Questions about shortness of breath and heavy chest

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Tribulation

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I've been having this respiratory issues for probably ten or eleven days now. I recently got a new sensation, that being heaviness in the chest.

Today was mostly a good day. My breathing seemed almost normal for most of it, though I still have to take the occasional deep breath. For the last few hours though, breathing became harder and I have no idea why. I don't think I've eaten or drank anything to irritate anything. The only things I've had to drink are water, milk, and one pepsi, hours and hours ago, so I highly doubt the pepsi was the problem, I felt fine for quite a few hours after drinking it.

All I've eaten lately are turkey, chicken, ham, or bologna sandwhiched. I did have a sub (with the same materials except for bologna, with the addition of cheese and a bit of mayonnaise. Oh, and a banana.

So I'm not sure if any of that caused it or not. I did feel like I had acid reflux earlier with some very very mild hearburn. I don't feel as if I have it anymore but my chest feels heavy, especially when I lay down. Unfortunately I have nothing to prop my headboard up with right now.

I was really just wondering if the heaviness in my chest was normal. It, corabined with the breathing problems, has me worried and I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep. I also thought that I could feel a... rurable in my chest. I'm not sure if that could be gas or not.
 
What you're explaining is exactly the same thing that I started out with and got very worried since I had never experienced this. It's all related to acid reflux. Your esophegus gets inflamed and leaRAB to the heaviness you feel and shortness of breath because, of course, your wind pipe and food pipe (esophegus) are the same. The inflamation effects everything. You could confirm acid reflux by scheduling a barium swallow where they watch your esophegus with x-ray real-time, like watching TV. That's what confirmed it for me. I have tried lots of different medications, but every time I have "breakthrough" symptoms I get the chest heaviness and sometimes feels like my breathing is just a little bit labored (I would not really call it shortness of breath).

My advice is to first try the new Pepic AC Complete, which has the H2 blocker along with antacid for immediate relief, and magnesium which I've found works wonders (or did at first).

Anyway, don't delay talking to your doctor. If you're concerned enough to post a question on this forum, then you're definitely ready for the doc and maybe he'll prescribe a PPI like Prevacid or Nexium, and you can supplement with Pepcid (or even Pepto Bismol) as needed. That's what I do.
 
I talked to a doctor yesterday. We didn't run any tests as that would be too expensive but he said that my lungs sound fine and my oxygen level is 98%. So I'm guessing the shortness of breath is either a sensation or my esophagus is inflamed. As long as I'm fairly okay..

Note: I hope this pizza doesn't cause too many problems.. I've been avoiding food that can cause acid reflux for over a week but I've been dying for a pizza...
 
Hi There! I think anytime someone has heaviness in the chest it would be a good idea to visit the emergency room right away or even call the arabulance, like right now!
 
If his heaviness was corabined with pain or dizziness or sweating or actual shortness of breath I would agree. But in this case it definitely sounRAB like inflammation due to reflux. I thought I was having heart issues when it hit me, but after the doc said to try antaciRAB and it went away I knew right away it was acid related, not heart. So if taking an OTC med like Prilosec or Pepcid or even Pepto Bismol reduces your symptom then you know you're dealing with acid reflux or GERD.
 
I've been dealing with(chest heaviness/shortness of breath) this issue since 2008. It started after I had surgery to re move my gallbladder. My throat was already raw from constant vomitting(acid reflux would cause it), so when they put my breathing tube in before surgery, it caused even more injury. When the ENt checked my throat he saw raw white areas, patches of scar tissue, hpyper pigmented areas, and signs of infection.

Anyway to make a long story short, I was in the hospital for a week due to shortness of breath, esophegeal swelling, and some other GERD related stuff. Since that time, I've had the shortness of breath and chest heaviness off and on.

I recently had a few months free of the swelling and shortness of breath, but I think that was because I was on 60 of Predisone, because as I tapered down, the symptoms started up again. Also Vitamin D, and Pepcid helped for a while too.

Just to be on the safe side, you should get checked out, and if it is the GERD that's causing your symptoms, you may be in it for the long haul so be prepared.
 
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