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Has anyone taken prednisone or antiobiotics that made Gerd worse?

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 2/2/2010 7:08 PM (GMT 0)

 Where do I begin??  I was diagnosed about 3 yrs ago with Gerd and was put on Protonix until last year when my insurance quit paying for it. So I was switched to Nexium 40 mg once a day. Could eat anything and it not bother me. 

   In  August of 2009, I had the worst case of Asthma, was put on Prednisone for about a month along with inhaler, nebulizer, singulair and allegra. While on the prednisone, I started burning really bad in throat.  Doubled up on nexuim and it got better. By October, no more asthma, then the end of October, I got food poisoning from a restaurant and was put on Cipro.  Throat started burning really bad felt like it was on fire  and felt like I had a lump in throat. Then I got to where I felt my throat was closing and I couldnt swallow.  I saw a gastroenterologist and she did a EGD on November 20.  I had a polyp in top of stomach which she removed and was benign, had non-erosive gastritis and she stretched my esophagus. Esophagus looked fine ( Thank God ). After having all this done was still burning in throat. I saw my allergist in November and was put on allergy shots.  Next they sent me for ultrasound on gallbladder and a Hida Scan.  Showed on ultrasound gallstones or polyps. Hida scan showed gallbladder was functioning but low.  I had gallbladder surgery on Jan. 5, 2010. I am still having burning sensation in throat really bad.

    I am watching my diet, no spicy, fried foods, chocolate, carbonated drinks, no black tea, but have been drinking green tea and lots of water. I have tried Kapidex and it didnt help now I am on Aciphex  20 mg twice a day and sometimes take Zantac, and it seems to not be working.  I think with the prednisone and cipro it messed up my system and with gall bladder removed, I think it will take awhile for my body to heal. But I dont know how much more of this I can take.. The only stress in my life is this Gerd.

    The gastroenterolgist wants to send me out of state to a hospital for a study. Not sure if my insurance would pay for out of state. She said there wasn't anything else she could do... She did not order any blood work to see if anything else is going on, so I contacted my primary care doctor and I had the blood work done yesturday. Anxious to hear from it. 

   I am thinking about going to another gastroenterogist for a second opinion. Oh, I have lost 21 lbs. since November 2009.   Has anyone had this problem with prednisone or antiobiotics and did it get better??  Any advice would be appreciated!!!

Posted 2/2/2010 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
My GERD symptoms first started when I took doxycycline (an antibiotic) for acne. Unfortunately, quitting the antibiotic did not make it better -- I've only seen improvement in my symptoms after taking Nexium and modifying my diet. (BTW, I'm avoiding the same foods you are but also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, garlic, onions, tomatoes, citrus, and other acidic foods. While every person has different trigger foods, these are some other common triggers that you may try avoiding to see if it helps!)

I started a thread about antibiotics and GERD once but I can't seem to find it now. However, several other people replied and said their GERD symptoms also started when they took antibiotics. So I'm sure antibiotics can make GERD worse too!

Good luck and I hope you find something that works for you!
Posted 2/2/2010 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Prednisone will definitely cause reflux, even in people who have never had GERD. It's a short-term side effect, though, and goes away when you get off the Pred. One caution: if you're still using a steroid inhaler (Advair, Asmacort, etc.) be sure you rinse your mouth well with water after you use the inhaler. Rinsing will help prevent mouth sores, and spitting out the water will keep you from ingesting the steroids and possibly getting systemic side effects.
Posted 2/2/2010 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
It sounds like you've got gastritis (sp?).
Have you have a barium swallow? This can tell how you are refluxing.

Joy
Posted 2/8/2010 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
Couchtater...EGD showed non- erosive gastritis. No, I havent had a barium swallow.  Dont think I would need a barium swallow after having EGD.  But I'm not a doctor. :-)

     Gerd is somewhat better, some days are better than others. Going to my Allergist in two weeks, hopefully he can tell me something, if not will see another gastroenterologist.

Hoping to hear from my blood work soon!  Thanks for the posting!

Posted 2/8/2010 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
The barium swallow shows more than the EGD can when it comes to certain areas.
When I had the barium swallow it showed that when I swallow food would go up and down my esophagus and into my lungs. An EGD does not show this process. It also showed my Shotlz Ring.

Joy
Posted 2/8/2010 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
One poster noticed new allergies on taking PPIs, and I noticed relief (at least partial) from some allergies after fundoplication and getting off PPIs.
But to answer your question, yes, there are all sorts of meds that loosen the LES and allow acid to get into the esophagus.

Your food triggers can be termed allergies, thus sayeth my allergist. Keep a food log and note the symptoms. Do this for a month. Then when you have a list of foods or meals that you think are triggers, do challenge testing. Eat a bite, wait 20 minutes, then take 2 bites, wait, then 4 bites, wait and 8 bites, then 16 and stop. Stop any time you get reflux or other symptoms.

But there are multiple components in your trigger foods. For instance one of my problems was not the waffle, it was the maple syrup. I didn't have a problem with corn, but anything made from it. It wasn't the meat, it was the pepper. When you have a list you can do an internet search with several of the terms and the word allergy. My problem turned out to be sulfite, which is in most pre-prepared foods, french fries ....


But as I said, my allergy is much better now that I don't need acid reducers.
Posted 2/10/2010 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
As an asthma and GERD sufferer, I guarantee that both can be made worse by antibiotics and prednosone. You may have had an asthma flare up BECAUSE your GERD has worsened. That was my case. I got to the point where predonsone did no good for me when I was suffering with terrible asthma, because the GERD was refluxing acid into my lungs.

Yes...antibiotics do flare up GERD. I actually ended up hospitalized with uncontrolled reflux and more importantly asthma, after taking Augmentin. I didn't find any difference with my allergies after going off PPI's but I only went off for a while, since I've got chronic gastritis/reactive stomach, which reacts badly to antibiotics, or any challenge. I've had the surgery, which has resulted in much improved lungs. I was on the nebulizer for over a year before surgery, and haven't been on one since my lungs cleared up after the surgery (knock wood!)--even through a cold.

20mg once a day is not a lot of PPI dosage. I have been on 40mg twice a day in addition to Zantac 300 at night, before surgery. Now I'm taking one every other day, except when my stomach starts freaking.

Good luck finding an answer!
Take care,
Denise
Posted 2/23/2010 3:59 PM (GMT 0)

 I have been on preventive inhaler for asthma for years without any problems.In the last year ,i've noticed that every three months or so ,i get chest congestion and have to take a course of both antibiotics and steroids. This latest bout had me on steroids for a month and now on high doses of steroid inhalers and bronchodilators.The chest congestion is much better but like yourself,have developed severe gastritis and chest pain and pain at the back in the same spot, in the oesophagus.My doc said that the steroids do cause this problem.Am currently on rabeprazole+ domperidone,twice a day for a week.I'm also using sucralfate suspension to coat and protect the stomach lining and taking antacids after every meal. Slowly getting better but pain at the back is still there,a bit worried about that.Doc said i may need an endoscopy if i'm not better.I think it takes a week atleast to heal because i  had a milder attack about a year ago.But that was more burning than pain.Actually i've been suffering from nsaid induced gastritis for some years now,but it worsened and has become GERD only after the steroids.When i saw your question,i joined the forum,just to answer you and let you know that i'm going through exactly the same problem.And as you can see there are sadly so many of us in the same boat! Hope we can find someway out of this vicious circle! Good luck and God bless...

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