About eighteen months ago , I began having a lot of pain and discomfort in my chest. A lot of times I will feel short of breath, and my chest will feel sore when I take a deep breath. Deep breathing will produce an almost "burning" sensation. There has been a continuous feeling of something "not being right" in my chest. I have been to my regular doctor, another general MD, an allergist and a GI doctor. A couple of them said they thought it was acid reflux and nerves. Can acid reflux cause shortness of breath? In addition, I have had chest x rays, that have shown no congestion or other respiratory illness. I have a lot of stomach problems as well- nausea, abdominal cramps, etc.. And not much of an appetite.

PS I am under a lot of stress..

Any thoughts on this "mystery discomfort" would be appreciated.

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Originally Posted by teachermama3

About eighteen months ago , I began having a lot of pain and discomfort in my chest. A lot of times I will feel short of breath, and my chest will feel sore when I take a deep breath. Deep breathing will produce an almost "burning" sensation. There has been a continuous feeling of something "not being right" in my chest. I have been to my regular doctor, another general MD, an allergist and a GI doctor. A couple of them said they thought it was acid reflux and nerves. Can acid reflux cause shortness of breath? In addition, I have had chest x rays, that have shown no congestion or other respiratory illness. I have a lot of stomach problems as well- nausea, abdominal cramps, etc.. and not much of an appetite.

PS I am under a lot of stress..

Any thoughts on this "mystery discomfort" would be appreciated.

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Stress causes the acid pumps in the stomach to turn on. Excess acid in the stomach causes gas. Gas causes stomach acid to move up the esophagus, which causes burning pain. Gas also causes the diaphragm to push up against the lungs, which causes a feeling of not being able to breathe in all the way. These feelings in turn cause anxiety and MORE STRESS, It's a never-ending cycle.

Take a couple of antacid with extra-strength simethicone when you feel the burning or pressure. Eat small, frequent meals. Don't wear tight pants. Try not to bend over after eating. Don't lay down right after eating. Don't eat just before you go to bed at night. Elevate the head of your bed a couple of inches by putting two bricks under the top legs. You might want to take a course of OTC Prilosec.

And remind yourself that there is nothing pathologically wrong with you, you're not going to die, it's not a heart attack, and you can breathe fine. Try some stress-reduction strategies, whatever fits your time and budget. Do something spiritual or emotionally rewarding for yourself.

Thank you. Your answer was very helpful.

Teachermama3:

Anxiety[stress] AND acid reflux can cause breathing and stomach problems.
Acid may be aspirated into the lungs and cause a asthma like response.

However, if you have risk factors for heart disease [ diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, female over 60, male over 50, a family history of heart disease ] a heart related condition must be ruled out before writing this off to just nerves or acid reflux.



Grace and Peace

Please, do me a favour and book another appointment with the GI doctor. Ask them to do a scope. It is a little uncomfortable but can tell if there are any polyps in your esophagus and/or stomach. Doctors in North America are a little hesitant to perform these types of tests, but in countries that routinely do them for symptoms such as yours have success rate with gastric cancers of well above 80%. In North America gastric cancer is seldom diagnosed until it has become terminal. I'm not saying that is what your problem is, but after 18 months of symptoms I think it's time to rule it out. It is a relatively simple test that may well save your life.

No matter what, if you continue to suffer these symptoms, continue to try to find a good doctor who will determine the cause to your satisfaction. Yes, it could be acid reflux and/or stress, but obviously your present diagnosis doesn't feel quite right to you. Pay attention to your gut instincts. I hope you find out what is causing you these symptoms. If the scope doesn't show anything, then insist on a CT scan WITH DYE.

I wish you luck and better health. If you follow my advice, I would appreciate hearing the results. No matter what, keep bugging the doctors until you hear what feels right to you.

Love, Didi