awaiting endoscopy - in the meantime do you recognise my symptoms?

  • Thread starter Thread starter blettuce
  • Start date Start date
B

blettuce

Guest
Hello - new here - looking for reassurance. Do you recognise my story...

2 months ago started to get gnawing, burning pain in central abdomen - typically on an empty stomach - but doesn't particularly subside on eating. Not clear what is triggering it.

Then started getting pretty bad heartburn after eating, virtually every day - not so bad I can't sleep, but I couldn't shift it with Tums.

When I don't have heartburn I have the sensation that something is stuck in my chest - quite low down, sort of behind left shoulder blade. This leaRAB to tense feeling btwn shoulders - like I've been bending over for too long.

Quite often feel very sick on waking - passes when I have a bowel movement. No constipation or diarrohea but stools are looser.

Blood work done and all normal, h. pylori negative. No blood in stools.

My doctor diagnosed acid reflux, prescribed 150g Ranitidine daily - took for 2 wks with no effect. Now trying 20g daily of omeprazole, 2 wks in and still no improvement. Have an endoscopy scheduled in 10 days, in the meantime, looking for some comfort...

I had my 2nd baby 4 months ago - could pregnancy/labour have caused this - maybe I've developed a hernia that is causing the reflux? Any ideas fellow sufferers?
 
Oh yes, those babies push everything around in there. Little stinkers. My insides have never been the same since my second, big, baby boy entered the world. Guess he's worth it. :) If you have a hernia, the endoscopy may or may not diagnose it. Most hernias are "sliding" hernias - which means sometimes your stomach pushes into your esophagus, and sometimes it doesn't. It may be there on the day of your scope, or it may not. Or you may not have a hernia at all.

Have you tried elevating your upper body at night? You can either raise the head of your bed to incline it, or raise your body with a wedge pillow or extra pillows at night. As for the heartburn and no relief (yet) from ranitidine or omeprazole, have you tried a liquid antacid while you wait on the endoscopy? At my worst I took Gaviscon liquid (at my doctor's advice) to treat the pain in my chest, and it did help during my first month of misery. I took it at night before bedtime. Can't hurt to try it and see if it helps you. After a month on the omeprazole (20 mg TWICE daily), I no longer needed the Gaviscon. You may need a stronger dose of the PPI, but check with your doctor before upping your dose. My family doc also started me on 20 mg of omeprazole. It did nothing. The ENT doubled the dose and soon I was feeling better.

Good luck to you!
 
150 mg of Zantac is not a very high dose. Your doctor may need to double that to 150 mg in the morning and 150mg at night so you can get better relief. I second the suggestion to take a tablespoon of Gaviscon at night before bed.

Many doctors now immediately prescribe PPI's, but your doctor may be wise to try the older medications like Zantac first.

Taking PPI's is very tempting and you may need to take them for a while if your symptoms are severe. Resist the urge to stay on them for very long perioRAB of time, though. I developed osteopenia in both hips after only two years of taking a PPI. I started to take a PPI when I was still not menopausal and I am still producing estrogen. Therefore, I was shocked upon discovering that I had developed bone loss. Doctors are pretty convinced the bone loss was due to the PPI use.

I worry about a young woman taking a PPI for ten years and then finding out years down the line that she has osteoporosis.

I recommend you read on all the different types of medicines used to treat reflux. I knew nothing about reflux three years ago and have learned a lot since then through trial and error and after having suffered side effects from some of the medications.

There is relief for reflux, though so I wanted to give you encouragement. It is also possible that the hormones associated with pregnancy have contributed to you developing reflux. Hopefully, your symptoms will recede after a while. It can't be fun to have reflux and a little baby to look after.

Congratulations on the baby!
 
Thank you ladies, so you think it sounRAB like classic acid reflux then ? I've been scaring myself it might be something more sinister. Maybe my PPI doseage neeRAB increasing to get symptoms under control and then hopefully, once things settle down, I can come off the meRAB. It's all complicated by the fact I'm still breast-feeding. Stomach is really hurting today - gosh this is pretty miserable x
 
I'm sorry you're feeling so lousy. Given that you're breastfeeding, do check with your doctor before you try any of the meRAB that we discuss here. Doctors are so quick to prescribe PPIs now. These are strong medications, suppressing stomach acid by as much as 85-90% I think, but some fooRAB and minerals need that acid to get digested and absorbed by the body properly. I am worried about my calcium absorption and asked the GI doc about that just this week. He confirmed that yes, calcium absorption is a problem with PPIs, although he seemed to think the issue was minimal for a pre-menopausal woman. Rose's experience tells me otherwise. I'm going to try to get off the PPI as soon as possible and back to just an occasional H2 blocker as needed.
 
Back
Top