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Months of Chest Pain - Please help
Hello all,
My name is Brandon and I'm a 34 year old male. I'm excited to get signed up on here and hopeful this may help my anxiety which is through the roof! I have been through ongoing chest pain for the past 4 months. The pain started off as a pinch on the left side of chest. It evolved into a pinch and pressure onto the right side of chest. It would be nearly daily, but didn't really get worse after meals or doing a lot of exercising. The pain then started radiating to my shoulders and sometimes into my arms but rarely. Now, it radiates into my jaw occasionally. I get a wierd fluttering in my chest occasionally when I lay down, but when i sit up and get doing stuff I don't realize it much. Now the chest pain mainly feels like pressure in my chest snd i get occsssional sharp pains on the lower portion of my ribs and sometimes on each side of my sternum. What could this be?
Here's what all I've had done....
CT scan of heart and heart echo - found i have a slightly dialated aerota at the base that they will monitor yearly. I also have a bicuspid aerota valve with moderate regurgitation. Cardiologist does not think my heart is causing the pains. I have no blockages at all and they aren't concerned at all of a heart attack.
I was scoped and found i have a moderate to large hiatal hernia and esophagitas. They also did a manometry test and found I was having esophogas spasms. I am set to have a bravo test this week to see if acid reflux might be the cause. I bet that will show that is the case because I've had acid reflux since my late teens / early 20s.
During my CT scan, they saw a slightly enlarged lymphnode...which i think was on the right side of my chest. They said they would recheck that in 6 months. I had a cold or infection during that test and had some congestion and they say that may of been the reason for that.
I have been on a proton pump inhibitor, zantac and tums as needed but i haven't really noticed much of an improvement on them, if at all.
I have back problems and a neck injury as well. They also think that may be the cause of the chest pain. I had an MRI which did not show any nerve compression but I am constantly battling neck and back pain, sometimes severe.
Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks all,
Brandon
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Thumbs up for Nexium!
Thanks for the responses...I’m gonna go back to doc on Monday & hopefully she can help me ... It’s been a torturous 2 months I wish I was just dealing with regular heartburn lol ! I just don’t want to have to keep taking these meds the more & more I read the more nervous it gets me ! I’m trying my hardest to eat good I’ve completely cut out coffee ( that I miss soo much ) & sodas just drinking boring water & eating mostly chicken (not fried ) I look up acid reflux diets all the time and found a few recipes I’m gonna try feel free to post any if you have lol... I just wanna be back to normal 😒
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1 Reaction@lisa1030 Water can irritate the stomach also. I have to drink and cook with filtered water... we have the under the sink type filter. Our water has lots of chlorine and probably other chemicals.. city water. I can drink coffee. I drink a dark roast that seems to have less caffeine and acid. There are some coffees you can buy on line that are listed as low acid, but I do well with just the dark roast and keep it at a reasonable amount and not like I used to... a cup in my hand almost all the time 😂 You might do well with just taking something like Zantac or Pepcid. I have to take a PPi because of Barrett's esophagus. I do not get bile reflux anymore after having a gastric bypass to fix a stubborn paresophageal .. sliding.. hernia. I get the mucosa from my stomach coming up. It does not burn, but lots of mucus to choke on.
You should be able to eat any lean meats. I have a swallowing problem and my easiest meat to eat is ground beef. I eat any non-spicy tender meat though. Chicken can be hard for me to swallow sometimes. My main seasoning is salt. I can eat Lawery's seasoned pepper, but black pepper burns. I do okay with nutmeg and ginger powder... which are good seasonings for beef. I can handle a little cumin, but no chili powder. I can eat some sweet onion, but no regular yellow or spanish onions. If I cut up chives finely I can handle a little of them in eggs. Some tomatoes are less acidic than others. Google can probably tell you which ones. I do not eat them very much nor do I eat raw foods. A food diary is an excellent way to figure out what triggers your symptoms or makes them worse.
Best of luck,
Zaroga
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1 Reactioni have severe acid reflux and erosive gastritis and espohagitis and a swallowing disorder. today i bought some supplements at walmart and started taking them today every time i ate and let me tell you they really work great. for the first time in so many years i cant remember i have no acid reflux or pain when the food hit my stomach. they are called "ACID INDIGESTION RELIEF" made by MATYS ALL NATURAL. they are made with "apple cider vinegar powder, coriander seed powder, tumeric root powder, clove bud powder and ginger root powder. I take 2 when i start a meal only took 4 today and my belly feels better than it has in 40 years, It was $10 for a bottle of 40. just thought i would pass it on.
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1 ReactionThought I’d jump in, male 31, gym 5 days a week for 8 years, same chest flutters, shortness of breath, pain in the lower rib area, back, chest etc coming up to 6months, no relief, some days worse then Others
Been to the ER twice, admitted for 36hours on ECG monitor, no issue , cardiologist echo, stress echo, no problems , spiro test, clear , X-ray , clear
I’ve missed about 4 of the last 7 months from the gym, that was my life, my exit , now I can’t go there, it’s affecting me mentally , recently started on 40mg of a PPI , surely acid reflux can’t be causing all these problems
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2 ReactionsSecond opinion absolutely
Definitely 2nd opinion and ask for a CT Angiogram. That will show any plaque build up in your arteries that may be causing the chest pains. You can pass a stress test easily and still have blockage. That will give you peace of mind. I can’t believe cardiologist wait so long to do that test. It’s better than a stress test and isn’t that expensive. Insurance may or may not cover and it only takes 15 minutes. You may have no plaque build up but it will show you.
Acid reflux *can* cause acid to get into your lungs and cause inflammation and sob. Now, I've also had flutters, but they've been due to inflammatory issues. Did they rule out gall bladder, pancreas, and liver issues yet?
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1 Reaction@kanej Welcome to connect We all try to share in our own experience with your problem. I want to suggest costochondritis I don't have it but others have and these symptoms sound familiar. @dawn_giacabazi talks about it so I hope she will join in for you.
YES acud reflux, gastritis and esophagitis CAN cause all your symptoms as i have had them for 40 years. Gastric issues are a huge MIMC of cardiac issues. all of the symptoms your having can most definately all be gastric. try the PPI's and see if they go away. google a list of acidic foods and try and stay away form ALL of them for a couple weeks and see how you feel. Nexium was always the best PPI for me. The flutters can be cause simply form stress, the shortness of breath si when the acid gets into your lung on the way up . VERY common. pain on the lower rib and bck very common for gastric issues, chest pain can come from an irritated esophagus for the reflux feels juts like a heart attack and cna also be esophageal spasms which feels juts like a hart attacks as i have had 5 heart attacks and also have esophageal spasms. the worse days are when you eat acidic and or BAD food which make the reflux worse. been doing this for 40 years. trust me i have had it all.