Hiatus Hernia shortness of breath and chest pain

Yes I get it all the time it scare me to even go to sleep when I feel short of breathe and feel like my throat is tighting up on me and I be up for awhile bc im scared to sleep when I feel like I can't breathe or catch no air or enough air and I feel sometimes that it gonna stop my heart or slow it down but it doesnt but yes I hat this hernia.

Hi I had the same and was admitted several times with crushing panot similar to that of chest pain.

They think I have got what is is called disseminatingredients oseghaghgeal disorder. This oseghaghus when the the oseghaghus goes into spasm and causes like chest pain. Am on trial medication for two months and a and due to see consultant on 18th June again and will be told finalienable diagnosis. Will let you know. Bye the way slow have large hiatus hernia and waiting for surgery.

Firstly I do have heart issues and my continual conundrum is whether my HH or my heart is origin if my symptoms but yes my personal belief is that on many occasions it is the HH which is the cause of a slight shortness of breath, a heavy pressure feeling just behind the sternum and chest pain which gets to about 6/10 on discomfort scale but often sits around 3/10. My personal feeling is that much is due to fact that both digestive and heart functions are connected to the vagus nerve and when one one area is suffering both are affected. Also if a sliding HH is intruding into your chest cavity there is only so much space in an area crammed with organs and things suffer. In my case my heart is also enlarged so believe this makes things even more tight. Do you also get any feelings in your throat? 

If your cardiac tests are clear pretty sure the HH could create shortness of breath and have read many similar assessments by other sufferers on this site,

When  having a bad spell I reduce my food intake significantly, try and eat soft and moist foods and nothing too acid forming like red meats. 

Hope all the comments are helping and good luck. 

 

I feel like I've had shortness of breath now for about 8 months. About a month ago I started noticing a tightness in my chest and pain that seemed to be there 85% of the time and the pain got worse with mental stress, anger, or anxiety. About a week and a half went by and the blood flow seemed to weaken in my left arm where my arm is easy to fall asleep in normal situations like sitting at a desk which never seemed to happen before. I started to think I better get this checked out as I was worried it could be heart related. I ended up in the hospital for observation I had an imaging stress test and numerous EKGs and all indications my heat and blood pressure is fine. Nitroglycerin, aspirin and taking 2 different medications for blood pressure for 2 weeks did nothing. I've now been having this chest pain for about 4 weeks and seems to be SLIGHTLY better since starting to take 40mg Pantoprazole once a day for acid reflux about 2 weeks ago. I went in for an endoscopy a few days ago and found that I have hiatal hernia. I'm feeling pretty confident now that this is the source of all the issues I've been having. Would love to hear how you all are dealing with your hiatal hernia and from those that had it surgically corrected. I'm a 43 year old "strong like BULL" male and this crap has me screwed up feeling weak and no energy to do anything.

Hi

I have been diagnosed with hiatal hernia.My biggest problem is shortness of breath, especially when i'm sitting or standing, its decreases when i'm lying down.Any advice and thought , maybe the hernia is the reason about shortness of breath? P.S sorry about my bad English.

Hi. I’ve had the same issue with shortness of breath for 3 months. It even wakes me up in the middle of the night. All heart and lung tests are normal. I have hiatal hernia and I take  omeprozole. I wonder if I need the dosage changed. I am also trying to drop a few pounds to see if that helps too. 

Hi Maggie, welcome to the club. I had the surgery June 11th. Last month. And I am so miserable. I do have shortness of breath. I went to the ER 3 times since surgery. Had chest pain, then shortness of breath, and I can't even remember what the 3rd visit was for . I can't seem to catch myself. For the shortness of breath they gave me the inhaler called Albuterol. It helps to open the lungs but gives you the shakes after a treatment. I'm 60 yrs old and hope things get better not worse.

I used to have problems with my hernia, chest heaviness and shortness of breath, also vomiting, sweating, etc. (Though I also had gallstones at the time so they could have also been symptoms of that considering they've pretty much subsided now).

Instead of eating 3 meals a day, I used to eat 4-5 smaller meals. That really helped keep the heaviness from my chest. I also used to take warm showers after eating (could have been a psychological thing, but I thought it helped). Make sure you don't lay down until several hours after eating and make sure you're sitting up straight.

When I had really bad chest pains, (and wasn't experiencing shortness of breath), I used to jump off a chair (sounds STUPID, I know), but it actually relieved some of the strain, and made me feel better. I googled it and apparently it's something that works. I would also go out for a bit of a walk in the fresh air, and that would make me feel a bit better.

I was told that surgery was an option for me. I think that if your hernia is really a problem that it's getting you down, then I would really discuss this with your GP - they won't ever do anything unless you pretty much demand. That's what I did when I was having severe symptoms. I went into the doctors around closing time because I had unbearable symptoms, the doctor was nice enough to see me, and only then did he realise how severe and problematic my symptoms were, and that I wasn't exaggerating. That's when I was referred to a specialist. Not only did I find out I had a hiatus hernia, but I also had gallstones. If I didn't demand then, and sort of prove my symptoms, I doubt they would have moved forward. GP's are overly careful nowadays so you pretty much have to demand for something to be done.

Hey,

i haven't been diagnosed but i am having the same symptoms. Everything started in early june. I started taking high blood meds in January. All was fine until June when i worked out in humid hot weather without eating anything (my mistake). I started to get bad gerd. I always had gerd but only got bad after eating tomatoe sauce several times a week. I even had an upper endo and the swallow test 5 or 6 years ago and everything was fine. They still put me on Dexilant for 3 months because I had that bubble in the throat feeling. Which worked and been ok since this episode in June. Now Im back with the bubble in the throat, kind of shortness of breath, tight chest, hoarse voice, after eating, the food would sit in the chest area for awhile, getting more skipped heart beats (Had an echo and holter monitor done a few months ago and was fine). I switched my bp meds from amlodipine to telmisartan a month or so ago because i thought I was having a bad reaction from taking it. When I press in on my sternum right between my ribs right above my stomach, I feel a buldge. Not protruding. But you definitely feel it. I went to my doc and she felt it the buldge to...so they gave me 40mg nexium as 20mg prilosec wasnt working for the acid. Nexium did work with the acid for 2 weeks, but didnt help with the other symptoms. I'm also having bad sinus pressure. Feeling congested, slight pain around the nose area. All of this magically happened when I got laid off, lost insurance etc. New insurance starts in December. I am looking for a low cost upper endo currently. This is a very depressing state I must say. But I still carry on....still do my jogs without issues (which is weird)...

Hi all,

i am experiencing the same for several months. first started around March 18 for me. i tend to belch excessively which was the first symptom for me and i get the difficulty in breathing. Omeprazole has provided some relief but recently i have relapsed again and gone back to a state where it plays on my mind etc.

i have been reading a lot into it and i think the hiatal hernia can affect the vagus nerve which is a major nerve and thus you get pain around your back, your neck and arms. Also i think it contributes to the breathlessness.

For your info:

The vagus nerve (/ˈveɪɡəs/ VAY-gəs), historically cited as the pneumogastric nerve, is the tenth cranial nerve or CN X, and interfaces with parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. The vagus nerves are paired, however they are normally referred to in the singular.

ive upped my dose to omeprazole to 40mg and will to do so until symptoms improve. what i will say is that when i first took omeprazole the relief was major and helped me a lot. But ive drunk alcohol and not really watched the diet persay so i think its triggered something.

chiropractors could help with treatment but i have not tried this option for the problem. I will do to see if there is any benefit. i have watched numerous videos on Youtube about hiatal hernia self adjustments etc and will be given them ago.

hope this helps someone as i know it can be a pain.

thanks,

Hawk619

Hi Maggie, I had my surgery June 11th this year and still can not catch myself.

I just made 60 years old and I am not feeling well enough to even go back out to work. I have shortness of breath. When I came to after the surgery all I felt was pain from my shoulder to my chest. Until this day I am having shoulder pain. I ask the surgeon about it and he thought nothing of it. All he kept telling me was to take deep breaths during the day. I try that and even now it hurts shoulder and chest. The shoulder keeps me from sleeping at night and I never got rid of the shortness of breath. I feel like a total mess. If I yarn

that shoulder muscle pulls something in the chest. I am always grasping for air. I went to my PCP and she had Xray of the shoulder done and it said normal. I told her no, something is wrong, so now I am going for MRI soon. I have to take pills all the time for a little relief which is not good for anyone. As for the gas and belching, I have never belch so much in my life. I have to take enzymes to break down the food and it make gas and belching worse ,but at least I get the food to move quickly out of the system. Guess I can't have everything as far as that is concern. I also developed some kind of stomach pain issue after meals and must eat soft foods still. I am going to see a regular GI doctor soon and also find out who to go to for the shortness of breath. I wonder If I can file for S S Disability. I feel like I need it.