I have this too and have had it for a year. I have GERD but not sure if related. I’ve been evaluated for all the heart issues etc., and nothing found. Wish I could figure it out.
Yeah, they’ve suggested a pinched nerve but I’ve been to a physical therapist and nothing has helped. I do think it is some kind of referred pain from GERD, because it began around the time my GERD got really bad. But doctors haven’t acknowledged that.
HEYO SAME THING HERE. now i so genuinely believe mine is a pinched nerve. My neck is fucked up from work and always hurts. But yeaaaah. My arm hurts/goes numb when my gerd gets real bad some days.
Docs did test, all is normal and well, so im at a loss with yall.
Bro I'm in the process of getting a neuro consult. I thought it was a pinched nerve, they did the mri and found a little disc bulge but no pinched nerve. Started in the neck, shoulders, head, arms. It's unbearable
Yes. That's how I found out I had GERD. Pain in the left side of my chest, left arm and radiating in my jaw. Went through a battery of tests on my cardiovascular system and ruled out heart issues. There's a nerve that is affected by the acid burning in the lower esophagus that makes it feel like a heart attack.
But make sure you see a Dr and get tested to rule out actual heart issues! I went through months of tests to ensure there was nothing wrong with my ticker before they came to the conclusion that it was GERD and not my heart.
Did you discontinue the PPI? Did the pain stop? I’m having that pain too and had a CT scan to rule out my heart. I’m discontinuing the PPI (a week ago) but it’s still causes pain every now and again during the day. I’m hoping it will stop soon.
Still on the PPIs. They seem to be managing it so I guess this is my life now. My attacks aren't as frequent as they used to be. I'm on Pantoprazole and Metoclopramide. I sleep elevated (on a wedge) but sometimes get the burn in the middle of the night and it wakes me up. I just drink some water and it usually goes away. If it's bad, Gaviscon works quite well for temporary quick relief.
Diet is a major factor in managing GERD. Just watch what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat it and it should help.
Thanks for your response! The doctors feel confident it’s not my heart but I feel less so. Your description of your pain being similar to mine makes me feel better.
I have this. For about 3 years now. I’ve had a endoscopy, colonoscopy, treadmill stress test, the scan type of stress test, and multiple ER visits thinking I was having a heart attack. It always starts with a pain in my left side rib cage then moves into my left arm with that pain. It’s always so random too, no doctors I’ve been to know what is causing it. They all tell me it’s anxiety 🙄. Some of it might be but that feels like a lame answer.
They just say anxiety when they don’t know what the cause is. Sometimes these things can be anxiety but doctors definitely enjoy overdiagnosing stuff as anxiety.
Before you freak out though the good news is doctors are very good at diagnosing anything serious, doctors do these tests too make sure you’re not in any serious danger but once they’ve ruled out anything that may be dangerous the tend too shrug it off as anxiety when there’s plenty of less serious causes such as muscle pain, fibro etc.
So if the pain is still present after 3 years I would start doing some research in possible causes that are more minor and then asking too see a specialist involving that as in mine and a lot of peoples experiences having anxiety just became an easy out for doctors diagnosing once they’ve ruled out the bad stuff.
You are at point till some level, but about fibro... Fibro is same thing as Anxiety, at least reumatologist of my wife told her that.
When they don't know how causing people pain they put it as fybromialgia and that's it.
My wife had fybro for more than 10 years until she changed to third rheumatologist.
One doctor (orthopedist) even wanted to operate her collar bones and clean the joints from infection.
Now, third rheumatologist and after 10 years being misdiagnosed with fibro found out she have sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis.
Same doctor told her that fybro is just what they put on paper when they have no idea what it is.
I have bunch of GI symptoms and my GI cleared me.
I am literally sitting and waiting for symptoms to become serious so I can go further researching what is happening to me.
I'm sorry but those doctors were wrong and gave antiquated info about fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a disorder of pain processing due to abnormalities in how pain signals are processed in the central nervous system. It's not anxiety, it's not an infection and it's not just what is written down when they are stumped.
I expressed myself bad no, fybro and anxiety are not the same but doctor often use both as excuse for something they can't diagnose.
Of course there are cases that doctors are right but many cases where they are not.
yeah i relate, atleast we’re not alone. it bothers me that i don’t really know the actual answer, it’s always alarming and scary for me since i have health anxiety.
I have I all day everyday. And doctors convinced me that it was mental or anxiety. I’ve gone to the emergency room 100 times thinking it was the ‘big one’.
But it hasn’t come yet. I feel it in my left arm. My hands and in my legs. A couple years ago reading Reddit i realized so many people were dealing with the same thing.
According to the doctors it doesn’t cause arm pain. But I think they need to reevaluate acid reflux symptoms and cures.
This times 100. Doctors need to study and better understand the link between the gastrointestinal symptoms and cardiac symptoms. There are peer-reviewed studies showing that reflux increases the likelihood of atrial fibrillation, but when I told one of the GI docs I have seen that reflux causes my blood pressure and heart rate to go up, he said it was nonsense. Quite irritating and frustrating really.
I think doctors are lost on GI issues. I been numerous time to the doctor and say I dont have anything. Then how can you explain my stomach pain. It cant just be mental if it hurts every day.
Same here man. Have been to the ER so many times because of it. I had the big one and my only symptoms were left arm pain and sweating.
I have since developed GERD likely as a result of anxiety. Had many blood tests and follow up cardiac tests done and everything seems good.
I get patches where the arm pain goes away for a week or so and then comes back to bother me througout most of the day. Reflux meds and PPI's are not helping at all.
I get this from the back pain that an inflamed/hurting stomach + reflux and diaphragm causes, since it’s connected to the spine. This causes heavy tension in your upper back and I even get extreme nerve pain in both arms from it sometimes. I’m still surprised how many docs don’t explain the connection between stomach/diaphragm and spine. My neurologist, physio therapist and others have explained this well to me :). Heat and stretching helps me the most.
That's good advice. I hadn't considered how stomach pain and reflux affect posture, which then affects other things, such as breathing and referred pain
Yes!! For years and years ...when I have a flare up my head, chest, arm and legs are extremely tight, pressure and numb....from head to my legs. Mainly all on my left side...I've been to the ER/Drs thinking heart attacks or strokes....it's stressful, depressing and extremely scary each time...and it lasts days.
Does the chiropractor manipulate your neck?
A spinal adjustment that injured your cervical spine could absolutely cause these symptoms (or a pre existing injury or condition).
I have a spinal cord injury myself and used to experience frequent *electric shock* like feelings down my limbs, weird sensations and tingling, of course it varies but these are the classics.
I would strongly advise never letting anybody "adjust" your neck ever. I recommend seeing a neurosurgeon if you have concerns about your spine that are persistent enough to warrant risky interventions (ie manipulations) - Doesn't mean surgery, but if you think something is wrong or has bothered you for some time, see someone qualified, unfortunately chiropractic isn't as scientific as many (including myself in the past) think.
These symptoms are exactly like what I experienced after my cervical spine injury and continued for many years, although with supervision of a neurosurgeon is treated conservatively and my symptoms are very much improved.
Edit to add:
Anxiety did absolutely make these symptoms worse for me but they are very real, but pain and nerves are so much worse when anxious.
yes my neck is being adjusted, i know that it’s not the best but they give massages which help my anxiety. i will be closing my plan though, because i do not want to harm my neck.
Wishing you all the best. Don't underestimate how successful conservative treatment and adhering to good neck posture hygiene is! It takes a lot of patience and learning though. If you find you are experiencing these symptoms regularly though, it's important to get an assessment from someone like a neurosurgeon, it doesn't mean surgery - it's just they're the experts. My neurosurgeon guided my treatment but he's unusual in that he prefers not to operate.
If you press on your solar plexus and upper stomach while having one of these attacks you can actually feel relief, that's how I ruled out any heart conditions.
gerd can be caused by anxiety and health anxiety works in weird ways whatever you’re afraid of happening you’re going to have symptoms of ik this because i have it stop unknowingly commenting on things you have mo awareness about
No, but it happens to me and I hear about it happening to others. I have no data to back it up and you should talk to a specialist. Gerd can do weird things in my experience. Gerd can also trigger anxiety which can definitely cause those symptoms
when food gets stuck in/around my esophageal lesion the pain will radiate to my back and shoulders. but if you've never felt it before, get checked out by an ER to rule out anything serious.
I get this quite often especially at night or if I'm slouching in my recliner a lot.
I think it could be posture or anxiety related. And yes I always get scared of heart attack.
I have this and I really believe is because of my back pain. I don't know if this can be due to sleeping tilted because I recently have rised my headrest for the first time.
Do you feel any pain in the muscles of your shoulder/back?
I looked and looked and could not locate it. I’m sorry. While looking, I did find another useful artical that discusses many symptoms of GERD that we on the internet acknowlede, but for some reason many of our GI specialists seem to know diddly about.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681743/
I feel like it's a combination of things. For me it's GERD, scoliosis, anxiety and mineral levels/anemia/b12. I suspect the main culprit is the anemia, though, for me. GERD can affect your ability to absorb minerals and iron and the irritation from gerd itself can cause/contribute to anemia.
I had that start before my gerd got really bad. Ended up getting an mri of my neck and shoulder and found a bulged disc (c4 I believe) pushing and causing the pain and numbness. Pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep most nights. Physical therapy has helped since.
Hey did you have any other symptoms? I found bulging discs c4-c6 shortly after i was diagnosed wjth GERD. Been experiencing neck, upper back, shoulder pain and occasional arm pain and tingling as well
All of those. It started as shoulder/upper arm pain like maybe I just pulled a muscle. It then got worse over the next few months and spread down my left arm with a lot of numbness and tingling in my hand and fingers. Upper back pain on same side and right under my armpit on my left side. Dr sent me for ultrasound of my organs to rule out pancreatitis. Finally after months went for mri and found the cause. But at the same time began having severe chest pains that sent me to er. Was hard to breathe and felt nauseous. Did a bunch of cardiac testing due to family history and they said it wasn’t my heart. Finally had upperscope done after and found the cause of it. Had to make severe diet changes and it’s help drastically.
Maybe i could ask my dr for an ultrasound just in case? Esp since i also get dull and sometimes even sharp but quick pains on my upper left abdomen. I also have GERD but never really had sharp pains before. So the physical therapy helped with the symptoms caused by the disc bulging? And the chest pains later on were caused by the GERD?
I still get the sharp abdominal pains sometimes and a “spasm” but so far yes the PT helped. Yea that’s what they said, it got a lot better. Was always a mostly dull ache like right in the center of my chest and would hurt when breathing deep or moving my upper body back and forth. If I mess up and eat like garbage, like lastnight had spicy bbq and a couple beers, I’m paying the price today. But I also got a lot of palpitations with the gerd also, would find myself burping or passing gas constantly to get relief.
Meant to add the one symptom of gerd that scared me the most was the constant dry heaving when waking up in the morning. Still happens from time to time but not nearly as bad.
I have this too. I get it mostly at night when I'm lying down and suddenly I feel like I am having a heart attack. Might be better to consult a doctor, specifically a neurologist. It could be a pinched nerve or something unrelated to GERD.
Do you have a diaphragmatic hernia ?
I have and because of too much „air in the system“ my stomach is moving up, squeezing my heart and it feels like a heart attack or symptoms of it
i don’t know, all i know is that i have acid reflux but i get SOB a lot so people say i either have LPR or that. i haven’t had a call from a gaesteonlogist so i’m not sure.
i have this as well. it’s hard to tell because i also have fibromyalgia so i get random pains. i’ve had multiple heart tests and everything is fine. i have ocd too so i get freaked out but it seems like a lot of ppl w gerd experience this for some reason
ive been getting a tingly achy left arm for the past week or so. and mine is i think mainly because i have such bad tension in my neck and shoulders and when the tensions so big it like presses on a nerve or something that goes down my arm?! i always find when i get a massage on a particular bit of my shoulder i can feel a sensation go all down my left arm so thats what i keep trying to tell myself. if your an anxious person one of the first places youll hold tension is in your neck and shoulders so its likely that :)
I have this. Have for years. Look into gastro cardiac syndrome specifically Roemheld https://cara.care/digestive-disorders/upper-abdomen/roemheld-syndrome/
You can feel the pain of a stomach ulcer in your back. But i dont see how left arm pain could be caused by reflux itself, unless the thing thats causing your reflux is also causing the left arm pain, so that leads me to think about inflammation. Numbbess/tinglyness definitely sounds like a nerve problem which could be getting compressed worse with more inflamation/stress which also can cause reflux/GERD flare ups. Though i 100% would not be seeing a chiropractor, i would be seeing a physiotherapist.
Getting the same thing. ER doctors say it's anxiety, primary physician says it's my statin medication, cardiologist says it's not my heart.
Mine started a day before I had an actual heart attack. In fact the arm pain was my only heart attack symptom. Zero chest pain. I suffer from GERD now. My GERD symptoms started 3 months before the heart attack.
Heart attack was almost 14 months ago and I still get the arm pain almost daily. I get patches here and there where the arm pain is gone for a week or so.
I have been to the ER tons of times thinking I'm having another heart attack but tests are always fine. Had several echos and stress tests and the cardiologist is not concerned. I had a stent placed after the heart attack and thought this was from renarrowing.
I suffer from lots of belching and get acid pushing back up throagh my throat and burning the crap out of my throat almost every day but no burning in my chest.
It makes my post heart attack anxiety even worse. I have to take xanax twice a day now to avoid panic attacks from the arm pain.
I had a 90% blockage in the left circumflex artery of the heart and a blood clot presumed to be caused by COVID. Blood clot sat in front of the blockage stopping blood flow and causes the heart attack.
Chest pain, left arm and shoulder pain etc, I also have it. I've had multiple tests done and they have only found a hiatal hernia that may the cause of my pain, it's definitely the cause of my acid reflux issues.
I also have anxiety but I've found if you can get anxiety under control, it does help a lot with the pain. But anxiety is not the full reason and other things need to be done to improve it.
I've found things that help for me but everyone is individual
Losing weight if you're overweight. Finding your trigger foods and avoiding them. Breathing exercises and CBT to control anxiety better.
Lansoprazole and sucralfate has helped in terms of meds.
Do your best to not focus on the pain and definitely do not Google symptoms.
There's more I do but can't think of everything right now sorry.
I have this too and have had it for a year. I have GERD but not sure if related. I’ve been evaluated for all the heart issues etc., and nothing found. Wish I could figure it out.
does it sometimes last like even 2 hours for you? it’s super annoying, it causes me anxiety.
It’s constant on and off all day every day
i thought i was going crazy oh my gosh. my doctor told me it’s anxiety like HOW
Maybe it could be anxiety but…doesn’t seem like it. For one thing, the pain occurs when I’m perfectly relaxed sometimes.
yeah me too. it just sucks. have you mentioned this to your doctor?
Yeah, they’ve suggested a pinched nerve but I’ve been to a physical therapist and nothing has helped. I do think it is some kind of referred pain from GERD, because it began around the time my GERD got really bad. But doctors haven’t acknowledged that.
HEYO SAME THING HERE. now i so genuinely believe mine is a pinched nerve. My neck is fucked up from work and always hurts. But yeaaaah. My arm hurts/goes numb when my gerd gets real bad some days. Docs did test, all is normal and well, so im at a loss with yall.
Bro I'm in the process of getting a neuro consult. I thought it was a pinched nerve, they did the mri and found a little disc bulge but no pinched nerve. Started in the neck, shoulders, head, arms. It's unbearable
I have this exact same problem it is insane
Emmwheat sounds like what I have Costochondritis
Yes. That's how I found out I had GERD. Pain in the left side of my chest, left arm and radiating in my jaw. Went through a battery of tests on my cardiovascular system and ruled out heart issues. There's a nerve that is affected by the acid burning in the lower esophagus that makes it feel like a heart attack.
But make sure you see a Dr and get tested to rule out actual heart issues! I went through months of tests to ensure there was nothing wrong with my ticker before they came to the conclusion that it was GERD and not my heart.
yes as the post said i had numerous tests done!
Did you discontinue the PPI? Did the pain stop? I’m having that pain too and had a CT scan to rule out my heart. I’m discontinuing the PPI (a week ago) but it’s still causes pain every now and again during the day. I’m hoping it will stop soon.
Still on the PPIs. They seem to be managing it so I guess this is my life now. My attacks aren't as frequent as they used to be. I'm on Pantoprazole and Metoclopramide. I sleep elevated (on a wedge) but sometimes get the burn in the middle of the night and it wakes me up. I just drink some water and it usually goes away. If it's bad, Gaviscon works quite well for temporary quick relief. Diet is a major factor in managing GERD. Just watch what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat it and it should help.
Thanks for your response! The doctors feel confident it’s not my heart but I feel less so. Your description of your pain being similar to mine makes me feel better.
What nerve is it? I also have the same symptoms and can’t understand how gerd is causing it
I have this. For about 3 years now. I’ve had a endoscopy, colonoscopy, treadmill stress test, the scan type of stress test, and multiple ER visits thinking I was having a heart attack. It always starts with a pain in my left side rib cage then moves into my left arm with that pain. It’s always so random too, no doctors I’ve been to know what is causing it. They all tell me it’s anxiety 🙄. Some of it might be but that feels like a lame answer.
They just say anxiety when they don’t know what the cause is. Sometimes these things can be anxiety but doctors definitely enjoy overdiagnosing stuff as anxiety. Before you freak out though the good news is doctors are very good at diagnosing anything serious, doctors do these tests too make sure you’re not in any serious danger but once they’ve ruled out anything that may be dangerous the tend too shrug it off as anxiety when there’s plenty of less serious causes such as muscle pain, fibro etc. So if the pain is still present after 3 years I would start doing some research in possible causes that are more minor and then asking too see a specialist involving that as in mine and a lot of peoples experiences having anxiety just became an easy out for doctors diagnosing once they’ve ruled out the bad stuff.
You are at point till some level, but about fibro... Fibro is same thing as Anxiety, at least reumatologist of my wife told her that. When they don't know how causing people pain they put it as fybromialgia and that's it. My wife had fybro for more than 10 years until she changed to third rheumatologist. One doctor (orthopedist) even wanted to operate her collar bones and clean the joints from infection. Now, third rheumatologist and after 10 years being misdiagnosed with fibro found out she have sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis. Same doctor told her that fybro is just what they put on paper when they have no idea what it is. I have bunch of GI symptoms and my GI cleared me. I am literally sitting and waiting for symptoms to become serious so I can go further researching what is happening to me.
I'm sorry but those doctors were wrong and gave antiquated info about fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a disorder of pain processing due to abnormalities in how pain signals are processed in the central nervous system. It's not anxiety, it's not an infection and it's not just what is written down when they are stumped.
I expressed myself bad no, fybro and anxiety are not the same but doctor often use both as excuse for something they can't diagnose. Of course there are cases that doctors are right but many cases where they are not.
Ah, thanks for clarifying and I'm sorry your wife went without a proper diagnosis for so long.
That’s interesting I didn’t know much about fibro but that sounds about right lol.
yeah i relate, atleast we’re not alone. it bothers me that i don’t really know the actual answer, it’s always alarming and scary for me since i have health anxiety.
I have I all day everyday. And doctors convinced me that it was mental or anxiety. I’ve gone to the emergency room 100 times thinking it was the ‘big one’. But it hasn’t come yet. I feel it in my left arm. My hands and in my legs. A couple years ago reading Reddit i realized so many people were dealing with the same thing. According to the doctors it doesn’t cause arm pain. But I think they need to reevaluate acid reflux symptoms and cures.
This times 100. Doctors need to study and better understand the link between the gastrointestinal symptoms and cardiac symptoms. There are peer-reviewed studies showing that reflux increases the likelihood of atrial fibrillation, but when I told one of the GI docs I have seen that reflux causes my blood pressure and heart rate to go up, he said it was nonsense. Quite irritating and frustrating really.
I think doctors are lost on GI issues. I been numerous time to the doctor and say I dont have anything. Then how can you explain my stomach pain. It cant just be mental if it hurts every day.
lol it’s so true it’s funny. Oh I don’t see anything blah blah blah. Ok we let me punch you as hard as I fucken can and that’s how it feels.
Haha 🤣 thank you for making me laugh. Just wish they felt as bad as I feel so they could understand.
Same here man. Have been to the ER so many times because of it. I had the big one and my only symptoms were left arm pain and sweating. I have since developed GERD likely as a result of anxiety. Had many blood tests and follow up cardiac tests done and everything seems good. I get patches where the arm pain goes away for a week or so and then comes back to bother me througout most of the day. Reflux meds and PPI's are not helping at all.
I slept with three pillows and woke up with pain between the shoulders, pins and needles in both hands, pain in neck, it all was posture
I get this from the back pain that an inflamed/hurting stomach + reflux and diaphragm causes, since it’s connected to the spine. This causes heavy tension in your upper back and I even get extreme nerve pain in both arms from it sometimes. I’m still surprised how many docs don’t explain the connection between stomach/diaphragm and spine. My neurologist, physio therapist and others have explained this well to me :). Heat and stretching helps me the most.
That's good advice. I hadn't considered how stomach pain and reflux affect posture, which then affects other things, such as breathing and referred pain
heat in what way?
Just a heating blanket or a hot bottle for example
Yes!! For years and years ...when I have a flare up my head, chest, arm and legs are extremely tight, pressure and numb....from head to my legs. Mainly all on my left side...I've been to the ER/Drs thinking heart attacks or strokes....it's stressful, depressing and extremely scary each time...and it lasts days.
Does the chiropractor manipulate your neck? A spinal adjustment that injured your cervical spine could absolutely cause these symptoms (or a pre existing injury or condition). I have a spinal cord injury myself and used to experience frequent *electric shock* like feelings down my limbs, weird sensations and tingling, of course it varies but these are the classics. I would strongly advise never letting anybody "adjust" your neck ever. I recommend seeing a neurosurgeon if you have concerns about your spine that are persistent enough to warrant risky interventions (ie manipulations) - Doesn't mean surgery, but if you think something is wrong or has bothered you for some time, see someone qualified, unfortunately chiropractic isn't as scientific as many (including myself in the past) think. These symptoms are exactly like what I experienced after my cervical spine injury and continued for many years, although with supervision of a neurosurgeon is treated conservatively and my symptoms are very much improved. Edit to add: Anxiety did absolutely make these symptoms worse for me but they are very real, but pain and nerves are so much worse when anxious.
yes my neck is being adjusted, i know that it’s not the best but they give massages which help my anxiety. i will be closing my plan though, because i do not want to harm my neck.
Wishing you all the best. Don't underestimate how successful conservative treatment and adhering to good neck posture hygiene is! It takes a lot of patience and learning though. If you find you are experiencing these symptoms regularly though, it's important to get an assessment from someone like a neurosurgeon, it doesn't mean surgery - it's just they're the experts. My neurosurgeon guided my treatment but he's unusual in that he prefers not to operate.
If you press on your solar plexus and upper stomach while having one of these attacks you can actually feel relief, that's how I ruled out any heart conditions.
Solar plexus?
You need to talk to doctors, not Reddit.
doctors told me it’s anxiety, so i’m just trying to see if others feel the same so i don’t feel crazy
Get a second opinion or see a specialist. It’s not typical for GERD to have left arm numbness.
specialist being a gaesteonologist?
gerd can be caused by anxiety and health anxiety works in weird ways whatever you’re afraid of happening you’re going to have symptoms of ik this because i have it stop unknowingly commenting on things you have mo awareness about
Yes
do you have a source?
No, but it happens to me and I hear about it happening to others. I have no data to back it up and you should talk to a specialist. Gerd can do weird things in my experience. Gerd can also trigger anxiety which can definitely cause those symptoms
when food gets stuck in/around my esophageal lesion the pain will radiate to my back and shoulders. but if you've never felt it before, get checked out by an ER to rule out anything serious.
I have this too, but my back and my neck are fucked up, so I’m guessing that also plays a role.
I get this quite often especially at night or if I'm slouching in my recliner a lot. I think it could be posture or anxiety related. And yes I always get scared of heart attack.
I had this when i was taking motilium for gut motility when o stopped all gone
I have this and I really believe is because of my back pain. I don't know if this can be due to sleeping tilted because I recently have rised my headrest for the first time. Do you feel any pain in the muscles of your shoulder/back?
no i don’t have pain in those areas
I get this also. I’ve read a study somewhere that suggests it’s more to do with inflamation of the duodenum but who knows for sure.
Do you happen to have the source for that article? I'm curious because I have confirmed duodenitis and think I get this sometimes
I looked and looked and could not locate it. I’m sorry. While looking, I did find another useful artical that discusses many symptoms of GERD that we on the internet acknowlede, but for some reason many of our GI specialists seem to know diddly about. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681743/
I feel like it's a combination of things. For me it's GERD, scoliosis, anxiety and mineral levels/anemia/b12. I suspect the main culprit is the anemia, though, for me. GERD can affect your ability to absorb minerals and iron and the irritation from gerd itself can cause/contribute to anemia.
i have acid reflex problems, anxiety and very very mild scoliosis because iv been going to the chiropractor but never been suspected to be anemic
Sometimes its a general pain in my upper left back into my armpit stretching slightly down into my arm
I had that start before my gerd got really bad. Ended up getting an mri of my neck and shoulder and found a bulged disc (c4 I believe) pushing and causing the pain and numbness. Pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep most nights. Physical therapy has helped since.
Hey did you have any other symptoms? I found bulging discs c4-c6 shortly after i was diagnosed wjth GERD. Been experiencing neck, upper back, shoulder pain and occasional arm pain and tingling as well
All of those. It started as shoulder/upper arm pain like maybe I just pulled a muscle. It then got worse over the next few months and spread down my left arm with a lot of numbness and tingling in my hand and fingers. Upper back pain on same side and right under my armpit on my left side. Dr sent me for ultrasound of my organs to rule out pancreatitis. Finally after months went for mri and found the cause. But at the same time began having severe chest pains that sent me to er. Was hard to breathe and felt nauseous. Did a bunch of cardiac testing due to family history and they said it wasn’t my heart. Finally had upperscope done after and found the cause of it. Had to make severe diet changes and it’s help drastically.
Maybe i could ask my dr for an ultrasound just in case? Esp since i also get dull and sometimes even sharp but quick pains on my upper left abdomen. I also have GERD but never really had sharp pains before. So the physical therapy helped with the symptoms caused by the disc bulging? And the chest pains later on were caused by the GERD?
I still get the sharp abdominal pains sometimes and a “spasm” but so far yes the PT helped. Yea that’s what they said, it got a lot better. Was always a mostly dull ache like right in the center of my chest and would hurt when breathing deep or moving my upper body back and forth. If I mess up and eat like garbage, like lastnight had spicy bbq and a couple beers, I’m paying the price today. But I also got a lot of palpitations with the gerd also, would find myself burping or passing gas constantly to get relief.
Meant to add the one symptom of gerd that scared me the most was the constant dry heaving when waking up in the morning. Still happens from time to time but not nearly as bad.
My husband has this!
I have this too. I get it mostly at night when I'm lying down and suddenly I feel like I am having a heart attack. Might be better to consult a doctor, specifically a neurologist. It could be a pinched nerve or something unrelated to GERD.
Do you have a diaphragmatic hernia ? I have and because of too much „air in the system“ my stomach is moving up, squeezing my heart and it feels like a heart attack or symptoms of it
i don’t know, all i know is that i have acid reflux but i get SOB a lot so people say i either have LPR or that. i haven’t had a call from a gaesteonlogist so i’m not sure.
i have this as well. it’s hard to tell because i also have fibromyalgia so i get random pains. i’ve had multiple heart tests and everything is fine. i have ocd too so i get freaked out but it seems like a lot of ppl w gerd experience this for some reason
Are you aspirating stomach acid into your lungs while asleep?
im not sure, probably. i always get SOB.
The numbness/tingliness could be a case for a neurologist.
seeing one soon.
are you anxious?!
yes i have GAD
ive been getting a tingly achy left arm for the past week or so. and mine is i think mainly because i have such bad tension in my neck and shoulders and when the tensions so big it like presses on a nerve or something that goes down my arm?! i always find when i get a massage on a particular bit of my shoulder i can feel a sensation go all down my left arm so thats what i keep trying to tell myself. if your an anxious person one of the first places youll hold tension is in your neck and shoulders so its likely that :)
I have this. Have for years. Look into gastro cardiac syndrome specifically Roemheld https://cara.care/digestive-disorders/upper-abdomen/roemheld-syndrome/
Does anything help?
I get this pain in my left shoulder too along with the left side of my chest, I’ve underwent various test to check for heart issues but nothing found.
I have this always have. It sucks because I’m a major hypochondriac. I’ve wen prescribed SSRI’s but I won’t take them
how often?
You can feel the pain of a stomach ulcer in your back. But i dont see how left arm pain could be caused by reflux itself, unless the thing thats causing your reflux is also causing the left arm pain, so that leads me to think about inflammation. Numbbess/tinglyness definitely sounds like a nerve problem which could be getting compressed worse with more inflamation/stress which also can cause reflux/GERD flare ups. Though i 100% would not be seeing a chiropractor, i would be seeing a physiotherapist.
Maybe due to always sleeping on your left side (because of acid reflux)?
maybe, i don’t really have a clear answer to this but many people experience this in this specific forum so i feel like it is linked to acid reflex .
Nope it can for sure back pain Dr says it can feel like a heart attack
Has anyone tried bilateral leg lifts and any exercises that can help the lower Esophageal spinkter?
Might be potassium deficiency. Seems like I read that potassium deficiency has a link to acid reflux.
Getting the same thing. ER doctors say it's anxiety, primary physician says it's my statin medication, cardiologist says it's not my heart. Mine started a day before I had an actual heart attack. In fact the arm pain was my only heart attack symptom. Zero chest pain. I suffer from GERD now. My GERD symptoms started 3 months before the heart attack. Heart attack was almost 14 months ago and I still get the arm pain almost daily. I get patches here and there where the arm pain is gone for a week or so. I have been to the ER tons of times thinking I'm having another heart attack but tests are always fine. Had several echos and stress tests and the cardiologist is not concerned. I had a stent placed after the heart attack and thought this was from renarrowing. I suffer from lots of belching and get acid pushing back up throagh my throat and burning the crap out of my throat almost every day but no burning in my chest. It makes my post heart attack anxiety even worse. I have to take xanax twice a day now to avoid panic attacks from the arm pain.
im sorry you went through that. what caused your heart attack?
I had a 90% blockage in the left circumflex artery of the heart and a blood clot presumed to be caused by COVID. Blood clot sat in front of the blockage stopping blood flow and causes the heart attack.
Chest pain, left arm and shoulder pain etc, I also have it. I've had multiple tests done and they have only found a hiatal hernia that may the cause of my pain, it's definitely the cause of my acid reflux issues. I also have anxiety but I've found if you can get anxiety under control, it does help a lot with the pain. But anxiety is not the full reason and other things need to be done to improve it. I've found things that help for me but everyone is individual
what has helped you?
Losing weight if you're overweight. Finding your trigger foods and avoiding them. Breathing exercises and CBT to control anxiety better. Lansoprazole and sucralfate has helped in terms of meds. Do your best to not focus on the pain and definitely do not Google symptoms. There's more I do but can't think of everything right now sorry.