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Just thought I'd share my experiences of the dreaded ref...

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Guest
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Just thought I'd share my experiences of the dreaded reflux. I've been having problems since the birth of my twins 8 years ago. Up until Christmas 2006 I would have short bouts every 6 months or so - small potatoes compared to some of you I know. The symptoms were usually the same - a feeling of trapped wind, a burning sensation in my chest and sometimes a pain in my back. However, a month or so on 20mg of omeprazole usually did the trick. Occasionally the reflux would linger and I was tested for h pylori - negative- and it was also suggested that maybe I had a hiatus hernia. Since Christmas, however, I have been really suffering. Terrible burning in my chest, a feeling of acid washing up and down my throat, bloating even after a small meal, a pulling sensation and sometimes backache. 20 mg of omeprazole initially helped but then had little effect. After a really bad night I went back to my GP who poked my tummy for a bit then changed my meds to 150mg Ranitidine twice a day. These have kind of helped even though I've read they're not as good as omeprazole. My GP seemed reluctant to up the dose of omprazole I don't know why. I'm supposed to go back to the GP in about a week but am going back sooner to be asked to be referred to a specialist as I can't stand living like this any more. I eat tiny meals usually consisting of something on toast - EVERYTHING seems to aggrevate my poor old tum and as a result have lost some weight (I wasn't overweight to begin with). It's become so bad that I'm back on a low dose anti-depressent to help me cope with the anxiety (I'm worried I've got stomach cancer - my GP poh-pohed this) and yes I know these can cause indigestion. I'm so desperate that I'll probably pay to see the specialist just to speed things up. Can anyone offer any comfort or positive thoughts?

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1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I sympathise greatly. I suffered from reflux for 3 years and after many tests I was told there was nothing wrong with me,there were no more tests I could have and it was just anxiety. I was put on anti depressants. OWhen we moved house my new doctor suggested a ph test which had never been mentioned before. This test showed that I had severe reflux (which was such a relief to know that the problem was not in my head)and I paid privately to have a laproscopic nissen fundoplication.The reflux stopped immediately, thoiugh it was not without complications. Email me if you need more info.

    Chris Reed

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I have enquired to have an nissen fundiplication done by my private hospital and i was told it would be £6,816,I cant afford that but if my latest tests show I have an hiatius hernia I am willing to pay the £2,450 to stop me being in pain,failing that I have to wait until the NHS doctors decide what they are doing with me as I have to have another endoscopy and barium x-ray.

    Take care all,I sympathise with you greatly

    Debs xxxx

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I'm sorry to hear you've had probs with your fundop, Chris, mine has been a complete success. I have bloating, and much wind, which can only go one way, but I feel this is a small price to pay, considering how much I was suffering before I had it done. Debs, if you can afford to have the op, then go for it, you have suffered enough, but consider waiting until you've had the tests again?

    I don't know the reason for your doc refusing to up your dose of omeprazole, in the top post, BUT, my consultant told me that I should have the op pretty quickly after it became apparant that I needed a 60mg dose of Lansoprazole daily to keep my symptoms at bay, along with a high dose of domperidone,, apparantly, a high dose of Lansoprazole causes cancer in the stomach of rats, and it was unclear if the same was relevant of high doses in humans. Maybe this is why you can't have a higher dose? Good luck, anyway, if you need the op, then go for it, I am the biggest champion of this surgery, it has changed my entire life, I never realised until after I had it how ill I was before it, as I had lived with it for so long. if you can afford to pay to be seen quicker, go for it. i'm starting to see how lucky i have been now I am reading the stories on here. Althoiugh I think the fact that I had suffered repeated bouts of severe oesophagitis was a factor in me being treated so quickly in the end, I had been fobbed off for years, it was only after being hospitalised several times that I was taken in for surgery. But it was still within a year of the first bout, which isn't bad given the current state of the NHS!! Caroline..xx

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    I really sympathise with your condition, it is a horrible one to have. Mine has only just been about a year now, and I take Nexium 40mg in the evening (about 2 hours before bed) and Pariet 20mg in the mornings as soon as I wake with a lot of water, which almost immediately takes away the horrible hot feeling in the throat and the other symptoms. I am aware of the condition most of the day. However my Specialist tells me that mine condition is due to a (small) hiatus hernia, and says that he does not recommend the nissen fundiplication as the results of the operation can be worse than the symptoms of the condition! These can include being unable to burp and bloating as a result. Not nice. He also tells me that I can stay on these drugs as long as I need to, for life in necessary. Although most doctors say that what you eat doesn't make much difference, I find that avoiding chocolate, alcohol, coffee and hot spicy foods does help. If I have any of these I definitely know about it when I wake up in the night! Hope that your condition improves. Hard with twins not to be right on the ball healthwise. Best of luck - Julie

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  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    It was good to read your post Julie as your symptoms sound exactly like mine - particularly being aware of the condition all day - I thought it was only supposed to be after meals. How were you diagnosed - was it by endoscopy? This is now my next step and I'm not looking forward to it! Do you manage to eat regular size meals or do you have to eat "little and often"? I hope you don't think I'm being nosy but it is so nice to have heard from someone who seems to have exactly the same as me. I would welcome any more advice or comments you have. Or from anyone else for that matter - I'm in a kind of limbo as I'm waiting for blood test results as well as an apponitment at the hospital. Until I have a definitie diagnosis I'm kind of guessing what I have - as is my GP!

    Thanks again, Susie.

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