Need help...

[Christine]

Hi, I am 31 years old and overweight but losing.  I have been diagonised with GERD, and an hiatal hernia.  The only thing is that I have chest pain with it.  I have a couple of ekgs abnormal but my stress test and echo was okay.  I was also told that I have costochondritis.  Does the above conditions cause your heart rate to go up and down, went to er and heart rate was 114, 82, 52, 77, 86,111ect?  I am just wondering if your stomach can cause your heart rate to flucuate like this thanks so much
I also have to go to the bathroom when I get chest pain, at times it "(the pain)is sharp sometimes dull, sometimes squeezing.  Into shoulder and back and left arm thanks again.

[Dawn]

Hi, I commented in another area, but saw some similar symptoms as mine in this area.  About a year ago I started having this pain that felt like a runner's stitch under my left rib area.  When I went to my doctor, he felt around and noticed my left rib area was much more tender then it should be, actually causing me to flintch.  He diagnosed me with costrocondritis (sp?) and although I disagreed with this, he proceeded to send me home presribing only ibuprofin.  The pain has not gone away and I have been trying to pinpoint when the symptomes come on, to no avail.  I recently went back to a different dr. who also noticed the tenderness in my left rib area.  He ordered Xrays of my ribs which were normal.  I have also experienced numbness in my left leg, especially when driving (which I told teh dr about and he dismissed without blinking an eye)and sometimes in my left arm.  I don't usually notice the numbness until I go to stand up.  Within the past few months I have begun getting reflux and pressure in my chest area, even after eating only a small quantity of food.  I have also noticed that my bowel movements (BMs) have been slightly irregular for about the past 6 months.  I will not have a BM for several days and when I do my BMs are soft but I wouldn't describe it as diarrhea.  I have increased my fiber content whcih has helped to have more frequent BMs, but it hasn't changed anything else.  I am 30 female, slightly overweight with mild asthma, which I was diagnosed with about 5 yeaars ago.  I am in good health otherwise.  I work out 5 days a week and have been a vegetarian for about 11 years.  Any clues as to what's going on here or any suggestions would be great.  But glad to see I am not the only one that can't get a true diagnosis.  GOOD LUCK TO ALL.

[priscilla]

Hi,
     It seems there are a lot of people out there who are very ill and/or very irritated by this GERD.  I feel for every single one of us.  (I include myself in this.  I do not have symptoms as severe as some but I do have symptoms just the same).  It really stinks to wake up from a very good and much needed sleep with a burning in your chest and bile in your throat.  I have been reading the messages posted here and I am at my wits end as how to proceed for myself.
     I read so many horrible things about Prilosec that I am afraid to take it.  I am sure that in some cases where there is no heart problem and the patient is otherwise healthy it may in fact be a good product to take, but what about the people who may have some sort of heart problem that is undiagnosed and take the drug.  There was a 22 year old woman here who had three hart attacks because she had a heart condition that she and her doctors were unaware of.  This could have killed her 3X!  I have heartburn.  I do not have it every single night, I almost never have a problem with it durring the day just at bedtime when I lie down.  I sometimes have bile come up and have actually woken up only to have my stomach contents in my mouth and had to rush to the bathroom to throw up.  It was scarey because I woke up gagging.  But this is rare for me.  I was gestationally diabetic and have not had my blood sugar levels taken since I left the hospital and that was in Sept. 1998.  I do feel that i am still diabetic but maybe not to the degree that I was while pregnant.  I want to have the scope thing done but am afraid it will cause pain or they will accidently cut me with it while doing the proceedure.  I want to know if it is a big deal to get this done.  

[kari]

I've been having pain in my stomach and back for over a year now.  My doctor gave me medicine for a kidney infection and it cleared up the problem for about 6 months.  When the pains returned to my stomach (just under my sternum) and my back (on either side of my spine in the center of my back), I went back for another dose.  This time there was no kidney infection and they prescribed tagament for a possible ulcer.  It didn't work.  I went back and was given prevacid.  It's not working either.  The only time I experience pain is after eating.  It doesn't seem to matter what I eat, though.  Anybody have any suggestions?  

PS> It's nice to know I'm not the only one who is suffering, however, it's sad to know that there are so many who haven't gotten the help/relief that is needed! I feel for all of you and hope that relief is in our near future!

[Carla]

has anybody else had all these chest pains and shoulders and arms and neck....suffered with cronic ear pain and infections...for about the last 2 yrs....started suffering with ear pain and infection..doctor is stunned i'm 36.....but it never occured to me that the reflux might be causing it...ear canal is attached to the throat.....so i wondered if the reflux can be getting into the ear canal...and causing the infection and pain....dr says ...lots of puss pockets on and behind ear drum...and some fungus....pain is awful...takes about 2 to3 weeks of antibiotics to relieve....but pain never goes away...starts deep in ear and travels down neck,,,, shoulders and arms hurt and upper back ...sometimes feel like being stabbed with a knife and twisted......repeatedly...can be unbearable...had ekg...indicated enlarged left upper chamber...but at that time i also had upper respitory infection...but constantly have chest pains....especially after eating.......and feel like i can't breathe very well.......but this ear thing has puzzled me greatly....don't swim...and mostly showers...sometimes a bath..but don't dunk my head.....let me know.... email  is  ***@****  make sure subject says ears and reflux... or reply here ...i'll check back....thank-you...carla

[harry]

I can relate to most all of the symptoms that everyone seems to be listing,pain in the left shoulder, neck, numbness in the left arm that goes down into my ring and little finger, a spot about the size of a quarter that usualy is in the left upper chest that feels as sore as a boil, pain at the base of my throat on the left side a pain in the left groin area, and for good measure from knee down into left foot that stays swollen most of the time.
I have been diagnosed as having Barrett's esophagus, hiatal hernia, gastritus, and one other that I can't remember right now. Used to have severe problems with reflux, but one 20mg Prilosec takes care of that 99% of the time. Use to have lots of difficulty swollowing, but stretch job has helped that to a great extent.

Also have had two heart caths in the last ten years and have some blockage there. Thats were the scary part comes in with all these pains. You don't know from wence it comes, but I have decided that 90% of mine is gastro problems.

Went to a new Internal Medicine Doc last week just to have something like a G.P.
Listed all my pains and complaints and was basically told "You're getting old(64)learn to live with it."

Forgot to throw in that I had gallbladder surgery, the old fashioned way (14 inch incision) in September of '99. That did help some of the pain in the abdomen.

Well, I feel better writing all this and knowing that probably most of the people who read it won't label me a hypocondiact!!!

[Annette]

I can relate to SO many of you.  The middle of the chest pain, reflux, belching, left arm and shoulder pain, back pain.  All with no answers either.  Been to the ER, have had EKG done, stress test, Zantac and other meds, and then was told I had gallstones.  Had the gallbladder removed 4 months ago and when asked to see the gallstones, was told there weren't any!  Just sand particles.  I actually have had more back/arm/chest pain since the surgery than before tho I was told it would CERTAINLY take care of much of my pain.  Its been a rollercoaster ride.  Along with the daily, unpredictable pain has come the depression and anxiety of not knowing what is happening.  Its been 4 years of drs, tests, worry, and no answers.  Its taken its toll on my spouse and children.  I would like some herbal/natural suggestions since I have tried so many meds and most have negative side effects.  Now I have been told I have a pinched nerve and scoliosis (which I knew about but was not a problem).  Can a pinched nerve cause this much trouble?  Can stress cause that much havoc?  Is it GERD?  I had the endoscopy and was told it was normal.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.