1. Community
  2. Gut, bowel and stomach
  3. Reflux Oesophagitis

Walking uphill with GERD

Posted , 11 users are following.

Guppy007
Guppy007

Hi, Does anybody else feel terrible after walking uphill? or climbing stairs?

I have GERD and have felt fine swimming, but walking uphill seems to bring on all my symptoms...I would love to hear from anyone else that might have experienced this. 

1 like, 17 replies

17 Replies

Next
  • ChipWhitley
    ChipWhitley Guppy007

    Posted

    Your case sounds unique. I can say that for me at times I feel like I can't breathe as if food has refluxed into my chest. It almost feels like pneumonia or something. I've gone for chest X rays and they say my lungs are clear. Do you tend to feel heart burn after walking or climbing??
    • AcidTrees
      AcidTrees ChipWhitley

      Posted

      Hi Bigdipper, it is thought that 10% of asthma diagnoses are not primary asthma, but caused by refluxate reaching the lungs. It doesnt take food to cause the problem, just a very small amount of acid. I dont think this damage would show up in an xray at all. 
    • ChipWhitley
      ChipWhitley AcidTrees

      Posted

      Thank you for that because there is many times that I worried about why I would have asthma symptoms so often. I'm very tempted to request an upper endoscopy because I suffer from terrible reflux and bad breath which has recently come about in the last 2 years. I don't get heart burn like most but I get the feeling that something is stuck in my chest. I burp a lot and it comes from my chest rather than from the stomach. It's pretty bad and has just gotten progressively worse overtime. I also suffer from severe constipation which I also attribute to my bad breath as well. 
  • AcidTrees
    AcidTrees Guppy007

    Posted

    Hi Guppy, when you walk uphill or climb stairs your lungs would be expanding more because they would need more air than when walking on the flat. So they could possibly be putting pressure on your diagphragm and stomach which could result in acid refluxing into the eosophagus. That's the only thing i can think of.

    I live with copd and reflux so am very aware of the interconnection between the respiratory and digestive system. But best to ask your GP - this is just a thought that occurred to me - i dont experience it myself. Maybe someone else will come along with more direct experience.

    • Guppy007
      Guppy007 AcidTrees

      Posted

      Hi, thank you both for the info..this morning I tried something different, I didnt eat breakfast, then i walked, it made a huge difference, in the past I would wait an hour and a half before walking, but I now think thats not enough for me as I am feeling ok today..also I live at the very top of a mountain and the air no doubt is thinner.
  • sarah_starryeye
    sarah_starryeye Guppy007

    Posted

    I feel horrible those days I give up and I eat alot of things that is not good for reflux like ice cream , chocolate , onion and cheese now I feel regret and reflux is worse , now I will quit those things and hope to feel beter soon , for uphill I'm sorry I don't know about this I'ts more because of food or exercise hope you get beter soon don't give up 
  • Baby_Letty
    Baby_Letty Guppy007

    Posted

    Hello Guppy one year ago you posted about your condition with Gerd. Do you still get chest pains walking up a hill I would really like to hear from you because I'm having the same problem that is getting confusing me. Guppy what foods keep it under control and what foods are a No-No? Sincerely Letty

    • rose67381
      rose67381 Baby_Letty

      Posted

      Hi, I am late to this but still hoping for help. Did you ever get any help with this? These are my exact symptoms. All the docs say it is heart disease but it isn't for me. I would appreciate anything you have learned.

    • arefa29140
      arefa29140 Baby_Letty

      Posted

      From my experience, spinach works well for relief, so that, veggies ( peas, onion, chilli,high fat veggies, spicy veggies) moderatfruits(because of fruits sugar, avoid fruits like strawberry, tomato, high fat fruits) Try to avoiding sour food too. Egg whites are fine but egg yolk should be avoided. Avoid chocolate, avoid There's this thing called 'roti', you can try that out because it's easy to make and yummy too, check out Google or YouTube recipes of it but avoid using oil and moderate it as much as possible. Try water boiled food. Oats are fine but avoid processed food in general. If you're traveling, bring a traveling stove with you. 'Roti' and fruits can be very handy for traveling gerd people. Avoid laying on bed or traveling before 3 hours has passed after eating. Because your body need rest. Remember, don't let the restrictions die you down about food, these food are just as tasty and yummy as you'll make it, your tummy will be happy about it too. Make recipes with the foods by mixing them up etc, red spinach is spicy, though I won't suggest spice at all, but spinach helps so you can use that for your taste bud too. But please research and take care of your body with gerd, keep avoiding and adding what works for you man. You can also try deep breathing exhaling exercise if things get a bit out of balance with gerd for you, be it food, travel, sleep. Take meds that don't cause reactionary effect to it (As for polypharmacy does). Stay hydrated too!

    • arefa29140
      arefa29140 rose67381

      Posted

      Or even waiting 2-3hours after eating for traveling.

      Be cautious of how your body reacts to these, or movement in general like exercise too. Because in the end

      it's your body.

    • klaus35321
      klaus35321 rose67381

      Posted

      I have the same issue. I get chest pain/discomfort (not always) in the middle of the breast (epigastric region) in the first hill and at the same time I get the urge to burp. The pain goes away after I have walked for a while or after I have burped few times. Somehow stretching the throat by bending backwards relive the pain a little bit. In extreme days the food comes up the throat. I can also get the pain when excited or nervous. I have been to the doctor and I have had a ecg stress test. No sign of cardiovascular disease. Jumping in a trampoline also causes the pain. Based on the doctor it's caused by GERD. It's very confusing, because every where you read angina comes up and angina is usually a sign of CVD. I don't get the symptoms when I cross country ski with a high hear rate (between 150-170 bpm). It is very confusing.

  • matthew2999
    matthew2999 Guppy007

    Posted

    I know it's years later, I have the same thing I'm 34.

    I have a hiatus hernia and get gerd pains. When I go swimming I'm fine when I walk down hill or long roads I'm fine, as soon as I walk up a hill or take one a load of stairs, I get this dragging pain from my throat then to the top left of my breast mussle then it make it feel as if I'm going to have a difficult time breathing normally, I thank at that point I start to have a panic attack what make it ten times worse. I am confused if it is gerd making this happen or is it my Hayfever .

  • matthew2999
    matthew2999 Guppy007

    Posted

    I know it's years later, I have the same thing I'm 34.

    I have a hiatus hernia and get gerd pains. When I go swimming I'm fine when I walk down hill or long roads I'm fine, as soon as I walk up a hill or take one a load of stairs, I get this dragging pain from my throat then to the top left of my breast mussle then it make it feel as if I'm going to have a difficult time breathing normally, I thank at that point I start to have a panic attack what make it ten times worse. I am confused if it is gerd making this happen or is it my Hayfever .

  • rose67381
    rose67381 Guppy007

    Posted

    Have you found out anything to help? I have this and seems like many others do also , desperate for the correct help. Hope you are doing well.

    • klaus35321
      klaus35321 rose67381

      Posted

      One thing that I have noticed is that sitting all day in a bad position makes the symptoms worse. I try to remember to stretch the rib cage once a day. Sometimes I hear something pop when I stretch the rib cage. Maybe GERD and a jam in the rib cage can be the cause of the pain. For me the most confusing thing is that as I wrote in my earlier post, that I can also get a similar pain when excited i.e. watching sports. I feel the heart rate increase and that triggers the pain in the epigastric region. I told my heart doctor also about the excitement trigger, but he was sure that it is GERD. Hitting the epigastric region with the finger tips can relive the pain. It feels like something is spasming in the epigastric region .

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.