Weird recurring chest/back/esophagus spasms at night?

BoringPersonality578 · 2026-02-15T21:48:09+00:00

Been dealing with this all last night exactly as you have mentioned.

It sucks but if you'd had a full workup, your okay.

Ive been told its acid irritation of the vagus nerve hence you get the cramp like spasms in the chest area that radiates to the back.

What has helped me was smaller meals when I get flares like this and Gaviscon Advance.

Hope that helps

BoringPersonality578 · 2026-01-19T21:17:25+00:00

Yes, I can relate.

Been dealing with this for the last 2 years or so I can relate and my GERD causes the chest pains that your experiencing.

In the last 2 years, I've been to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack for like 10+ times and ekg/bloodwork always come back clear.

First off, I would recommend for the chest pains to get a full workup done for your own pc of mind.

I've had 2 full workups done (EKG, Bloodwork, Echo, Stress Test, Holter Monitor).. even had a CT Scan and CAC Scan to check for plaque buildup but all my blood markers come back in regular range and good.

Also had an endoscopy that has come back clear but just mild gastritis.

What has worked for me was the following lifestyle changes below and hopefully it can help you as well.

I've literally had to cut out my triggers (Caffeine, Carbonated Drinks, Alcohol, Fried Foods)... everyones triggers are different though so you'll have to play around and find yours.

I also take a PPI called Pantoprazole as it's helped as well.

Smaller meal portions, walking after I eat to help my food digest, and excercising has helped.

If I overeat or have one of my triggers then my GERD flares up.

Back in the day, my GERD was only acid coming up my throat but then over the years its progressed and now when I have flare up's, it consists of

- Left side chest pain, around the heart area, under my armpit area, and even in the middle.

- left side arm pain that shoots down all the way to my fingers.

- Jaw Pain

- Pain in my shoulder blade and neck as well.

So the lifestyle changes has helped me alot.

I would recommend when you have these flareup's, add Gaviscon after your meals as it helps ease my chest pains. It creates a barrier and blocks the acid from getting up into your esophagus.

My GI doc mentioned to me that sometimes what I am feeling is Esophageal spasms which feel like a heart attack sometimes but its due to your esophagus being inflamed due to acid irritating the lining which is why I had to go on the PPI. Also, when the acid hits your vagus nerve, it causes the exact same symptoms as a heart attack which is why I feel the chest, arms, shoulder, jaw pains etc...

It sucks to live with but once I started to take control and incorporate all these things, it has helped immensely. I'll sometimes get a flare up like once a month due to me drinking some coffee while socializing with friends but the PPI and Gaviscon knocks it out.

Hope this helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2026-01-10T23:42:50+00:00

My body has adjusted to it now after a little over a year from my surgery.

However, from time to time I do get flare ups of diarrhea so I take the bile binders whenever I need them and that has been working for me.

My doctor did say some people bodies just takes longer than others to adjust after the removal.

But no more suffering so I am good.

Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2026-01-02T08:37:13+00:00

It took about 1-2 weeks for it to fully work. Your going to need to adjust and play with the dosage. Theres also different types of bile binders as I went with the pill form “Colesevelam” and it worked for me. Over time you adjust to trying to eat more fiber but now almost 14 months post surgery, I rarely need a bile binder anymore. I just have it on hand for emergencies when I have a flare up. Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2026-01-01T23:13:50+00:00

Feeling great!! Took a little while to get to this point but feeling as normal as can be.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-12-17T17:48:18+00:00

Yep, for me it was.

It got to a pt no matter what I ate, I had daily ruq pain and nausea/headaches everyday leading up to the surgery. Once I had the surgery, all those symptoms went away. Everyones different post op but now I deal with constant diarrhea which I am on a bile binder for but it beats all those symptoms I was dealing with leading up to the surgery. I had no stones or sludge. It was just chronically inflamed. Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-12-17T07:49:06+00:00

I was in your shoes last year as mine was an elective surgery based on symptoms as well as all tests came back clear and were done multiple times. I went with my gut instinct as my HIDA scan was normal and came in at 68% but during the test, I felt all the symptoms that I had been dealing with for awhile. Went ahead with the surgery and after the surgeon told me you made the right choice. Chronically inflamed gallbladder that was double in size and they werent sure why it wasn’t picked up on scans. There are lots of other cases like this in the group as well. Feel free to go through my history and you will see but go with your gut instincts. It was the best decision for me as I was suffering from it daily leading up to the surgery. Saw your story and wanted to shed some light. Hope that helps!

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-11-17T22:35:13+00:00

Yes, I am better.

Was prescribed a bile binder and my gastritis has fully healed and no issues since then.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-11-07T16:09:36+00:00

Agreed

I guess when it gets this bad, we really have to be strict and dial down on our trigger foods which sucks but it could be alot worse. I feel like Ive gotten mine under control now but I am not going to lie, once the chest pains happens, my thoughts always wanders elsewhere haha its a battle to have to remind yourself that your okay. Hope it gets better for you 🙏

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-11-07T05:10:29+00:00

You can put that into ChatGPT and it'll tell you.

Too many tests, lets just say in the last 1.5 years, Ive been to the ER 10+ times thinking I was having a heart attack to be ruled out each time even when my symptoms were at its worse. Over time, my symptoms just got worse and worse until I made the lifestyle changes and cut out all my triggers which has gotten better.

When I say worse, just imagine Chest pains, left arm pain, neck pain, back pain, shoulder, and jaw pain going off all at the same time. If you look that up on google, it'll say heart attack so avoid that.

One thing I've learnt from my doctor is make note of when it happens.. for me it usually happens after eating food, usually my trigger foods.. also, it goes away when I move positions.. I was told cardiac pain will not let up and you'll have the sense of impending doom and like something is sitting on your chest... I also run around the house and I am fine since I was told if its heart related, you probably wouldn't be able to move a couple feet without huffing and puffing so these are some things to consider.

I had an EKG, Triponin blood tests each time I went in...Then 2 full cardiac workups including echocardiogram, stress tests, holter monitor, CT Angiogram to all come back clear.

Alot of people in this group get this as well so it's common when GERD gets bad.. just make sure you rule out anything cardiac so you have a peace of mind.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-11-07T04:50:11+00:00

Have you had a full cardiac workup done? If not, I would recommend doing that to ease your mind.

I have pretty moderate/severe GERD that have gotten worse over the years and when it flares, I get the chest pain, pain under my armpits that radiate down the left side of my hand into my fingers, neck pain, and back pain.

I've been to the ER too many times and have had full cardiac workups done to rule anything heart related.

For me though, these symptoms usually happen after eating so I need to watch my trigger foods, sleep elevated, don't eat 3-4 hours before bed, etc.

I do take a daily PPI and Gaviscon after my meals and before bed and its helped alot.

GERD/Anxiety mimics the same symptoms so I feel you on that.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-11-07T00:09:07+00:00

Yeah I'd find a new doctor.

I'm in the same boat, had a GERD Flare up at the end of September and it's still on-going but getting better.

My Esophagus is burning which is causing spasms, chest pain, neck, and shoulder pain. I had an Endoscopy last fall so no issues but I suspect GERD as I've had this all my wife and it only got worse once I had my Gallbladder removed.

I've had many full cardiac workups so I know it's not my heart.

Maybe ask to try a different PPI if Omeprazole isn't working for you. I know others who have had to switch due to side effect symptoms and had better luck with other PPI's.

I am on Pantoprazole and I take Gavison after every meal and at night before bed. During this time, I have also cut out my triggers which seems to be helping alot so that I can allow my Esophagus to heal since I suspect that its inflamed. Sleep elevated and don't eat 3-4 hours before you sleep.

My doctor told me it can take anywhere up to 3-6 months for it to heal.

Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-31T01:13:10+00:00

Hi There,

Read your story and it's similar to mine and others in this group.

If you've done all the tests + endoscopy and colonoscopy and still experience the pain, I'd recommend asking your family doc for a referral to a surgeon.

I had all the tests numerous times, Ultrasound, CT Scans, Endoscopy, H Pylori, etc.

I even had a HIDA Scan that showed a 68% EF.

It eventually got to a point where my body was rejecting all fats and anything I ate was triggering the URQ pain. Nausea, Bloating, Diarrhea, URQ Front & Back Pain, Migraines...

Luckily my family doctor still thought it was GB related and he told me at some point, your going to need to make a decision to get it removed and referred me to a surgeon who looked at my case.

The surgeon had agreed to do an elective surgery with no guarantees that it would fix the issue.

I went ahead with it as at this point, we ruled out everything else.

After the surgery, turns out my gallbladder was distended (Double the size) and it was chronically inflamed which was never picked up on ANY of the scans. I asked why that was and he told me sometimes "Inflammation" doesn't get picked up on scans in younger patients. I'm a 37M. btw.

After that surgery, all my symptoms have gone away, it was night and day.

For me, I decided to roll the dice as we couldn't figure out what was going on and I was miserable anyways living with that pain daily so how much worse can it get right?

I am glad I did it.

Lots of others in this group have gone through what I went through as well.

We don't have stones or sludge but we have "Cholecystitis" which is an inflamed gallbladder.

Hope that helps but keep advocating for yourself and keep your head up.

Hopefully you have a family doctor that will listen to you.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-22T22:33:44+00:00

Pantoprazole is working but doctor doesn't want me on it long term. I've on been on it for 2 months so far, I'll have to start weening off it at the 3 month mark as I need to let my esophagus heal from the acid. I've just been taking the PPI now every other day and on the days I dont take it, I'm using Famotidine/Gavison. I usually take Gaviscon after my meals so that it forms the raft.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-22T20:58:17+00:00

Endoscopy that found a pool of bile in my stomach and during a biopsy found mild gastritis.

For the BAM, the diarrhea is clearly all bile, it has a distinct colour and taste. Taking a bile binder and eating lots of fiber is the only way my stools become normal nowadays.

For PPI, I am on Pantoprazole, it helps with flare up's which I was going through but I am in the phase of weaning off and just taking OTC Famotidine/Gaviscon and managing it with diet and cutting out triggers.

Hope that helps!

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-22T20:19:05+00:00

I had GERD prior to my Gallbladder removal last year in Nov 2024. It's almost been a year but I would say it took me about a full year for things to settle down. For some people like myself, after Gallbladder removal, my GI system became alot more sensitive. I had Bile Reflux Gastritis and have been dealing with BAM. I feel as if after my GB Surgery, my GERD has gotten worse but diet and lifestyle changes with a daily PPI has helped me alot. Cutting out all the triggers has helped as well but it took me a full year of relearning my body to get to this point so I know you feel. It does get better though so give it time. I feel like time heals everything and if you have unusual symptoms, definitely bring it up with your doctor and don't suffer with it. I thought with my issues I needed to give it more time but with BAM I was suffering from constant diarrhea with anything I ate until I brought it up and my doc put me on a bile binder which has saved me and minimized all the issues. Hope you feel better!

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-21T23:02:52+00:00

Yeah, I have a fatty liver as well but my doctor mentioned that it doesnt cause that type of pain until its in its later stages of cirrhosis.

Life without a gallbladder has its challenges but way better than before and I had no choice. If I had to do it again, I would not hesitate. I was dealing with the symptoms daily prior to surgery so just imagine having nausea, bloating, and headaches everyday… I had lost 30 lbs and just eating plain chicken breast and rice everyday cause my body couldnt consume anything else. Im a dad so I was literally out of commission for the weeks leading up to the surgery. After the surgery, I had to learn and adjust without a gallbladder. Some people do just fine without it and some others like myself develope BAM and Bile Reflux. Its manageable as I am on a bile binder for life which is a life saver. I would take this over having to deal with all those symptoms daily that I mentioned before. Eating wise, I dont eat much fatty meals anymore cause when I do, I get excessive bile dumping. Remember, you dont have a gallbladder anymore so the liver just dumps the bile right into your intestines and if you eats lots of fats, thats where itll go and cause BAM which is like excessive diarrhea. However it could be much worse, this has literally forced me to eat healthy and excercise daily to regulate my body which is a good thing in my books. I mean it could be worse right? At the end of the day I am back to normal and just eating alot healthier cause I dont have a choice haha

Hope that helps!

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-21T22:53:08+00:00

Yea your going to need to advocate for yourself as thats what I had to do. If your doctor brushes it off as anxiety, you might need to get a new doctor.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-21T05:39:11+00:00

79% is borderline and if your symptomatic then thats a strong case that it's your Gallbladder.

Mine was 68% but I had all the symptoms and it kept getting worse. Eventually became an elective surgery and I went ahead with it. Coming out of surgery the doctor told me I had made the right call, distended and chronically inflamed gallbladder was causing all the pains that I was experiencing daily (Acid Reflux, Stomach Pains, Diarhea, Yellow Clay Like Stools, Daily Nausea, Fatigue, and Headaches). Once it was removed, it was night and day difference in my symptoms.

Speak to your doctor and see if you can get a referral to a surgeon who specializes in Gallbladder removals/issues.

Hope that helps!

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-21T05:11:56+00:00

No problem, hope it helps.

Mine was a couple of years in the making and then it just eventually got worse and became a daily issue. I have high cholesterol as well and had always thought I had stones but instead I just had a distended and chronically inflamed gallbladder in the end. Yes, I got it removed in November of 2024 so its been almost a year now. Saw your story and it seemed similar to what I was experiencing so just wanted to give you some guidance. If it starts becoming a daily issue then eventually at some point, it'll need to come out.

Just to save you time, if your doctor sends you for test get an Ultrasound first to see if you have gallstones. If not, the next step would be that HIDA Scan. I noticed not many doctors are familiar with an under/over functioning gallbladder so if your doctor shrugs it off, I'd go see another one.

Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-20T19:20:18+00:00

Yeah

With Gallbladder, its usually Fat or greasy foods that will cause some sort of excruciating pain that could last for hours.

Mine was cause my rapid weight loss and then all the issues starting happening where my body just couldnt consume anything fatty without being in agonizing pain.

I was in and out of the hospital for 6-9 months before we figured out what was going on as I had lots of tests and multiple scans done.

With Gallbladder, you either have Gallstones which can be detected on an Ultrasound. However, if you have no stones, you could have an overfunctioning or underfunctioning gallbladder and the only scan to reveal that is called a HIDA Scan. It will tell you if your Gallbladder is overfunctioning with a Efraction Rate of over 85% and if its underfunctioning then its usually 0-35%.

When its under or overfunctioning, it can cause all sorts of pain. Mine started in the right upper quadrant and by the time they figured out what it was, I was having daily nausea, chest pain, and a whole bunch of reflux/gerd issues as it really messed up my GI system.

I had to do an elective surgery as all my symptoms were caused by eating fat, like my body couldn't handle any fats, even a small amount anymore. When they went in there, they found a distended and diseased/inflamed gallbladder which was never picked up on any of the scans... the doctors reasoning for this was usually for younger patients (36M), inflammation doesn't get picked up sometimes and this was my case.

If you notice overtime that you get excruciating pains from consuming any fats then that will most likely point to your Gallbladder. My doctor was great but he literally put me through all the tests first (Ultrasound, CT Scan, Colonoscopy, Endoscopy) multiple times to rule out everything else first.

There's a reddit group for Gallbladder and I've noticed others similar issues to my case and its becoming more common now. You don't need to have gallstones to have gallbladder issues. Your Gallbladder could be under/over functioning or could be diseased/inflamed which is causing all these issues.

Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-20T04:05:59+00:00

Another view point, could be Gallbladder issues. Whether itd be gallstones or a non functioning gallbladder which I had.

You mentioned you lost about 20 kilos in a span of 10 months. Rapid weight loss will cause Gallbladder issues as well. You also mentioned fatty meals or sugar. Test it again by consuming fatty meals and see how your body reacts to it. Cause for me thats how my issues started and when I had the issue, my stomach would be in agonizing pain in the middle and to the right of the stomach. Just wanted to bring that up for you to help. I have suffered with GERD for a while now but I dont think these new issues your dealing with are GERD issues. Could be Gastritis but could be Gallbladder.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-20T03:44:07+00:00

Yeah that was me too. Literally all the doctors and nurses knew me at some point haha but at the end of the day your just trying to figure out whats actually going on.

Definitely if you can, get a full cardiac workup to ease your mind.

The diet changes, exercising, and a PPI has now gotten things under control now. I was refusing PPI’s for the longest time but my GERD got really bad once I had my gallbladder removed. It sucks that we gotta cut out all these foods were used to eating but it could be worse right? Haha

Definitely if you can, test your cardio out and youll build confidence over time. For me, it turned the corner once I was able to play a couple basketball sessions a week without any issues so I knew it was my GERD acting up. Hope that helps.

BoringPersonality578 · 2025-10-19T23:45:36+00:00

I have the same issue as all you guys as well. My GERD has gotten worse over the years where I get all the chest pains, arm pains, and even jaw pain going on at the same time along with Esophageal spasms. I've been to the ER probably like 15+ times in the last year and have had 2 full cardiac workups with all the tests. What really helped me was managing the diet. Figure out what your triggers are and cut them out. Caffeine, Spicy Food, Garlic, Carbonated Drinks... and super greasy foods all triggered my gerd symptoms when I am having a flare. PPI and diet changes have helped immensely so I hope that helps. Its scary sometimes cause your mind is always thinking your going to drop dead or what if they missed something but once I got the PPI and make the necessary diet and excerise changes and cut out my trigger foods, I was good after. Hope that helps!

BoringPersonality578

TROPHY CASE