Acid reflux, gerd, help I have no idea??
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Back again I have gone from thinking I have uclers, to hernia to gerd I have no idea, for the past 3 months now, I have been having upper middle stomach pain, goes to chest . sometimes in neck, heart burn, bad indeigestion, feeling sick, feels like pain in my ribs, mostly after eating but sometimes when not eating, Feels like something is stuck in my chest area for a while then settles, pain n my breat all over chest area really, cant get comfty, so tired as not sleeping with it, had blood test, endoscopy, barium swallow water test all normal, recently been put on laporazole,been on then 2 weeks, not helping, can someone please help me, doctors have not said whet it is, they think it could be gerd but not said, I have also been constipated a lot and do have ibs, dotors are not helping any adive please.
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ashwhisper
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paul38620 ashwhisper
Posted
I learned that the best way to get my daily need of water - with my seven medium meals - is to drink around 130 ml of it with each meal, which, in my case, is added to by some sips of a nutrition drink as well. So generally I don't have to drink fluid between meals, a thing which would slow my digestion a bit anyway and interfere with my set meal times.
Evidence also suggested in 2014 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 simply adding water to your stomach 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 can then cause it to open and let acidic 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 be done easily - certainly not in my case, where I need to eat every couple of hours or lose more weight. I can't have 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 afterwards does the trick. I also have water with two cereal meals, which may sound utterly bland but is fine to me, as I avoid milk and have yet to try my cereals with the likes of oat, rice, almond and soya milk. But they are good milk substitutes unless a person has issues with them.
A last point, just in case you aren't aware of it, is that the upper portion of the stomach is under your lower left ribs. That's where I usually get the pain during setbacks, but sometimes the other ribs as well. I used to think that the whole stomach was lower than the ribs, a thing which could make anyone else who thinks this to quickly worry that their heart was in trouble when upper stomach pain occurs, especially if eosophageal pain is felt in the centre of the chest at the same time.
thi20955 paul38620
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paul38620 thi20955
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I find that having the majority of my mealtime water well chewed into my bites of wholewheat sandwich/sandwiches suits me best. The bran in the bread also absorbs water so that there is a bit less of the meal sloshing about as much, at least until the digestive fluids and acid are added. But that's where meal-size comes into it. The bigger the meal, the more trouble is likely once all the fluids arrive to do the digestive work. This is one of the reasons why smaller meals - medium-sized in my case - cause less bother. They also result in less pressure and less swelling of the stomach, which can worsen the pain and make it easier for acid to escape or be squeezed upwards into the eosophagus. That's why the "little and often" advice is usually given regarding meals to people who suffer these illnesses. In fact it is wise advice for everyone, not just the ill, and can prevent some of these troubles arising in the first place.
Since water makes you feel bloated, then it could be that trouble in your stomach causes that. But, as I said, if your meals happen to be too big, then this could be why you feel such a degree of bloating pressure. So maybe you need to look at your meal sizes and frequency, and see if you need to spread them out into a greater number across the day. I could do eight a day if I chose to, but seven is what I'm easier with presently. Naturally everyone has to try to find their own optimum dietary routine, a thing which work and other activities can have a bearing on, so that eating every couple of hours or so like me might not be easy or possible for all sufferers.
The depression side of things is as nasty and hard to bear as the illness, and it can take time and some improvement to settle some of that. But since the ultrasound found nothing major wrong, that is a good thing.
ashwhisper paul38620
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paul38620 ashwhisper
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The fact you suffer IBS and constipation could also have a bearing on how your tum feels, and confuse the issue further. I too had a lot of lower-end bother, but having the wholewheat bread.cereals, bananas, peas,etc, helps with that. I can only look at the matter the way I would if it was me, and the way I deal with my trouble, and that is first to establish a diet of small/medium, or both, of roughly two-hourly meals, or a bit longer, and try the other rules I stick to. But all of us being unique means that things might not work exactly with one person as they do with another. That's why personal experimentation is best. bAnd it takes time either way.
Such an upsetting business. Ultimately, if you make no headway, I would hope for you to be checked to see if reflux is happening and happening severely, though the tests you've had haven't shown any major troubles in your tum or elsewhere. Oh to be a magician and wave that wand!
paul38620
Posted