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Desperate and dont know what to do!

Posted , 9 users are following.

colleen73
colleen73

It all started 10 weeks ago when i went to the doctor, he thought i was suffering from a chest infection and gave me antibiotics and steroids, got no better and started bringing up food in my throat, he thought the steroids were to blame and said i had reflux. Since then ive had 8 weeks of hell, he treated me for h pylori (without doing a test i may add) to no avail. Ive had a whole load of symptoms that i wouldnt have even thought possible with reflux. Pins and needles and muscle spasms throughout body, adrenaline rushes, eye strain that causes weird feeling in my head, dry mouth, white foam, difficultly breathing, lump in throat, rancid bowel movements, i could go on. Ive been to get an endoscopy last week, and they said i had an inflammed stomach, gastritis and 2 polups that theyve taken biopsies from. I feel so down, this isnt me anymore, i lost over a stone and everytime i go to the doctor they just say its anxiety (which ive never suffered from before). Im convinced theres something wrong at the top of my chest that theyre missing, sounds weird but im getting funny feelings throughout my body when i swallow and struggle when breathing in. I feel like im going out of my mind, i feel no one is listening to me and im really scared. Looking to here for a bit of support. Any advice and reassurance would be gratefully received. Sounds silly but i really feel like im goin to die sometimes :-(   colleen

1 like, 43 replies

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  • paul38620
    paul38620 colleen73

    Posted

    Hello Colleen,

    Sorry you are having such difficulties. If you look through the many pages and comments on the site you will find lots of information and potentially helpful tips from we assorted sufferers of gastritis and similar issues.

    It is a shock to your system to have symptoms that acid reflux and so on can cause, and becoming anxious and distressed through that is perfectly normal. Sadly, such mental states themselves can worsen the symptoms, so it's important to try to be as calm and relaxed as you can, as often as you can, and bear in mind that time is needed for improvement and, hopefully, the full discovery of what is wrong in your case.

    In the meantime you should try eating small-medium meals - I have seven per day - of foods that are not high in fat, salt, strong spices or that contain caffeine. And don't go to bed too soon after your last meal - an hour and a half or so is my usual time. To overfill your stomach with large meals or foods that are harder and longer to digest could aggravate the problem by pressuring your stomach like a balloon and keeping acid present in it longer.

    Another thing I do is avoid belching after about ten minutes of eating a meal, as this can bring acid up which naturally burns and the tissues then have to recover, which adds further discomfort during that time.

    Let your doctor know that you were not anxious before this trouble began, and that it has made you so through the awful trouble and concern it causes you.

    Take any medication as described and read about possible side-effects so that you will know if, after a while, they are making things worse, as lansaporazole did with me. I slowly came off it and have managed my trouble through the ways I've mentioned since then, though not everyone can or should do this. Gastritis, reflux and so on are long-term matters for many of us, and it is a case of finding which foods help and which worsen symptoms, for we are all unique. But certainly there seem to be some key foods which are bad for most people with illnesses like these.

    So be calm as you can, hard though it can be I know, and best of luck.

     

    • colleen73
      colleen73 paul38620

      Posted

      hi paul, thanks for your reply. The anxiety is awful, ive never known anything like it. As for the symptoms, i seem to get something new everyday, what made you come off lansaporazole? im wondering if some of mine are due to that. Im glad i joined this forum as im hoping to get lots of advice and support, it really is appreciated, thanks.
    • paul38620
      paul38620 colleen73

      Posted

      Hi Collen,

      The pills made my oesophagus feel uncomfortable in a way that was different to the initial acid damage, and then my throat and mouth became intolerably dry. Waking up of a morning was terrible.

      Our reaction to painful or scary things is the instinctive fight or flight response, but with illnesses it is usually the case that you can't simply fight the thing quickly or run away from it and be done with it, so you can become stuck in that stressed, anxious state so long as the problems last or are at their worst - which in turn can make them worse again!. And that's why being mentally calm was important to me. I even found that talking enthusiastically about something would increase mental tension, and the muscles of my stomach area involved in speech would increase the discomfort in my stomach and chest. Stress is a thing to be avoided as much as possible.

  • moonbuggy
    moonbuggy colleen73

    Posted

    Hi Colleen

    You have my sympathy. Lots of us are suffering and it gets really frustrating when noone seems to understand. It feels like you have gone blind and then the optician tells you your eyes are ok!!

    I have had this affliction for 4 years, lost a well paid job have run up a £20K bill with my medical insurance and am getting worse. Its got to the stage my GPs are fed up with me so I dont bother going anymore. The consultants look at me like I have 2 heads. One thing that you could try is Amitriptyline. It is being used a lot for reflux problems. It is different to Diazepam and better tolerated. There are theories that it is to do with the vagus nerve getting irritated from inflammation or something. This is one of the main nerves in the body and regulates a lot of stomach functions as well as heart/breathing etc. If it gets out of whack it sends so many weird messages everywhere. My GP is beginning to think that it could be neurological. I've had the reflux op and it made me worse. Clean diet, probiotics, digestive enzymes all help. I would try the Amitriptyline as well  (at least it helps with sleep)

    Let us know how you get on

    • colleen73
      colleen73 moonbuggy

      Posted

      hi moonbuggy, thanks for your reply. Can i ask whay amitriptyline is? Could the vagus nerve do stuff to your head, i go funny all the time and find it hard to think it could have to do with reflux. Thats alot of money you have spent, what a shame. Hopefully ill learn to manage and cope with this better 
    • moonbuggy
      moonbuggy colleen73

      Posted

      Hi Colleen

      Amitriptyline is an anti depressant and has been around for years. It is now used more for pain/nerve problems and has been successfully used to treat reflux.

      The vagus nerve controls acid production amongst many other things (there are a lot of papers written about this)

      Brain fog is quite common with reflux - although this may be due to a food intolerance or candida overgrowth as well.

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