I had a scary symptom last night and was wondering if anyone else has had similar. I woke up at around 1am with right side chest pain. It was quite intense for about 2 hours but still continued less intense for the rest of the night and I still have it a bit today. I spoke to the doctor today who said it’s probably gastric but has referred me for an ecg and given me a nitrogen spray to use if it comes back. If the spray doesn’t work I’m to call 999 and apparently the ambulance will do an ecg at home there and then.
I’m generally feeling very bloated and have had a lot of stomach cramps, indigestion and c today and yesterday so I feel that maybe it’s stomach related but it’s quite scary. I’ve also changed my diet quite a bit lately and it hasn’t really worked, has made c and indigestion worse.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I’d be really grateful to hear any hopefully reassuring stories! BTW I had an ecg a year ago for something unrelated and it was okay.
Thanks so much!
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Capri20
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Get it a lot myself with countless visits from the ambos. Feels like a sharp knife thrust into the chest and twisted around a bit. Gastric reflux, cause can be food or stress and or both. It certainly causes panic the first few times you get it. If it is food you get to know which foods cause it most. For me it is usually red meat cooked as a roast with gravy. Then such things as raw onion and mint sauce can set it off. As I experience stress as well it can also happen with other foods in conjunction with the stress.
Invariably the ambos want to kart me off to the hospital, this involves a long drawn out visit which invariably concludes my heart is in great condition. I understand they are being cautious but it really is wasting their time and resources, now I know the cause. Yes the heart condition changes over time so they can never be sure, but essentially mine is in great condition still. I take Omeprazole when it is likely to happen to me or even immediately after it starts. You get to know when it is likely to happen. I can't take Omeprazole continually as I'm CKD and Omeprazole is known to effect failing kidneys. A side effect of changing to a kidney friendly diet has reduced the reflux a fair bit.
Thanks for the reply. That’s what it felt like. I’ve had it once before, about a month before I first developed ibs symptoms but that was only for a couple of hours, this was particularly scary as it lasted so long, both times in the middle of the night. Makes you scared to go to bed.
It’s good to know you were checked out okay. I think now a hospital is the last place to be unless absolutely necessary. I’m also taking omeprazole as and when I need it. What is a kidney friendly diet? Are there any particular foods you’ve reduced besides red meat that have helped? I’ve cut out quite a few foods lately and think I’ve gone too far as reintroducing has been really hard, lots of nausea and stomach pains.
Nausea can be the Omeprazole. As you are taking it I assume it has been prescribed in which case your Dr can also prescribe something to quell the nausea with it.
A kidney diet is for certain foods that help the kidneys and steers you clear of the ones that don't treat the kidneys kindly. But for the most part it is a lifestyle change to one that is less active with a change to diet. For me it has been a change from 3 veg and meat meals to no processed food or fast foods to fresh vegetables, chicken, fish and water or tea, not a coffee drinker so can't advice on that. Take it easy with soda/ soft drinks, I have eliminated them for diabetes.
Activity stirs up the gut as does acidic food and stress. Something to steer clear of until you have improved. Over active yeast can cause the reflux, I wear the IBS label as there is nothing else to call my gut problem.
Alcohol is something I never drank but it too can cause problems.
Because of my health issues I have been forced to adapt my own diet to suit my gut and the other health constraints that prevail. Something few will ever experience and certainly not something I can recommend.
Who ever coined the phrase "we are what we eat"was not wrong. Stick with wholesome fresh foods and you can't go far wrong. One exception for me is processed wholemeal bread in moderation.
Be careful of probiotics, if they are refrigerated ones then make sure they have been stored refrigerated in the shop and transport or they are dead and of no more use than a placebo. With yogurt, in the process of making it much of the enzymes are killed so there is doubt over their effectiveness, that is the latest scientific information I have.
Always use a prebiotic with the probiotic and if your good enzymes are low fast for a week before taking the biotics, or you run the risk of strengthening the over active yeast making the situation more extreme. Some foods are prebiotic.
Like all medications there are side effects, you should check the facts sheets so you can make an informed choice. Information is enlightenment and power to change.
What ever you do take the reflux as a warning to change something you are doing to yourself. Trial and error is the most likely way forward. Sadly medicine is not an exact science.
I was prescribed Omeprazole to deal with the nausea but doctor told me to double the dosage for a week. Haven't had another recurrence of the chest pain thank goodness but yesterday had the most awful migraine which put me in bed for most of the day. I'm now wondering if this was due to the Omeprazole as apparently headaches are a side effect of overdose. So I haven't taken any today. Over the last few months I've changed my diet to be all home-cooked, low fodmap but I think relaxing this over the last few weeks has set me back. I also think I might have had something I'm intolerant to over the last week, we've been eating a lot of quinoa so maybe that was it as I know high fibre isn't great for me. Interesting what you've said about prebiotics, I've only taken a probiotic so far. I mainly drink water or herbal tea and no alcohol but do have some coffee. Maybe not having coffee the last few days contributed to headache
It's always good to get checked out which is what you are doing.
Have you been formally diagnosed with IBS in the past? IBS and GERD (acid reflux) often go hand in hand. This tends to give a burning sensation in around the middle of the chest and can be worse at night due to stomach contents leaking into the throat whilst lying down.
Have you taken a look at the FODMAP diet? FODMAPs are carbohydrates found in some fruits and vegetables - there may be specific ones that are causing you problems- they enter your colon undigested, bacteria feed off them and create gas as a by product. This gas can build up pressure in your system and weaken the valve that sits between your stomach and your throat allowing stomach contents and acid to flow back. This is normally under the guidance of a nutritionist via GP referral - this may not be possible at the moment so you can read about it online. If you download the Monash University FODMAP app it will tell you which foods contain FODMAPs and in what quantities. You eliminate all FODMAPs for 2 weeks which should help to alleviate symptoms and then introduce them in small amounts one by one for 3 days and then wait up to 4 days for symptoms.
I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms. I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly.
I have been on Alflorex probiotic (scientifically studied for IBS and available on a free 2 month trial on joining theibsnetwork.org) and my stomach is more settled and I am able to tolerate more foods - you could give this a go prior to doing an elimination diet. If you have a bit of overgrowth of bad bugs in your gut (we all have good and bad bacteria - the good should have the upper hand), these can feed off FODMAPs and give symptoms such as pain or disordered bowel movements. Probiotics like Alflorex can bring things back in balance. I have heard Symprove works for some people too.
You can also raise the head of your bed by 20cm using sturdy plastic bed risers found on the internet or a bed wedge pillow to keep the contents of your stomach there overnight (though in time the pillow put pressure on my hips).
Stress can be a factor. I've read scientific papers that say that stress doesn't increase the amount of acid in the stomach, but makes the nerve endings in your throat more sensitive to a normal level of acid and cause pain. This type of pain also exists with IBS - where the brain erroneously picks up normal activity of the bowel as pain. This is where nerve pain agents come in.
I haven't formally been diagnosed. I haven't had much luck with gp, my usual one just seemed mystified what was wrong with me and sent me for a scan for ovarian cancer after a blood test I should never have had (it turned out okay). At that point I was desparate, scared to eat anything because of stomach pain, so I'd already started the low fodmap diet myself with the help of the Monash app and it was definitely helping. I saw a different gp who told me it was 'probably ibs', especially as the diet was helping and prescribed Omeprazole to help with nausea. I was having more stomach pain and nausea, not chest pain, but I think the nausea was due to indegestion so all related and it always got worse at night. After 4 weeks I felt about 90% better but I think I probably didn't reintroduce fodmaps properly so I've gone backwards. I'll try your method of going very slowly for 3 days. I've been taking a probiotic but will look into Alflorex and Symprove. I'm sure also that there is a link with anxiety, there's been so much written about this
Sorry to hear that you been pushed from pillar to post. In the UK there is a standard way to 'diagnose' IBS which is by out-ruling anything else - normally a stool test to check for calprotectin levels for signs of inflammation and blood tests including one for coeliac disease. Sound like you are on the right track and there may just be some tweaking to do. Good luck.
I've had a stool test which came back clear but not the others, only general blood tests. Maybe I need to go back to gp but a different one this time. I definitely feel this is food intolerance related, it's so frustrating not to be able to just pinpoint what it is. Thanks for you help, will try your method of reintroducing foods!
That's great Capri20. Just to clarify about reintroducing foods I missed a bit:
I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms for longer.
I missed those last 2 words. What I mean by this is that you may need to cut back to a previous amount, stay at that rate for longer and then increase again later. I'd advise trying something like Alflorex for a month or so before you do this, since if your bugs are out of balance, however you reintroduce new foods, the bad bugs may still have the upper hand and you'll still be feeding them and getting symptoms.
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