Hiatus Hernia - 30 Yrs, Anyone Can Relate?
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Hi All!
I am a 30 year old female and been suffering for the last 3 years. It all started with intense nausea (never vomit) on and off for about 2 years. Enough to stop me resuming a normal social life which has developed into 'social anxiety' where I am now too scared to go out for fear of feeling unwell.
I became extremely poorly back in Feb 2020 and ended up moving back to my mums because I could not do anything at home from just being generally unwell I made 2 trips to A&E before lockdown because I could not stand feeling so poorly 24/7. After trips to the doctor at least once a week during Feb & March they tested for all the basic stomach issues such as H.Pylori, Gastritis, IBS etc. As always my symptoms was being put down to 'Anxiety' which understandably I had because I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. The last step was going for the dreaded Endoscopy which I really did not want to do but it had got to a point where I was so unwell. I could not wait for months via the NHS and went privately and within 48 hours was in my suite waiting to go down. For anyone who has fears about having this procedure done or have heard horror stories DO NOT LISTEN this procedure is not half as bad as what people make it out to be (and this is coming from a self confessed drama queen who is terrified of everything medically) I requested to have sedation which makes you drowsy and honestly I do not remember it happening even though I was awake and it is literally over in minutes. For anyone too scared to have this done please just swallow the fear and have it because it does wonders for your mental health after a diagnosis. I was diagnosed with a 2cm sliding hiatus hernia and evidence of reflux.
So my main reason for making a thread today is because I have read so many forums, countless forums about this condition yet cannot relate to most people's symptoms and find it is not as common in people my own age.
I do not get chest pains or the 'feeling' of having a heart attack which from what I read is 99% of symptoms. My main symptoms are mainly upper abdomenal bloating, severe nausea (never vomit there was a time before I went A&E I was lying in the bathroom all night TRYING to be sick because I thought it would relieve the symptoms but just never happened. I do not feel any pain or burning in my chest at all but I do sometimes have a hoarse voice and uncomfortable lump in back of the throat which I am guessing is acid. I do not experience any pain whatsoever except for severe stomach bloating directly under my bust.
Is there anyone else out there that had symptoms different from the normal heartburn/ heart attack feeling symptoms? I feel so lonely not finding anyone with anything similar to my own and can't relate to.
As a side note I have used all the normal PPI's (they do not work at all) and I tried them all Omeprazole, Lanzoprazole, Pantoprozole. This could be due to them not having instant results during my darkest hours that I never gave them a chance but I do not take these anymore.
However, my tablets I have on prescription now which have given me relief are Amitripdilene which is an anxiety medication but is proven to help with stomach conditions. If no one has explored this option I would 100% recommend you talk to a doctor about this because I feel it helps 10mg early evening time. My doctor was not happy to give me them but caved mainly because I was so visibly distressed with being so unwell for months. I also reguarly take Cyclizine for my bouts of nausea.
Rennies have an adverse effect on my stomach in other ways that we won't go into detail about so I no longer take these. Chewing gum is a catch 22 helps with nausea but is bad for acid and bloating. Gaviscon I was recommended to take directly after every meal but gave that up because it is awful.
All in all since being diagnosed I can have a full 3 weeks of feeling 90% normal but I get flare ups which can last between 1-2 days or a full week. I am currently having a flare up now which has brought me onto a forum because I am always worried once it starts up again it will never go.
I feel lucky my symptoms are not as bad as most I read on here but I totally understand and feel for those who are out there suffering much more then me. I honestly got to a point where I was so unwell I just wanted to die and I can't imagine for those of you who suffer daily with worse symptoms how you must feel.
Is there anyone out there who has anything similar to me that can relate! I literally have no one to talk to about it, as with many 'inside' conditions my family do not understand how debilitating it feels when they can't see anything physically wrong.
0 likes, 1 reply
stephen39299 MickeyBlue123
Posted
My story is very similar to yours. I am almost 28. I only got diagnosis of the hernia in November 2019 despite going to my gp for years complaining of extreme abdominal pain that never ends. I don't actually have a lot of pain in the stomach but in the chest and the throat. I have trouble breathing most of the time. But I do get near constant chest bloating/a heavy feeling in the chest. Feels like somebody is standing on my chest. I also occasionally have severe nausea. Before I had the endoscopy last year I had a vomiting fit for 2 weeks just from drinking too much of a fizzy drink. It was so violent. Another thing that I have is 24/7 excess saliva and a constant lump in the throat feeling no matter what I eat or drink, and a bad taste in the mouth.
In June I got so desperate at not being listened to and the fact that the GP was closed I went to a private hospital to see if I could get surgery. They said it would be very unusual to get surgery for it at my young age but that they would refer me back to my local hospital to get an abdominal scan to see if it was so big that it required surgery. The doctor said the hernia itself was not big but there was a large opening in the stomach and said I could get surgery but only as a last resort after I lose weight, prop up my bed so I'm not lying flat etc all the usual crap.
I haven't gotten any further than that. They class it as a "lifestyle issue" which infuriates me. The pain is debalitating to the point where you can't do anything, you can't concentrate. I still spend most of the time in bed because of this. Last year I did lose weight and ate super healthy. This was before I knew I had it. But the pain was still 24/7.
They won't do surgery because apparently surgery can create other issues. That's what they claim anyway.