Biopsies taken at gastroscopy

That's good to know. Now I just have to wait for the results. Am trying not to worry that there's something seriously amiss.

Thanks for replying.

Sounds like they've identified the source of your problem already. (I'm a former nurse btw.) A hiatus hernia will cause quite serious inflammation of the lower oesophagus, which the patient will experience as heartburn. I suspect the biopsies were mainly a formality. The general medical view is that if you've gone to all the trouble (and put the patient to all the discomfort) of introducing a gastroscope into the stomach in the first place, you might as well take a few biopsies while you're down there.

I expect they'll try medication before proceeding to surgery. You might also find it helpful to google hiatus hernia and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (usually referred to as GERD after the US fashion of dropping the initial 'o' from oesophagus). There's actually a lot you can do for yourself in the way of lifestyle changes to reduce your symptoms, as well as medication.

I've had GERD for years but manage to control it with lifestyle measures. The most important thing is to try and identify your triggers. Do particular foods make the heartburn worse, and are you more affected by eating them late in the evening? Bread is my worst enemy, especially if I eat it too late in the evening, but we all tend to have our own triggers. My doctor only recently told me this isn't surprising, as bread is a very acidic food - something I'd been unaware of.

I also gained a lot of relief once I started raising the head of my mattress. This made a huge difference to the night-time attacks of pain. But you need to raise the head of the mattress or the bed itself rather than adding an extra pillow, as the latter can double you up a bit in the middle, making things worse.

I also found out from experience that getting constipated made things worse, as this tends to force gas up from the stomach, with the risk it will take some acid with it. Finally, I had to overcome my pride and stop wearing too-tight trousers! That made a big difference too, probably for the same reason.

In general, being obese or even moderately overweight will make GERD worse, as will smoking, of course.

I'm not saying you don't need medical treatment, just that there's a lot you can do for yourself, that might mean you can avoid surgery or take lower doses of medication.

Good luck!

Bread!!! I have suspected bread as a trigger for quite a while now but didn't believe it as I perceive bread to be a 'tame' sort of food. Well, now I know. Thank you for that. I've been looking online for ways to help and I think a lifestyle change is in order.

Thank you very much for the helpful advice.

Yeah - me too! I pride myself on having reasonably good knowledge of nutrition because of my training, but that one took me by surprise. I'd long since stopped eating bread in the evening - and reduced my intake during the day - but always thought it was just some kind of fluke, or even my imagination. It was only during a chance conversation with my GP earlier this year that I found out it was real. He actually said bread was about the most acidic food you could eat.

I can eat foods that we normally think of as acidic. I've always used a lot of lemon juice in cooking with no problem at all, but have discovered over time it upsets me if combined with any food that's too salty. I can smother grilled salmon with lemon juice, and use it both as a marinade and in a sauce for chicken or veal, but anything more than a hint of it on smoked salmon will set me off for hours.

It's worth keeping a food diary for a few months to identify what foods and combinations that are upsetting you. The PPIs they prescribe for GERD aren't without side-effects, so it's worth making a few lifestyle changes so you can keep the dose as low as possible. I actually manage without them altogether, but my condition might not be as severe as yours.

I had the same today Pumkin , diagnosed hiatus hernia but till took a biopsy . How do you know they always do this ? He said something about Baretts but didnt say he saw it only that he did a biopsy for that reason . I dont quite understand 

They always do several biopsies during endoscopy. It's done automatically. A hiatus hernia causes acid reflux, which in turn can eventually cause Barrett's oesophagus (but doesn't always). That's why he took the biopsy in your case, just to be sure.

In any case, whatever the reason for an endoscopy, the doctor will always take several biopsies, mainly because it would be a waste of the procedure if they didn't take a biopsy once they'd put you to all the trouble of going down there.

Thanks

But I thought Barrett’s could be seen visually during the endoscopy  ( he didn’t say he’d seen it ) or are you saying that he was being cautious ? Sorry for the questions 

Not necessarily visible in the pre-clinical stage. In any case, any doctor who does an endoscopy would feel legally obliged to do a biopsy on any patient, whatever they thought the problem was. It would be very odd indeed not to take a biopsy.

Thank you so much for your help