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Last September I visited a chiropractor and rather foolishly had something to eat before hand. I had mega acid coming up into my throat and felt terrible afterwards. Very high anxiety kicked in and back in November I had an endoscopy and was diagnosed with a small Hiatus Hernia. I have suffered very badly with reflux for over 6 months and it's affecting my throat. Last week I saw an ENT consultant who looked at my throat and said it was inflamed which fits in with the hernia and reflux. I'm taking Lansorozole and Gaviscon but so far I don't feel any better. I feel very scared and depressed that it will develop into Barrett's and I'll do permanent damage to my throat. I have been through a period of severe stress for this last 18 months or so. Is there any hope? I don't smoke or drink alcohol and am trying a bland sugar free diet. Does this take time to settle down? Would be glad of anyone's help or advise. Thank you.
1 like, 30 replies
Barretts margot24231
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Firstly, discover what your trigger foods are by keeping a diary. These are the foods that make you notice the acidity of any reflux and you will need to reduce them. There are various banned foods lists suggested but everyone is different so what affects one may not affect you. A common culprit, however, is fatty food which doesn't break down in acid.
I'm assuming you're on 30mg lansoprazole (the normal maintenance dose). Taken half an hour before breakfast every day is the best time for these. They become more effective over a few days continuous use. If they are insufficient, discuss with your doctor about doubling them.
Gaviscon is a useful adjunct to be used if you have a flare up. Unlike lansoprazole, it is immediate acting.
Drugs, however, may not help the reflux (being meachanical rather than chemical in nature). Lifestyle is the key here.
Lose weight, if necessary; do not overfill your stomach, eat little and often; avoid tight clothing; avoid exercise after food that will compress your stomach; leave at least 3 hours between your last meal and going to bed; raise the head of the bed by 6 to 8 inches on blocks.
Once your acid levels are in control, any reflux will be less damaging; once the reflux is under control as well, you should be feeling better.
papote53 Barretts
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Barretts papote53
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Hopefully the doctors will help get to the root of your problems following your barium oesophagram.
papote53 Barretts
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margot24231 papote53
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papote53 margot24231
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EERD is like gastroesophageal reflux disease but the symptoms appear outside the stomach and esophagus. Patients with EERD often do not have spitting up, heartburn or other signs of reflux disease so the diagnosis can be difficult to make. Symptoms of EERD include cough, exacerbation of asthma, difficulty swallowing, sensation of a lump in the throat, hoarseness and even chronic nasal congestion.
From the symptoms above I have hoarseness ( which ENT said is mild acid) and even if I can't breath when I eat I have very mild congestion. I would say it feels like I have exacerbation of asthma but my Pulmo and Asthma Doctors said I don't have. Now, the test from my Pulmo was 18 months ago which I did not have the same symptoms. I did have my Asthma Doc check like 6 months ago and he said I don't have asthma or COPD. One thing I do know for a fact, reflux medication has done nohting for me and my GI said that just over the counter medication as needed should help me with my mild reflux and gastritis. I will post an update once I get the results next week. For me I have learned to deal with it and do your best to live the best you can. But if you do not know what you have this is not possible. ;-( I have seen lately that Doctors always come to the same conclution; ANXIETY!
paul38620 margot24231
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Very sorry to hear of your troubles, which, with three years of similar through gastritis and a nightmare of stress last year, I fully empathise with.
Firstly, stress is one of the worst things for causing or worsening these kinds of illnesses, so every thing you can do to lessen or eradicate that the better.
Secondly, what, how and when you eat and drink can also have a major bearing on stomach troubles and reflux, and I have found certain measures that help me to at least be better than I was, if not cured.
Hopefully you might find some help from my own case and those of others who are in difficulty like you. Best wishes.
Several small/medium meals per day (I have seven medium, one every two hours or so), rather than fewer bigger ones, so you don't overfill your stomach. Eat relaxed, chew well. Be sat upright for and after meals, not bent or reclining, so you don't squash your stomach and press its contents upwards.
Fried foods, high-fat foods/meats, dairy, high-salt foods, spicy-hot foods, tomatoes, carbonated drinks, caffeine, alcohol and chocolate can all impact on stomach and reflux troubles for some people, so personal experimentation is key. Minty foods relax the lower oesophageal muscle, as do some of the above foods and drinks, which can let acid up easier, so they are bad. I use a fruity toothpaste, and strawberry gaviscon tablets for the now only occasional acid burn.
Wholewheat bread, cereals, bananas, hardboiled eggs are a few of the foods that suit me, but there are pulses, rice, various beans (not kidney beans apparently) and many other things to try. Chicken is one of the best meats due to its lower fat content, though even that can hit me and is not eaten lately.
Stress, excercise and bending activity that pressure and squeeze the stomach are also to be avoided. Be as calm and stress-free as you can.
Having your last meal a few hours before bed can prevent or lessen reflux at night, but I found that waiting to be too empty caused hunger discomfort, assorted spasms and kept me awake. Because of this I lie down about an hour and a half to two hours after last meal, and this is much better. I lie raised a bit on three pillows, on my right side, which is best for me, though the left side is usually recommended. Other people raise the bed-head itself about 6 to 8 inches or use a wedge affair..
Another thing that helps me greatly is to not burp after ten minutes after eating, as this can bring acid up and cause heartburn. I get the swallowed air out gently just after the meal, sittiing a little forward, then don't burp till after the next meal.
Water triggering heartburn is common. It can happen even with non-ill people. I learned that the best way to get my daily requirement is to drink around 130 ml or so with each meal, which, in my case, is added to by some sips of a nutrition drink. So generally I don't have to drink between meals, a thing which would slow my digestion a bit anyway and interfere with my set meal times.
In tests there was an indication that some people with reflux suffer heartburn through drinking water in several gulps because their lower eosophageal muscle doesn't open and close correctly when doing this with fluid, and so acid can escape upwards. But just adding water to your stomach between meals, when there is still food and fluids in there, will increase its volume and raise it nearer to the top where the muscle is, the pressure of which, if too much water is drunk, can then cause the muscle to open and let stomach fluid up. Cold water can also cause spasms, so sips of usual water is best.
Some say to drink water only between meals at points when the stomach is empty, but that cannot always be done easily - certainly not in my case, where I need to eat every couple of hours or will lose more weight. I can't have between-meal water slowing things down. So I find that a little drink of water with each bite of food that gets well chewed, then a few more af the end of the meal does the trick. I also have water with two cereal meals, which may sound utterly bland but is fine to me, as I avoid dairy milk and have yet to try my cereals with the likes of oat, rice, almond or soya milk. But they are good milk substitutes for people who don't/can't have dairy, unless a person has issues with them.
margot24231
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wendy46235 margot24231
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paul38620 wendy46235
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wendy46235 paul38620
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paul38620 wendy46235
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thi20955 margot24231
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paul38620 thi20955
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As for your weight, it can be difficult to maintain weight when you have to be careful and restricted with what you eat due to stomach troubles. I lost mine very quickly when the gastritis began in 2012, and I'm still trying to get enough back on, even with my seven medium meals a day. So hopefully your weight loss is due to the same thing, but, again, the doc will check it out for you.
thi20955 paul38620
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papote53 thi20955
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ly concern is that Nexium is basically Omeprazole and omeprazole had a moderate interaction with another medication I'm taking. Sure, Doctors will allow you to take it unless is High the interaction. I also have houseness and mild acid on the back of my throat and vocals. No concern for my ENT, she just said to take my medications and the same old story about eating certain foods which I have been doing for some time now. Lost 50 pounds and I hate it. ;-( I was feeling better, stronger and healthy when I was eating normal and taking no medication at all. Then after I started with medication for HBP, sinus and Cholesterol is when this all started with my chest and breathing problems and now with reflux and gastritis as well. Yes, I no longer need medication for HBP or Cholesterol which is the good side of this diet.
paul38620 thi20955
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Yes, unfortunately sinusitis and asthma symptoms can arise through these problems. Barretts, who you know, had the surgery you might be speaking of, so if that does become an option for you sometime, he will have some advice about that. Be better if you could improve without surgery, though, so try all the possible ways first.
thi20955 paul38620
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thi20955 papote53
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Barretts papote53
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Pantoprazole is generally well tolerated but if you have found esomeprazole (nexium) better, you may need it. 20mg esomeprazole is equivalent to 40mg pantoprazole.
If you visit the www BarrettsWessex org uk website, you'll find a page on Drugs from the drop down under the Treatment tab which also includes links to the research.
I've appended an image showing table of equivalents and UK costs to NHS. For our US readers, there's also a chart of some of the US costs at the foot of the page.
Your symptoms sound more of reflux than of acid, which acid suppressants are not so good at tackling. It starts with gastro-oesophageal reflux from the stomach into the oesophagus, continues full column and refluxes into the respiratory system.
Drugs are good at managing bio-chemical interactions (eg reducing acid) but not so good for bio-mechanical problems such as reflux.
papote53 Barretts
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Thanks again Barrett! ;-)
paul38620 thi20955
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papote53 thi20955
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papote53
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valerie46963 papote53
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thi20955 paul38620
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thi20955 papote53
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Thanks for sharing with me the way how to handle your reflux. I cant eat like Paul for if I eat six meals I will stop drinking water and I think water is good for your acidity too and for kidney. I am thinking of drinking milk at 8:10pm instead of dinner and see how it goes. So the teatime will be my mealtime and mealtime will be tea time. Btw, if you dont sleep in your bed where do you sleep? I am thinking of buying a raising bed like hospital bed but I dont know where it sells. I googled but unable to find one store in Austrlalia. I have also have lots of stress at the moment but I cant avoid it for I dont know what solution is good for me.
paul38620 thi20955
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If you have been too empty too often through not eating enough, maybe that could make you have the odd feeling you speak of rather than normal hunger. But do try to gradually eat more in time, even small amounts of high-calorie foods. Such a difficult thing to find a good way with each of us being different and often with our own ideas of what might be best.
I hope you can find a good bed like you mention, and that it makes a difference if you are more upright. I'm off to mine now. Take care.
papote53 thi20955
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