Acid Reflux Forum - acid refulx causing out of breath sensation ?

Conditions and Diseases > Acid Reflux Forum > acid refulx causing out of breath sensation ?

Almost everyone experience heartburn or acid indigestion at times. But what is acid reflux and how could it cause more serious problems?...

Q: acid refulx causing out of breath sensation ?

asked by: nickbunyun on January 4th, 2008

New User

im 19, male.
i dont drink, dont smoke, and absolutely no drugs.

i know i posted this in Stress/Anxiety but im kinda confused.

Ok so i went to the clinic TWICE. and one time at the ER.

For about 2-3 weeks before my panic attack (which was the day after christmas).. when i drove to work (about 30 min)... i'd get this sensation that im out of breath.. and its hard to breath. I didnt panic bad, i just rolled the window down, drank some water and felt better.
*note before my panic attack it only happened while driving.

Christmas came, and i went caroling with my church, the 1st nite i got home at 4, but slept in till 2pm. the second night i got home at 3AM and at 7AM i went to work... the second night i felt like i was out of breath a few times.. but rolled the window and i was better.. but still it happened quite a few times.

Day after Christmas..
i went to work... was scheduled to work till 2... but friend couldnt come and told me to please stay there for a few more hours till 5.
i said ok.. i went and grabbed lunch at around 2:30. i had Moe's (burrito and coke) as soon as i got back to the store.. i started feeling outta breath.. (1st time feeling like this when im not in the car).. it got worse i called my mom.. went out side... drank water... but nothing helped. so i left from work in my car... i had to turn around at the 1st red light.. because i was REALLY REALLY aggitated.. and when i parked back at the store.. i was shaking and i felt like my body was going numb and etc.
my mom picked me up and since she has some nursing background she told me im having a panic attack.. most likely due to the fact that i didnt sleep alot that night... and coke might've aggravated the sittuation.
i felt really scared the whole time and she took me to the clinic.
they took pulse, blood sample, checked my heart rate and air in.. everythign was normal. i was getting 97percent of the air in.
they gave me 2 pills to take Mornign and Nights (apparently to calm my nerves down).

the next few days i took off from work because i didnt feel so well, and after 4 days i went back to the clinic beacause i wasnt feeling that well and i felt some pain in my chest. went to the clinic they did some tests again.. also an EKG and X-RAY and EKG was normal.. but the doctor said he saw a leak in my throat.. leak of air... which might be causing this sympthoms.

i went to the ER, they did another X-Ray but nothing showed. the doctor checked my pulse and etc.. all came as normal. he pressed on my stomach and it hurt me.. so he said that i have acid reflux. which the acid gets up to my lungs and irritates them causing me to feel outta breath.
its been a week and 3 days since my 1st visit to the clinic, and its been 5 days since the visit to the ER. i've been taking my medications but im still not feeling much better. today i had to come back from work because i didnt feel that well... still shortness of breath and alil wierd chest pain.
i felt that if i was gonna be there for longer i would've went in a panic attack.

anyway i dont have medical insurance so my trips to the doctor cost me alot. i do want to go again to another doctor to get another opinion.. but i thought i'd ask around to see what ppl say about this and maybe what questions should i have for the doc.

im normaly a out going guy.. im not stressed about anything SERIOUS.. we all have out things that sadden us but im no near stressed or depresed about anything... so anyway..
a few days ago i felt fine.. but last night i felt like i wasnt breathing right and today i didnt feel well either..

im taking 3 medicine.. 2 for calming down my nerves and 1 for acid reflux.

Lorazepan
Propanolog
Famoditine

i believe thats how u spell them.

thx in advance to whomever will answer.

God Bless.

Users who thank nickbunyun for this post: jo42

Replies(8)

mom123

replied on January 9th, 2008

New User

Hi there. I am 32 and have acid reflux, as well. I was diagnosed with it about 4 years ago. I have several other health problems and have gained weight over the past few years. In everything that I've been through and times I've been to the doctor, I have really started to think that stress may have been the cause of all my problems in the first place. I am finally trying to find a medicane that is right for me. I had taken omperazole for three years, but like a lot of other medicanes, taking them that long is probably not a good idea. I've tried to get off the omperazole and take it only every now and then when I feel like I really need it. But I've had some hard times where I thought I was having a heart attack (severe headaches, left arm pain, neck pain, etc.) or like I couldn't get a deep enough breath. And then you get on the internet and read about heart conditions and cancers and you really start to freak out. I honestly think that stress is my main problem. I am a busy mother of three and we are a military family. My husband is in Iraq and this will be his third deployment. I've always stressed out more than my friends, but never this bad. I started to realize this all started around the same time my husband went on his first deployment. Have you had extra stress, lately? Let me know if the meds you are on seem to help you a lot. They put me on Effexor XR and I felt really jittery so I am going to ask for something else.
God Bless You and I hope you are feeling better!

jo42

replied on February 23rd, 2009

New User

Re: acid refulx causing out of breath sensation ?

Hi, I have just find out that I have acid reflux I was also getting shortness of breath with pain in my arm and chest. I was put into hospital last year thought I was having a heart attack. I had angiograhy but my heart was ok. But I was still getting the shortness of breath. I went for a few more tests and every think came back OK I could not walk very far which I find very hard as I have always gone for a early morning walk. I was sent to see a other DR he did some more tests on my lungs all came back OK so he said I had acid reflux which I thought was all to do with heart burn which I did not have I was put on nexium about 3 weeks ago, the DR said it would take about 2 weeks to work. I have keep to the acid free diet and have raise by bed head up by 6in. I can now walk with out getting short of breath and the pains in my arms and chest have gone. it was good reading your letter as not a lot of people have the shortness of breath with acid reflux. I do hope I will be able to get off nexiux next time I see the Dr.

MBorr

replied on February 27th, 2009

New User

Acid Refulx Aspiration

My mother just had a huge scare because of this same problem. The symptoms lasted for 3 months, she was out of breath, tired, nauseas and even got pneoumonia. One day her oxygen got so low she had to go to the ER. For two weeks she was at the hospital, they even had to perform a lung biopsy to test her lungs. The pulmonologist was sure she had pulmonary fibrosis(look it up,its awful) Turns out, she aspirated acid reflux into her lungs and it somehow burned them.Now she is on steroids and luckily reacting well. We are not completely in the clear yet but at least they are steering away from Pulmonary Fibrosis(our family was pretty devastated).She will have to get her esophagus operated because its valve does not properly close and that is the cause of the reflux. If she doesn't get this surgery another episode could occur. Seriously do not wait to check yourself to a doctor.

anxietyguy2010

replied on July 21st, 2009

New User

Hey, hang in there. From your story it sounds like the out of breath sensation could be due to underlying anxiety provoking a panic attack, though the possibility of the sensations being from the acid reflux is a valid speculation too. Of the two it is more likely from background anxiety. Other possibilities are allergies or a slight case of bronchitis, but your doctor probably ruled out these out already. Your overall story sounds very familiar and I have experienced exactly what you described, even a very similar situation with the car and work and having to call someone. I do have GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) and also clinical depression along with panic disorder, so I get that out of breath felling when my anxiety level is high or if I have a panic attack. I know what you are going through and it does suck. If anxiety is solely causing your breathing issues look around on Google for some breathing techniques for when you are starting to feel a little off or out of breath - these do help tremendously. Explore the possibility of an anxiety disorder with your doctor since panic attacks go hand in hand with that. It could also be an isolated issue that will pass in time considering your age of 19. More times than not this is the case with your age group from what I have read. I think your mom is correct though, what you described in your post sounds just like a classic panic attack as do the other incidents you posted about. Also make sure your diet is decent, this makes a huge difference for anxiety and panic management and be sure to get some exercise when your doctor says it's ok to do so. You can still have anxiety issues even when life is peachy and everything is fine so be sure to double check this with your doctor. Good luck to you and I do sincerely hope everything works out for you.

Regards.

protectyourlungs

replied on August 4th, 2009

New User

Another possibility, and often misdiagnosed as 'acid reflux' is pneumothorax. Pneumothorax means a collapsed lung. This can be tiny (and can resolve on its own) or be large and need emergency hospital treatment. It might be worth mentioning to your doctor. The only way you can be sure whether your lung has collapsed or not is by X-Ray. Acid reflux and pneumothorax have very similar symptoms.

JanCon

replied on September 6th, 2009

New User

OMG - I was recently diagnosed by an ENT I was seeing for a symptom of "clearing my throat" a lot which I related to a nasal problem. He diagnosed the acid reflux and has been following it for about 6 wks. He prescribed Nexium but my ins. would only cover Protonix and my sister had such a bad time with that med that I decided to stock with Pepsid complete, which worked in the beginning but not so much now. My diet is good, lots of fresh veggie juice and NO fried, fatty foods. I eat very little chicken and fish, no beef at all. I have an appointment with my GI doctor in two weeks to have the acid reflux checked out. But I am writing because I too have been having the shortness of breath and it is very scary! I am relieved to know so many with acid reflux also experience the shortness of breath. I was starting to feel there was something serious going on. God bless you all and I hope we can all get this thing under control!

Hunniedeww24

replied on October 12th, 2009

New User

hMMm I've had severe heartburn for about 4 years now. I'm 28 and healthy. I do also have anxiety problems that first were caused by my birth control Yasmin, but of course now linger as once you've had a panic attack, its much easier from there on after. Anyway, my problem is feeling short of breath. I can get a good breath, but when my heartburn or indegestion is going crazy the doctor told me its just the "sensation" of shortness of breath because of the burning of the esphogus. I don't know if that helps but I've always noticed i can breathe fine, just feels like shortness, in my chest. Now anxiety causes the feeling of not being able to breathe and as your muscles tighten up from the anxiety you really CAN"T get a good breath.

gettingthroughit

replied on October 12th, 2009

Experienced User

I have had reflux for many years (throat clearing, hoarseness without the heartburn) and never knew what it was. I was told by my doc that it was GERD, and they gave me prilosec for it which seemed to help (and can be found otc). However, I have also had the shortness of breath which was not something I associated with GERD. I will practice yoga breathing when I run into this problem, and it does seem to help. It is never fun to not be able to breathe! However, I am just glad I came across these posts as it sounds like the breathing issue could be more serious than I had originally even considered. It is worth taking a trip to the doc I suppose!

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc