1. Community
  2. Gut, bowel and stomach
  3. Hernia

Hiatus Hernia and GORD at 21, need advice

Posted , 5 users are following.

Stiffers
Stiffers

Hello everyone, so after a long time of struggling I now finally know that I have a Hiatus hernia which is causing my terrible acid reflux. I am only 21 and this has been going on for years.

As of recent my symptoms only feel as if they're getting worse, I take one lansoprazole a day with two ranitidines. For a while these helped but now they really help as much. Its getting to the point where Id rather lay in bed because the pain is so bad, I cannot focus and im a student. I have switched up my diet, only drink water and workout often, now it feels like even jogging makes it worse. I just don't get it, I'm following all the advice and don't see any improvement. Plus my digestion feels like crap because of the tablets.

I'm only 21 and its already bad, I'm going to try and get referred to a specialist. In the mean time if you have any advice to help with the symptoms it would be great, honestly its starting to take over my life.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • maggie25776
    maggie25776 Stiffers

    Posted

    Hi sorry to hear you struggling with it. It is a nightmare. I have had it 10 years now. Some things that may help. Raise your bed at the top end with some bricks as the reflux worse at night. So you need to raise yourself up slightly. I also take some gaviscon before I go to bed. Maybe try another medication. I tried 3 before I found one that helped.

    I know some people who have seen a chiropractor who do massage on hernia so maybe worth looking into. I found a self massage on the internet and do that may seem crazy but seems to help, loads of videos on you tube to show you how.

    Hope things improve soon for you.

    Maggie

  • moon53540
    moon53540 Stiffers

    Posted

    Ask to change to esomeprazole and try gavisc0n double action as well. You need to be careful what you eat and drink avoid fatty food, processed foods, acidic foods, alcohol, sweet foods, carbonated drinks, high protein foods and if you smoke give up. Look up low acid diet.

  • Stiffers
    Stiffers

    Posted

    Thank you for the replies, I have already restricted my diet which isn't seeming to reduce my symptoms when eating (small portions). I only drink water and have cut out the foods suggested, as well as any things I find to trigger my reflux. At the moment I'm confused, sometimes a food will trigger it sometimes it wont. Every food or even water right now is setting off my reflux, even with double doses of my H2 blockers and PPIs.

    Have seen my doctor today and she is contacting the gastro specialist for some advice or a possible referral, unsure on the size of my hernia but I'm pretty sure it is small and I shouldn't be refluxing the amount I am.

    Thank you for the advice

    • moon53540
      moon53540 Stiffers

      Posted

      I used to take lanzoprazole and it stopped working for me. There are so many different ppis that work better than that one, it is the cheapest, which is why it is usually prescribed first. Esomeprazole is the one I am told works best for most patients and being a long time reflux sufferer, sometimes gavisc0n double action sometimes works better than that. Sometimes just Esomeprazole is fine but sometimes it needs the assistance of gavisc0n.

      Have you ever suffered with anorexia or been overweight? Both of these can make a hiatus hernia possible. Do you suffer with anxiety? This can give you bad reflux. Don't drink tap water, the amount of chemicals in there are not good for reflux. Also cold water will give you problems. Make sure your drinks are room temperature. You may have a food intolerance or allergy or you may have h pylori. These are things you can discuss with the gastroenterologist.

  • Stiffers
    Stiffers

    Posted

    When I was younger I struggled with my weight a lot. When these problems started occuring I was at a good weight in the 12 stone range, since then I have gained a good amount of weight which I'm trying to lose (much harder to lose weight with reflux).

    I can discuss trying new tablets, I have already tried omeprazole but they also didn't work. One thing I can say for certain is that I have a lot of anxiety, since this started over a year ago my life has completely flipped. If I were to find a way to manage the pain I believe I would be less anxious, I'm in my final year at University so its quite upsetting at times having to sit out of social events because of the condition.

    By any chance did you or anyone else ever see a reduction in symptoms as you lost weight? A few weeks ago my reflux settled down a lot but I was hardly eating.

  • Stiffers
    Stiffers

    Posted

    Bit of a follow up on this but I have been referred to a specialist however its going to take forever to see them.

    It feels like my reflux is only getting worse, I've been losing weight and honestly been eating the blandest diet but nothing helps. The reflux is so unpredictable now, it can randomly set off for no reason at all. Its getting to the point now where I'm struggling to eat at all.

    Could there be something else causing the reflux? I am pretty sure my hernia is small so it shouldn't be this bad, doctors don't really know what to do and PPI's have little to no effect. I have even taken up to four PPIs a day before so I assume it cant just be an acid problem? Any advice will be extremely helpful, struggling to cope.

    • Mylo_1991
      Mylo_1991 Stiffers

      Posted

      Hi there,

      Sorry to hear of your problems!

      Have you seen a specialist yet? I suffered acid reflux and chest pain as a 22 year old student at University in 2012. Had a battle but eventually had an endoscopy which found a small, sliding hiatus hernia. I, like you, struggled with my diet and exercising with the symptoms. I tried all the PPI's to no avail also and as a highly active person it was really tough. I decided to go ahead with the surgery in April 2014 and haven't looked back. Are you considering surgery?

    • Stiffers
      Stiffers Mylo_1991

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply!

      I was meant to be seeing them at the end of last month, unfortunately it was postponed until July because of the Corona virus. Its still affecting me now, though I am trying to lose weight in hopes of some resolution, I think I possibly caused the hernia when I gained a lot of weight in a short period of time.

      I have definitely considered the surgery since this problem is affecting me at such a young age, plus it now affects my asthma which is making exercise fairly difficult. The weird thing for me is sometimes I have will have weeks with hardly any issues, I can eat whatever I like and its pretty stable. Then all of a sudden I'll have a bad flair up and its terrible for weeks, this happened a few days ago even though I've been eating clean and exercising almost everyday. If I was able to keep it stable when it isn't so bad I could easily live with it, it makes me think something else is causing the reflux alongside the hernia since there is no obvious trigger for these larger flair ups.

      I guess it will come down to what the specialist says, bottom line is I can't keep living like this and something needs to change. I have incorporated all my doctors advice and had minimal results, it seems I have no obvious trigger or I am simply overlooking something.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.