Chest tightness when drinking sugary drinks quickly?
April 12, 2011 10:25 AM   Subscribe

Sometimes when I drink really sugary drinks quickly, especially soda or juice, I get really uncomfortable chest tightness for a few minutes. (If I sip them it's usually fine.) Why does this happen?
posted by archagon to Health & Fitness (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Sounds to me like esophageal spasms, maybe. I am really not a doctor, but I get the same thing. My doctor said that it can mean that you have a risk of developing other problems like reflux. His suggestion was to not drink soda.
posted by jefeweiss at 10:48 AM on April 12, 2011 [2 favorites]


Are they ice-cold? That can cause problems if you're on nitrates.
posted by lettuchi at 10:59 AM on April 12, 2011


I get that occasionally if I drink very cold soda too quickly. Esophageal spasm sounds totally reasonable.

I always thought it might have something to do with the sudden change in temperature from cold bottle to hot esophagus causing rapid gas release. It probably has more to do with my swallowing a lot of air when I attempt a quick chug of soda from the bottle. Either way, I think I'm compressing a lot of gas into my poor esophagus. And cold makes muscles contract. It feels like I have a cold balloon inflated under my sternum, but it goes away in a few minutes though. And I never have this problem when I drink with a straw.
posted by ladypants at 1:02 PM on April 12, 2011


Response by poster: I think it happens as often when it's warm.
posted by archagon at 2:45 PM on April 12, 2011


Are you drinking from a a bottle or from a glass? Do you swallow a lot of air?
posted by ladypants at 2:58 PM on April 12, 2011


As far as the soda is concerned, could it be from caffiene? Caffiene could cause mild heart palpatations, which could make your chest feel tight (IANAD).
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 7:22 PM on April 12, 2011


I get this when drinking soda fast as well, regardless of warmth, and regardless of caffeination. And it is sooooooo painful -- like a brain freeze for the chest. I never knew that anyone else suffered from this until this instant. It's a complete mystery to me, though -- especially why it's only with soda, and never anything else. I feel for you.
posted by astrochimp at 7:47 PM on April 12, 2011


Response by poster: No air -- it's usually from a glass. And it's always from very sugary drinks, though not always soda. Today it happened to me when I drank some juice.

Yeah, it really does feel like a "brain freeze for the chest".
posted by archagon at 10:00 PM on April 12, 2011


That's so funny! I have experienced the exact same thing, and never had any idea what it was from. I only experienced when drinking regular coke, and slurpees, and it was even worse when drinking alcoholic mixers like jack and coke. For me, it was obviously the sugar, so I stayed away from it and it never happened again. Would be amazing to know what it actually was!
posted by LongDrive at 11:38 PM on April 12, 2011


FWIW, I get this too. I'm pretty sure I've also gotten it with water, not always carbonated beverages. My personal theory was that it happens when I try to swallow too much at once, and the swallowing reflex can't squeeze the fluid properly so the esophagus gets sprained, so to speak. I think it happens more often with carbonated beverages because they expand while you're swallowing them, if they're fizzy enough. IANAD and am probably totally wrong about this -- I also get reflux sometimes, so that could be a factor too.
posted by neckro23 at 11:42 PM on April 12, 2011


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