I'm miserable!

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jns1022

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Never had any tests to confirm or deny whether I actually have acid reflux. Awaiting an appointment with a GI doc next week. Went to my primary care doctor this morning after having a rough few days. I've been having abdominal tendernes sternum to navel, burping, and hiccups on a regular basis. Also, been having random bouts of back achiness and chest discomfort usually about the same time every evening . These episodes usually last 30 min to an hour. Went to my primary care doctor this morning who really didn't seem interested in my symptoms after I mentioned that I may be having some anxiety over this. He gave me a prescription for Prevacid that I was waiting until tomorrow to take and a prescription for Hydroxyzine for anxiety which is supposed to be taken with a full glass of water. Well, just took that and now the upper part of my stomach hurts and my back and even shoulders are aching. Could this all be acid reflux and a hiatal hernia? Even though my primary doctor thinks so I'm still worrying about it.
 
I am sorry you are going through these symptoms so young. At twenty six, I did not even think about my stomach, let alone worry about what I ate. I did not develop heartburn until I was fifty two, though I had an "episode" earlier when I was in my early thirties during a time when I was at a very stressful job. It went away in three months after I quit the job, though, and did not come back until three years ago after one day I had eaten stuffed green peppers at a Mexican restaurant. My esophagus must have already been irritated and that was the final straw.

I think lots of dairy and fat aggravate reflux, particularly if you have had your gallbladder removed. My mother went through gallbladder problems all her life and I am pretty used to all the symptoms and complications she had. The interesting thing is that my father was a medical doctor (now deceased) and he never wanted her to get hers removed because he said most people continue to experience symptoms or develop others even after their gallbladders had been removed. My father was also against me taking PPI's long term. He was an old fashioned type of doctor with a healthy respect for medicine but who also felt you should only take just as much as you need for only as long as you need it and not a day more. I miss him. I wish I could still ask him all these questions.

It is weird how these symptoms come and go. I am still doing the same diet and supplements and have now had three pretty decent days after the past three when I was sure I was going to start taking the Aciphex any second. I have resisted the temptation to stray off my diet too much and sticking to the veggies, fruits and proteins to see if perchance I can keep this going.

Rose
 
I am sorry you are going through all this discomfort. What you have is likely GERD. That acid washing up on your esophagus can make you miserable and create all sorts of weird symptoms. It is a good idea to have it investigated and have a baseline endoscopy so your doctor can monitor your symptoms.

I am going through my own struggles right now and trying very hard to stay off proton pump inhibitors. Given my progress or lack of it thereof, I am not sure I will succeed in my goals. But it is frustrating when you feel you have not done anything wrong and are trying very hard to take care of yourself and you still have these crappy, debilitating symptoms. I hope you feel better soon.

Rose
 
Never had I really thought about the food I was eating until June of last year. Decided to stop eating fast food, fried fooRAB, most sweets, and quit drinking soft drinks. Went on a low fat diet and ate a lot more fruits, veggies, baked chicken, and whole grains. Ironically my stomach issues started a couple months later. I thought I was losing weight the right way and making a change that would be good for my health. Apparently losing weight quickly, which I didn't think I was doing, puts you at risk for gallstones. Maybe I started all these issues myself unintentionally. How frustrating is that!

Maybe you are past the hardest part and you'll start to see improvement now. Hopefully 3 decent days will start to turn in to good days and then weeks. I too don't' see how taking a medication long-term, that suppress the stomachs acid production, can be healthy. Your father sounRAB like a wise man. So many doctors are so quick to write prescriptions. After you're on several medications how would you tell new problems/symptoms from the side effects of the medicine? On the other hand, what are you supposed to do if you try everything in your power and still can't get the reflux under control? Although I've had a better day today, I still feel lousy. Don't know what if I would do if I had one day where I didn't have to think about this.
 
I've only been dealing with this for a few months. Can't imagine how it would be to have this over an extended period of time. I've been having stomach issues for 8 months and had my gallbladder removed in Deceraber. Things are worse now than ever. Yes, it's very frustrating. It's driving me crazy as I keep thinking something is seriously wrong. How can drinking a glass of water make my shoulders hurt? I actually had to lay down and not move and it took about 20 minutes before it finally eased up. Sometimes my chest will start aching, or sometimes by back, and now even my shoulders and neck. Could these be esophageal spasms? When I went to the doctor I also mention my throat feeling weird, he said it looked irritated and thinks that may be due to acid getting up to my throat.

You're not taking PPIs so what are you taking to get relief? I just started taking Prevacid a couple days ago. Any home remedies or things along those lines that you would recommend? I'm willing to try almost anything.
 
My plan is to take as few medications at the lowest doses I can get away with without putting my health at risk. I am on 150 mg Zantac now and hope to be able to go down to 75 mg eventually. I am not pushing it because I would like to continue to enjoy these semi normal days I seem to now be experiencing. But I know that when I initially went to the doctor three years ago to have my initial scope, I was taking one Pepcid a day and doing fine on that. The reason I went in to be scoped is because every time I got off the Pepcid, the heartburn would return and that scared me. So, I got talked into taking Aciphex after the scope came back essentially normal.

Sometimes we need to not give up and work with the body to help it heal. I am trying very hard to be very mindful of what I put into my mouth and avoid bad stuff.

It might be that your body went through a shock when you suddenly changed your diet, but ultimately the new diet you are eating will be better for you.

Rose
 
I am taking a lot of stuff with mild to moderate relief. I took myself off Aciphex (without much support from my doctor) about two months ago after I discovered I had developed osteopenia in my hips due to calcium malabsorption from the PPI use. I am taking Zantac, eating low carbs, chewing DGL, have tried aloe juice, almond milk, etc. Right now, I am going through several days of experiencing a very sour stomach, nausea, etc. Therefore, being off PPI does not seem to be working very well. I was very gung-ho about staying off the PPI and willing to keep a very strict diet. But even on a strict diet, this is not looking very good for me right now. I made the promise to stay off the Aciphex for three months to see if it is acid rebound and I can ride it out and get better, but I don't seem to be getting any better after two months, and the symptoms are starting to wear me down. Therefore, I may be back on PPI's in another three weeks or so if I don't get better this way. Sadly, a lot of the natural remedies do not seem to be working for me. I think I have tried pretty much everything. But the natural remedies are worth a try, I suppose. They appear to work for some folks here if you read through posts.

But it is discouraging when I read up on something, run to try it out and then it does not work too well for me. My latest has been a low carbohydrate diet and no wheat which I am still trying to stick to, but I am not sure if it is making a difference.

Hope you feel better soon.

Rose
 
jns,
I have had the issues for about four months and never had the problem before. I am so confused as to why now....... So frustrating. Three docs put me on ppi's I was on those for over a month and one day I forgot to take one oh boy was that a bad day. So I kept taking them. Like, I think Rose said before research very thoroughly anything that you are going to put into your body.... I started having issues which I beleive were from the ppi's such as major rectal pain. I could tell those pills were just messing up everything in my digestive tract. I think it was worse than four months of chest and throat pain. I knew I had to stop (I had to trust my gut) I went to my massage therapist who I call my 'other' doctor. She spent most of her time on my diaphragm. OH MY I have never been that sore!! She was amazed. I was not breathing into my diaphragm at all and holding myself wrong sore all over my upper body. She convinced me to try something else and I am much happier. I have been off them for three days and its working. I am taking Betaine Hydrochloride for heart burn and it works! Can't believe it. I am also taking five different vitamins before bed and probiotics for digestive aiRAB. But the big thing is the Betaine wow. The first day I had to take extra ones due to pain. I am also straying from bread, dairy and sugar. Good luck.
 
Hi:

I have read about Betaine before. What is it and how does it work? My concern is taking anything that makes my stomach produce more acid and end up in worse shape than before.

Rose
 
What did we ever do to deserve this? I'm 26 years old and had never had a major medical issue prior to the gallbladder troubles. I'm scared that this is something I'm going to have to deal with for the rest of my life. It's already driving me crazy after only a few months. I'll have to look into some of the natural remedies you mentioned. Waiting on my appointment Tuesday with a Gastroenterologist. Hope you feel better soon as well!
 
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