View Full Version : Heartburn? Something else?
I quit smoking 71 days ago and it seems to have triggered heart burn in me. I've heard sometimes that happens so I'm not too worried about it.
I've had stabbing pains in my chest and burning in the back of my throat for over a month now.
I went to the doctor last week after my heart had some palpitations at work and told her about that as well as my heartburn.
For the heart burn she gave me Nexium and as for the palpitations she asked me if I was anxious at all. When I told her yes, she didn't seem all that worried about the papatations at all.
I've been on the Nexium for about a week now and I still have the stabbing pains in my chest and my throat is still burning.
The stabbing pain doesn't get worse when I'm exercising or anything and I felt like it could have been muscle pain - however today despite the Nexium my chest is burning.
Has anyone been on Nexium and it didn't work? Could this be something other than heartburn?
My testing history = the wearing of a holster a year ago, and about 4 ECGs - they've never found anything. My most recent ECG, blood work and chest X-ray was about 6 weeks ago.
PanickyGuy
23-01-17, 21:56
I quit smoking 71 days ago and it seems to have triggered heart burn in me. I've heard sometimes that happens so I'm not too worried about it.
I've had stabbing pains in my chest and burning in the back of my throat for over a month now.
I went to the doctor last week after my heart had some palpitations at work and told her about that as well as my heartburn.
For the heart burn she gave me Nexium and as for the palpitations she asked me if I was anxious at all. When I told her yes, she didn't seem all that worried about the papatations at all.
I've been on the Nexium for about a week now and I still have the stabbing pains in my chest and my throat is still burning.
The stabbing pain doesn't get worse when I'm exercising or anything and I felt like it could have been muscle pain - however today despite the Nexium my chest is burning.
Has anyone been on Nexium and it didn't work? Could this be something other than heartburn?
My testing history = the wearing of a holster a year ago, and about 4 ECGs - they've never found anything. My most recent ECG, blood work and chest X-ray was about 6 weeks ago.
I just want to say to the bold part first; Good for you! After 22 years of smoking, I quit about 5 and half years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. :yesyes:
I have tried Nexium for my GERD in the past and it didn't seem to be as strong as what I'm taking now, Protonix\Pantoprozole. Personally for me, the Protonix made a lot of difference in how many times I would get heartburn, compared to the other PPI's, as far as that's concerned. I don't know if it has to do with the amount of dosage because it's higher then the other PPI's (40mg) or because it's made just a little bit different then the other PPI's.
Now I still get heartburn every once in a while, but that's mainly because I don't stick to my diet sometimes, yet I haven't experienced the throat burn in a long time. But then again, I take a supplement like Tums or Gaviscon too, whenever it really gets bad on various occasions. Those help too. Just don't take them and your PPI together at the same time, because they say, one might cancel out the other's effect if you take them all together at the same time.
Anyway, that is what has worked for me.
Edit to add: I also wanted to add how I go about it everyday; First thing in the morning I take the PPI before I eat anything and then if I get any heartburn, indigestion, bloating throughout the day after eating, I then take a Tums or Gaviscon if any of that occurs.
It takes a week or two for a PPI to reach it's full effectiveness. Give it a bit but also watch what you eat and keep a log. Certain foods can trigger reflux and you may need to avoid them. Like Panickyguy, both my wife and I are on Pantoprazole and it works great BUT... we do the FODMAP diet in conjunction and have some Mylanta for any breakthrough reflux.
Positive thoughts
Thank you for the responses.
I actually went to walk in clinic for my heartburn as I'm unable to see my new family doctor until March 22.
So she was a bit rushy with me per walk in fashion. She didn't mention anything about changing my diet so I was kinda assuming that I take the pill and eat what I want haha.
Good to know because I had quite a bit of pizza/pasta and coffee this weekend.
I'm assuming that since all my heart related tests were clear that this is just a bad case of obnoxious heartburn.
I didn't get into full anxiety mode, but because I have HA anything chest related and my mind goes to heart issues.
I'm learning to panic less and talk about it more.
---------- Post added at 17:13 ---------- Previous post was at 17:12 ----------
It takes a week or two for a PPI to reach it's full effectiveness. Give it a bit but also watch what you eat and keep a log. Certain foods can trigger reflux and you may need to avoid them. Like Panickyguy, both my wife and I are on Pantoprazole and it works great BUT... we do the FODMAP diet in conjunction and have some Mylanta for any breakthrough reflux.
Positive thoughts
Awesome :) thanks. I was worried it was supposed to be instant
---------- Post added at 17:15 ---------- Previous post was at 17:13 ----------
I just want to say to the bold part first; Good for you! After 22 years of smoking, I quit about 5 and half years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. :yesyes:
I have tried Nexium for my GERD in the past and it didn't seem to be as strong as what I'm taking now, Protonix\Pantoprozole. Personally for me, the Protonix made a lot of difference in how many times I would get heartburn, compared to the other PPI's, as far as that's concerned. I don't know if it has to do with the amount of dosage because it's higher then the other PPI's (40mg) or because it's made just a little bit different then the other PPI's.
Now I still get heartburn every once in a while, but that's mainly because I don't stick to my diet sometimes, yet I haven't experienced the throat burn in a long time. But then again, I take a supplement like Tums or Gaviscon too, whenever it really gets bad on various occasions. Those help too. Just don't take them and your PPI together at the same time, because they say, one might cancel out the other's effect if you take them all together at the same time.
Anyway, that is what has worked for me.
Edit to add: I also wanted to add how I go about it everyday; First thing in the morning I take the PPI before I eat anything and then if I get any heartburn, indigestion, bloating throughout the day after eating, I then take a Tums or Gaviscon if any of that occurs.
Thank you :)
I quit because of my HA. I was always sooo worried about my health, yet I was puffing away on a cigarette lol.
I've been wayyy more anxious since I quit, but I'm hoping it will pass soon.
So, I changed my diet a bit and this morning was good - after skipping the morning coffee.
I had some OJ on my last break and after that it felt like my throat was on fire.
Is a burning throat a symptom of heartburn? Even if you don't feel anything in your chest or stomach?
Well yeah.. pizza, pasta and coffee will get ya every time ;) And OJ is acidic and can cause issues too. We switched to a low acid OJ and water it down by 1/3... Seems to be Ok.
Seriously, look at the FODMAP diet. (http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/) It's really helped us and it's not like we're sacrificing everything we enjoy.
And great going on quitting smoking! You have no idea what good you did for your overall health :)
Positive thoughts
Well yeah.. pizza, pasta and coffee will get ya every time ;) And OJ is acidic and can cause issues too. We switched to a low acid OJ and water it down by 1/3... Seems to be Ok.
Seriously, look at the FODMAP diet. (http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/) It's really helped us and it's not like we're sacrificing everything we enjoy.
And great going on quitting smoking! You have no idea what good you did for your overall health :)
Positive thoughts
I'm gonna go and check it out now :) thank you.
The throat burning is common with heart burn? Even without any other pain?
I'm gonna go and check it out now :) thank you.
The throat burning is common with heart burn? Even without any other pain?
Yep... take pizza for example... I love pizza but it doesn't love me. We had pizza last week (a few and far between treat and NOT on the FODMAP diet) and I woke up at 2am with a nasty acid taste in my mouth and a burning throat (should have stopped at two pieces! ~lol~). No other symptoms. A swig of Mylanta and back to sleep so yeah... you can have reflux without other symptoms.
Positive thoughts
PanickyGuy
24-01-17, 23:26
Oh man, yeah that tomato sauce on pizza will get you sometimes. But I love pizza so much! :weep::D
Yep... take pizza for example... I love pizza but it doesn't love me. We had pizza last week (a few and far between treat and NOT on the FODMAP diet) and I woke up at 2am with a nasty acid taste in my mouth and a burning throat (should have stopped at two pieces! ~lol~). No other symptoms. A swig of Mylanta and back to sleep so yeah... you can have reflux without other symptoms.
Positive thoughts
That's a relief.
I was worried about the burning throat with no other symptoms.
Today my chest has been achey and burning ...
I always had heartburn but it got really bad after I quit smoking - I'm
Hoping this isn't gonna be a forever thing.
Maybe it will pass.
Update:
So last night my heartburn was so bad and my anxiety so high - I decided to not have a repeat today so I decided to go to the ER this morning because I was so worried it was heart related.
I had an cardiogram, blood work and a chest X-ray and everything came back good (again).
She ordered an ultra sound for me to check out my gallbladder, which is Feb. 9.
Also, good news is that I made a bunch of calls and I FINALLY found a GP who can see me before March 22 (my appt is now Feb. 2).
Anyway, I felt much better re: heart related problems until I told her I've worn a monitor and it was fine. She says to me "oh, they don't always catch everything." Probably not the best thing to say to someone with HA.
However, I do feel a lot better about my heart after tests today.
I have developed a slight worry about my stomach/esophagus in regards to why this burn won't go away.
I'm trying not to get carried away with it and haven't googled anything in relation to it but thoughts are crossing my mind about a serious stomach or esophagus issue.
I hope this ER visit keeps the anxiety down a bit though because last night was awful.
PanickyGuy
29-01-17, 00:02
Update:
So last night my heartburn was so bad and my anxiety so high - I decided to not have a repeat today so I decided to go to the ER this morning because I was so worried it was heart related.
I had an cardiogram, blood work and a chest X-ray and everything came back good (again).
She ordered an ultra sound for me to check out my gallbladder, which is Feb. 9.
Also, good news is that I made a bunch of calls and I FINALLY found a GP who can see me before March 22 (my appt is now Feb. 2).
Anyway, I felt much better re: heart related problems until I told her I've worn a monitor and it was fine. She says to me "oh, they don't always catch everything." Probably not the best thing to say to someone with HA.
However, I do feel a lot better about my heart after tests today.
I have developed a slight worry about my stomach/esophagus in regards to why this burn won't go away.
I'm trying not to get carried away with it and haven't googled anything in relation to it but thoughts are crossing my mind about a serious stomach or esophagus issue.
I hope this ER visit keeps the anxiety down a bit though because last night was awful.
Would you believe I had bad indigestion and heartburn about the same night you did? Actually it was between the 3 A.M. and 6 A.M. yesterday morning while trying to sleep. I finally got up because I was getting what I thought were heat waves from it (?) and I couldn't stand the intensity of the heartburn anymore. Lol. But then when I was up, I passed wind and bleched a number of times, then took a Tums, got more out and I felt a helluva lot better and not as hot as before; went back down to normal body temperature I guess. So I went back to sleep and no more problems. Didn't have that much of a problem last night either, at least not as intense as the night was before. Phew! :D
But that's just ironic that you and I had the same issues on the same night or nearly on the same night, but maybe just hours apart. Anyway I don't blame you for going to the ER because sometimes you just don't know for sure. Although I had it happen so many times before and had heart related tests done, which all turned out good, I guess by now, I just kind of know my body and know it's just because of GERD, IBS, gas, heartburn, indigestion, etc.
Anyway, good to hear you got a earlier appointment Mel, and I hope your ultra sound comes out positive. Hey let us know either way, if you want to. :winks:
Would you believe I had bad indigestion and heartburn about the same night you did? Actually it was between the 3 A.M. and 6 A.M. yesterday morning while trying to sleep. I finally got up because I was getting what I thought were heat waves from it (?) and I couldn't stand the intensity of the heartburn anymore. Lol. But then when I was up, I passed wind and bleched a number of times, then took a Tums, got more out and I felt a helluva lot better and not as hot as before; went back down to normal body temperature I guess. So I went back to sleep and no more problems. Didn't have that much of a problem last night either, at least not as intense as the night was before. Phew! :D
But that's just ironic that you and I had the same issues on the same night or nearly on the same night, but maybe just hours apart. Anyway I don't blame you for going to the ER because sometimes you just don't know for sure. Although I had it happen so many times before and had heart related tests done, which all turned out good, I guess by now, I just kind of know my body and know it's just because of GERD, IBS, gas, heartburn, indigestion, etc.
Anyway, good to hear you got a earlier appointment Mel, and I hope your ultra sound comes out positive. Hey let us know either way, if you want to. :winks:
That is ironic that we both had it the same night.
I've now had two sets of blood work, two chest X-rays and 2 ECGs in 2 months - I'm pretty convinced now that it's not heart related haha.
I'm new to this bad heartburn world. I've always been prone to it, but never like this.
I figured I'd go to the ER for peace of mind and the whole better safe than sorry thing.
I'm also using liquid Gaviscon now as well as the Nexium and it seems to be a bit better.
I think the panic probably gets the best of me too.
I also get that hot feeling all over when I get heartburn. Feels like my face is on fire. Sadly, tums don't work for me at all :(
I will keep you posted re: what the doctor says.
Thanks for responding :)
I saw my new GP today.
He has referred me to a cardiologist for stress tests and a couple other heart related tests. One was an ultra sound on my heart? Or something like that.
He also has sent me for blood work.
I'm a little freaked out about the heart related tests, but I'm sure he's just covering his basis?
He said it seems like it could be GERD, or maybe even gallstones, or a bug - he wants to rule everything out.
I felt pretty good about it and when I got home I took my dog for a walk and my heart did some palpitations, which also freak me out.
I really hope this doesn't end up being heart related. Every time the palpitations come I worry.
PanickyGuy
02-02-17, 23:21
I saw my new GP today.
He has referred me to a cardiologist for stress tests and a couple other heart related tests. One was an ultra sound on my heart? Or something like that.
He also has sent me for blood work.
I'm a little freaked out about the heart related tests, but I'm sure he's just covering his basis?
He said it seems like it could be GERD, or maybe even gallstones, or a bug - he wants to rule everything out.
I felt pretty good about it and when I got home I took my dog for a walk and my heart did some palpitations, which also freak me out.
I really hope this doesn't end up being heart related. Every time the palpitations come I worry.
You got a good doctor there, Mel. My doctor did the exact same thing about five years ago, he sent me to a cardiologist who had me do a stress test with a heart ultrasound. The cardiologist had me run on one of those walking exercise machines to get my heart rate and BP up, then he'd have me hop of the thing a bunch of times, every time he got my BP up, and lay down on a hard flat surface and run the ultrasound over my heart. He was checking the heart valves for leaks, irregular heart function and stuff like that. Also he checked my gallbladder at the same time with the ultrasound. It's sort of like the same thing when pregnant mothers go in to get a ultra sound done, to see how far their baby has come along, only in this case, they have you take your shirt off, attach leads and smear petroleum jelly all over your chest as well as your stomach and you have to exercise a bit.
That's a good test to have and if there is something there, they'll find it with that test. But I think your doc is just be cautious like mine was doing with me, when he sent me to a referred cardiologist. At the time my doc suspected acid reflux\GERD and he already knew I had anxiety and panic disorder, but he sent me anyway just to be ultimately sure and rule anything else out. My test at the time came out fine, BTW. I hope yours does to. :winks:
You got a good doctor there, Mel. My doctor did the exact same thing about five years ago, he sent me to a cardiologist who had me do a stress test with a heart ultrasound. The cardiologist had me run on one of those walking exercise machines to get my heart rate and BP up, then he'd have me hop of the thing a bunch of times, every time he got my BP up, and lay down on a hard flat surface and run the ultrasound over my heart. He was checking the heart valves for leaks, irregular heart function and stuff like that. Also he checked my gallbladder at the same time with the ultrasound. It's sort of like the same thing when pregnant mothers go in to get a ultra sound done, to see how far their baby has come along, only in this case, they have you take your shirt off, attach leads and smear petroleum jelly all over your chest as well as your stomach and you have to exercise a bit.
That's a good test to have and if there is something there, they'll find it with that test. But I think your doc is just be cautious like mine was doing with me, when he sent me to a referred cardiologist. At the time my doc suspected acid reflux\GERD and he already knew I had anxiety and panic disorder, but he sent me anyway just to be ultimately sure and rule anything else out. My test at the time came out fine, BTW. I hope yours does to. :winks:
Thank you for responding! That helps a lot. I was getting myself all worked up wondering why he would send a 34-year-old for a stress test unless he suspected something more sinister than GERD.
I'm pretty physical all day - I work labour and I walk my dog 2 hours a day. I feel like if I had any heart problems my day to day life would be a lot harder than it is. Though I am a bit over weight.
I am relieved that I found a doctor who is checking it all. I feel like after I have these tests (pending good results) it will really lower, if not diminis my HA because my heart is my biggest HA trigger. I'm never all that satisfied with just an ECG.
I'm doing my ultra sound/blood work next week and I have to wait for them to call me regarding the cardiologist and lady doctor haha.
He's literally checking it all.
PanickyGuy
03-02-17, 00:47
Thank you for responding! That helps a lot. I was getting myself all worked up wondering why he would send a 34-year-old for a stress test unless he suspected something more sinister than GERD.
Yeah I know what you mean. I got worried too at the time, when my doc sent me in for that test and I was only 38 at the time. I'm 44 now and I still have all the same symptoms as you described.
I'm pretty physical all day - I work labour and I walk my dog 2 hours a day. I feel like if I had any heart problems my day to day life would be a lot harder than it is. Though I am a bit over weight.
Yeah you're thinking is right, man. Most people with real heart troubles have a helluva time getting around sometimes, there is not much activity in their daily schedules. If your able to do all that each day and not be slowed down or debilitated by strenuous exercise or activity, then I'd say your heart is in good shape like mine. Because hey - I'm even a little bit overweight myself, about 20 pounds over. :D
I am relieved that I found a doctor who is checking it all. I feel like after I have these tests (pending good results) it will really lower, if not diminis my HA because my heart is my biggest HA trigger. I'm never all that satisfied with just an ECG.
Yeah me too. My HA over my heart is my major trigger too, but not as bad as it use to be. When I went and had that test done and it was all clear, man I had minimal anxiety to near zilch, about worrying over my heart for at least a year and a half. But unfortunately, after that, my HA and panic attacks came back again with a vengeance it seemed like. :weep: So I started going to a CB therapist and ended up getting on some meds to help take control of it. But ever since then I've been doing a lot better then I ever have, after getting CBT to deal with my HA. I don't seem to have those panic attacks as much as I use to and me worrying about my heart doesn't seem to happen as much as it use to before. Now it's about other things on occasions.:doh:
I'm doing my ultra sound/blood work next week and I have to wait for them to call me regarding the cardiologist and lady doctor haha.
He's literally checking it all.
:D Outstanding! Keep us posted and may it all turn out fine for you Mel.
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