Thanks for the support
I stopped doing Yoga long time ago, I couldn't handle it since I lost a good portion of my strength. I did exercise, but I find it hard to do it now. I have gotten LPR from running even though I'm on an elliptical. Most of my workouts involved lying flat or engaging my core. I tell people this all the time, I went from doing tough mudder to having difficulties running and other stuff. I want to get back to doing intense activities. I've been doing them my whole life and am in perfectly good shape otherwise. So it is very hard for me to even want to accept that at 23, I'm basically a 55-year-old who struggles in the gym like he's never worked out a day in his life.
I'm trying my best with food. But I find that even water can cause LPR sometimes, and it totally depends if my stomach is 'down.'
I am taking PPI's. More continuously I take them though, I find myself getting nauseous after a while. I had the worse case of it last week which is why I emailed a surgeon. I couldn't deal with it.
I haven't elevated my bed. I don't get symptoms when I wake up. I'm basically fine when I wake up, besides a horrible morning breath. It's when I start eating it starts.
I have taking attempts to stop anxiety. Most of the time it hits is when the LPR is going on strong and it is so constant that PPI's don't even work. So that in turn just makes everything worse and it's a vicious cycle. I've started seeing a counselor because it truly has taken over my life but my doctor doesn't seem to realize that and sends me on my way in 5 minutes of talking. I've never had anxiety. Started with these symptoms so it's difficult. Some days I'm fine some days I'm not. It's just exhausting and tires me out. I get symptoms from laughing. I've been in pain trying to move furniture around. I just can't accept it and take it, but my doc doesn't seem to understand that.
Bella01 said...
Don't give up! Finding a good doctor/surgeon who believes you and who is willing to consider options is key.
I read some things earlier in this tread and thought I would add some advice that have helped me:
1. Don't do yoga! All that bending and tensing of your abdominal muscles is not going to make your reflux any better! If you do exercise, try to do things that keep you relatively upright (no lying flat, no bending over etc.) and avoid strenuous abdominal exercises like crunches, situps, weight lifting that engages abs etc. Cardio moreso than weight lifting has been good for me. Elliptical machine instead of running to decrease the impact (I find that too much "bouncing" - harsh movements like running on hard ground etc. makes me nauseated).
2. Eating better does not always = the best diet for GERD. Look up reflux diet tips. Avoid caffeine, chocolate, carbonated beverages, citrus, tomato, acidic things in general, alcohol etc. Experiment! People have very different reflux triggers, for me one of my biggest triggers is bananas! Which is supposed to be a good fruit for most people with reflux. Keeping a food journal can be helpful to identify triggers.
3. Are you taking PPIs as instructed by your dr?
4. Have you elevated the head of your bed? Pillows often don't work as it causes you to bend in the abdominal region and put MORE pressure on your hernia, I put a few wood blocks under my mattress to elevate the whole bed at an angle, which has helped some.
5. Try not to let your anxiety take over. It's easy to exacerbate symptoms with stress and worry, and incessant focus on symptoms will not make them easier for you to handle. Try to focus on here and now, and not things that may never even come to pass years and years in the future. For me I've found that I have to accept this "new normal" - whether or not I get surgery I'm fairly certain my life will never be 100% the same, and I've learned to accept that. Things might need to change but that doesn't mean they'll be bad!
Post Edited (Darjman) : 6/19/2017 4:47:46 PM (GMT-6)