Help! Why are things worse?
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi, as I write this I am nearly in tears. I haven't a clue what to do. I was diagnosed with grade 2 oesophagitis in February after an endoscopy. I also have Barretts and gastritis. All of this was a bit of a shock as I don't get heartburn. I had a lump in the throat feeling and difficulty swallowing. Before I had the endoscopy I had started to feel better and felt a bit of a fraud on the day, however when I got the results I decided that taking the meds (30 mg Lansoprazole 2x per day) was the best thing to do. Things only got a tiny bit better and my GP switched me to 20mg of nexium 2x per day. This seemed to help and for the first time in months I was able to relax. I had chased around after a gastro appointment at the hospital for months and finally got one last week ( I had been having a burning sensation in my stomach ever since the endoscopy).
To cut a long story short, the GI doctor said that all my symptoms were reflux and that I had to take double the dose of nexium (40mg 2x per day) since then my symptoms have got slowly worse, and now I can't swallow food again without it hurting and sticking. My throat is bad and I have that all too familiar bitter taste in my mouth.
Has anyone else had flare ups of oesophagitis? It's really scared me because of the Barretts. I just don't know what to do now. Ideally I would like another endoscopy as I wNt to know whether these tablets are helping or making things worse. Just wondering if there were any similar stories out there with happy endings. Sometimes I feel like I don't want to go on with things not getting better Nd with the threat of cancer hanging over my head. Ironic really as this time last year I was happy as Larry. Hope there's others out there who have had similar experience and who can offer guidance.
0 likes, 17 replies
Cheetah
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stella19032
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Cheetah
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ines6375
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Are you following any diet? The diet is an important part of my recovery.
At first I was taking dexilant (PPI same as nexium) and it did not work, it started working when I started following the low-acid diet, avoiding all acidic food, all irritating foods, all trigger foods and all dairy.
stella19032
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ooops64
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I have been drinking Coconut water, it tastes nice and not fizzy (another no no no, no fizzy stuff). Another thing I tried was Manuka Honey, I would take a large spoonful when my oesphagaes was sore, I also put it in my Camomile tea (Camomile tea soothing). I also chew gum not done that in years, but the chewing stimulates the juices in your mouth and these juices are alkaline and I feel the benefit in my oesophagaes. Some people have food that causes acid whereas in another person it causes no problem, I have read on the internet.
I never thought I would ever feel OK in January, but I have found food I can eat and food I have to give up. I ditched dairy and use Almond milk in my cereal, I occasionally treat myself to cheese on toast, but not often. A food diary people on here have advised.
I have been waiting since December for my Gastroscopy, I had a phone call today to say my appointment is next Tuesday. I have not decided yet whether to have the sedative or not.
debra27175
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ines6375
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Which cereals are you eating? The only safe cereals (not too acidic or likely to stimulate your production of acid) are the ones that are without sugar and all sorts of additive, I mean you just want the grain: for example oatmeal, or buckwheat cream, or others like that. If you like it to taste sweet, cook it with a banana or add the banana afterward.
Decaf tea is not good, the only good warm drink is camomile for now.
Milk is very alkaline, so it might feel soothing at first but the problem is that it stimulates your stomach to produce excess acid. Probably because of the calcium. For now it is better to not eat any dairy.
I see above that Ooops64 suggests Manukka honey, I personnally tried it and it hurts my stomach. I am not sure if the reason is that it is too acidic (Ph level 4, you should stay above 5 for now) or if it is its antibiotic property (supposedly good against H Pilory, which I imagine you have been tested for).
The rest of what you describe sounds good, I am not sure about qorn but it seems neutral enough, I personally eat a lot of tempeh.
Now for what you can eat: all whole grain cereals pure like oatmeal, rice, artisan fresh bread, plain bagel; all vegetables except cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, onion (irritating); lean proteins like chicken breast, lean fish, shrimps, tempeh; three fruits: melon, watermelon or bananas (all the other ones are too acidic for now).
Cook with as little fat as you can (I count as fat cooking fat and nuts as the same thing), one teaspoon per meal, reduce as much as possible salt which is irritating and known to cause gastritis taken in excess (that is one of the few things where the doctors agree), avoid all spices and herbs including ginger as they would hurt more than help.
If you can get some evamore water (Ph.8.8), buy some and drink it as much as possible, it will deactivate the pepsin that hurts your esophagus.
Use a wedge to sleep.
Don't eat more than 3 cups of food per meal to not fill your stomach too much. And drink more between meals than during meals.
I tried many natural complements and I am happy to talk to you about them but since you are taking the PPI now I am not sure they would be helpful and I would worry they interfere with your medication or prevent you to assimilate it.
ines6375
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One last thing: do not eat or drink anything 3 hours before bed.
stella19032
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stella19032
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Ooops 64 take the sedation, it just relaxes you enough to make things ok. I tried a gastroscopy without and I couldn't manage it.
Debra interesting about the Prilosec. Did it actually make your reflux worse?
Ines, I was thinking of alkaline water but we don't get it here in the UK.
I've woken up feeling very depressed this morning. I just want my life back. I have a 2 year old son and i don't want him to see me crying all the time. I am going to call the secretary of the consultant at the hospital and see if I can get an earlier appointment. At this point I'm even considering surgery. I don't want to live my life like this x
debra27175
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ines6375
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If you want some variety in your proteins, tofu and tempeh (soy proteins) are good. You can have beans, lentils, chickpeas etc as well. I find eggs to be at the limit because of their amount of fat. I could not tolerate them at first but after a few weeks when I got better, it was ok. As soon as you can tolerate them, eggs would be a good protein for you because of B12.
stella19032
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Ines, I'll give soya a go, not had tofu for ages so it will make a nice change. I just about cope with eggs. I was going to start with egg whites and work up. Buying a juicer today, too x
ines6375
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