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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 1/23/2013 5:19 AM (GMT 0)
Ok guys i need to get this out, i have no one else to vent to because i just feel like they will think im weak and whiny. Besides im sure they are sick of me complaining about the same thing. I have severe severe acid reflux.(one that no amount of ppis can control) I dont know what a day without acid reflux feels like. I have recently learned that i have gastroparesis(where the nerves responsible for the muscles digesting your stomach are damaged or irritated from a bacterial infection i contracted a few months ago) so therefore my stomach takes longer to digest food than normal people which in turn causes acid reflux. Its really crappy but i feel like i cant relate to other gastroparesis sufferers because the *typical* symptoms of someone with gastroparesis is nausea, and constant vomiting after meals and bloating. Although i get the bloating, its still very minimal and lasts only about 30 seconds after taking a bite of food.

Clearly, my symptoms are like heaven for the typical gastroparesis sufferer so i feel like i can relate to you guys more because you know what it is like to suffer from a constant burning in the throat but it really scares me that i have no way of controlling it. I sit there day after day and i get more and more anxious that i am damaging myself more and more and i have no control over it even with dietary and lifestyle modifications. It scares me soooo bad that i wont be able to find a pill that works for me. I just need someone to make me feel like there is hope. :( its making me super anxious and worried. Im out of ideas. Dont know what else to change in my lifestyle to make this at least a little under control. Im so lost :(

If i have gastroparesis that means i cant even get a nissen wrap. So what if i cant find a mediaction that controls my symptoms and i cant do surgery? what then? do i just end up getting erosions in esophagus and eventually barrets? I mean what are people like me supposed to do?

There are many methods to help people with gastroparesis who have nausea and vomiting but i dont...Im stuck with this annoying symptom that just wont quit bothering me 24 hours a day! Ugh..I feel too helpless right now.

Post Edited (maria123) : 1/22/2013 10:37:18 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/23/2013 7:09 AM (GMT 0)
Relax, There is a pill for gastroparesis. It does have some risky side effects but you might be able to stay on a low dose of it for a little bit. It's called reglan.

Now, I do have a question...
Have you've been checked for gall bladder issues? My mother was having bloating and stomach pains with heartburn for over a year. Then her bowels slowed down and she kept having blockages. It turned out her gall bladder was functioning only 10% and it was causing problems with her stomach emptying and heartburn. Since her gall bladder was removed she has had no more trouble.
Posted 1/23/2013 3:40 PM (GMT 0)
too bad i just dont respond to reglan which makes me even more anxious. No i havent been tested for gallbladder issues because the doc didnt think it sounded like it but if all else fails, we would check it. All of these problems started after i was sick. Could being sick somehow affect your galllbladder?
Posted 1/24/2013 3:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Maria,
I'm worried I might have gastroparesis because sometimes I can still taste food in my burps 8-10 hrs later! It doesn't happen often, usually only when I overdo it and eat crappy food, but still, it's scaring me:( But yes, I can relate to the burning in the throat all day long! It hardly ever ends, even while taking PPIs...they don't work for me anymore. It absolutely sucks! So I don't know where to go from here except surgery. And if we aren't candidates for Nissan, have you looked into the Linx? You should be ok with that I would think. That is what I'm looking into, assuming all my tests come back ok. I'm going to UCLA in a couple weeks to get some tests done and try to get to the bottom of this because no one should have to live like we are! There has got to be hope:(
Posted 1/24/2013 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
Also my anxiety has gotten out of control because of these issues! I have gastritis that acts up and gives me anxiety. I'm even taking max dose of lexapro which has helped me in the past for anxiety, but this time around it isn't helping as much as I would like it to. So I have to take xanax as needed for these issues! I'm going to see a therapist soon because my mind is taking me over:( Perhaps that may help you too. It's good to talk to someone about these issues. I have chronic pain too so I feel like normal people around me can't relate, so it's good to come here and vent to supportive people:)
Posted 1/24/2013 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
How did your condition start if you dont mind me asking??
Posted 1/24/2013 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
I have no idea lol! I've had Gerd since I was 16 (I'm 31) and it's gotten a lot worse in the last 5 years or so. PPIs aren't helping me, I have a constant burning in my throat and gastritis on top of it. I just want to feel better:( I heard you had a bacterial infection? Is that how the gastroparesis started? I'm worried that PPIs have caused me to have it.
Posted 1/24/2013 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
Uhh yea, one night i swallowed a vitamin and it got lodged in my throat and caused burning in my throat all night long (ive never even had acid reflux or heartburn, didnt even know what they were) and the next day i had chills, ffever, awful headache and after i felt better these symptoms really set in and i had it for two months before i got treatment for h pylori. But the GI doc assumes that the virus damaged my nervous system within the GI tract. I feel like you and i are just nervous wrecks about this. Hahaha Ive been feeling burning in my throat all day for the past 5 months and nothing has stopped it. Although the intensity and pain has slowly been subsiding, its still always there and I am freaking myself out thinking of how damaged my esophagus is. I kind of want to schedule an endoscopy just to look at it because im soo afraid.

But onto your worries, gastroparesis usually is accompanied by constipation or diarrhea and bloating whenever you eat. But symptoms can vary from person to person, I read at what the poeple on the gastroparesis forums say and my life sounds like a paradise compared to their every day struggles to keep any food down, while i can eat as much as i want and ill just suffer burning but i wont throw it up or anything. So to me it doesnt sound much like you have gastroparesis but you can get tested if it is really bothering you.

The bacterial infection for you can be a possibility because when you spend so much time lowering the acid in your gut, it gives bacteria a much better chance to overpopulate your gut and create inflammation within. You can try probiotics, take them for as long as you can, probably three months and see if it makes a difference at all.
Posted 1/24/2013 4:33 AM (GMT 0)
Oh wow, so you had h pylori. I've been tested many times and never had it, but still seem to have gastritis even while on PPIs! My burning in my throat is constant too! I stopped caring whether I eat good or bad because no matter what I eat I still have it! It just might be worse at times, but it's pretty much always there. It just feels like acid is sitting in my throat. Sometimes it's not really acid fluid in the back of my throat, but a warm heat sensation like acid vapor or something near my adam's apple. I just have to live with it because nothing is helping!

It doesn't seem to me that you have gastroparesis. You did the delayed emptying study? I hear the symptoms can be pretty severe, but I guess it does vary. I will get tested for it eventually. I have bloating all the time due to the gastritis and IBS. I'm constipated a lot, but when I'm stressed I get loose bowels, so pretty standard for IBS. Lots and lots of gas! I've been taking a probiotic for a couple months and I haven't noticed any difference so I don't know what's going on. I'm thinking that my valve is completely open and allowing everything back up. I even reflux water. How about you?

Yes we are nervous wrecks LOL! I've let it consume me because all I feel is burning, so I focus on it and then I make it worse:(
Posted 1/24/2013 4:44 AM (GMT 0)
I reflux water too!! Ill drink a sip and then a minute later i feel come back up in my throat, im baffled! hahaha. And yes, the heat is really really annoying because it doesnt hurt or anything but after its over, you can feel the burn it caused.
Im amazed at how much our symptoms are alike, yes the doc said i had really mild gastroparesis but ive also read that sometimes your stomach can have a slow digesting day but other days it can work completely normal. I assume that that day it didnt work that well.
Well good thing you are taking probiotics, i really wish i could tell you more tips but i havent figured out how to control anything either. I wonder if what we have is the same thing. Im only nineteen by the way so this really throws my day to day life with college. Its really frustrating.
Posted 1/24/2013 4:56 AM (GMT 0)
Oh you poor thing! I was 16 when Gerd started so I've had it forever. Back then PPIs helped, but not really anymore. I know how hard it is to concentrate on your studies when you feel like that! I was in school when I was trying to get over these issues and it sucks. It's hard to concentrate on other things when the burning is constantly there. I'm having a hard time concentrating at work now. It's impaired my overall daily functioning. I don't want to meet up with friends and go out to eat. It's such a bummer:( I hope that we both can get the help we need soon! There has got to be an answer for us:(
Posted 1/24/2013 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
I dont want to go out with friends because the burning is all i think about. Haha I drive my boyfriend borderline insane from my constant worrying, he is the only that tells me that i am a nerve wreck and of course things will get better. I just need to not react to everything as if its going to last forever, and of course they will figure out a solution. but as of right now, seeing some posts about how much surgery has made everyone's lives better makes it very tempting.
Posted 1/24/2013 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
I dont want to go out with friends because the burning is all i think about. Haha I drive my boyfriend borderline insane from my constant worrying, he is the only that tells me that i am a nerve wreck and of course things will get better. I just need to not react to everything as if its going to last forever, and of course they will figure out a solution. but as of right now, seeing some posts about how much surgery has made everyone's lives better makes it very tempting.
Posted 1/25/2013 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
Maria,
It's all I think about too! My husband is so sick of hearing me complain, but he's the only person that I feel I can do that to LOL. I don't want to go out either because I think about it too much and am afraid to eat out sometimes with people. I keep thinking there isn't hope for me, but I know that surgery is most likely my only solution because nothing else is working. I'm getting a couple tests done in 2 weeks and then hopefully that will shed some light on what's going on. My doctor thinks it might be nonacid reflux, but it feels like acid to me. Yes, surgery is very tempting and if I'm a candidate, i'm getting it. Probably the Linx if my insurance covers it. I've lived like this too long:( So I can totally relate to you!
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