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Back With A Vengeance

Posted , 6 users are following.

BrianRE
BrianRE

I was diagnosed with Barretts Oesophagus in January this year. I was told I had a circumferential Barrett's epithelium from 37cm to 40cm. This was following an endescopy. A biopsy taken at the time showed nothing to worry about and I was advised to take 20mg Pantoprazole daily andhave a endescopy to check the cells every three years.

?I was also advised to cut out citrus fruit, fatty or fried foods, reduce caffeine intake and avoid alcohol and chocolate. Since January I have done all of those things. Since then for most of the time the pain I used to get has subsided but in the last six weeks whatever i do it won't go away.

?I have a near constant pain like internal inflammation is the area of my chest, the usual need to belch to try and ease the pain, sometimes pain in the top of the stomach and in my throat. It gets me down as whatever I try to eat or not eat to be more precise makes no difference. The pain remains.

?I am not losing weight, don't feel tired or have unusual bowel habits so don't feel it is any thing sinister but would love some relief from the discomfort. For the first few months I stopped taking the Rennies and Gaviscon I was living on but now I am back taking them again. Cant say it helps alot. I think getting stressed about it doesn't help.

?I am going to make an appointment with my GP to see what he thinks and it maybe that I have to put up with it for evermore (how ever long that is, I am a few months off 60).

?Any thoughts from people who suffer with this (and I realise some people suffer with this far worse than me) would be much appreciated.

Thanks  

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • glenn06752
    glenn06752 BrianRE

    Posted

    Hi Brian - sorry to hear about you BE acting up. I know with mine, when I have a flare up, it's miserable and we forget what the pain was originally like.

    I just had a quick question for you.. Do you still have your gallbladder?  What you described certainly is similar to a gallballder condition. Having BE, it would be hard to tell the difference, that's for sure.

    I hope you feel better soon.

    • BrianRE
      BrianRE glenn06752

      Posted

      Thanks Glenn, I did have infected Gallstones, but had my gallbladder removed about two years ago. Some of the pains I get are similar to when I had the gallstones. 
  • suzanne07008
    suzanne07008 BrianRE

    Posted

    Hi,i know what you are going through.i have flare ups that can last months at a time then all of a sudden it settles.i have no idea what triggers it so all i can do is eat a sensible diet and take medication.the one thing i cant give up is coffee though and besides,it doesnt seem to trigger a flare up anway.Good luck,I hope it settles down soon.
    • BrianRE
      BrianRE suzanne07008

      Posted

      Thanks Suzanne, was there any foods in particular you found triggered it or made the pains worse? 
  • jackie46683
    jackie46683 BrianRE

    Posted

    Hi. I have Barrett's Diagonised 4 yrs ago. Have been taking pantaprozole and now changed to lanoprozole. Both of these not working. I'm desperately trying to find some relief from the daily symptoms of uncomfortable feeling in throat as if something is stuck there, chest pain and feeling the need to burp. I can wake in the morning feeling not too bad but by the time I had a few sips of tea the sensation is straight back. Find it hard to actually take the medication without it feeling as if it's stuck in throat. The consultant has talked to me about surgery to tighten stomach valve. But that is quite extreme. I'm considering having my throat dilated. I've had this done once and it did help but it isn't a long term cure. I feel so fustrated as the uncomfortableness of this really affects my quality of life. When I last discussed this with my gp he suggested a mindfulness book!!!! I'm sure there must be something out there to help people with these ongoing problems

    • BrianRE
      BrianRE jackie46683

      Posted

      I am sorry to hear about your suffering Jackie. You have it worse than me, on my GP's advice I have increased the pantoprazole to twice daily which is 40mg in total. It has eased slightly but I don't have the level of pain and discomfort you do. I do find it worse when stressed about something. Reducing the size of my meals and eating more slowly and smaller portions but more often can help. 

      Have you visited barrettswessex.org.uk website for any info that may help you?   Best wishes

       

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