1. < Digestive Health

Months of Chest Pain - Please help

Posted by capt209 @capt209, Nov 19, 2017

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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downtowntiger | @downtowntiger | Jul 13, 2019
In reply to @debiobrien "YES acud reflux, gastritis and esophagitis CAN cause all your symptoms as i have had them..." + (show)
@debiobrien

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.

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Thanks for this post! I feel like I can’t breathe-a deep breath is a struggle. I’m about to have GERD surgery, so maybe it will help!

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1 reply
kanej | @kanej | Jul 14, 2019
In reply to @helena4000 "Acid reflux *can* cause acid to get into your lungs and cause inflammation and sob. Now,..." + (show)
@helena4000

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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Not sure, I’ve had full blood tests done, so I’d assume that would rule out some stuff , there just ruling out heart or gastric issues first I guess ?

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kanej | @kanej | Jul 14, 2019
In reply to @jemrich "Definitely 2nd opinion and ask for a CT Angiogram. That will show any plaque build up..." + (show)
@jemrich

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.

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I have a follow up in 3 months, if the pain is still around they will do a CT for peace of mind, long time to wait tho , doesn’t help with the stress of it all

I had a echocardiogram and it was perfect , and then a stress echo + EKG , and same result better then it should be, guessing that’s due to my gym work i was doing

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kanej | @kanej | Jul 14, 2019
In reply to @debiobrien "YES acud reflux, gastritis and esophagitis CAN cause all your symptoms as i have had them..." + (show)
@debiobrien

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.

Jump to this post

4 weeks on the PPI then I return to the GP to assess how it’s going , also told me to keep a log on when the pain is worse etc, SOB has been better today, and I have a bit of a flu! So it feels like the normal congestive type SOB, So that’s a sign that maybe the PPI is starting to be working, fingers crossed, maybe when the SOB stops I won’t be as worried about it all and the palpitations may subside

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downtowntiger | @downtowntiger | Jul 14, 2019

Sounds like what I had in the beginning stages of GERD. I, too, had a full cardiac workup. My heart was fine. I took Nexium, then Dexilant for my spasms. I am having GERD surgery in a few weeks. My LES valve does not work. Hang in there.

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JK | @contentandwell | Jul 14, 2019
In reply to @lisa1030 "Hello everyone again.... just to give you a reminder of my story I started experiencing left..." + (show)
@lisa1030

Hello everyone again.... just to give you a reminder of my story I started experiencing left chest pains in May I finally went to the doc and after telling her all my symptoms she told me it’s most likely acid reflux so she prescribed me omeprazole 20 mg I took. It until the prescription ran out in 30 days so just this past weekend I stopped it. It did eventually stop my chest pains after about 4 weeks of taking it. But now that I stopped I have been experiencing more of the constant swallowing constantly clearing my throat and now In the past 2 days my voice is hoarse and a little sore and sounds like I’m losing it! Has this happened to anyone after stopping this medication? Or could it be something else... thank you in advance !

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@lisa1030 I am on omeprazole daily, have been for a number of years due to Barrett's Esophagus. I have heard that if you discontinue, which apparently is not something I can do, there is a rebound effect. The doctor started me on a high dose for a month and then reduced it.
Good advice to keep a diary of what seems to bother you. My only real problem before Barrett's was that I was hoarse all of the time! When I mentioned this to the PCP I had at the time she just sort of sloughed me off a few times.

As you said, dark coffees do have less acid because the longer roasting burns it off. Someone on here did recommend the low acid coffee on Amazon and I just recently got some. It's OK but I have grown to like the more robust flavor of dark roast. I used to have a wonderful gastroenterologist, one who is a Barrett's Esophagus expert, and when I asked him if I could drink lower acids coffee or decaf he said if I really enjoy my coffee to have a cup in the morning. My Barrett's is not severe and maybe if it was that would not be his response. I go for an endoscopy in September to check on it. I wish it was with the same doctor, I really liked him, but he moved from Mass General to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia in New York City because his wife changed jobs. I liked him so much I have even thought about going to him there since I could stay with my daughter, she lives in NYC. If anyone in that area is looking for a gastroenterologist, I highly recommend him. https://www.columbiadoctors.org/chin-hur-md

JK

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JK | @contentandwell | Jul 14, 2019
In reply to @kanej "Thought I’d jump in, male 31, gym 5 days a week for 8 years, same chest..." + (show)
@kanej

Thought 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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@kanej I agree with the others, a second opinion is definitely called for. It can't hurt and it may help a lot. I went a long time without a diagnosis and I learned my lesson from that.
I can really sympathize with not being able to go to the gym affecting you. I have a very active son in his 30s and working out is essential for him, not only because he likes to be fit, but he needs that to work off stress and excess energy. I go to my health club about six days a week and even I get depressed when I can't go for a while!
JK

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1 reply
trellg132 | @trellg132 | Jul 16, 2019

Hello brandon I've been going through same thing I've been to cardiologist said nothing was wrong with my heart

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cindyvag | @cindyvag | Jul 16, 2019

Hi there, i get chest pains that move around from all.sides. i was then told i am gluten intolerant and it helped considerably but its not always possible as its expensive here in south africa to have gluten free products and life is so busy that i sometimes eat pasta etc and the pain comes again. Have you checked for gluten, wheat, anything that causes acid reflux?

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trellg132 | @trellg132 | Jul 16, 2019

I also have chest problem that can move around chest to shoulders cardiologist says there's nothing wrong with my heart so what could it be also have acid reflux

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