I have what my doctor refers to as a sliding hiatal hernia, meaning that the top of my stomach sometimes slides up through my hiatus and sometimes it slides back down to where its supposed to be. I cannot eat much at all within 4 hours before I go to bed at night so I go to bed hungry (which is something many people refuse to do). If I have problems I have to stay up and try to sleep in a recliner. It can be very very hard to calm down. There is something about the way the hiatus pinches on the top of the stomach or the way the stomach scrunches up the esophagus that it can be painful (as in doubled over in pain) or just jittery and nervous energy with no way to relax. Drugs that help acid reflux will sometimes help. To me the over the counter drugs were just as effective as the prescription ones. Another trick is to walk. It is not unusual for me to out at midnight taking the dog for a lap around the park down the street. Laying down is the worst thing to do so is any sort of jumping or bouncing.

One old time remedy that works for me is sipping apple cider vinegar but it is more for acid reflux and not for hiatal hernias - though most of the discomfort associated with hiatal hernias is caused by acid reflux.

Twice in my life I have rushed myself to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. The medical team always tells me that the symptoms are the same and that you should always go in just to check things out. One thing I do is check my pulse when things are bad. My chest might be telling me that I'm having a heart attack but my pulse rate is normal.

Reading the above is very similar to myself. I have found elevating the bed to be really helpful. More helpful than I thought for such a little increase in height. In bed I hardly notice the difference.
Diet has taken a little longer to perfect, just knowing how much of something I cant eat and how much is too far. I found: www.teammead.co.uk/hiatushernia really helpful. Foods that I didn't think would upset my stomach are listed here, so I try to avoid these now as well. It has helped me alot though. Happily enjoying the small treats. i do find though that the Omeprazole does sometimes leave me feeling a little sick in the morning, however aftre maybe 1 hour it tends to die down. Somebody suggested to me that I try taking it at evening, instead of first thing in the morning, but im worried having an empty stomach overnight will cause worse feelings than I get in the morning with feeling sick.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hiatus Hernia: Help and Advice

My HH causes me pain in my left arm and all across the shoulder area of my chest. I know for sure because I found out I am lactose intolerant and am drinking milk without it. Now I can make my bed, go up and down the stairs without the pain. You need small meals with the HH.

BTW heart pain can be any discomfort from finger tip to finger tip and from the waist up to the head. It can be just a tightness, a burning sensation and other discomforts. My husband had a heart attack and later by pass surgery. I went to cardio rehab both times and got the heart info there.

I struggle with a hiatal hernia. A couple of things. Google for using warm water and light "down jumping". Apparently this is an old Amish trick where the warm water relaxes the stomach and the "down-jumping" (think of down-jumping as standing on the first step of a stairwell and jumping down to the flat ground), this will help pull the stomach down (where the stomach has slight moved into the deformity in the esophagus. Stay far away from caffeine, any alcohol or over eating at all. Finally, ~some~ chiropractors are familiar with the issue and can do some stuff to massage the stomach out. I know, crazy. The sliding hiatal hernia is a mechanical problem....thus the massaging of the chiropractor can address some of the mechanical"ness" of the problem. I know the pain down the arm is the scariest part of it all. My heart is currently in good shape, but it scares the crickets out of you.