Hi, I have just returned from seeing a young person with an eating disorder. She has mentioned she has a pain on the right side of her ribs - it may be unrelated to her eating issues - but I was wondering if there could be a connection? There was no trauma and it doesn t feel worse when she takes a deep breathe. Thank you
Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand her problem and situation. In my opinion she is having HERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) due to eating disorder. But better to rule out cardiac cause first for her chest pain. So get done ECG. If ECG is normal then no need to worry about cardiac cause. GERD is due to laxity of gastroesophageal sphincter. Because of this the acid of the stomach tends to come up in the esophagus and cause the symptoms. So treatment of eating disorder is must for her. Consult psychiatrist and start its treatment. Avoid stress and tension. Avoid hot and spicy food. Start proton pump inhibitor. Don't worry much, she will be alright.