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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 3/5/2019 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I have an upper endoscopic exam set for Tuesday of next week. I have been having center chest pain and stomach pain with acid reflux. I take Dexilant daily and have cut way back on eating. I feel bad if I don't eat but usually feel worse if I do eat. I am eating very simple meals here also. I know I have a small hiatal hernia from an exam about five years ago. I feel it is much larger now as my pain has increased much over the last six months. I am now taking Carafate as need and bentyl.

If all this is not bad enough I now have lower abdominal pain, cramping and alternating diarrhea and constipation.
I will need to schedule a colonoscopy after the upper GI scope exam is over. Both upper and lower GI pain hit me at different times most days. All I have is Carafate and bentyl which at times help me make it through the day.

All of this is just to much to take lately. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

Thanks
dmo

Post Edited (oceanfisher58) : 3/5/2019 7:02:50 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/6/2019 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
Are you actually following a GERD-friendly diet, or just cutting back eating to try and alleviate your symptoms? Sometimes people have larger hernias that cause absolutely no symptoms, and some of the smaller ones are horrible. There are a lot of other drugs out there if Dexilant isn't helping. I can tell you that stress/anxiety can cause/make your symptoms seem worse. I've actually had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy done at the same time - you might want to ask your gastro doctor. Another thing that I found helpful was to keep a food diary to try and pinpoint your trigger foods. It could be something as minor as having a food sensitivity that you've developed. You can try taking something like O-T-C Pepcid at bedtime to lessen the symptoms.

Good luck with the endoscopy,and keep us posted.

Sharon
Posted 3/7/2019 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the help Sharon,

I have cut back eating mainly gerd friendly diet. I get terrible mid chest pain when my hernia slides up and it can take a while for it to slide down. I really don't have so much reflux all the time. The Dexilant works well most of the time. My stomach pain started about five years ago but just this last year I started getting IBS symptoms also. I take bentyl and Carafate now which was just added a month ago. My upper GI exam is Tuesday and I cant wait. I am pretty sure a Nissan is in my future as my chest pain is much worse when it flares. If I eat two small meals a day and I mean small, I can keep most of my symptoms at bay. The bloating and gas pains I have no idea how to control. My GI dr I had for the last five years has retired so here I go back to square one with a new dr.

Thank you so much Sharon for you kind words and info
dmo
Posted 4/1/2019 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
I have had some success with metoclopramide which helps get food through your system by helping to contract the muscles involved in the process. Theory being that bile won't build up as much if food is moving versus sitting. My deal is bile though, and not acid as seen in an endoscopic ultrasound. Only catch here is that this medication involves your nerves, and has side effects like causing restless legs/jerking. It is not meant for long term use. For me, I can only take a small amount because of this side effect. It does cut my symptoms down (along with a PPI) but frustrating to know it can't be taken long term.
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