You are being treated for heartburn or hiatal hernia, and you feel sudden chest or stomach pain, have difficulty swallowing, are vomiting, or are unable to have a bowel movement or pass gas; you may have a hernia that has become obstructed or strangulated, which are emergencies.
One strong possibility for your symptom is gall bladder stones and cholesterol deposits within the gall bladder which can cause sharp pain. Getting an ultrasound of the upper abdomen done in a walk in clinic or the ER will confirm the diagnosis.
Compression of the obturator nerve by the hernia sac produces the pathognomonic Howship-Romberg sign. It involves pain along the medial aspect of the thigh to the knee and, less often, the hip. This referred pain is relieved by flexion of the thigh and exacerbated by abduction, extension, and medial rotation.