menopause and gerd

Hi Parameda,
I think my trouble with GERD has everything to to with peri-menopause as well. I have it for about 2 years now and I am 50 years young ...I did take pills at the beginning but now I am trying different things and it is not easy. My throat still bothers me. The sunflower seeds you mentioned are they raw or roasted?

Hi Parameda,
I've been taking Zantac 150mg everyday before bedtime since July 2012. I've been to a Naturopath Doctor and she puts me on Digestive enzyme (Heartburn Essentials), sometimes I also take DGL. I also take Probiotic pill. I was supposed to take fish oil and calcium but I have to stop them for now because they are in liquid form and every time I take either I feel more gas coming up my throat :(. I also walk or doing some spinning excersice everyday and yet I can still feel it sitting in my throat. I am so frustrated. I cut out all the trigger foods. There are days that I feel like giving in and start taking the PPI again...BTW I have many symptoms of peri-menopause: thinning hair, indigestion, skip period...

Yes, I was really lucky finding a great doc. He also said that it is very likely my reflux won`t be an issue once the menopause is finished. I noticed that many people on this forum undergo various surgeries, but my GI claims that nissen, for example, is a serious, life-changing one and he doesn´t want to rush me into it. I don`t know what to think, because I do trust him but, on the other hand, there are many great experiences described.
Tinlou, did you have any symptoms of food sensitivity before you decided to get tested?
P.S. I apologize for any mistakes, I`m still learning english :)

parameda, your English is fine, better than many actually.
As far as food sensitivities go i never had them until I reached my late 30's. I think perimenopause was actually just starting then so it makes sense. I was tested for celiac because i suddenly started feeling so ill but it came back negative but now i understand that I am gluten sensitive instead. This means that wheat, oats, barley suddenly started to turn on my body and i could no longer eat it without bloat,reflux,nausea and diarrhea. I had to eliminate them from my diet and many of my symptoms did get better. Like your doctor said i can only hope that this goes away once the menopause is over too!

Hey, guys! My stomach is not very active so i eat only little at a time but was doing fine for years until last Nov when this whole thing started. I had acute heart burn and couldn't eat. i lost weight also because i had been eating 1600cal only anyway was eating even less.
first i was put on nexium 20 mg and after a month or so the symptom came back. I had got endoscopy done, was diagnosed GERD and gastritis(they say it's mild but it sure doesn't feel like it) so now i am on nexium 40mg. It was to be 8wks treatment and i am now 4 th weeks. I saw the research data and i don't see the reason to go on when the study shows that for majority, after 4 wks, improvement level hit the highest already. According to my endoscopy picture i had a minor imflamatory area in the esophagus but my stomach looked healthy and doc said so, too. Biopsy showed no abnormal cell growth nor trace of h.pirori. Why am i am put on 40mg instead of initial 20 mg and longer, i do not know. I am going to call my doc on monday and ask her if i can get off for a test. Will tell you the progress, then.

Now, I eat ok, though not as much as i used to because i avoid eating at least 2 hrs before going to bed these days. I used to enjoy snack with a drink or two before went to bed. I know it must have caused my gerd and all but, you see, my portion during the day for three meals is so small (it runs in the family. my stomach is not moving very well so i can't eat much at a time. And notice, with all that i was in perfect health for years! Full of energy, happy, enjoy eating the food i can eat and my life overall) I need to eat something after a few hours after the dinner(5:00pm).
Anywaythe problem is, though i am gaining or at last not losing weight now since i am eating again with my nexium, but i feel weak and anxious all the time. Doc was concerned about my weight but at the same time raised her eyebrows for my eating late and fatty food so, though i am anxious to get back to my weight i don't think it will be that easy. I just can't/don't eat much. My dad had a stomach cancer when he just turned 60 and he is doing great now(test confirmed) after almost 20 yrs but consistently losing weight(he weighs less than me!) because his stomach is the half the size and he simply doesn't enjoy eating so, as long as i know the reason i don't think i need to be alarmed by 5lb in 5 months but...

I switched from omeprazole to nexium in the begining because of the heart palpitation and now it's not exactly heart but just... Feeling...upset all the time. Depressed. A bit distracted, too. I am normaly pretty happy person. Of course sometimes I worry over things because i am a mom :) but I tend to shake off all the trivial things easily because i know what is important in my life. Love and health, right? I don't think i trigger the symptom myself by worring about it onset because it suddenly comes and suddenly goes and comes back for no apparent reason. I can't deal with it exactly because I don't know what's going on and am confused about my feeling. While i am writing this, this 'wave' had come and gone once already. Isn't that crazy? It's like living with irrational abnoxious friend, only that friend is myself. :(
I can't believe and can't adjust to the fact that only a little over 4 months ago i was perfectly healthy and now i am one always sick person.
i have never had any drugs in my life stronger than antibiotics, otc painkiller, and zantac. Nexium is just about the strongest ever. Never had a surgery. Delivered my daughter naturally without anything even though it took 3 days to deliver. I hate to put foriegn stuff in my system.

I came to think maybe it's something to do with premenopause in the first place because my sick-journal :) shows my stomach problem usually felt worse about the time my period was to begin. However I now may eat ok and had no stomach problem exactly due to the nexium, while my period has come and gone and my anxiety is still there.
I am 44 and have very regualr period yet short intervals. I don't want to write off all these symptoms as side effect of the nexium but that is a possiblity too.
I also got blood tests on my gallbladdr, liver, pancreas, too. All normal and like natic said one of the four liver test number was a bit high but doc said he wouldn't worry about it and i was having zantac for a few days at that time.
I don't like to have zantac either but i just don't think blocking acid in the stomach completley is such a good idea...
What i want to hear is that after all this, after menopause is over at least, i am going to be fine again. 5-7 years from now? Has anyone ever told you once they went through the tunnel there was a light?

Post Edited (Willovercome) : 3/11/2013 4:06:33 PM (GMT-6)

:( that's disappointing. I read it in some medical information site but since they are in different area from each other(internal med and gynecologist?) Who can tell? But my mom said her friends all went through all these strange illness and now they are fine. Now, about my mom herself, she insists she had never had menopause, so busy, no time! She is an old lady other than regular old people's problems but eats so well it amazes me. Lol. It's my daddy's gene i got. My sister has gerd, too.
One more thing. Do you have upper back pain, too? Many people who had gerd also insists it goes with 'upper' back pain but while i do have it it seems nothing to do each other. I mean the cycle of the intensity of back pain and symptom of gerd doesn't match.
Thank you so much for your support.

Of course it's hereditary! There is a study that shows genetic influence on the age at menopause (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)79753-1/fulltext#article_upsell - sorry you have to subscribe to read this one)
but as i mentioned up there(i know it's too long too read and font here is so small ;) ) my dada had a stomach cancer and guess what, all my sisters and brother, and me tend to have stomach problem all our lives and two if us diagnosed gerd. I also remember his dad(my grandpa) used to pop enzyme pills like candies all his life. T.T my mom has such a strong digestion system that she eats lemons like orange and hot pepper like it's bell pepper and not even a heart burn! Lol
On the other hand, she's got other serious problems like, high colesterol, some nerve damage in her leg, had a double bypass several years ago, terrible seasonal allergy.
I read an academic journal article(you should always look for 'scientific' data by acknowledged journal)One comparatively new interesting theory for morning sickness is to protect mom and baby. For them to not eat just anything. Also an article proved other common symptoms like hot flashes go away without hormone therapy after menopause. So evolutionary theory sake, one theory (http://faculty.bennington.edu/~sherman/sex/evol%20of%20meno.pdf) says, this also is to protect us. We don't want to have progesterone in our body anymore. It maybe even harmful. So we must go through this to survive i guess and along the way,while our bodies adjust, we go through some sort of transitional ritual, like adolescent period.
So i stopped my nexium yesterday after 4 weeks( another 4 weeks of 20mg 3months ago) and had zantac instead, i feel ok. In fact i feel less anxious. My sister said she had h. Pirori but after the two weeks treatment she plowed ahead with soft food and cabbages( they say it's good for stomach. Even if you don't buy any of the good stuff they claim it to have, it's soft, has fiber, vit...why not?) without medecine. She is doing great now. I talked to my doc this morning and she said i might want to go with two more weeks of full does of zantac at night instead(300mg) then, but i am just going to go with 75 in the morning and 150 at night. That's what i did yesterday and i am ok. No heart racing either. Already Less or no anxious.(a bit nervous whenever i eat but that's natural)
Let't beat this together. I will keep posting about my progree without nexium.

Post Edited (Willovercome) : 3/11/2013 12:40:21 PM (GMT-6)

oops, can`t eat apples, sorry

I am 52 years old and still get master blaster periods every 25 days. I tend to get anemic during three days of extreme bleeding, so I do take iron supplements during those times. Recently, after taking Emergen C and drinking a lot of seltzer, I started getting repeat symptoms of gastritis. I initially had it in 2008. So I stopped the trigger foods: no seltzer, reduced dairy, avoided tomato, etc. I felt this left so little to eat. I also tried to reduce white sugar and flour. And of course, I avoid citrus products.

I found that eating Tum's provided immediate relief but only temporarily. So I began eating crystallized ginger, and that really helps "cure" the gastritis. I also drink coconut water, which helps too. I drink a lot of water when I wake up to help dilute the stomach acids. If I do all these things, I can get a near "cure" in 24 hours and complete recovery in 48 hours.

Also, just fyi, I noticed that when I buy "cheap" chinese food, I get a dizzy feeling. And I'm also prone to extreme heart palpitations. I don't know what brings on the palpitations yet, but they are probably triggered in part by stress. I do get hormonal headaches about a week before my period.

If anyone has ideas on how to reduce the flow of periods, I would LOVE that. I currently do not take any meds.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,
How long does menopause last?! It's been 1yr. And 7 months since no period. Went thru the night sweats and still have occasional heat flash. At first I thought this isn't too bad until a few weeks ago. Got heartburn everyday and heart palpitations that are driving me crazy. The other day got really dizzy with nausea and thought I was sick, not. ..was ok the next day. But having brain fog that feels like I have cotton in my head. Which can be scary because it feels as if you can't think straight. So glad to hear I'm not alone. Need to get to the doctor for some ease I guess.