GERD help! Arm pain?

New to forum. I'm 55, GERD diagnosed 6 years ago after ER, thought it was heart. STRONG family history of heart disease/deaths. Also have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Nov 17 saw Dr for left arm pain. ECG, was told tennis elbow. Nov 21 had another ER scare. Both arms heavy and numb, heart pounding, sharp intermittent shooting pains across left chest. ER did blood gases, ECG, US of carotids, flu test. Diagnosis possibly viral myositis. GERD was bad, probably due to being anxious. Followed up w Dr. I had ten blood tests along with chest, neck, back X-rays. Nothing. Had stress test w imaging Monday. No concerns found. Today is Weds. And I just had 8 hours of the same as 11/21. Arms numb and cold, heart pounding, BP elevated. My question...Can GERD cause numb arms? I never have heart "burn", I get an intense clawing feeling in my esophagus that can hurt between my shoulder blades. These arms are making me crazy, I can't get my arms comfortable, causing me anxiety and then the sharp shooting pains start. I feel like a nutcase if I return to the ER (it would be third time in 6 years) but this arm thing is new! Thanks in advance.

X-rays arent effective. You should request the following for your own peace of mind...

CT scan and/or MRI of you heart and lungs

A Holter machine to carry around for a while to record what's happening with your heart during these intense moments of pain and numbness. Especially because of your family history of cardiac issues.

Also a GI Tract specialist referral, if you don't have one already, to examine you thoroughly.

At the very least, you can have some sort of resolution.

They, the hospital, will do the minimum 'reasonable' and 'cost effective' things. If you don't have personal money to write huge amounts of checks for truly effective examinations, they will not do them, if you don't insist.

Have you had any recent trauma or car wrecks (could be as simple as a 5 mi/hr bump) within the last 10 years to your back or neck? As weird as it may sound and I know there's a lot of skeptics out there, but you may want to consult with a chiropractor instead of another med doctor. Been there, done that, paid lots of bills with no help.

My GERD started over 7 years ago when I was only 18, no medications or lifestyle changes helped, and I was lower weight and fairly active so that wasn't the issue. The last few years I've been in pain every day. But since I was a young child, I also had chronic nerve pain in my neck, shoulders, and especially between the shoulder blades. I've also had a few bouts of random nerve pain that shoot all the way down my arms, around my rib cage, and sometimes all the way down my legs and into my toes. The ER never could figure it out; each doctor had so many random theories it was crazy, and none ended up being correct. For the last 3 or so years it's got so bad I've been in pain every single day and it was getting to the point where I was missing out on every day life and couldn't even do my own housework without excruciating pain.

The nerve and muscle pain started getting so bad recently I finally saw a new chiropractor. He took the time to do a few extra xrays (movement study) and actually found cervical kyphosis (my neck is curved backwards severely), but most of the issue came from several subluxations (or partially dislocated vertebrae) in the neck and upper thoracic that was causing degenerative disks and severe nerve compression. The nerve to the stomach is also in this area and was being compressed by one of the dislocated vertebrae, causing my GERD symptoms all this time. So no medications helped me since it's not my stomach that's the problem; it's the spine/nerves.

Treatment was required immediately 3 times a week every week as it would continue to get worse if we left it alone, but I never expected to see such significant results so quickly. After only 9 visits to the chiropractor with manipulations to the neck and upper back, not only has my nerve and back/neck pain reduced, but my GERD issues started improving SIGNIFICANTLY!! Both myself and the doctor was amazed at the results. I've only had 1 morning of minor GERD pain in the last 3 weeks, so that's a huge step for me compared to being in severe pain every single day. I was able to eat a whole bowl of tomato soup the other day WITH NO PAIN for the first time in 7 years!! The constant feeling like a lump in my throat, the "grinding" feeling in my rib cage and most/all other GERD symptoms are nearly gone. My doc and I are very happy at this point and I can only hope it will continue to improve as we continue treatment. He uses my story as a success case where chiropractic work can in fact have extra bonuses for some people.

Most people take longer than this to see improvement, but maybe this will help others that may have similar issues. For those that medications, diet, and lifestyle changes aren't working, it might be beneficial to go to a chiropractor to assess if you have a neck/upper back issue and see if it might help you too. I never thought I had any trauma to my neck or back, but turns out it was there the whole time causing all sorts of problems and we never knew.

I hear there is a trick you can try, but I haven't had the chance to try it myself now that I've started my neck/back treatments and they're helping so much. They say if you get a GERD episode, take a long cold pack and put it along the base of the neck down to the middle of the shoulder blade area, and if it starts relieving symptoms right away more than likely it's a nerve issue and a chiropractor may be able to help. Simple, easy, inexpensive test that could help save you tons on ER/doc visits! If it works for anyone, I think that would be really cool to share :)

Hope this helps someone out there :)

They think mine actually happened at birth and it's been there my whole life and the symptoms kept getting worse and worse over the years til I had to see a doc and they finally figured out what it was. They also say poor posture or positions required in certain lines of work (especially sitting at a computer all day) can cause cervical kyphosis or hinder it's ability to heal properly. So I suppose it doesn't have to be specifically from trauma. As I found out, most doctors won't even bother telling you your neck is curved backwards since they think most cases don't have too many symptoms, but the fact of the matter is it does cause pain in a lot of people that tends to get ignored. I had 3 doctors just "look this over" in my xrays. What helped the doc find the issue of the subluxations is the movement xray study where he took a straight shot from the side, then had me look up all the way, then down all the way. This shows which vertebraes are moving properly and which aren't. Any part of the vertibrea not moving properly can cause issues with muscular tention, nerve compression, degenerative disks, migraines, and the list goes on. I would highly recommend trying these simple tests with a chiropractor as it's significantly cheaper than an MRI or other tests that WILL NOT show issues of a weight-bearing spine. Or if you need an MRI anyway I'd highly recommend a sitting/standing/open MRI so they can see the real issues when the weight is actually on your neck and upper back. Hope you find some help!! :)

Hi peacefulwarrior,

Your story is so much like mine!
I saw my Dr this morning. I now set for therapy on my neck and upper back, I am having a sleep study (left ventricular hypertrophy was result of my stress test and can be caused by sleep apnea). I am to wear a 24hr BP monitor as a test for high BP. I was given Carafate to help calm the current gnawing GERD. The tough part is...NONE of the tests or therapies are until Monday because of New Years. So, I have four days to still get through! Yippee. I will be sure to update. Thanks for your input!

I don't know why my last update posted half way down the page.
Anyway, the pain from the CPap took forever (days)to go away. I had endoscopy Weds. showing irritation and pre-ulcer areas (3) they took biopsies. I had MRI of cervical spine yesterday. No results yet.

SO...it doesn't seem the settings on my machine were ever changed as the tech said they would be? She said they'd contact my dr and make it a constant 5. It still reads 4-15 when I turn it on? I tried using it again last night, I didn't make it 10 minutes! Air in my stomach, and what felt like my throat expanding, pain across my left collar bone and pressure building behind my eyes. PAIN. I took the mask off and was up until 2am hurting. My stomach is still hurting this morning. I am giving up, not going to use it. I can't hurt like this and there's no "getting used to it". I'd hate to see how much pain I'd be in after actually sleeping all night!! I am done.

Dear Cheribaby
I have exactly the same GERD symptoms as you describe. I, too, have had three emergency room visits over the past three years presenting with chest and upper back and neck pain, and some numbness and pain in my arms. I have suffered digestive issues since 2011 and had my gallbladder removed and didn't get better. At the time I was suffering from pain on left under ribs and under back left shoulder and nausea that never went away. After the surgery,in was told by the surgeon that my gallbladder contained no stones nor even sludge so it was all in vain because the nausea remained. I lost 30 pounds and weighed 89. I was also diagnosed with mild gastroparesis after a stomach emptying test. However,in think it was due to the many stomach meds I was on. After a few months, I began healing and gained back the weight. I also started excercising again as before when I walked 3 miles a day, Zumba 3 days a week and yoga 2.
I then started having flare ups every few months. I was on no meds for 2 years then would get on PPIs but whenever I take them or Zantac , I suffer diarrhea. In addition, the chest, arm and back pain don't go away. I was evaluated by a neurologist and was found to have many of the same findings as peaceful warrior. Hence, physical therapy with Pilates. I am in a flare up currently since Mardi Gras( I live in Louisiana) and was in the emergency last week. I have had stress test, holster monitor, nuclear stress test and cardio CT --all normal... I am scheduled to have an angiogram next week because my cardiologist says it is the only way to rule out blockage.
Anyway, you sound much like me. I seem like a very calm person to others but I suffer terribly from anxiety over these GERD issues always imagining the worst. I was a psychotherapist in private practice for many years specializing in anxiety disorders. I went into that because as a teenager I experienced frequent panic attacks. I have been using the tools I know work for anxiety which help. Also, a book I have found extremely helpful for understanding and treating digestive issues is THE INSIDE TRACT.nit is by an intergrative gastroenterologist at John Hopkins hospital in Maryland names Gerard Mullin. I use a few of his holistic remedies such as slippery elm, DGL, Curamin and a good probiotic. They have helped as well as cutting out gluten dairy and sugar.
I am scheduled for my angiogram next week but my doc feels this is all digestive.
I have met wonderful friends on this forum and have even personally met two of the people I communicated with through this ordeal. The support and encouragement truly is a Godsend.n
I hope you are feeling better-sending healing thoughts and prayers.