Acid reflux and stomach pains

  • Thread starter Thread starter mocha1061
  • Start date Start date
Well, here is the latest update...my sons Dr. just told me she wants to put him on Lexapro! She claims this will help him with his nausea. I am really not sure I want to do this. Does not make sense to me at all. Any advise out there on this latest devepment?
 
My daughter has been diagnosed with acid reflux. Some days she gets terrible stomach pains and other days terrible nausea. This lasts from 6:30 when she gets up and usually subsides by 11:30am. Eating doesn't help. She feel worse after eating. She is drinking water and walking around and sitting up. This has been going on for over 4 weeks.:(

I was just wondering if anyone has the same symptoms.

Thanks for your response.
Frustrated mom
 
Yes, I have tried both ginger pills and acidopolis, both with no effect. I really don't want to put him on the Lexapro. so I will probably say no. I told her I had to think about it, so that I can do more research, but as I have read so far, it has more negative appeal than positive. I did ask the Dr. about the Apple Cidar vinegar, and as I have read repeatily in this forum, (that the Dr. will be totally against that!) that is just what happened. she was dead set against it! Said that it would tear his stomach apart. then I mentioned the acid/alkaline diet and she said she would get back to me on that. So as of now, still no answers.
 
Well, I haven't tried the Apple cidar vinegar yet, I did read about that and have given my son slices of apple in the morning, but didn't really do much. I think the apple cidar vinegar helps the acid, but does it do anything for the nausea? That is my sons biggest problem, I will definitely try the aloe vera juice. Thanks for everybodys input.
 
I do but it's usually not every day all day. Mine will come and go and will last sometimes for 3-4 days and then feel better for a day or two. I was just diagnosed with this and am trying Nexium. It's been 2 weeks and I still don't have relief but I'm hoping to give it a few more weeks. I read that it can take anywhere from 1-3 months to feel relief.

Has she been diagnosed with acid relux? Is she taking any medicine? What is her diet like?
 
I searched Lexapro. I would not put my daughter on this medication:nono: Lexapro is used to treat anxiety and major depressive disorder. I would ask the doctor a lot more questions. Have you tried giving your son ginger pills for his nausea?

I know what you are going through with your son and you really want him to have relief but sometimes you have to say no with what the doctors are saying and suggest something else.

Also, have you tried acidophiles? It is very good for digestion.
Keep me posted.
 
You will not have reflux if you don't have acid, but you will also not digest properly. One of the functions of HCL in digestion is to signal the release of bicarbonate which will not occur properly if there is a lack of HCL. When food goes undigested into the intestinal tract, there is a build up of toxins that may result in leaky gut syndrome. Your friend does not have the reflux symptoms because he is neutralizing whatever HCL he has. Instead he should have probably taken Betaine HCL or something equivalent to treat his condition in harmony with his body.
 
Everyone should read the above quote. Most reflux is caused not by too much acid but by too little. We naturally produce less HCL the older we get. Betaine HCL is a great supplement, and I am curious what the multi-digestive suppliment that you take is called. Standard Process makes a wide gamut of digestive aiRAB such as Zypan that are availble through health care practitioners. GERD is also treated effectively by chiropractors who specialize in Applied Kinesiology.
 
My best advice to you is to get another opinion from another gastro doctor to confirm that he does have reflux. There are a lot of other illnesses where the symptoms will mimic reflux symptoms.

Good luck.
 
My IBS and reflux go hand in hand. Sometimes I have too much acid and in turn get diarrhea really bad & rapid transit of my fooRAB really bad. Aciphex and Zantac are the only two reflux medications I can take & get any immediate relief from. But after taking it for so long, I lose all the acid "and acid is needed for digestion" and then the acid pills don't work at all. So I take a multi-digestive enzyme suppliment that contains Betaine Hydrocholoride that puts acid back in you. If my gastro knew I was doing this, LOL, she'd kill me. But it works.

They say it is extremely necessary that I take my acid medication every day because I am at high risk for esophageal cancer. I had Barrett's esophagus, however it was the Betaine Hydrocholoride that cleared that up for me.

If acid medications fail to work, maybe the issue is not having enough acid. It will cause the same type of symptoms.

How was she tested to see if she had reflux issues? Maybe an endoscopy to check for damage to the esophagus? I think you need an x-ray that includes drinking that nasty barium to check for reflux or this tube that goes down in you for 24 hrs to measure it (PH study I think). The endoscopy procedure isn't going to show it.

If she is having indigestion, belching, or heartburn on a regular basis, she likely has reflux issues.
 
Dear Forensicmom,
Thanks for your response.
She has been diagnosed with acid reflux. She had an upper GI, endoscopy and ultra sound. She was taking aciphex for almost 1 month and it did nothing. Now she is taking zegerid. Why she has reflux I do not know.

We are vegetarians and have a pretty simple diet. But since her reflux diagnosis her diet has gotten more simple.

Her stomach pains are a bit better now and we are trying to get to school, it is almost 12 noon!!!
 
I am so sorry to hear your problem, unfortunately it may be just the beginning. My son was diagnosed with acid reflux and GERD. He has been suffering with this for 4 years. he is currently on Zegerid and has been on it for about 3 months. it has helped somewhat with the pain, but has done NOTHING for the intense nausea he feels EVERYDAY. Just like your child, it is most intense in the morning, when he gets up for school at 6:30. (he is 15yrs. old) But it doesn't really subside at all even throughout the day. The Dr. told him that the Zegerid will not do anything for the nausea, and that it is a lifestyle change in his diet and eating habits. Although we have done everything the Dr. told us to change his diet and such, NOTHING HAS WORKED. This poor kid lives in constant agony 7 days a week. It is awful. I would welcome any suggestions or answers as to whether or not there is any hope, or that he will not have to simply live like this the rest of his life.
 
There is an antidepressant med called mirtazapine that is also used for nausea and to increase appetite. It is unusual in that the higher the dose, the less sedation it causes.
Sedating doses range from 7.5 to 30mg at bedtime. Less sedating doses run from 45 to 90mg. The recommended starting dose is 15mg at bedtime. After about a week or so, then can increase to next dosage until you reach a dose that will not cause so much sleepiness.
 
Since my last post I have taken my daughter to another gastro doctor for a second opinion. He said she DOES NOT have reflux but a mild case of IBS. The meRAB she was given by the first doc only made her worse. The first doc put her on Aciphex and she was on it for almost 4 weeks, which did nothing, and then changed to Zegerid, which made her worse so after 3 days we took her off of it and she started to get better. The new doctor put her on a fiber supplement (fiber sure) which is a natural vegetable fiber and senokot, which is also a natural vegetable mild laxative. He said her intestines neeRAB to be cleaned out better. After a few times the fiber was giving her stomach pains so we stopped it and she felt much better. So now she only takes 2 senokot pills in the evenings. We also have to control her diet very carefully. She has gotten A LOT better. Since we are lucky to be on vacation from school for 2 weeks we can get her on a schedule with the senokot to see when is the best time to give it to her.

hapy, thanks for the aloe advise. I did know about it. Actually we were giving her 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar in 8 oz of water and that was making her feel better for a little while.

mocha1061...I feel for you and your son. I know exactly what you are going through. My daughter missed almost 5 weeks of school since Deceraber. Have you taken him to see another doctor for another opinion? We went to many doctors to rule out other things also. The 2nd gastro doc we saw said that the redness that is in her esophagus is normal (she had an endoscopy). He really felt she has more of in intestine problem, as he called it "sensitive intestines". We have modified her diet. Since we are vegetarians we don't have to worry about meat, which is very hard to digest. We give her more fibrous fooRAB, more fruit than before and also try not to deprive her of other things as she is only 11. But we are monitoring very carefully. I write down everything she eats and how she feels after and any symptoms she has. This is also a big help for the doctors.

I would definitely pursue other opinions. It worked for us. What the 2nd gastro doc said made perfect sense and my daughter has been a lot better.

Please let me know how things are going with you. You can contact me anytime.
 
Who says acid reflux is caused by low acid? My friend had severe acid reflux problems until he started drinking alkaline water by using the Alkazone pH Booster drops to minimize acid and now he barely ever has them.
 
I also have bad acid reflux. I eat plain white bread with nothing on it. Usually after 2 or 3 slices, it starts working. I also take a prescription pill called Donnatal for stomach distress. It has worked wonders for me. The less liquiRAB...even water, the better.
 
Another alternative would be food corabining. How you mix your fooRAB often will trigger very painful attacks of either acid reflux or IBS. You might want to look into diets specifically for those conditions rather than having to give drugs.
 
Actually, he had both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy at the same time. When they did the endoscopy they also took biopsy's from all areas of his esophagus and his stomach. The results were positive for acid reflux, GERD and what they labeled as chronic gastritus. So I would think those tests would be pretty accurate. They said his stomach lining and esophagus were so inflamed that it would take a long time for it to really heal. So the question is, do I still try and get a scond opinion? Or is not worth it to put my son back through all this again?
 
Back
Top