Does acid reflux cause muscle spasms identical to gallblader attacks??

[Raymarie725]

I have had gallbladder attacks in the form of muscle spasms from mild to severe enough they causer scar tissue..but my gallbladder is gone now..and i have still had these pains...only occasionally and on the mild side for almost a decade...i was diagnosed with acid reflux..can acid reflux cause this type of pain..and are tums enough? It only happens when i dont eat..never when i do?? Which i thought was odd for acid reflux.

[Italiana425]

I have tried all those medications and they only worked for a little while....they seems to give me a lot of gas.  My acid reflux gets worse when I don't follow my diet and eat the wrong foods, which seem to be just about everything.  I feel that diet is the best way to deal with the problem, and also I found out that wearing tight clothes makes it worse.  I can't stand anything tight around my stomach.  Praying helps, ask for the Lord to heal you mentally and phisically.  

[Raymarie725]

Thank you, i think you are right...tums seem like a way to deal, but not to fix or prevent. thanks so much. ill suggest that next time.

[SLadylani]

If you're trying to find out if it's related to the reflux, then you might want to ask your doctor about a medication stronger than tums, as in GERD patients are most often given a prescription for their symptoms, at least a course, and if you're having these gnarly attacks, then tums doesn't seem like an appropriate suggestion. I think I already mentioned the medications you could try such as Protonix or Dexilant, to name the most potent. It might be worth a try to give these a shot and if your pain goes away, then you'll know it was most likely related to reflux. What tums do is neutralize the acid in your stomache, but they will not do anything to prevent backflow of the stomache contents up towards the esophagus, or provide healing to a damaged area. That's what I would try. GGood luck with all this, I hope you get some answers soon. Best wishes.


Sara RN

[Raymarie725]

thank you for your feedback though..i really do appreciate it.

[Raymarie725]

well...i do know my pain feels exactly the same as the first year of my gallbaldder attacks....i had attacks for 3 years before they found gallstones, when i say mild im comparing it to as bad as it had gotten..which was bad enough for me to sweat and blackout everyday almost twice a day..but then they took out my gallbladder and it never got that bad again....but its definately the exact same pain. Unless that was never a gallbladder attack and the gallbladder problems were causing the acid reflux to get that bad. They did say i had an ulcerated esophagus and scar tissue from spasams..but i dont know if it healed..or if this is just residual pain from it or what. All i know for certain is it feels like something starts to compress first in the middle of the front of my stomach right below my boobs around my ribs and moves around to my back...it only can be relived by getting on my knees and leaning over a couch or a bed and controling my breathing and/or having my back rubbed and/or eating bread or drinking water. its almost like a giant pair of round plyers open up and clamp onto my ribs and squeeze kinda. I know its spasams but from what was what i was trying to find out when i went to the doctor..but its causes me to be afraid to be hungry..and at this point im also overweight and it makes dieting very hard.......They told me to take tums. and see if it helps..but i cant tell if the tums help or not as sometimes the pain is light and subsides quickly..and soemtimes it does not. But i hope its acid reflux as id like a solution and for it to stop at this point.

[SLadylani]

Well a couple of thoughts. First, some people can still experience "gall bladder type of pain," even after having their gallbladder to move. This is different from person to person and depends on each of our bodies ability to adjust to digesting without a gallbladder. A lot of people however find they can't eat 100% freely and do have to somewhat maintain their pre-gallbladder removal diet, such as avoiding high fats. What you're describing, however, does not seem similar to a gallbladder attack, in that it is not near severe in nature and that the attcks you experience come when your stomache is free of food and your system isn't digesting. What I can say about acid reflux is that reflux occurs when the ring-shaped muscle that normally prevents the contents of the stomach from flowing back into the esophagus (lower esophageal sphincter) does not function properly. This pain, often called heartburn, can be moderate in nature, severe in some cases. I'll describe why. The stomach lining protects the stomach from the effects of its own acid. Because the esophagus lacks a similar protective lining, stomach acid and enzymes that flow backward (reflux) into the esophagus routinely cause symptoms and in some cases damage. In some cases people only notice or experience symptoms when the stomache is empty, which as you could see would cause more pain as you'd have direct stomache acid hitting your esophagus. What did the doctor recommend when they diagnosed you? Usually when a patient is diagnosed with this, the doctor will write a prescription for a course of medications, medications reduce amount of acid reduced, some help to aid in damage done, etc. But trully tums might work for very mild cases where syptoms are experienced maybe once every other week, but from what you're describing I highly recommend you go back to your doctor and ask for a prescription strong enough to provide releif. There is over the counter Prilosec, but that's over the counter due to its mildness. Stronger precriptions, which I recommend, are Protonix and Dexilant. And while you're at the doctor, you can get an exam and blood work, or other tests as needed, to rule out anything else that may be causing your pain. Also, just so you know, scar tissue itself can cause pain, which might need to be looked into, if after all this the pain persists. If you'd like, put emphasis on the scar tissue found and that you've been having these pains for 10 years since the operation. Remember, you are your own advocate, so speak up! I wish you good luck and your journey to findding relief and will be sending good thoughts and my best wishes your way. I invite you to keep us posted and hope you find this wesite helpful, as it can be a great resource and has many support forums. Take care, :)

Sara RN