Can heartburn not "burn"?

J

JimbossJ

New member
I've been batting around the possibility of acid reflux causing my breathing issues, but without heartburn. The thing is I have some very subtle discomfort in my chest...not pain or burning, but it feels kind of like a big book is laying on my chest, or maybe muscle strain.

Can this happen with reflux? Could I just have some minor tension in my chest as opposed to heartburn? I'm fairly certain I have no heart problems, asthma, embolisms, the flu, and so forth. I've had this for about three years and it has not improved or worsened.
 
I never have heartburn and I have GERD and a hiatal hernia. My only symptom was my throat closing up at night. I later on had chest pains, went through many heart tests as my dad died at 46. I was on meds for the acid reflux. My HMO GI doctor told me to stop taking it unless I had heartburn, so I did. A few weeks later I thought I was having a heart attack. I literally dropped to my knees with pain. It was the acid reflux. I am back on the meds.
 
This might sound silly, but start chewing sugarfree gum regularly, especially after meals. It stimulates saliva, which is alkaline and will help neutralize the stomach acid. I can vouch that it works - at least for heartburn, it does. You can't find a cheaper 'treatment' than that!
 
Hi Dark,

PPI stands for - Proton Pump Inhibitor(nexium, Aciphex, Prilosec Prevacid..ect). First things first, if your doctors are not listening to you , then it's time to find a new set of doctors who will.

GERD is generally treated with 1 PPI per day where as LPR is treated with 2 PPI's per day. Also it depends on what's causing your reflux, if it is indeed reflux. Is it acid, bile(from the gallbladder or lack thereof)? Alkaline in nature? Bile reflux is treated differently than acid reflux.

GERD can also cause chest pain and Asthma like symptoms. It can also cause anxiety or be made worse by anxiety. You should ask for a referral to see a specialist. Either Gastro or ENT. Until then you may never find out what's truely going on with you.
 
Wow, that's pretty scary, Mel32.

I have a few symptoms that could easily be that of several other conditions, but "silent" GERD sounds the most likely. I have shortness of breath, bloating, excessive belching, minor nausea due to said bloating, and lately I've been having trouble swallowing food after eating a certain amount of food (especially pieces of beef or chicken).

And I developed the symptoms one at a time, often with years of space between them. I got the bloating/burping/nausea when I was about 17, the shortness of breath and chest discomfort when I was 19, and the swallowing problems at 22. I wonder, if I do have reflux, are the new symptoms popping up a sign that it's getting worse? Perhaps I will eventually develop heartburn? Why in the world does it take 2 or 3 years for a new symptoms to show up? :confused:

I can't do anything about this right now, unfortunately. I have no insurance, so I can't get any kind of testing done to prove or rule out GERD. I'm just going to choke down Tums (which I hate the taste of) and see if they help at all. I also have read there are OTC reflux treatments, so I may look into those since I am assuming, if I do have GERD, it's mild and could be treated with non-prescription meds.
 
I'll try the sugar-free gum thing and see if it helps. I tend to have lots of things to munch or chew on, even when this problem started, whether it was mints or gum, and nothing ever really helped. But hell, all I have to lose is 60 cents for a pack of gum. :)
 
You probably have a heart problem, and I suggest you see your doctor ASAP. Heartburn is when acids from the stomach pass through the sphincter at the top of the stomach and irritate the lining of the esophagus because it cannot tolerate stomach acid. That irritation creates the heartburn, and radiates up to the throat, create harsh voice, cough, etc. As someone who has gone through GERD for years, and has gone through endoscopies, H. Pylori treatment, and plenty of lifestyle changes to cope with, I don't believe you have GERD, nor I believe that there is such things as "silent GERD." Silent GERD means plenty of esophageal cancers, and I know that cancer is rare. But doctors are too busy to bother trying to change people's beliefs about GERD. But there is a possibility that you might have "infective esophagitis" which doesn't carry the GERD symptoms because it an infection - not GERD based. Either way, it is time to see your doc!
 
Straightguy, I have also considered the possibility of a heart problem. But I've had several GP appointments that involved the typical checking of my heart, and an EKG last year (symptoms were just the same as they are now). And quite possibly a blood test for some kind of heart problem (I don't recall what the four tests were during that ER trip). I've also had chest X-rays done. Wouldn't someone have noticed an abnormality in my heart if there was one? :confused:

I also checked out infective esophagitis, and while I do have some of the symptoms (which, as you said, resemble GERD symptoms)...could I really have had an infection for five years that got neither better nor worse? Wouldn't an infection - bacterial or viral - go away on its own by now?

And believe me, I would love to see a doctor. But I have no money to spare, no insurance, no job, and there's no discount or free clinic where I live. So I'm kinda stuck until any problem I have reaches emergency status, and even then I may not be able to get care. So far, I've just been eating a Tums tablet each day along with my multi-vitamins (which don't contain calcium, so Tums serves two purposes). I don't think it helps, but I still feel like I'm doing something. I might try Zantac and see if that helps since it's available OTC now.
 
Thanks midwest, I totally missed that part. Do you think you could qualify for state aid like Medicaid? Where I live some hospitals have their own insurance plan set up for the indigent and low-income. Many teaching hospitals will take new patients on free or sliding scale basis.
 
Stay away from anything with Mint in it, it's bad for reflux. It weakens the LES(lower esophageal spinchter), and allows too much acid into the esophagus, thereby increasing your GERD.
 
I have just finished a series of tests because of breathing problems and was told it may be GERD. I found it hard to believe since I don't have acid reflux much at all. What really got me to the ER was 2 weeks ago I awoke from sleeping because my airway had completely closed and I could not breathe in or out. I had just accepted that this was the way I was going to die when a tiny bit of air got through my throught and I screamed my airway open. Totally frightening. About 4 weeks prior to that, I noticed lying down on my back caused me to feel like I couldn't breathe. About 6 months ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, but I could not tolerate the CPAC on my face all night, I just tore it off in my sleep. I just went to an ENT, did a series of tests, I have no growth in my throat, (because I feel like my airway is closing all of the time) and I have a follow up to see what it could be next week. I am afraid to go to bed for fear of waking up like I did 2 weeks ago. It's exhausting.
Right now, I'm feeling lightheaded and like my airway is closing again. This is just awful.
 
My initial reflux was actually diagnosed by an ENT doctor because I was wheezing and felt had liquid in my ears. He suggested I take Singulair which actually helped dry me out a bit. The wheezing and congested ears went away and then I began to experience heartburn. I assume the heartburn came as a result of the acid going back up into my esophagus and irritating it. That led to an endoscopy and the rest is history. But I believe to have experienced reflux for at least a few months which was causing symptoms that did not appear GI related at the time. It was actually my chest and ears that were congested and irritated by the acid.

Interesting how the body is all interconnected.

Rose
 
I admit, Indianmist, I have no clue what PPI means. And believe me, I would absolutely love to see a doctor about this since I'm very much sick of being unable to breathe. Is treatment for GERD and silent GERD the same? I only ask because until I can see a doctor, I would like to maybe try homeopathic remedies and lifestyle changes to see if I can decrease the effects on my own. I also do drink quite a bit of water each day...not the recommended 8 glasses, but maybe 4 to 6. I don't know for sure if what I have is GERD, silent or otherwise because some symptoms match different illnesses.

For example, my shortness of breath is worsened by cold air and smoke...which indicates asthma. It doesn't get worse from exercise, which may rule out asthma and heart problems. The tension rather than pain in my chest could be asthma or anxiety. The difficulty swallowing is a sign of acid reflux. The fact that these symptoms have been constant makes me think it's not asthma.

It's sooooo confusing, and the doctors I have gone to did not like to listen to me (like my GP who stated that what I have had to either be anxiety or asthma and could be nothing else). I've been trying to diagnose myself since this stuff started since no one will take me seriously or listen to me.
 
Montana:

You could be experiencing asthma triggered by the irritation of your esophagus and airway from the GERD. Did the ENT doctor prescribe a bronchodilator you could use on an emergency basis?

The other thing to do if you ever find yourself not being able to breathe is to get in the shower with the hot water running and let the steam open your airways. Also you may want to sleep with one of those baby steam machines next to your bed. The moist air soothes your bronchial passages and allows you to breathe a little bit better.

Not being able to breathe sounds like asthma to me no matter whether the cause is GERD or not.

Rose
 
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