Constant chest and back pain...GERD?? chest, Constant, back, GERD, pain

I am a 47 year old male, non-smoker, vegetarian, in good shape.

About 6 weeks ago I began having mild chest pains that began at my sternum and went into my back.  The pain increased until about 3 weeks ago I had to go the the ER.  They did a stress test, took scans of my heart, ekg., etc and ruled out cardiac problems.  ER Doc suspected GERD and prescribed NEXIUM and recommended an endoscopy.

Went to my Doctor, he agreed and also ordered an ultrasound.  Ultrasound was normal.  Went to a GI Doctor and he ordered a spinal X-Ray and performed the endoscopy.  All normal, no sign of GERD.  Went back to my Doc and he ordered a CT scan.  This is also normal.  Bloodwork was normal.  In short, everything appeared normal..EXCEPT THE PAIN CONTINUES and is getting worse.

I am now scheduled for an MRI.  My question is...has anyone else experienced any of this?  I am beginning to lose my mind due to the pain.  Vicodin used to give some relief, but now doesn't.

If it is GERD, you may need a PH test for confirmation.  I have pretty severe GERD and had back pain in the past and my endoscopy and other tests came back normal.  The 24 hr PH and a manometry confirmed I had reflux.  Recently I had a modified barium swallow and esophagram that also confirmed it

Thanks for the reply.  I failed to mention that I did have a PH probe inserted and it came back normal.  This early am I went (actually my wife forced me) to the emergency room because of the pain.  They did a CT scan for possible blood clot, negative. They performed a HIDA test and gallbladder functioning normally.  Tomorrow is an MRI.  They gave me some strong pain relief while in the ER (nice to be out of pain if only for a little while) then sent me home with stronger Vicodin and something to help me sleep.  The search continues I guess...I was just wondering if anyone had anything similar and if they were able to find the cause and cure.

Sorry you are feeling so bad Michael. I do know when I have had my acid reflux at times the pain started in the sternum and radiates to my back between the shoulder blades. But mine hasn't been as severe as yours. I am sorry you are hurting so bad. I hope you find answers and relief soon!

I didn't know until today at the MRI that I am claustrophobic.  Didn't last 5 minutes until they pulled me out and said I was moving too much.  Going back tomorrow and they will give me Xanax prior to the MRI.  Hope it works!!

mate i seem to be going through the same thing. let me ask.. when you get the chest pain in the sturnum is it more of a pain or could you describe it as a tightness? i get a tightness on and off with not so much a pain but a discomfort shooting through to my back between my shoulder blades leaning towards the right hand side.

ive been for so many tests over the last year and nothing seems to show up. xrays, mri, ct scans, stress tests (heart), blood tests pretty much all the things youve had. ive seen so many specialists ive lost count. spend so much money with absolutely no results. most of them telling me its in my head but yet the sensations are there. some have suggest it may have something to do with my nerves as im on the computer all day an my posture isnt looked after all that well. but although that had some credit i found it hard to accept for other reasons.


what was odd though not too long ago the doc gave me valium cause he believed it was anxiety at one stage and my my muscles were tense. it seems to work for a while but it has seemed to come back. i do drink a lot of coffee so this had some credit to it also.

however, i managed to get some anitbiotics from a gp on sun and now whats happening is it gets worse after i take one. to the point it makes me very anxious. taking nexium does manage to alleviate it some what. but i can still feel it in my back. so im a litl confused. also i have taken nexium and zantac in enough (safe) quantity so its hard to believe that it could be acid. i mean it wouldnt still be here after taking these pills for the duration i have, right?

i have been constipated so although this does not really mean acid build up what i am now guessing is that the pressure of the backed up waste in my large colon may be putting pressure on my sturnum, back area so ive gone out and bought some laxitives and other medicines to help clean out my system to see if that does anything. the feeling is also coming up to my throat just below my adams apple giving me a choking feeling.

does any of this sound familiar to you?

I had back and chest pain and the MRI said I had a bulging disc on 5th and 6th vertebre.  Also, it caused my left front of my leg to go numb.  Of course all the time I thought I had MS.  All the worrying was probably worse for me than the actual problem.

Did you get the results for the MRI yet.  They can be a bit  confining.  I have gone for one for my knee, brain, and spine.  They didn't find anything in my brain, ha ha, except for the fact that I have chronic sinusitis.    The spine showed the bulging disc I mentioned earlier.  The knee was numb, but was related to the spine.

Hi I take Busopan for chest pain as well as a pain killer and it works really well as it is a muscle relaxer and can help with chest pain and because its not a pain killer it can be used along with pain killers, hope this helps

Can you have acid reflux issues without GERD?

Im on acid reflux med prevacid' which is the best, as nexuim made me sick, this med have no side effects and worked great.

I did however have the same feeling that you are describing, It made me think I was having a heart attack, I phoned an ambulance and ended in ER. Tests all fine.

I Came to the USA and had the same thing happen I went to urgent care, the doctor said it was muscle spam under sternum, And he gave me quinine tablets and it stoped after a few days, it was a great feeling.

There is Quinine in most TONIC water, read the lable.
just shake the fizz out of the water, and drink it daily.

it has natural relaxing properties, thats why gin and tonic is so relaxing, its the quinine in it.

works a treat when I get a flare up, but for big flare ups ask your doctor for the tablet form.

for imflamation just eat blueberrys and strawberries, grape juice.

drink tonic water look for quinine in it.

Its a pain when the flare ups happen but don't worry.
If all your blood work is OK, then your ok.

Michael, was the issue of anxiety discussed?