Posted 9/26/2012 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
Hey everyone,
For 4 years I have been having pains that are similar to what a lot of you have described. I get spasmodic, sharp, needle pains in my chest near the left center. Each one lasts for less than a second. Sometimes this will occur only once, sometimes consecutively a couple times in a row and sometimes all day. Occasionally, I can feel gas moving in my stomach when this happens. I have had many tests done: CT scans, EKGs, x-rays, ultrasounds of the abdomen and heart, an endoscopy, a pulmonary function test, allergy tests and more. No results. Some doctors have told me that there is nothing wrong, while other doctors have thrown various medications at me. This is why it has been frustrating...
After continuing to get these pains, I noticed one day that they became extremely bad after drinking a large cup of iced coffee. I stopped drinking the coffee and they persisted for the next few days, but eventually disappeared. I didn't drink coffee for a long time and when I tried again, they came back worse than normal. Paying close attention to my eating and drinking habits led me to discover (after Googling food combinations) that it is just simply acid reflux. This may seem strange, but I wish that I could only experience heartburn because the pain I get is excruciatingly painful. It often causes me to panic and lose focus from anything I am doing at the time. (Yes, there is a difference between heartburn and chest pain caused by reflux)
There are a couple things I stay away from because I notice they aggravate the pain worse, for instance, garlic, tomato sauce, dairy foods and ANY stimulants (caffeine in coffee, tea, chocolate and soda, medications like adderall, drugs like cocaine, etc). I also noticed that the pain tends to occur when I am running low on sleep or stressed.
Here's what I can tell you that might help you:
- keep a food/pain log and pay attention to what foods you are eating/when the pain occurs.
- if you get pains when you wake up from sleeping, pay attention to see if you have a sour taste in your mouth, your gums feel gross, you have bad breath, etc. (acid reflux can actually cause this and damage your teeth and gums)
- do not exercise 1 hour after eating
- pay attention to see if you feel more gassy than normal
- eat 3 hours before you plan to sleep
- sip a glass of water immediately when you wake up in morning
- try to breath with your stomach to relax if you get pain. (inhale deeply, concentrating on gently pushing your stomach out)
- EXERCISE - run 3-5 times a week for 25-30 minutes each time (I never exercise, but I'm 100% sure it will make you feel much better)
- do not eat until you stuff yourself
- if you drink alcohol, let me put it this way... this pain I've been having started when I turned 21 and started doing more drinking. (pretty sure the entire problem developed because of alcohol)
- if a doctor does not suspect it, ask him/her if your pain could be GERD or gastrointestinal related (I strongly feel that every doctor should always ask patients what their eating habits are)
I took the time to write this long post because I read everyone else's posts and they seemed to describe pains similar to the ones I get. I hope this helps anyone, even just one person because this problem has developed my own consciousness about the way my body feels, almost constantly, and I wish I did not have to concentrate on that.