Constant Acid, nothing works!
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi, I am due for my second endescopy tomorrow, the first was 18 months ago and they found nothing, however, I have had two bouts of H Pylori and the acid has been a nightmare.
I am worried about tomorrow only because I think they shall just say everything is fine and healthy looking like they did last time, but there is nothing which gets rid of my acid. I have been through a whole pack of Gaviscon tablets since yesterday and I am still on fire.
Over the last 18 months I have had to take omeprazole every day, I now have Mebeverine 135mg tablets and it just does not work. Is there anything I can stress to them tomorrow to see if they can find out what is wrong, I am getting sick and tired of being fobbed off over such a long time.
I am also diabetic type II and have managed it through diet alone, but even the most bland food results in more acid.
1 like, 18 replies
Barretts Mel65000
Posted
PPIs like omeprazole are the most efficient way to reduce acid production. If necessary they may be prescribed at higher doses. (I was on 80mg daily for a few years before I had reflux reduction surgery.)
Mebeverine (Colofac) is a muscle relaxant that reduces spasms of the lower gut to help the bloating feeling. It won't affect your acid hypersecretion.
Gaviscon is a great supplement but is more effective in liquid form when it can coat the lining of the oesophagus to further protect against acid attack. Produced from seaweed, it floats as a raft on the sea of stomach acid to help keep it down whilst also containg antacids to help provide immediate relief by neutralisation of the acid.
PPIs are not immediate acting. They need to be taken daily at the same time each day (usually half an hour before breakfast) and their efficacy increases over a few days.
Meanwhile, attempt to identify your own particular trigger foods by keeping a food diary. We are all different and react to foods differently so it's up to you to find which to avoid - though there are lists of common triggers available and your doctor may have even given you a list. The main culprits are usually fatty foods and processed meats which, because they do not dissolve in acid, can reside in the stomach longer whilst more acid is sprayed on it and not neutralised. Eventually some bile may be permitted to backflow into the stomach to assist.
It is important not to overfill your stomach - eat little and often. Lose weight if necessary, avoid tight clothing, avoid execises after food that constrict the stomach. Leave at least 3 hours between last meal and going to bed and raise the head of the bed by 6 to 8 inches on blocks.
It is important to try and reduce at least one of these three elements: reflux, acid, bile. The combination can cause permanent damage to your oesophagus (Barrett's Oesophagus) which in some people can mutate to cancer.
Mel65000 Barretts
Posted
There is a prescription of Gaviscon liquid in my kit, apart from making me feel sick, it mellows the acid down but does not remove it entirely.
I cannot see why I have to take a multitude of tablets when they are not having any effect, it seems to be just hiding the real problem which still has not been found. As far as eating is concerned, I have done all you have suggested and more over the last 18 months and is why I am at the end of my tether with it, I have also lost 4 stone in the process.
Another reason for coming on is to see if I could find out anything else about what actually causes these things, I was fine before I had the H Pylori, it has all been downhill since.
Barretts Mel65000
Posted
NICE have produced an Option Grid for patients to discuss with their doctors the pros and cons of lifetime medication or surgery.
You may find it if you visit the DownWithAcid org uk site and select "NICE Option Grid" from the appndix listed at the bottom of the Contents list.
westerby1 Mel65000
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trev96621 Mel65000
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I eat almonds soya milk make fruit smoothies with added wheatgrass powder and spirulina! Eat food with B 12 vitamin content eat small amount of raw veg after your main meal ( it takes edge off acid as more vitamins in it than cooked food I'm on no meds for 6 months no reflux and very little heart burn in this time feel good but still have to stick to my programme or Ill suffer.
Jonathan57679 Mel65000
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westerby1 Jonathan57679
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Barretts westerby1
Posted
The problem with back-washing acid is that it can wash the mucous away. The acid can then burn and scars the mucosal layer producing inflammation: oesophagitis.
Bile acts like detergent to permit fats (such as animal tissue) and water based acid to interact; bile can help the acid to start breaking down the mucosal layer.
As a protection, the squamous cells may be replaced with columnar cells resulting in the condition known as Barrett's Oesophagus which in some people can mutate to cancer.
Ther are many ways to prevent this. Acid suppressant medication can take acid out of the equation or reflux reduction surgery can take reflux out of the equation. LINX is one of the newer ways of doing this with an mpanted device.
Nissen fundoplication, however, is the gold standard . Actually superior to LINX, it has been performed for 60 years, the last 20 of which laparoscopically (minimally invasive keyhole surgery).
The DownWithAcid org uk book looks at 8 variations of fiundoplication and 11 articial treatment devices for anyone wishing to find more information on reflux reduction tretament.
westerby1 Barretts
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Barretts westerby1
Posted
A fundoplication may actually be a cheaper option than a lifetime prescription for acid suppressants. I was on 80mg omeprazole daily (costing NHS nearly £7 a month - and that's the cheapest PPI, it would have been £74 a month if I'd been on esomeprazole) and had a Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication costing NHS about £3000 (ie 400 months' worth. Though I may not live another 30 years, other prospective recipients of surgery probably would.)
Using those figures, a fundoplication could well pay for itself in as little as 3 years in some cases.
There is a NICE produced Option Grid at the back of the Down With Acid book (Appendix 2) of pros and cons of lifetime PPIs vs surgery to discuss with your doctor.
PPIs reduces acid. Fundoplication reduces reflux. Nothing reduces bile. You really only need to control one of the three elements which boils down to whether your problems are mainly excess acid or excess reflux.
westerby1 Barretts
Posted
My reflux has only become uncontrolled since 2013 (post gallbladder removal), which, I suppose, is quite recently. The fact that it is recent, and the fact that I am 60, is probably making my GP decide to take a "wait and see" approach, whilst keeping a check on the severity with regular endoscopies, blood tests etc.
At least I am healthier because of this: I have stopped smoking, drinking alcohol, cut out caffeine, and my diet is just fish, vegetables, whole grains, and very low fat. In fact, if I didn't feel so crap due to the reflux, I'd be the healthiest person I know!
Take care, and thanks again!
Mel65000
Posted
I have been away since my Endescopy hence the late reply, the dr who done it said that I was very red and "angry" inside from what he saw, he took a couple of biops and said the results shall be back within a week, sadly they were not as of yesterday. I had to go away and had the most dreadful acid, I had to buy a bottle of gaviscon and it did help for a while, since Monday I have been through 3 small bottles as it has become unbearable. The doctor said he was testing yet again for H Pylori.
Now, unlike the last two times I had the Pylori, this time I feel so incredibly hungry- the reason I am up at 3am and I went to bed at 12. I have gas and acid and came down for a cuppa (hot chocolate) and another dose of gaviscon. I am absolutely shattered but just cannot sleep, I have horrendous sinus problems in amongst all of this too and never had it before.
It is no good keeping a list of triggers as it is everything, am I not supposed to eat?! The only item which does not effect me is ice cream! Anyway, I have had quite a bit of gaviscon today and still had reflux, like, mebeverine, gaviscon, omperazole and domperidone, still acid. I am becoming increasingly paranoid that this is going to lead to my death though how I have felt this week makes me feel like I would be better off, honestly, it is getting me so down and miserable, I am so uncomfortable and feel like yukkk.
I am hoping the results shall be through today but shall go and see my gp first thing 9am. They gave me Gaviscon before and it was far thicker than the stuff you buy out of the shops so perhaps that is why it is not working? I know I am really tired of all of this, it makes it very difficult to get on with life.
Barretts Mel65000
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A high dose of PPIs did slowly reduce the oesophagitis and made that apect of my reflux bearable.
westerby1 Mel65000
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paulette59 Mel65000
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i had an endoscopy four months ago and it showed severe gastritis. I have been on and off omeprazole, but find that it does not help. My main symptom is acid in my mouth after eating. It drives me nuts. I have given up alchohol and still no improvement. Do you have this symptom.
Barretts paulette59
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Although alcohol is a muscle relaxant which we may feel intuitively may exacerbate reflux, recent research papers have found no link between alcohol and acid reflux.
paulette59 Barretts
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period where I was continually on them for four months. Have you had these symptoms that every time you eat, you belch and then your mouth burns with the acid. Regards.
Barretts paulette59
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