Heartburn and Back Pain

[Tmoll]

Hi everyone! So recently I’ve been having a lot of mid to upper back pain. I went to the ER two weeks ago because it was just so relentless and it’s honestly not a pain in use to having, I was worried it might have been a problem with my kidneys or gallbladder. The ER doctor rain some blood work, chest X-ray, and CT and everything came back okay. So the past two days I’ve been having some heartburn, which is something I’m use too. I was diagnosed with GERD and Gastroparesis a few years ago, so it’s something I’ve encountered in the past. The back pain eased up and almost went away completely, but now it’s back.

Now what started my worries is that the back pain is back and now I’ve had some really bad heartburn as well. The burning is in my chest and my throat. I’m so worried that I could be having problems with my heart and then the anxiety of it makes the pain worse. I don’t know what else to do. It doesn’t help that my mom passed away suddenly a year ago to a massive heart attack, she didn’t have any symptoms aside from heartburn and now that’s all I can think of

[glassgirlw]

Hey there. Just had my gallbladder removed yesterday. I know how you feel. They did an ultrasound to check mine and that’s how they found that it was full of stones. They gave me Pepcid to take as well for heartburn. Not saying you have gallstones, but I did have a lot of mid back pain/aches, heartburn, feeling of fullness right under sternum, burning in area above stomach, pain radiating under right ribcage and around to back. Everyone’s symptoms are a little different though.

I’d say yours is a little worse because of your mom, I’m so sorry for your loss. It wouldn’t hurt to get some tests ran just to rule that out and put your mind at ease - and if that all comes back normal, have them ultrasound your gallbladder just to see. It’s a sneaky little organ and I’d never had any idea that mine was bad until symptoms started up. Can also change your diet to a low fat one and see if that helps. It did me.

[Tmoll]

Hi! Thank you so much for your reply. I had a appointment scheduled with one of the doctors at my GP’s office and I seemed to get no where. They basically said they had no idea what was going on, my symptoms could be from several things but nothing seemed to pinpoint one particular thing so they told me to follow up with my GI. I asked them about my gallbladder and the possibility of gallstones and they didn’t entertain the idea at all. I was hoping the appointment would ease my mind, but it’s only made things worse. I’m still experiencing the same pain.

Thank you so much again. The loss of my mom has definitely caused some anxiety, so I never know if it’s just my brain running wild or something that I should be concerned about

[ErinKC]

I had a very severe GERD flare up a few months ago when I was under a lot of stress and had been taking a lot of Advil for pain from a pulled muscle. I had really bad mid-upper back pain with it. It was like the pain wrapped from my diaphragm all around my body. Incidentally, I had an abdominal CT scan during the same time to check on an umbilical hernia, so I know for a fact that nothing else was going on in my abdomen. Once my stress went down and I kicked the Advil and ate a mild diet for a week or so I felt back to normal. But, in the thick of it, it was REALLY bad pain and I couldn't believe it would just go away on its own - but it did.

[Tmoll]

Thank you so much for your reply! I’m still experiencing the pain and so far my doctors haven’t been a great help. I decided to go to the ER yesterday get it checked out just in case and they can’t find a reason for the pain. They rain several tests on my heart and gave me a chest X-ray, but everything looked okay. I’m relieved that it doesn’t seem to be anything serious, but not having a solid answer just makes my mind run wild again. I spoke with my GI doctor and they told me to follow up with my primary’s office, who told me to follow up with GI. I feel like I’m being tossed around and no one really seems to want to do anything. I have an appointment with my primary tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll get somewhere with him