GERD, Perimenopause, and Birth Control Pills

I am in my mid 30's. I went to my GYN back in the spring before I developed indigestion/GERD. Due to my heavy, long periods and increased irritability she said I was perimenopausal. She gave me a prescription for a low dose birth control pill that I never filled. about 3 months ago I noticed I was having indigestion and reflux. The indigestion, belching, and nausea is absolutely horrible when I am on my period. I can't think straight because I feel so bad during my period. 15 days ago I went to my GP for the GERD and she prescribed 40 mg Nexium which I am taking. It only helps a little bit. I forgot to mention my perimenopause symptoms to my GP. My question is: Has anyone had GERD improve by taking birth control pills? I am wondering if I stabilize my hormones with birth control pills if it will help with the GERD.

likehome, did your gyn do any tests to establish whether you were in fact perimenopausal? A blood test on day 2 or 3 of your menstrual cycle will tell you what your baseline FSH is - this is a good measure of where you are relative to menopause. Fertile women have baseline FSH less than 11, menopausal women have baseline FSH over 50. You need to be off the pill I think to get a good measure of this hormone.

The upper GI gas you're experiencing may be due to some lactose intolerance, which is very common and gets more prevalent as we age. Cut back on milk and soft cheese, or use a lactase tablet (Lactaid brand works well) when you're having these kinds of foods and see if that helps.

Sometimes you have to try a few different ppis to see what works best for you. I used Nexium for a few years without much relief and then switched to Prevacid which worked like a charm.

http://www.menopausemgmt.com/issues/18-05/MM910-GERD-820c.pdf

You might find this interesting re hormones and the LES pressure. I'm of perimenopausal age but symptomless from that point of view. However the interstitial cystitis and the GERD have appeared over the last 12 months. My IC is hormonally sensitive, being very painful on days 21 to 23, which is at the progesterone peak. My GERD is very like the reflux I had during pregnancy, which was not really to do with the increased abdominal pressure seeing as it started in the first month each time! The pregnancy hormones gave me very bad nausea and reflux (vomiting 8 times a day!).

I have read elsewhere about when oestrogen starts to drop off, you get more exposure to progesterone because there is less oestrogen to oppose it, so we get symptoms of being progesterone dominant. I think it was in a book called "What doctor's don't tell you about the menopause" (there's a perimenopause book too).

I have considered using Mexican yam type natural oestrogen stuff to see if it altered my cystitis or GERD, but it's not cheap. But at 45 I do wonder if my hormones are behind any of my current problems, despite the lack of any menopausal symptoms.

MMM