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GERD or costochondritis? or both?

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Posted 10/21/2011 3:34 AM (GMT 0)
i have been told i had i have GERD but then the diagnosis turned into costochondritis because the GERD medicine didn't help.

now the last week or so i have been having burping and heartburn after spicy foods or if i get too full.

BUT i also have lifted my 5 yr old who is 50 pounds and my back was killing me yesterday! then i moved a desk like a dummy!

i took a zantac today at 4 and my chest is still having intermittent pains. and it IS sore to the touch.

do costo and GERD relate to each other? how do you know the difference? if afgter taking zantac, i'm still having the pains, is it consto?

my docs can't even figure it out so how do i expect to. ha

does heat or cold work best?  ugh  i think the cold weather brings it on also!

Posted 10/21/2011 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Hazelnut86,

I don't know much about gerd, so I am no help there. But if it costo, it would actually be in your muscles, though it can feel differently. From what I understand. Being that both illnesses seem to exist in the same area of the body, it is hard to tell what is what. It could very well be both. But being the gerd medication isn't helping you, I really don't know what to say other than I hope that you do feel better soon. I would imagine that heat would help, as it helps the pain in other areas. But it depends on which feels better to you. I can see I am no help, but wish for you to have a good and painfree day.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 10/22/2011 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hazelnut, you need to talk to your doctor about this.  I do have costochondritis and I also have acid reflux but the acid reflux is from Crohn's disease.  If I take Prilosec or Tums, it goes away.  I don't eat spicy foods either because of it either.  So you need to make sure there isn't something else going on.  There was a person on a different forum that thought he had GERD but it turned out he was having a heart attack!  I don't want to frighten you but if acid reflux meds aren't helping, just get checked out.  You are most likely just fine but it's better to be safe than sorry.  It's far too easy to blame things on fibro and other illnesses.

 

Sherrine

Posted 10/22/2011 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
well i had my doc on the phone yesterday and i mentioned to him i have the costo again and he said for some people it can be chronic and he asked if i was breaking out in a sweat or short of breath or dizzy and i'm not. i have had it before so i been through it before. i don't have any heart symptoms plus have had my heart checked out and don't have heart disease.
Posted 10/22/2011 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
I have costo chronically.  It comes and goes with me.  This person on another forum didn't have dizziness or shortness of breath, either.  He just had what he thought was acid reflux and his meds weren't helping either.  But it turned out he was having mild heart attacks and angina.  But, if you and your doctor are satisfied, then that's great!  I just wanted to make sure that you were checked out.

 

Sherrine

Posted 10/23/2011 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
i wonder how old he was and if he was overweight or smoked? doctors look at those factors too.
that's why i requested all the tests for my peace of mind. i also had 2 holter monitorshe which i think is a long EKG. everything was fine. i am normal weight and 42 - don't smoke. doesn't run in my family.

anyway, thank you for your concern. i noticed this evening that i got a pain while we were standing in line to eat after i lifted 2 pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. hmmmm it seems to come on about the same time every afternoon. maybe from the stress of the day?
Posted 10/23/2011 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
sherinne what do you take for your costo then - i know anti-inflammatories are bad for GERD.
i have also heard some ppl say that they had to try 2 or 3 or 4 diff prescription GERD meds to find one that worked.
Posted 10/23/2011 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
First of all, lifting the pumpkins probably gave you the pain in your chest.  I used to use ibuprofen for the costochondritis but I can't take that now.  So, I'm presently on a search.  I think I'm going to try glucosamine sulfate next to try to help me.  If it works, I'll let everyone know. 

 

I'm really glad to hear you had all that testing done.  I did too and it does give you peace of mind.  I didn't know you had all of that done when I posted originally.  It's really important to have things like that checked out and not just think it will go away or that it's fibro or something else.  I'm relieved.

 

Sherrine

Posted 10/23/2011 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
thanks! yes, and i had to go back to the doctors like 5 times before they did! i even switched docs from a female to a male imagine that! she just thought since i was only 41 and not overweight, etc that it wasn't my heart. i kept saying the pain scared me. finally they ran some tests.

and i'm going back to a cardiologist next month to get my test results of my holter monitor interpreted since the cardiologist i was referred to from a friend who is the best in town supposedly didn't even my test results when i went in and was just crazy. he was a weirdo! so i just the other day made my own appt to have the lady who read the results initially talk to me about them. i just had some pacs and what they call atrial couplets and a triplet. but i want to talk to her about the costo too. maybe she knows. i made the doc i met with read over my results and he told me about the results finally because i said that's what i paid the visit for but he said he likes to have his own tests run and thinks everyone should have heart tests once a year. also said everyone should excercise 7 days a week for 30 minutes.

but anyway, yeah i was thinking the pumpkins had something to do with it. but everyday around 3 or 4 it has been happening the last 3 or 4 days. i type all day at work so i'm sure that aggravates costo.

yeah last year when i had costo about the same time i took mobic for a month and it finally went away but i had to stop lifting sucks cause i want to lift weights to get in shape. ugh
Posted 10/23/2011 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Hazelnut! I have both of these too and I can usually tell the difference. Typing all day definitely aggravates the costo and would make sense it starts to hurt later in the day. If your heartburn is still acting up on the Zantac you need to tell your doctor and try another one. I have been through four or five, can't remember of course, and the pain is finally gone. I have to take zantac and nexium.

Easier said then done, but stop lifting things until the costo settles down, and watch your diet. I don't eat anything with even a little spice to it, no orange juice or lemonade, anything that causes me problems.

Hope you start feeling better, both of these conditions really suck!
Posted 10/23/2011 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Forgot one thing, lift the head of your bed up on a couple of phone books - if you haven't already.
Posted 10/23/2011 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
Good posture can help, too.  It you lean forward when typing, etc., that can affect your chest as well as your back and neck.

 

Sherrine

Posted 10/24/2011 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
i have acid reflux and gerd. I had to stop eating foods that made it worse like dairy, tomato etc.
Posted 10/24/2011 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
yes i'm sure - i notice i do lean forward all day. it's bad. i need to pay more attention or get a diff type of job. i hate sitting at a desk all day but all i can do to pay my bills. ugh
Posted 10/24/2011 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
I'm on the computer a lot, too, but I sit on a memory foam pillow and have a pillow behind my back.  I have to make a concerted effort to remember to sit back when typing and reading.  If I do, my back is far better.  So, give it a try!

 

Also, when walking, try to remember to put your shoulders back and stand upright.  We tend to lean a little forward...probably because of the pain...and that throws our bodies off balance and that puts more stress on the muscles, tendons and ligaments.  I never thought of this but my massage therapist mentioned it to me because my shoulders were always forward.  She told me to stand straight with my shoulders back and my chest out when I walk and it has helped me.  Actually, I feel more energized instead of feeling "beaten down"!

 

Sherrine

Posted 12/1/2011 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
I have been dx with Gerd but think I have the other as well...tightness in my chest and shortness of breath...cardologist did stress test said I am heart healthly. I can tell the difference between the two...hope this helps! :-)
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