Posted on 07/07/2010 9:38:08 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
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...
Bookmarking for reading when I’m not so tired! Thanks for the links.
I have been having a flare up for about a month now due to all of the deaths in the family. Lost 3 cousins and 2 aunts. It is not hurting this time like before, though. I use to say on this site that it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. This extreme heat has not helped matters.
Anyone here have GERD?
I use to, but now I take a small shot of applecider vinegar
and this fixes it mostly,
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.
Sitting at a computer can cause a lot of problems. Rush said his back problems were from sitting.
From sitting the upper back muscles and arms can have all sorts of pains. Going to a gym and exercising with weights and machines helps. Lat machines etc. You do not need heavy weights.
If I did my CRS made me forget it.
Yup. Apple Cider vinegar and Ginger. You can get the tablets too. Not trying to plug Swansons vitamins online but they have great prices. 100 pills for 100 either one of these is about $2 to 3.
Losing weight and sadly cutting down carbs also helps. Sadly carbs as you get older should be cut back but grains (breads) and tomatoes taste so good. :-(
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.
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.
It is not to much acid that is the trouble rather not enough, it is the acid that closes the asophagus valve and when the stomach acid is weak the valve stays open, try a little shot of applecider vinegar and your trouble should be fixed it worked for me
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.
Yeah I forgot to add, I do drink more coffee than I should.
3 to 5 cups a day.
It just comes with the territory of the job... 8 hours over the Atlantic and I usually consume 4 cups and a gallon or two of water.
I don;t care for sodas, but do have the occasional bottle of apple or orange juice.
Normally its either coffee or ice water for me.
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.
Not always the case, though. I'm a skinny boy, and I've had all those acid reflux problems, and also sleep apnea (so bad I had to have surgery on it two years ago). Had it for who knows how many years, decades, but since I was so skinny no doctor bothered to look for it, and I didn't know until it got so bad I begged my doc to look for it.
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