Living with Hiatus hernia and vagus nerve problems for 30 years

Have had a number of symptoms for a few years which have now been diagnosed as vagally mediated AF. The vagas nerve has been damaged; in addition I have a small hiatus hernia which can also get in the way; When the nerve misfires it can cause a range of symptoms including a feeling of blocked ears, a hoarse voice, AF, gurgling stomach and overactive bladder; all areas to which the vagas nerve runs.. When this kicks in the Dr has prescribed flecanaide ( Flecatab 100mg which corrects the AF).

However I have identified the triggers and if these are managed I can keep it at bay; the triggers for me are; any cold food or drink; this triggers off the nerve in the stomach; excessive caffiene and MSG; acid reflux medication (PPIs) which interfere with acetylcholine which is the main neurotransmitter for the vagas nerve.

In addition compressing the nerve in the back of the neck (C6C7) by a sharp twist of the head will also trigger it off; its like a karate chop to the neck; because of the hiatus hernia sleeping on the right hand side is out as this can press on the nerve and trigger of the misfire.

Its a most unpleasant experience and I sympathize with any body who experiences it; I hope this helps.

hi Richard

I have diabetes and i feel my ignoring it is what may have fried my Vagus nerve. I was diagnosed with a"small"Hiatial hernia.

please send me any input you can. i appreciated reading and it helped me.

Thanks,

Rich

 

Hi Richard,

I just came across this website and noticed your post (3-yr. old)

I have been living with hiatal hernia for about 15 years. I went to many many doctors and had numerous medical tests done in the first couple of years (when the same symptoms as yours started).

They did find the hiatus hernia but the western medicine does not believe in pain created by hiatal hernia and none of these doctors thought about the possibility of the vagus nerve being "pinched" by it.

I found it very frustrating. One of these "specialists" alluded to the possibility that the pain was all "in my head".

I was lucky finding a naturopath doctor who gave me this book "Hiatal Hernia Syndrome: The Mother of All Illness?" - you can purchase this on Amazon.

He also gave me this wood object in shape of a big egg which can be used to "massage" and pull down your stomach periodically.

My wife helps me with this process. My hernia acts up about once a month now and this type of massage relieves the pain right away.

Hope this helps,

Chris.

Hi Welshexport

My gastroenterologist has recently informed me that  HH  is like a piston moving up and down in and out of the diaphragm. He says surgery is not satisfactory and the best way to manage it is not to strain the stomach with large meals and when emptying the bowel; There are exercises that help to push the hernia back down through the diapragm; If you get AF i suggest you reconsider taking omaprozole as it can trigger it off through the vagus nerve;  drinking large quantities of alcohol will only exacerbate the condition as it increases the amount of acid in the stomach. I have HH as well as a shatzkis which was recently dialated; eating less acid producing foods helps to manage it as the HH tends to pop up when there is excessive acidic gas in the stomach.

rod

Came across this discussion so I thought as I have a HH, heart problems and used to be in the RAF I'll add my two penny's worth:

I’ll keep this to the point:

I Used to be in the RAF, and almost instantly after a 4-month tour to Qatar in 2009 I started to have health problems.

Problem (1) Basically over time I start struggling to digest my food, mainly protein. At first this manifests as muscular skeletal problems, followed by hair loss, saggy skin and eventually burning in the stomach, nausea and IBS.

Now here’s the kicker:

Problem (2) After a couple of years I figured out how to fix problem (1), for instance: assist my body’s ability to break down protein or supplement with protein: either by taking a protein shake, free form amino acids, enzyme tablets with HCL, or restrictive diets.

But after a while I start to get vasoconstriction: this is presented as painfully strong heart contractions, blood shot eyes, headaches, shooting pains in arms and neck and ED; all symptoms you would expect from vasoconstriction. The problem begins as transient and then all of a sudden it becomes chronic. When it switches to the chronic state, it takes years to recover, or as long as it takes problem (1) to come back. Since the 1st time I caused problem (2) to go chronic I now also get angina symptoms when problem (1) returns, I imagine due to the strain I put on my heart after it took 3 years for my heart to recover from the chronic state of problem (2).

Oh and I don’t even risk Amino acids or a protein shake anymore, only sparingly do I take enzyme tablets when problem (1) gets bad.

Summary: If I cure problem (1) I get problem (2), to cure problem (2) I need to get back to problem (1) – and problem (2) is far, far worse than problem (1).

I’ve been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia, Barrett’s Oesophagus and I also had a parasite (Blastocystis hominis) which I killed off in 2014.

Does anyone else have anything similar: if yes please feel free to ask me questions and I can go into more detail.

Hi Richard ,

I have just registered on here and have just posted a very similar post to yours! have a read of mine too if you can, but yeah I get the same sensations and feelings/palpations with mine at the moment too!

I cannot seem to control it and my sleep is all over the place as I feel like it just protrudes upwards and tries to suffocate the heart area and vagus nerve.

With mine it just feels like it is often beating at a sporadic and strange rhythm, I'll get like 3 relatively normal beats and then the last one will be a quick one on the end, and I notice it changes with the breath in and out sometimes like it catches the nerve with the diaphragm movements.

Do you get stomach spasms too? I am struggling majorly with this at the moment, I get this jolt and wriggly movement below the sternum in the central area and it simultaneously sends my heart into a spin of out of control rhythm and rapid heart rate, only for it to subside after a few minutes if I really dig deep and distract myself (which is incredibly hard!).

I, too, am at the point where I need help with this and to be told what is going on with it more than anything to get a bit of reassurance!

I would point out though, I am with a naturopath who is really good and the approach to actually understanding the belching side of things is important, doctors only treat the symptoms as a single black and white approach.

I have incredibly low stomach acid which is often the route cause of acid reflux in the first place so be careful taking too many PPIs, this may make your symptoms worse in the long run.

Did you know that the vagus nerve is also crucial in telling the stomach to produce stomach enzymes which help digest food properly? I wonder if the culprit for us is the vagus nerve just not firing how it should and that is the real reason for the other symptoms. The trouble is and the big question, how do we get this thing under control?!

Do you get burning acid reflux sensation in your oesophagus? I never seem to get that I just get the chronic belching with lots of gas and food, but never the burning feeling!

I am a 28 year old male, who is otherwise healthy and slim build.

Thanks! Jamie.

I have been reading all these posts and want to help. I too was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and GERD. I have managed to lower the anxiety and pain without any surgery within about a month. Not sure how many people this will apply to, since I caught mine early- sharp chest and back pain, ears ringing, painful pressure up into my neck and face and spiking blood pressure. Thought I was having a stroke or heart attack. Anyway, I have never had anxiety until this happened and it all came on quickly while I had been under a ton of stress- twins on the way, work, deaths in the family. know my eating habits had been terrible and drinking almost every night before bed. i am a back sleeper with a previous neck injury. c5-c6. So anyways i woke up one night with terrible chest pain. I went to the ER 3 times in a week due to the pain. CT scan showed hiatal hernia. To fix this, one morning I drank a large glass of warm water, then stood on my toes and dropped to my heals about 20 times. I heard the sucking sounds of my stomach coming out of my chest cavity, then it dropped. i almost passed out. The vagus nerve is right near the opening of the asaphogus and I was feeling all that nerve compression- palpitations etc. Once my stomach dropped, I continued sleeping in a recliner. I ate only lentil beans, brown rice, steamed veggies, oatmeal, and hard boiled egg whites for 2 weeks. no seasoning or fats. I also took vitamin b12, about 10k% daily value, to help repair my nerves . initially, I couldn't burp out the air quick enough, but after a week it was easier and easier. the chest and back pain is nearly gone, and my tinnitus and vision is much better- but not how it was before the hernia.

hello everyone. I have been having severe chest pain for about 9 months. Then I started having problems with food getting stuck in throat and couldn't eat. Had an edg done and they said I have a small hiatial hernia and that surgery wasn't needed. I've also had trouble breathing, heart palms, severe sore throat and arm pain. I kept going back to doctors and finally he gave me a nerve medication called antriplyn and also take omeprazole. this has been a huge help. I went from crying on the couch everyday not being able to work or anything because of the pain to feeling much better . hopefully this helps! hopefully it continues to help me.

Wow. These are all symptoms I have been suffering since 2011/2012.

Can I ask if you have ever had shooting pains in the eye at random?

Right in the corner of the eye socket. It's a symptom I've had on top of everything else like headaches, muscle spasms, chest pain etc.

Glad I found this page as I've been at my wits end for almost a decade now age 45.

Diagnosed with 2cm HH finally in 2019.

45M. I am in the same boat. I got my Hiatus hernia due to losing weight to fast according to my Doctor. About 10 years ago before I knew what I had I would end up in the ER many times thinking I was having a heart attack. Prior to this I never had anxiety, but let me tell you I definitely have it after my hernia. I went through about 4 years of this before I finally saw a gastro doctor and he diagnosed me. Still to this day the Heart Palpitations scare me sometimes. Most of the time I just ignore them but I go through waves where I will feel great for weeks to a few months and then I will go through a week of flutters all day. Drives me crazy. The main thing I can point to is they come after I ingest something OR I am starving and my stomach is empty. Because of my hernia I have learned to eat very small meals but I basically snack all day. I never sit down and eat a whole meal. It's great when going out because I usually just split something with others. So basically I am in a constant state of not being full, but not being hungry. It's great for maintaining my weight, man it sucks.

You described exactly what I'm going through with my hiatal hernia, including the back and neck pain. I live in constant pain and feel like I've run out of options. I'm 39

Hi, I have been experiencing many of your symptoms for the last 2 years. I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia in 2015. I have been on omeprazole since then but have only been taking 3 times a week for the last year. My current symptoms include dull ache on left side under ribs that radiates from front to back. This also feels like a pinching sensation sometimes. I'm also getting a dead arm feeling in my upper left arm and top of shoulder. Plus the same feeling upper left chest. I also wake up every morning with some acid in my mouth. All this left side discomfort feels like I need to stretch it out. I don't currently restrict anything in my diet but think I may need to start looking at this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.