is my fatigue due to GERD?

Hi all,

New here, just wanted to ask a question about what might be going on with me.

I'm a 36 y.o. male. about four years ago, I came down with a sudden virus that gave me vertigo and made me bedridden. A few days later I was okay to get up, but felt incredibly tired for quite a while. Eventually I had a test done on my inner ear, and found that I had lost 40% function in my left inner ear due to what was post-diagnosed as a probable "inner ear viral infection."

Around the same time (not sure exactly how perfectly the events coincide, but fairly close), I started to feel a bit strange in terms of my abdomen. Hard to explain--a sort of unsettled, vague, tense, ill-defined kind of feeling, centered just under my breastbone. Almost a "butterflies" or "breathless" feeling. It's not the classic "burning," but it's a cousin. It's not quite "nausea" in the sense of wanting to throw up, but it's not far off...it's a queasy feeling of general unwellness, without feeling a need to vomit at all. I also slowly developed heartburn, not blindingly painful or anything, but occurring fairly often--enough to become an annoyance.

I went on Prevacid for a while, but that didn't help. Eventually wound up at Nexium, and that seemed to help a little bit. In the meantime, because of the heartburn, weight loss, abdominal issues, and the mysterious chronic fatigue and general feeling of "unwellness", my doctor had me go through various tests. First a battery of blood tests (checked thyroid, blood sugar, many other likely things...all normal), then a barium X-ray of my stomach (normal), then finally an EGD. The doctor who performed the EGD (who I never saw again) wrote out a report saying the esophagus looked normal, but there were symptoms of "a touch of GERD" present. I stopped taking the Nexium after a while (it got too expensive)....and I was okay for about a year.

Fast-forwarding to today....I'm feeling the same symptoms again, off and on, for the past year and a half. Some days I feel "sort of okay", but most days I feel pretty "off". On the worst of those days, I'm irritable, fatigued, get tired after only a little activity, and generally don't look forward to doing anything or interacting with anybody ("malaise" is the word, I believe). I do still get heartburn often, and there's the constant vague strange feeling in my abdomen that comes and goes in severity. One day, I suddenly realized I felt totally fine, and it was like the sun shining through the clouds--I was on top of the world, giddy, for a few hours, and then slowly slid back into whatever this is.

What I find myself doing is kind of gently massaging the area under my breastbone and slightly to the left....it's some sort of instinctual thing, as if there's something irritated under the skin there and I'm trying to soothe it. As for foods, nothing I do seems to affect how I feel--some days I'm not TOO bad, some days I feel really crummy, and sometimes that changes by the hour. The scary part is, I feel like I'm getting worse very slowly and gradually--four years on from when I first felt this.

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of things in my tale, but that's the gist of it.

I guess my main question is: can GERD cause extreme fatigue along with irritability? I can't get a straight answer off the Internet from the extensive research I've done online. Another question--does GERD cause a "general feeling of unwellness" and malaise, particularly with that feeling centered below the breastbone? I almost feel like sometimes, if I reach my fingers under my sternum and "lift" it away a bit from my body, it almost "relieves pressure" on everything below, and I almost feel like it's a little better. Is that something associated with GERD?

I just moved, so I'm in the process of finding a new doctor so I can go and have a chat, but I just wanted to hear from some folks who are directly involved with GERD to get a sense of whether it's a case of "yeah, it's all due to GERD" or "could be GERD, but sounds like there's something else going on." Grasping at straws here.

Thanks for listening....
Dave

Good Morning Dave, You have alot going on and I agree your sx maybe be anxiety or depression or a combination of the two.

We have a great forum for Anxiety and Panic as well as a Depression forum too.  Please take a look at the threads on those forums.

Take Care
Kitt

Hi Dave - Did you ever find a solution to your issues?

Dave only posted once back in March of 2008.  This is an old thread.  You may want to post a new thread with an intro and share with us  your questions and concerns

Thanks and welcome to HealingWell poonie.

Rodie, there's no need to repeat post. We read everyone here. Please start your own thread to introduce yourself.

ACID REFLUX and FATIGUE, can acid reflux be associated with Fatigue? In my case definitely. I get reflux when i eat certain foods but it isnt massively major. Then i get fatigue and tiredness throughout the day followed by sensitive skin and my inner abdomen all around feels kind of sensitive. Feel acid back of throat after food.


i have the EXACT same symptoms as Dave. An irritation below left of the breastbone that makes me want to massage it.

I get tired/spaced out slightly vertigo symptoms when i look down at the keyboard.

Definite acid but not waking up at night spluttering with acid in mouth. Mild acid back of throat.

Feel tired in the morning when I wake up. Afternoon get a bit of energy back.

Cant really go running anymore just dont have motivation. seems when i do run its just on adrenaline rather than energy.

Feel tired after eating.

Go up the stairs carrying something and I feel slightly out of breath and legs feel very tired.

Weight loss (currently weigh 12.5 stone) 79.37 kg

Got definite brain fog, dont feel myself, even typing this is making me feel a little funny!

Definite depression type thing, 2 weeks ago had suicidal type thoughts, feeling low, emotional, things seem to be far more magnified in this state. Even mild shouting upsets me more than usual. Just want quiet.

Dont feel like i used to feel full of energy and wanting to do stuff. Just yawning and want to sleep.

Checked thyroid, all fine, small lump on neck found to be an enlarged node not dangerous, slightly enlarged thyroid.

Feel heart is racing all the time, eyes feel like they are tired. Skin on stomach feels sensitive to touch in the area below breastbone.

Im glad there are others feeling this too. Seems like a condition that has been left to linger and nothing really proper has been done about it.


Possible Solution by me.
Personally I feel I have too much acid in my body and it has passed the level that it can cope. There is too much acid in my body I believe and I tried eating more alkaline foods to see what happens. I recommend this to everyone. Apart from this I would suggest the following:

Early morning wake up
Sleep no later than 10pm
DO NOT eat after 7
Try eating Bio yoghurt natural yoghurt NO sugar throughout the day a couple of spoons.
Morning eat some oatmeal with 2tbsp honey and almonds. I eat that as breakfast.
If hunger pangs, have water ROUTINELY through the day. Try 2 litres at least a day. Mineral water is probably better.
Try and get routine.
Slowly, i think your body will take a few months to get back to normal but i truly believe its about what we are eating and this is why this is happening. There is no other cause, with general malaise. First try the change of diet/sleep/excercise then see what difference it made, If nothing then you know its something in your body which may be serious.
My sis said to try this first, shes a doctor and said theres nothing else wrong with me.

I want to believe there is so at least i know! but im going to try this.

Any help appreciated!!

I have been learning so much about myself lately & how medication can really mess up your body. If you are taking medications look on this site to see what they are doing to others & look at my post.

Treatment for sleep apnea is a Cpap machine. You'll need a sleep study to get the right perscription level. It also helps push the acid down at night (bonus!).

The water coming back up is probably from the weak LES valve in your stomach. It's not tight so you're getting leakage.

I just found out through routine bloodwork that my iron level is a little low,i've been on prevacid for about 4 years and been tired alot lately,could it be gerd or the meds?

I forgot to say that I too get the same sensation in my upper mid part of my belly - tingling butterfly feeling and a rushing feeling.

I was told by my GP that it's the acid... The feeling if anything can make you anxious but I don't feel anxious before it happens.

I have a feeling that it must be something mechanical causing it, I don't believe that it's psychosomatic.

Hey Salmanc..i have also silent relfux with lack of energy like u have..i use to weight train like an ox but now i am verry tired after meals yawning bloating etc...also i canot eat protein because this meals are the worst...maybe i have acidic body like u said..
what is you re diet??
u took protonix ??
what suplements u take?
Tks man!

I'm iron deficient too. I wondered which contributed the most - the antacid medication (which could potentially reduce iron absorption by not helping free iron from food) or gastritis which can cause blood loss as well as interfere with the function of the stomach (I presume). I was anaemic a year ago but came back to normal haemoglobin whilst taking Omeprazole. Since stopping ppis (cos I had problems with side effects) I have become anaemic again. My guess is that the gastritis/GERD is causing me blood loss and/or poor absorption. I think people taking ppis should have an annual blood test for anaemia because:

a) GERD or gastritis can cause blood loss and anaemia would be a sign things are not controlled
b) PPIs may hinder iron absorption long term

Lack of stomach acid will affect iron availability of iron in plant foods, but "haem iron" (that is in meat) should still be absorbed normally via the small intestine. It's possible that less is absorbed than in someone not taking ppis, simply because we don't have the stomach acid to "pre-digest" the meat before it reaches the small intestine where most absorption of nutrients takes place.

Anyone who is anaemic or has low iron but has very well controlled GERD should be investigated for blood loss from elsewhere in the GI tract.

PHFan - the test you had for checking for blood loss - was that "faecal occult bloods"? That used to be the standard test here in the UK but for some mad reason the test has been withdrawn. Apparently if they suspect blood loss from the GI tract now, instead of doing a simple non invasive test, they send you for a colonoscopy (and a gastroscopy if you have upper GI symptoms!!). Seems a bit OTT as a first step!!

just another opinion here. I'm always exhausted, and I think it's because my body always has to repair, repair, repair from the acid damage. That's my thought