Posted 7/19/2009 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All,
This may be a lengthy post and any advice would be greatly appreciated... if nothing else, it will help getting all this off my chest!!!
I have been suffering with GERD symptoms for a year and a half now and it is also possible I may have a hiatus hernia. So far I am technically undiagnosed as 100% having GERD/Hernia and I am due to visit a specialist at the hospital in a months time.
My symptoms are:
1) Heartburn and indigestion at any time of the day, its not always related to eating.
2)Bloated stomach, stomach pain, constant pain under and inside the left side of my rib cage (I thought I had a cracked rib as that's what the pain felt like, also feels like a sore inside... could be the hernia?)
3) Nausea EVERY DAY but never sick, I have a very unattractive gagging problem mainly in the morning but also if I bend over.
4) Acid Reflux or food feeling like its sitting in my chest area.
5) Loose stools/Constipation but only when my tablets are not working!
6) Constant burping
I have had blood tests for cancer and thyroid problems, Breath test for H.Pylori (Negative), Celiac Disease (Negative), Stool test (Negative) ultra sound for gallstones (negative) and the next step is to have the camera down my throat! Great! lol
My doctor initially thought my symptoms were down to IBS but after medication for this and changing my diet etc. that's now pretty much ruled out.
I have been prescribed the following over the last year:
Metoclopramide
Valoid
Motillium
Ranitidine
Omeprazole
Lansoprazole
At first I was taking an anti sickness tablet such as Metoclopramide with Ranitidine and then before food Gaviscon but this little cocktail did absolutely nothing! I started to not be able to keep my eyes open during the day and then also developed depression symptoms. I found out these were side effects of metoclopramide so stopped taking them and hey presto, at least that problem was solved! Replacing metoclopramide with valoid and then motillium did nothing.
It was actually my chemist who suggested I ask my doctor to try me on a PPI blocker and I was then prescribed Omeprazole. OH MY GOD! It was like a miracle!!! By day 2, no sickness, no gagging, no heartburn, no indigestion all symptoms GONE!!! For the first time in almost 8 months I felt like myself again! I had felt so crap for so long I forgot what it felt like to feel well if that makes sense?
So for about 5 months, these little miracle tablets made me human again, my doctor seemed happy enough to just keep prescribing me them and said I would more than likely have to take them for the rest of my life which bothered my but as with most things, when you feel well, its not such a big deal.
Then it happened... one day they just stopped working..... after a week of hoping it was just an off day, back to the doctors I went with the full blown symptoms again and I was prescribed Lansoprazole. These worked for 2 months taking 15mg a day and then they stopped...I was put on 30mg a day... nothing.... both of these PPI's don't work at all anymore. One question is, is this normal? Has anyone else experience this?
I went back to my doctor and asked if they had another PPI I could take but he said I have tried the best two so there was no point trying something else. For me there is every reason to try something else! Waking up every day feeling sick and dry heaving are a couple of great reasons!!!
Ok so this is where the lines blur a little bit for me.... feeling sick and unwell for over a year obviously gets you down, the more low you feel, the more your stomach is effect so a circle begins. I have to travel away a lot with work and have started to feel anxious about being away from home, feeling sick, not having tablets that work... and as a result, my work has been effected, which adds to feeling crap, which adds to symptoms that are already there. This is rational. I understand this.
I now have a new problem to add to the pot.... I am getting full blown anxiety attacks. I understand feeling anxious about being away from home and not feeling well but these anxiety attacks are creeping up and I cant work out what is triggering them. I know my brain is obviously going into overdrive and it's probably some sort of tactic to keep me safely just feeling ill in the house but I can't live like this or with this. I feel like I am going insane!!!
Has anyone else experienced this??? I thought stomach problems were bad enough but now I feel depressed and get anxiety attacks!
Any advice would be fantastic.....