Young adult suffering from horrible heartburn and a due to a hiatal hernia! Please help :)

Hiatus hernia is very popular amongst the population and can exacerbate reflux by impeding the lower oesphageal sphincter.

There are two issues that need to be addressed - acid and reflux. They do not necessarily always go together.

Dealing with acid is the easier task (though not necessarily easy!) You need to identify your own particular trigger foods. We are all different and react to foods differently. Keep a food diary. It's all very well saying you eat healthily but for some people what we would think of as a healthy item could actually be a trigger food - and, unless you have a gluten intolerance, gluten free may not help and the evidence for paleo is mixed to say the least. If you cannot control acid hypersecretion through your diet, the PPIs, like omeprazole., are the best way of doing it but they are powerful drugs that must be taken correctly - every day at the same time (half an hour before breakfast is best) at th elowest effective dose and monitored by a doctor). They are amongst the safest drugs and the scare stories result from misuse (people thinking they are an on-demand drug like Tums) and over use. 20mg omeprazole is a low (maintenance) dose.

You're unlikely to have an ulcer. If so PPIs are excellent in dealing with it.

Your harder task will be to tackle reflux. Avoid eating too late: 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 and sleep on your left side.

Good luck. I have had reflux problems all my life (I'm now 67). For me, fundoplication a few years ago was the eventual cure.

Hi.............Ive apparently achieved this common affliction of hiatus hernia also...........Since coming off the ameprazol because of  its well documented and much discussed apparent side effects,Ive managed to control the reflux mostly with the help of gaviscon.(chewable tabs mostly),the advice on what you eat is sound.........in my case,eliminating simple triggers like chocolate and alcohol is a big step forward,apparently chocolate is one of the worst offenders,regarding alcohol tho,a simple drink like a pint of chandy can effect me .G

I found that my worst trigger was bread, in particular my lovely apparently healthy home-made bread! So I eliminated it altogether and it has made a huge difference. I also found that ranitidine (zantac) was the only thing that worked when my reflux was at its worst, after months on omeprazole and lanzoprazole which didn't work at all and even seemed to make the reflux worse. I took 300mg of ranitidine a day for about 3 years and have come down to 150mg at night now. Soon I will reduce even further, but the acid has gone, and the reflux when it happens (bending down after a meal!) is not nearly so painful. Good luck