Shortness of breath due to silent reflux

I had these symptoms also. I found that keeping antigas chewables and antacids handy was a big help for immediate relief (within 5 minutes). But bigger picture, I changed my eating and lifestyle habits a little bit, and the issue seems to have gone away. Lost a little weight, started exercising, eating smaller meals, etc. Definitely acid related. I used to get it in the car, and before my antacid antigas trick, I'd have to pull over and walk around to get it to go away. Last night I had a very very mild episode after eating a piece of cake, and the antigas antacid trick worked within minutes.

I was very disappointed in my GI when he tried to dismiss my shortness of breath and a possible link to GERD. My pulminologist however is pretty certain that my breathing issues are from GERD. It's so frustrating I am thinking about finding another gastro doc.

I started taking generic Prilosec OTC on Friday after I read this thread. I felt ok on until about 2:00 and then it started to come back. On Saturday, I went fishing and felt great! The chest pain and SOB started to come back about 3:00 so I stopped and got some Tums. Ate 2 and within 15 minutes I was good. I have felt better the last couple of days than I have felt in 2 months.

What is interesting is that my symptoms start almost as soon as I get out of bed or within 30 minutes. I usually don't have any issues with laying down. Anyone else have this? What medications are you all taking that help?

I called my PCP on Thursday and requested to have tests done to rule out heart and lung issues and should hear back from them today. I think I'm going to call to tell him what I have found.

Hi everyone,

I have suffered from GERD for many years and I'm currently taking 60mg Dexilant once a day. For the past 5-6 weeks I had noticed that I was starting to get heart palpitations, shortness of breath and dizzy almost all the time. It scared the hell out of me! I thought for sure that it was because of my GERD or maybe I even had a serious heart condition. Turns out I was moderately dehydrated! As soon as I started to drink about 8-10 glasses of water a day for the past few days all of my symptoms have gone away! Turns out that chronic dehydration is one of the most common causes of shortness of breath and dizziness. I never would have thought that I was dehydrated but once I factored in the amount of caffeine I drink a day, the summer heat, gym workouts and some drinking on the weekend I simply was not drinking enough water.

Needless to say I will be drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day going forward. I hope this might help some of you that think its GERD but might actually be dehydration.

I've had Gerd and not long after a Health Anxiety disorder for about 4 years. Anxiety was pinned on my dad and dog dying in 2013. Whilst there's no doubt that didn't help matters I don't believe it is the root cause of my continuing 'anxiety attacks' (unlike what my doc thinks).

I also recently found out i have a Sliding H.H via an Endoscopy (which my doc initially refused but i got a referral from the Surgeons at Hospital when i had a major SOB panic attack).

I do not dispute having anxiety/panic attacks. I have them every bloody day. It's knackering. It's the doctors not acknowelging the root cause, and i believe that to be exactly what is described in this thread. It is so frustrating to be told to 'just take Citalopram' and then refusing to refer me to a Gastro when i know it is the esophogeal tightness or the sliding H.H that is creating the SOB which results in anxiety and panic.

I'm getting so tired of this. Would go to another surgery but am told this one is the best by quite a margin in my area.

Finally due to this blog and Dr. Saadah's site, I know what is wrong with me. Unlike others I have only been suffering the extreme version of SOB since July. I will see a doctor tomorrow that I think will work with me on this diagnosis. Just spend almost 2 weeks at the Mayo clinic, prior to multiple ER visits, with every test they could throw at me, proving that it was not pulmonary or heart related, not toxicity or neurological. Repeatedly asked these pointy headed doctors to please check also on the intense inflammation I feel in my esophagus and throat as it might be part of what was causing or a symptom on this shortness of breath. They blew me off and saddled me with extreme anxiety and "deconditioning" due to some virus or unexplained illness that brought this on. Well when you can't breathe and even more so not knowing the reason why, then anxiety runs with SOB. Other symptoms related to what others have noted in this blog: short of breath/winded at the end of moving, inflammation of the throat and upper chest area, burping/belching a lot for no reason. Also, extreme fatigue and feeling just sick all over at times, especially if breathing in warm/hot air. higher elevations also brought me down. What helped during these past weeks of hell, was sea level elevations or at least down to 1000 ft, staying extremely cool and breathing AC air sometimes right from the vent, ice packs on chests, and latest discovery is humidity helps. Since home is at higher altitudes I was practically bed ridden until I could get in to see the specialists. Did not know it was acid reflux. Actually thought is was bronchial inflammation. Been off of work since July and hoping that treating esophagitis now that I know will get me back to normal again. I will add that before the acute SOB came on in July, a few months before I was feeling fatigued and nausea by afternoons and it kept getting worse week by week. Dr thought it was sleep apnea and was getting ready to test that when I collapsed in July. Hope this helps others as those posts before mine helped me. I will update with hopefully good and useful news as things progress.

Ryan,
Sorry for slow response but was busy finally getting treated. Yeah!!! I live and work anywhere from 5500 to 7000 feet and have for 25 years with no problems. When the SOB came on suddenly in July, then had problems with elevation. I have been down to sea level and 1000 feet elevation and was so much better although still sick. So when you suffer from SOB from most causes, I think elevation and heat makes it much worse. I relate to the 100% O2 level but low arterial blood levels. Finally getting help this week, starting with heavy steroids and O2 at night. Saw a major change in anxiety attacks practically overnight. Doing so much better even here at home elevation, but suspect even better at sea level.
heyerfan

Ryan,
O2 on continuous feed makes sure you have oxygen in your lungs even when not breathing right at night. Maybe you had it too high? Too much will make you feel bad. Or not enough. Steroids still helping and O2 at night. Also check into sleep apnea test. Higher elevations can challenge you there.
heyerfan

Hi Cajun Girl, I really feel what you are going through! I have had two years of tests including being sent to Duke University and nothing was found. I have been left on my own now trying to figure this out .Has your husband had a blood gas to test the arterial blood oxygen? It is different than when the doctor puts that clip on the finger. Mine always registers at a normal level and then I am told that it is anxiety. I kept telling all of the doctors that it was not anxiety! So, when I went to the ER they tested my arterial blood oxygen and it was a 57! Then they finally believed me. I am hypoxic and your husband should ask for this test also. I am in a town that is filled with doctors and there are no specialists here and you would need one. A lot of doctors don't know anything about LPR and some don't even believe in it. The meds that your husband probably won't work. I am at the point that I am going to have to travel to a specialist possibly in New York. I wish you the best and make sure he follows the proper diet and raise the head of your bed about six inches. Let me know if you have any questions because I have been through a lot also... good luck!

So glad I found this thread! I am yet another person suffering from the same symptoms as many of you! I have never suffered from even mild heartburn or reflux for the first 29 years of my life (until now). 2 months ago, I started having a strange feeling in my chest after meals, not painful, definitely not burning. At that time I was also the heaviest I've ever been, 225 lbs at 5'11" due to serious overeating while on vacation. Over the next week, I developed heart palpitations, sometimes pounding, and SOB - both fairly mild, but VERY concerning to me. Ended up in the ER at the end of that week, normal BP/HR/O2sat, normal lab values, normal contrast CT scan of heart and lungs, normal gall bladder ultrasound. Thought maybe the scare could have just been the result of weight gain, too much coffee/sodium, and lack of exercise, so I started dieting, running more (3-4 times/week) and felt great when exercising. Also felt fine when busy at work or home. The only time I started to get the strange feeling was when I was relaxing or sitting still. Sleep was unaffected. However I did soon start to notice greatly decreased appetite. Got down around 208 lbs in a span of a few weeks, then started to feel better, heart palps were pretty much gone. Some SOB in the evenings before bed but not bad. Then in the last 2 weeks have had a flare up of stomach issues, including slight shooting pains in the pectoral areas, back pain, food getting stuck in the esophagus, a day or two of acid actually coming all the way up, and a feeling like a hot knife in between the navel and sternum (though fairly mild in terms of pain). I am convinced this is some kind of GI issue, and probably one of the reflux variety. I suspect I have a hiatal hernia, possibly happened due to the eating and weight gain on vacation. Not seeing the gastroenterologist until Dec 24, but luckily an internist at work requested a barium swallow for me, so I can have that done prior to the specialist appointment, and maybe speed up the process if that is the issue. I have been FREAKING OUT for the last 2 months, not knowing what the heck is going on inside me, the feeling of heart palps and SOB is terrifying, and then you get the cascade of all the awful things it could be due to... yikes. At least my incredible wife supports me in finding answers and assures me that things will be OK.

I'm now down to 196 - don't get me wrong, the weight loss has been nice, just wish I didn't have to feel like a band of trolls had taken up residence in my stomach to lose it. In a lot of ways I actually feel much better - by cutting out GERD no-no's like soda, coffee, chocolate, in fact pretty much any junk food, I feel less lethargic when I'm not depressed and/or utterly terrified. Generic Famotodine and Omeprazole were useless to me, but brand name Prilosec OTC 2xday suddenly has me feeling much better.

I'll try to update this thread when I find anything out about my condition. Hoping that I can make some progress and get a specialist that is willing to consider surgery if I can't manage my condition with the weight loss and diet changes. No more soda or coffee, I can do that, but no tomato, onion, garlic, mint, chocolate, alcohol, especially if I still have frequent bouts of feeling awful and can't get off the PPI, I don't want to live like that. Nor do I think it's healthy to have poorly managed reflux. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to jump into surgery if this can be reasonably managed, but I don't want to live in the living hell of anxiety either.

Hello. Is anyone still connected to this thread that can help me? I have been pouring over google searches for days and finally found this thread and the SOB symptoms are exactly what I have. When I read Dr. Hanna Saadah's post I say "THIS IS IT!!!!" I have seen a GI and had an endoscopy and am now on 60 mg Dexlient, but it is not helping. I have tried most everything in the proton pump inhibitor world and nothing is working. so, if the problem is that my esophogus is damaged from acid, will it heal in time? Is there anything I can take or do to excellerate the process? What do I do? I'm not using tabacco, I don't drink alcohol, I've cut back on caffeine to one coffee per day and I eat very healhty with no spicy foods. MY GI doctor says my symptoms are atypcial for GERD. What do I do? I would love to talk over the phone to anyone that has anwers. Help please.....

To Mattboles
Please see my previous post just prior to yours. Lot of detail which reffects your symptoms. Go to referenced web sites to better understand. SOB may be nerve in throat causing air hunger.