This went on for me for a few weeks last summer. I started to have pains just as you describe. I went to summer camp with my Scout Troop (I’m an Assistant Scoutmaster) and half-way through the 2nd day I decided I was having a heart attack. I ended up getting taken to the emergency room.
When I walked into the emergency room there was a receptionist who asked me what my problem was. I told her I had chest pain and pain down my left arm. Her expression changed radically and in about two heartbeats I was in a wheelchair and in about 10 heartbeats I was flat on my back with 6 people around me, blood pressure being taken, an IV going in, EKG patches on my chest, nitroglycerin under my tongue and a lot of questions being asked.
As we say in the tech support business, “no trouble found”. Things calmed down. Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. I was pretty much left alone. An older female doctor with an Eastern European accent sat down and talked to me. We talked quite some time about our life stories. It was actually very pleasant and relaxing. She told me that I was going to be admitted. Her guess was that I had GERD (which she explained) but that given I’m a not-skinny male over 50 they were going to work up my heart just to make sure.
The next day after not sleeping well on the ward (not their fault, that’s how it is in the hospital) I took a two-part cardiac stress test. No blockages, diagnosis was GERD. They put me on one daily pill, 40 mg pantoprazole. I went back to Scout camp and did a Mile Swim the next day so that everyone wouldn’t think I was an invalid.
I was told:
1) Sleep with your head elevated (an extra pillow).
2) Stay away from spicy foods (I lay off of even onions and green peppers).
3) Don’t ingest peppermint or anything peppermint flavor (it relaxes the sphincter muscle between the esophagus and stomach).
4) No caffeine.
I had a bit of an issue a couple of months ago, but otherwise I’ve been fine. My GP tells me that a lot of it is stress. As one other poster mentioned, part of my problem was that my fear that the pain was cardiac put me under more stress, so I felt more pain, etc. in a feedback loop. Finding out my heart was O.K. really helped as much as anything else. I didn’t start freaking out every time I felt a twinge.
Get your heart checked out and you’ll fell better. Literally.
Some physical labor during the day, and a long walk with the dog in the evening to relax also helps ... :)
★ FREEDOM! ★
I have GERD. Here’s the best way I can describe the “cramps”...
You know how it feels when you get heartburn? Well, sometimes, I won’t get the burning sensation, but I will get a severe pressure in the same area.
NO. No pain in my arms or my chest wall associated with GERD.
Please get a consult with a dr who’s willing to dig deeper.
If it’s not a cardio issue, you may uncover something simple like a potassium problem.
When my GERD first started, I had almost no heartburn, just an unrelenting pressure. (just below the sternum and slightly to the left.) An internal medicine dr took me apart and finally (accidentally) figured out that it was GERD.
While I was going through the testing phase, he tried to explain to me how complex that one area of the body really was. There’s a lot going on in that area. You could have a problem that’s very easy to fix.
Over the years, I was prescribed numerous medications to treat my GERD. Different meds because the Navy clinic kept changing their formulary. Aciphex, Previcid, Protonix, none of these really worked for me. Prilosec has been the best I’ve found. The clinic has carried it in generic form ever since it went OTC. I take one a day, my wife, two. I am overweight but she is not. Stay away from alcohol, greasy, fatty, and acidic foods. And jack up the head of your bed. I put 5 inch long 4X4 blocks under the head. Let gravity work to keep the acid down at night.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Cut back on the coffee. Too much tears my stomach up. And I love my coffee.