Hiatus Hernia questions
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi
I have posted a couple of times and would like to thank those who have responded it has been great to talk to others who are in the same boat.
I have a couple of questions:
Does anybody me else get the dull ache/sharp twinges on bottom of left rib which if I turn over in bed too quick the pain shoots through my side. Is this the hernia?
Nights are the worst as have to sleep propped up on pillows and on my back though have slid off them a couple of times the past few nights and have slept on my side but does this aggravate the hernia?
I have been experiencing a dull ache in middle of stomach and sometimes feel that this area is bloated and like a tight band. I am not sure whether this is due to posture when sitting at my work desk as it gets worse as day goes on.
I am on Lanzoprazole 30mg at moment but have been told to reduce to 15mg if feeling better. The heartburn has subsided considerably but I am still burping especially in morning - again is this normal?
Since the endoscopy everything seemed to flare up worse. It’s now been 2 weeks and at last things are starting to quite down but the left rib pain is a bit concerning any help?
My husband says I worry about everything which I must admit I do but it’s hard when your GP just gives you tablets and cannot answer your questions and says it’s my anxiety and low mood that are the problem and not the hernia and wants to put me on happy pills I then get very frustrated.
0 likes, 7 replies
bob_2020 Loopsie
Posted
hi loopsie i have a hiatus herina and i get the pains you are discribing dull ache and sharp pain left hand side below rib cage it can go right through to my back a burning pain in middle of back ..also get that pain in middle of stomach but i also get alot of feeling sick but never am sick but feeling it alot is the worse of it all do you ever get nausea feeling at all i am taking emeprasol 40mg have been for yrs now i have had my herina for yrs but over the last few months all this has started and never gone away am waiting on a ultra scan again what is the cure if theres any for having a hernia mines is a sliding one i also get palpations its now my heart but under rib cage left side its weird you think it is your heart pretty fed up with it its the nausea feeling i hate so much glad i read your post loopsie like to hear from others like yourself..thanks 👍
Loopsie bob_2020
Posted
Hi Bob,
I know how you feel though I have been putting a hot water bottle on my ribs each evening to see if that helped. The pain has become a bit more bearable but whether it is the heat helping or not I don’t know but can’t do any harm. Your nausea could be from your tablets as I know it’s a side effect of mine. I know they do operate on sliding hiatus hernias but only in certain circumstances. Maybe you should ask to be referred to a general surgeon and ask for their opinion. GP’s only have a certain knowledge and a surgeon will be able to advise you better.
joanna17875 Loopsie
Posted
hi there,
Please don't worry Hiatus Hernias are very very common and rarely cause problems unless they are sliding. If you had anything seriously wrong the endoscopy would have picked it up, the next way to go would be a camera up the other end but you don't mention bowel issues.
Do make sure that you keep to a low fat diet as most people have trouble digesting fats with a HH. keep meals small and avoid eating/drinking at least a couple of hours before bed.
Try not to worry, stress is a massive trigger for digestive issues, have u thought of yoga/relaxation therapies?
good luck.
NC10 Loopsie
Posted
Hey there 😃
So first off, YES! My 2cm HH absolutely causes all sorts of discomfort. I get a dull ache at the base of my sternum, my lower ribs will often seem sore to ghe touch, and the pain can often radiate to my back.
When it is particularly bad, I can't even fold my arms across my chest because that pressure causes discomfort. Or leabing forward to tie my shoes, for example, will cause pain. Basically any kind of abdominal crunching or pressure. When iy is really bad, it feels like.my whole chest is inflamed. This confuses both my GI and my ENT because they both maintain that a 2cm HH should not cause should discomfort, yet they admit that is could be possible as I am indeed experiencing the pain.
What size is your HH? Has your doctor told you?
And for everyone else experiencing this kind of pain, I have a question. Have your doctors said the pain is due to reflux primarily? Or, is the pain due to the hernia being forced higher into the chest cavity due to overeating or abdominal pressure?
Hang in there all!
Loopsie NC10
Posted
Hi NC10
Thanks for your reply. I too have a 2cm sliding HH. My doctor has no idea why I am having the pain as like you they say they do not cause pain. I am sure it is the hernia sliding in and out though I have been putting a hot water bottle on the base of my ribs each night. The pain is a lot more bearable but not sure whether this is down to the heat, my tablets or the breathing exercises I am doing. I am thinking of taking up yoga in the new year as I have been told that strengthening my diaphragm may help. Have you heard anything about this?
chris2 Loopsie
Posted
Hi
I have a suspected hiatus hernia and am going through various tests at the moment. I can relate to the rib pain and using a hot water bottle! I bought a wedge pillow but it is not helping. I had a bad skin reaction to Lansoprazole (which needed yet more medication) and had to discontinue Omeprazole after it turned my urine brown. It seems strong PPIs are not for me. I can control 'the burn' with OTC drugs - what I need is something to control the reflux - ie the gas and belching that seems to come from the throat and even my last food/drink coming up- say if I have to bend and lift a coal bucket to refuel the stove.
Been invited out for Christmas dinner. Just praying I can get by without belching and hiccuping!
The one thing that has helped is sleeping sitting up - when I can manage it. I am following all the diet and lifestyle advice but now getting so desperate, I'm even wondering whether eating standing up will mitigate the symptoms.
pip1948 chris2
Posted
I would love to know how your tests turned out, was it an HH?
I had a lobe of my lung removed 2 1/2 months ago. I recuperated in about 8 weeks, and went back to work, I worked one day, on a Friday and woke up the next day so nauseated and sick I was in bed all day. Burping unbelievably, heartburn, and hurting high in my abdomen. I have taken omeprazole for years for heartburn and acid stomach, but it was not even touching this. And I have never had nausea like this or the burping. I went to see my primary care doc. He changed the PPI to another one twice a day, told me to add Pepcid, and then gave me another med called sucrafate. By the time I saw him I was taking peptol bismol tagament, my own over the counter of what he prescibed.
I have had multiple blood tests done, an ultra sound, a fecal exam looking for H Pylori, have seen a GI specialist, and now had a endoscopy. The result is that I do not have an ulcer, do have GERD, but not really as bad as it could be, and he saw a small HH. But, he didn't think that the HH could cause this much discomfort, he said it was too small. He stretched my esophagus but noted that there had been no narrowing of the esophagus? They were suppose to do a biopsy of my stomach lining, looking for H Pylori, but he didn't do it, I guess because he didn't find an ulcer. Mind you by the time that I had the endoscopy I had been on medications for 3 weeks!
I have been off work for the last 3 weeks, and mostly sick and in bed. The nausea just puts me down, I can't function with it. My follow up appointment is not for another 3 weeks.
Am I correct in assuming that with a sliding HH, it could be very small one day and very large the next? It is all about how much of the stomach is above the diaphragm , right? I am at my wits end. I need some relief. I mentioned my lung surgery because I have read that it can cause an HH.