions, raw or cooked, or if I over do it on tomatoes. I eat about two cups of raw/slightly blanched broccoli with lunch. Lunch is usually a romaine lettuce salad with red and yellow bell pepper, carrot, radish, with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
Dinner is usually a small minute steak, baked chicken, prawns, crab, or occasionally turkey, with a cup of rice and about a cup and a half of steamed or stir fried veggies.
Most importantly, I started eating breakfast again. Oatmeal, or a granola bar, and once or twice a week eggs with bacon.
I’ve been doing this for the past 16 months and I haven’t felt this good since I was in the Navy sixteen years ago.
Ten years ago, I would have scoffed at the idea to eat this way, but looking back, I wish I had done it earlier.
First, get a magnesium suppliment, or eat a can of spinach or other food high in magnesium. If you get an almost immediate relaxed feeling, get sleepy, notice your legs aren't crampy any more, you either have a magnesium deficiency and or you are eating foods containing too much calcium.
Second, at you next big meal(not breakfast) mix up 10 ounces of water with 2 ounces of real lemon juice, drink a third or half before the meal and continue as you eat. If you get all the way thru without the feeling of reflux, you don't have GERD/Acid reflux, you have the reverse situation where your stomach doesn't have enough acid to digest the amount of food you just ate, and it is getting rid or trying to get rid of the excess. Lemon juice is also one of the best bioavailable sources of Vitamin C, which you prolly don't get enough of either.