What's the best things to eat with hiatus hernia?

The hiatus hernia prevents the lower oesophageal sphincter from closing properly thereby exacerbating reflux, This can be of any food or drink.

Where there is a weak, but partially effective, lower oesophageal sphincter restricting certain drugs (eg nicotine, alcohol, caffeine) which may relax the muscles is a consideration but otherwise diet composition is likely to have little effect on reflux unless you have a reaction to regurgitate anything your stomach consides alien.

You are taking high doses of acid suppressants which may not reduce reflux but will make it less harmful. However, even non-erosive reflux aspirating via the upper oesophageal sphincter (the cricopharyngeal flap valve) into the respiratory system may cause signidicant damage - including possibly life-threatening pneumonia and bronchiiectasis.

Instead of diet composition, it is more important to consider diet quantity. By keeping stomach contents low, they are less likely to enter the oesophagus. So eat half sized portions but twice as frequently. Consider the stomach as a water filled balloon that hasn't bben closed at the top. If it is squeezed or tipped, it can spill. So avoid exercises that will compress the stomach after eating, avoid tight clothing, keep upright.

I, too, have had reflux and acid problems all my life - remembering incidents of when I was probably about 3 years old that I now know were due to reflux. It wasn't untl I was nearly 50 my hiatus hernia and Barrett's oesophagus (permanent damage from constantly refluxing acid) were discovered.

22 years ago, I was offered a fundoplication (which would have been by open surgery but was too scared) . My doctor said he'd try managing it with medication. When 600mg ranitidine proved ineffective, he replaced them with the newly introduced omeprazole - which did relief the heartburn from the excess acid.

Over the following 15 years my omeprazole was gradually increased to 80mg a day but I was still getting reflux and the symptoms were getting worse, particularly, in my case, the chronic cough which was so deblitating I was desparate for the fundoplication which I had 8 years ago.

I don't know why I'd been so afraid of having it done. It gave me my life back.

The problem is, you can read so many scare stories. But you are more likely to see people reporting bad experiences than good.

From the Down With Acid book: A study published in Surgical Endoscopy in 2014 reviewed the durability of Laparoscopic Fundoplication over 20 years and concluded, "Long-term results from the early experience with LF are excellent with 94 % of patients reporting only occasional or fewer reflux symptoms at 20-year follow-up. However, 18 % required surgical revision surgery to maintain their results. There is a relatively high rate of daily dysphagia but 90 % of patients are happy to have had LF." 

You may also read my blog of my experience of the operation on my personal website www ChrisRob co uk by clicking on the Barrett's tab and selecting Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication from that page's contents.

Hi steeart29532

I also have a Hiatus hernia yet only on 15mg of Lansoprazole daily - so I am not the person to advise you; this is for your GP to do! You can't be advised by another patient as everyone is different and what suits one won't suit someone else?

So go back to your GP and ask for guidelines.

Kind regards

Jazztrain

Kind regards

I am 3 moths post op for HH and Nissen Fundoplication  Let me sayit was a difficult recovery but in the end will be worth it..I felt like a time bomb never knowing when the attacks of pain in the chest would occur.  It got to the point it compromised my having to take medication for a simple cold...Anything was triggering it, I might add that what was thought to be asthma, the symptons are gone.  The excessive mucus and coughing is gone,and hoarseness when talking and clearing my throat is gone....All I would recommend is doing the motility study and ph probe to get the exact diagnosis.   I had this many years and it progressively got worse as i got older....It depends on how much u are bothered by something to fix it.  Eating solids no that wont happen right away but it will happen when things heal inside.  You certainly wont starve to death as u start with clear liquids a week into it, and then smoothies and graadually soft and solids....i will never have to take ppi again and that is a good thing.....it is linked to alzheimers now and calcium depletion...only you can make that decision if u want to live on medication and what they will do to you over long ter.   Hope this helps in your thought process.  Good Luck.....the hernia only gets worse and the older you are the more difficult it becomes to tolerate.  One doctor said mine was a sliding HH, when surgeon operated it was the opposite and large....

I had the surgery and doing better

Foods not to eat, fried foods, spicy foods, coffee, fatty foods, peppermint , alcohol. Pay attention to what bothers you and don't eat it. Sleep with your bed elevated at head of bed 6 inches.

Hope this helps.

Jo

If you have GERD, what you eat or do not eat will not make any differences to you acid reflux. I am telling you this from my experiences.

But if you have just acid reflux, stay away from:

Spicy foods

Tomatoes and red sauce

Chocolate

Dairy products

Basically eat an acid free diet.

Good Blessings to you

I forgot to tell you,

The acid reflux medication side effects are:

Hair loss- mine hair started falling out.

High Blood Pressure (more common in women), not all, but my Blood pressure went to 190.

Also, latest results show there is kidney damage also.

Don't take my word for these side effects.

Look these up on line.

Thank you and God Bless you

I have had the surgery 3 months ago and doing ok, most important to see a doctor that has done many of those type surgeries. Diet was not hard to do, I ate soups and pudding mostly. You can get many good organic soups or make them yourself but must know what not to put in the soup, doctors will give you a list of foods to eat and not to eat if you ask and then you can plan ahead.

Hope this helps.