Why does GERD cause chest pain?

Posted by baguette @baguette, Feb 16 7:35pm

Sometimes I get chest pains while walking quickly or doing abdominal exercises. Is that actual reflux (I don't feel it as reflux) or, if you have a hiatal hernia, the stomach popping thru the hernia? Or another reason? (I already know that abdominal exercises can cause issues with GERD. I am trying to modify them to accommodate my condition). TIA!

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debra54 | @debra54 | Feb 17 3:26pm

In reply to @baguette "Ok. The esophagus was inflamed, esophagitis grade B. If that's the case, then the chest pain..." + (show)

They would just need to dilate your esophagus. I also have a hiatel hernia but yes, exercise could aggravate either one.

debra54 | @debra54 | Feb 17 3:28pm

In reply to @baguette "Ok. The esophagus was inflamed, esophagitis grade B. If that's the case, then the chest pain..." + (show)

My chest pain was so bad they looked at my heart 1st. After dilation, there was no more chest pain...

baguette | @baguette | Feb 17 3:41pm

In reply to @debra54 "My chest pain was so bad they looked at my heart 1st. After dilation, there was..." + (show)

I've been dilated three times. I feel fine now except during that one type of activity. I may just have to find a different way to develop stronger core muscles. Thanks for all the additional info. Best wishes for continued wellness.

debra54 | @debra54 | Feb 17 3:56pm

In reply to @baguette "I've been dilated three times. I feel fine now except during that one type of activity...." + (show)

You too. Thanks..after 2 or 3 dilation they want to cut muscles. Good luck.

samcal9977zz | @samcal9977zz | Feb 17 4:29pm

In reply to @baguette "Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am doing the low-acid, whole food diet and lifestyle..." + (show)

@baguette

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am doing the low-acid, whole food diet and lifestyle changes, including smaller more frequent meals and elevated upper body for sleeping. It definitely helps. The PPI helped too but that gave me side effects so I ditched those.

I have had cardiac workups with stress tests and others. Supposedly my CV system is fine.

The GI doc talks to me only when I am coming out of sedation after a scope. He did email me once enigmatically saying he could do laproscopic surgery on me. He didn't specify what it was for. I was left to guess a fundoplication surgery. In short, neither he nor my PCP know anything about diet/exercising to address GERD issues. Drugs and surgery are their tools. They are not good communicators either. I would have to travel to find a better doctor option, which I did do for my osteoporosis (6.5 hours round trip). I just don't know of anyone else worth the travel to do the GI consult.

I have signed up with various exercise coaches explicitly stating my GERD condition and how it affects my exercise comfort. They all assure me they have dealt with GERD patients before and know how to approach abdominal exercises. Then guess what? Same old same old.

I read about the Iqoro device, which isn't available in the US. Based on someone else's comments, I bought a mouthguard with strap to replicate the Iqoro and do the associated breathing exercises to mitigate the hiatal hernia. I think there was limited success with that approach.

So ..... I have done the plain vanilla recommendations and have found success for the most part. The exercise question is the last big remaining puzzle piece.

I asked the question because if the pain is just esophageal spasms, I wouldn't care that much. I could ignore it, and hope it lessens over time. However, if it's the stomach poking through the hernia, that could mean bigger problems down the line. Ditto if it was also acid/pepsin shooting up that I couldn't feel or taste, but would still do damage.

I will continue to search for abdominal exercises that don't cause chest pains. I need a strong core for balance and bone health. GERD surgery is a last resort for me.

Thanks again for caring!

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I have seen Hatha Yoga exercises for GERD.

I have never tried them myself and I don't know if they would help you...or possibly make things worse. But I do know that they exist.

If you want to try some natural supplements, the book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by James Balch MD has a range of suggestions.

You can usually pick up an older edition for next to nothing on Amazon.

Here are some natural suggestions from the Doctor Yourself website (all free) :
http://www.doctoryourself.com/reflux.html
Again, I don't know if these are ok for you or not. You could always clear them by confirming them through an MD. You could try a Holistic MD, if you prefer someone connected to natural medicine in some way.

Dr. Andrew Weil is an Integrative Medicine MD...

Here's one article of his on GERD:
https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/gastrointestinal/gerd-gastroesophageal-reflux-disease/
sorry about the problems.

Best of luck.

gigi4 | @gigi4 | Feb 17 4:51pm

In reply to @beracha "I have hiatal hernia and GERD, Gastritis, and get chest pain sometimes after coffee or some..." + (show)

Coffee is an irritant as are some vegetables. I switched to a low acid coffee. Google the vegetables that cause you issues to see if it’s the vegetable. Fried vegetables can also be irritating to the gut.

baguette | @baguette | Feb 17 5:16pm

In reply to @samcal9977zz "I have seen Hatha Yoga exercises for GERD. I have never tried them myself and I..." + (show)

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into the yoga breathing exercises. They sound similar to the Iqoro exercises I already do but still worth researching and trying.

I use ENTs Aviv and Koufman for advice and the low acid, low fat whole food diet has worked fairly well, as long as I stick to it. Koufman has a decent web site with a lot of information, they both have books on GERD and diet/lifestyle approaches. There is a FB group that has a lot of low acid recipes based on Aviv's work.

The Doctor Yourself link you offered had a suggestion of eating fresh pineapple for its digestive qualities. That's a no go for those of us on a low acid diet if anyone else looks into that. The eating almonds to calm a reflux attack was something I haven't tried before. Maybe almonds before abdominal exercises will keep the chest pain at bay. I will find out!

BTW, another non-drug option to keep chest pains away during exercising is chewing sugarless gum. That has worked for me in all aspects except the abdominal exercises.

baguette | @baguette | Feb 17 5:17pm

In reply to @gigi4 "Coffee is an irritant as are some vegetables. I switched to a low acid coffee. Google..." + (show)

Thanks for your concern. I don't drink coffee and am already on a low acid, low fat whole food diet to combat GERD.

baguette | @baguette | Feb 17 5:22pm

In reply to @debra54 "You too. Thanks..after 2 or 3 dilation they want to cut muscles. Good luck." + (show)

Oh my word, no one ever told me that! The GI doctor suggested laproscopic surgery without explaining what type of surgery. I assumed he meant fundoplication. That is wrapping the upper stomach around the lower esophagus. Maybe that is where cutting muscles comes in. Sounds dreadful. My sister told me she had read somewhere that it's not unusual to have dilation 3-5 times before it takes hold. I feel pretty good after 3.

t98 | @t98 | Feb 18 4:14am

If you have GERD you shouldn't do sit-ups. Instead of raising your head to your legs keep your head down and just raise and lower your legs. This will work the abdominal muscles but not cause a problem with the sphincter by your diaphragm.

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