Can acid reflux or Gerd cause lightheadedness to dizziness and difficulty breathing?

Living on warm milk and honey! My journey with this started January 13, 2015. I was shopping with a friend and all of a sudden did not feel well. I felt very lightheaded too dizzy and felt like I needed a bowel movement. Accomplishing the second did not cure the first. At some point my ears started ringing as well, both of them ... Since that time I have seen numerous doctors had all typical tests that I see most everyone on these forums indicate.. Still have a tilt table test and echocardiogram in a couple of weeks.. But EKG and Holter monitor checked out fine. Both my heart doctor and regular doctor do not believe I have a heart problem but are checking just to be certain to rule it out. The day this all started I did not have a stomachache... But two weeks into all of the testing I did start to recognize having terrible pains and burning in my abdomen and chest, burning in throat ears and even behind my eyes! Terrible taste in my mouth and the nausea never goes away... But it is absolutely worse in the mornings! My leg muscles especially my thighs twitch and burn and are so weak, I am exhausted even though I've just woken up. I see many here with similar symptoms... Was put on the generic of protonix 80 mg a day became very ill indeed! Felt like i swallowed A box of razor blades and tacks, terrible diarrhea, throat and mouth swelled up, sores in my mouth which are still healing, i struggled to breathe for 10 hours! And all that within an hour of one 40 mg dose ! I am now just back on Zantac 150 twice a day (which takes the edge off ) with an upcoming abdominal scan.... Been misdiagnosed (later retracted by specialists) with high blood pressure, low blood sugar, Ménière's disease etc etc. The only thing confirmed was that first day I had a UTI. I was treated with a three day course of anabiotic. Then through an in office quick test told I was cured. But six weeks later another UA showed I had a UTI either still or again. I was treated with a 10 day course of anabiotic this time. Never did feel any typical symptoms of a UTI either time... Burning urgency frequency with urination.. None of that. So rather than talk to doctors AGAIN I was hoping to talk to the experts..., you all who actually live with acid reflux Gerd esophagitis ... I am hoping that someone of you can share with me if a lightheadedness dizziness and the feeling of suffocation or shortness of breath and feeling of an obstruction in the throat like something stuck there is part of acid reflux Gerd etc.? I am trying to determine if I should move on to a Gastro internist or another specialist in a different direction... So very confused, scared, and so very tired. Thank you to anyone reading this statement and thank you to anyone who has any words of wisdom from their own experience they can share with me.

Thank you Alcie for sharing your insight and knowledge.
No i knew nothing of gerd prior to my first dizzy spell and 9 weeks later it was mentioned to me, not diagnosed, by a Dr. although i have always had a sensitive stomach to many foods and stress. And the past year was an exceedingly stressful one. That morning i had 3 cups coffee and no foood to speak of and it was getting on noon... That was an unusual practice in itself for me. I am allergic to sulfa so was on cipro and i was better with few symptoms for a day or two following that first round of antibiotics. I will stay the course then, and seek out a GI as well. Again thank you for your response.

LAWCHICK! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge :) although I am very sorry that you are experiencing the same symptoms, I am thrilled to know that I am not the only one and that there is hope this is not heart related... Albeit I understand GERD to still be a serious condition. Somehow when heart was mentioned it made me more nervous though, and I suppose that is a natural response. I am working hard now to acquire a solid diagnosis... Referral to a G.I. should be up in just a couple of days now and I have an abdominal scan CT tomorrow... I find the symptoms much relieved provided I do not eat and I remain standing all of the time.... How long can one keep this activity up i wonder??? well I guess as long as it takes... May I ask how you got a diagnosis? What specific tests ... You mentioned endoscopy for instance... Are you on a treatment plan? medications? Have you found any relief? Again thank you so much for sharing your experience, it calms the soul to know you are not alone in your experience :)

Oh no that is awful! I am so sorry for all you have gone through! A true nightmare! My story is similar although not as dramatically cruel. You have probably tried all of this already but just in case this is what I am doing now as of two days ago: The OTC meds i'm using are ranitidine 150 twice a day, a liquid calcium bicarbonate ant acid in between times, and acetaminophen extra strength... I raised the head of my bed 8 inches, just started drinking 2 cups coconut milk unsweetened natural per day, just ordered aloe vera juice for stomach health as research and consumer reports indicate it a great help in healing GERD. Plain oatmeal, cantaloupe, eating very slowly and very little... And nothing but water after 6 PM and I do not lie down until after 10 PM... And when I feel like my throat is so full and I can't breathe I stand up and keep standing and concentrate on something else and somehow standing up does help it pass quicker for me ... Although I stood for almost 4 hours the other night for feeling relief . Next time I will try drinking coconut milk at that time see if it will quell that symptom as it boasted . So far all this Has given me slight relief in the last two days since I started... Has been nine weeks for me now trying to figure this out.. I understand what you mean about how it affects your life... I will press my doctor harder for that referral ASAP!!! Your diagnosis should be your vindication from those believing your symptoms to be your anxiety rather than having anxiety over your symptoms! No one could feel the symptoms and not be anxious about them. In the end it is our lives our health and it does not matter what ER staff believe. You go there they work for you. And remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil. So you too keep squeaking my friend. And have your doctor check to see if the manufacturer of the medication you should be taking has programs for people who need it and insurance won't pay. And be careful of generics. I took a prescribed generic PPI and it about killed me and I think is what made my problem so much worse. I so just need the diagnosis so I can plan an appropriate treatment rather than guessing. My thoughts and well wishes are with you as well. I will take your advice! Again thank you so much!

Yep, I went through many nights where it felt as though I couldn't get a breath and that my chest was just full and had heart palps (diagnosed as lone affib), but my heart checked out fine. I was diagnosed with gerd after an endoscopy, but the GE told me he did not see a hiatal hernia. Strangely on the next visit he said that some docs may say I have a small hiatal hernia... What the heck does that mean? Anywhoot the worst of my symptoms cleared up while on PPI, but the PPI brought its own set of issues including random bouts of terrible diarrhea, memory issues(brain fog), extremely slow digestion, constant bloat.