Acid Reflux and tingling and pain in left arm/foot

Hi.

I am a 19 year old male. I have had problems with acid reflux problems in the past few months. The normal problems of sore throat, breathing problems, etc. My acid reflux is not extreme though, as I only need to take omeprazole for a couple of days and my problem will be fine. This happens whenever I eat too much acid foods such as pizzas and such.

The problem I have now is that I have a tingling and thereafter pain in my left arm and left foot. This has been the case for the past 2 weeks or so. For practically the whole day I will be feeling tingling and pains in my left arm and to a smaller extent, in my left foot.

I have trouble going to sleep at night and I can only sleep by lying on my right side. I am a bit overweight. My height is 5 feet 10 inches and weight is about 78-80kg(172-176 lb).

Please help me as to what is the cause of this problem.

Thanks.

hi Fahad,

i am being treated for GERD as well for past over two months. I apparently have 'silent GERD' which means, i do not have any symptoms of Acid Reflux (e.g. cough, heartburn etc.) however, i do have bunch of other symptoms like left arm pain, tinlging, weakness etc.

All the doctors i have seen (Cardiologist, 2 PCPs, 2 GIs) have told me it is related to anxiety. Eventhough no doctor has admitted any proof of relation between GERD and anxiety, but looking at internet, there are way too many people out there who have left arm symptoms while having GERD.

my 2 cents, Kitt  might be right on Calcium... i am just disapoointed to note how under-researched is the field of GERD.

Good luck...

dearlydepartedx,

Although i am pretty sure it is panic/anxiety related ...my advice would be you have your heart doc rule out any cardio problem.

 

Yes there seems to be an association to the tingling and numbness with what you are suffering. I've had a history with panic attacks and even went into hospital for 4 days stay due to a heart virus, much like a heart attack but wasn't due to blockage etc. I've been able to distinguish the two over time and have had a history with acid reflux.

Today I started having hard chest pains above my heart like a torn muscle and worsens with movement on my left arm or bending over. Along with tingling on my arms and feet mostly on the left side and I also woke up with slightly sleepy weak arms. I did some self disagnosis by ruling out each one. I read up on the internet about heart burn caused by acid reflux and found that laying down can cause the acid to escape and this may cause burning on the heart area, so I took anti-acid, liquid being the fastest. I had a panic attack thinking I was having a heart attack, so breathed into a paper bag and found out that both panic attack and heartburn can cause chest pain and both can cause tingling and even some time afterward. All symptoms went away within the hour and risidual tingling left. In learning more about heartburn, I found I have symptoms of Haital Hernia, which sometimes comes along with GERD. Feeling like you have a very tight bra under the breast area and discomfort under the breast bone. It is when your stomach pushes up into the cavity under the breastbone from too much gas or overweight. I'm not the latter but I do have too much gas.

I have self induced stress, meaning everything is fine but I'm worried anyway by thinking of what can go wrong although it may never happen. This triggers my panic attacks while suffering acid reflux. All of which is manageable by the circumtances you put yourself under. If there's stress, remove yourself from what's causing it or meditate on good things rather than worrying or escape with seeing a good movie and find ways to relax. Sleep with your head more elavated higher than your feet to keep acid down and stay away from foods that cause high acid production as well teas that prevent or break down the acid, which you can google. Right now, I've decided to remove myself from work, see a movie and drink some tea all day and eat salads with no tomatoes, take medication for the gas and the heartburn every 4 hours through this day and get a go to the great massage place I found for only 20 bucks. Hope you can find your cures.