Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Puffin Mama]

Hi all
Haven't posted on here for quite a while as I guess I'd got used to my symptoms and was managing them........but I have been feeling so awful for the last couple of days and of course, my GPs aren't making appointments at the moment 
I've had hideous digestive issues since my menopause started - as I know many of us have - and have been managing them at various times with ranitidine,  Digestisan, fish oils and probiotics plus Gaviscon.    My GP is very good and recently referred me for an abdominal ultrasound  - which didn't show anything untoward - and I now have a gastroenterology appointment in June (although who knows if this will happen when it's supposed to now!).
I just feel so crappy at the moment - really bloated, stomach pains,  can't touch wheat at all as it makes it worse, and the scary thing is the chest pain and feeling of slight breathlessness - I feel quite often at the moment that taking a really deep breath is a real effort. I can do it when I make myself  - so logically I know there is nothing wrong with my lungs etc - but it's a bit scary. 
My father had cardiomyopathy and I was screened for that some years ago and was completely clear, so it's not a heart problem either - but I just wish I could find something to take the edge off the symptoms!  And stop feeling so worried!!
Any thoughts, ladies - if you've had or have similar,  I'd be most grateful to hear from you 
Puffin Mama xx

[CLKD]

I woke a couple of nights ago with intense pain between the rib cage in the middle of the chest above the belly.  I know it's indigestion but this time there was no wind to shift  and DH couldn't move it so I resorted to a Rennie tablet which worked.

I take omeprazalol [sp] nightly.  Which has eased the irritating cough which accompanies my reflux. 

Not many people do use full lung capacity.  Can you sing?  This encoaurges the body to work naturally.

Maybe ask your GP or local Pharmacist for a stronger medication to treat the reflux for a short while.

[Whatsupwiththis]

Hi puffin....my guess is GERD.  I was rushed into emergency 3 years ago thinking heart attack.  Bloated stomach, severe chest pains, constant stomach cramps, vomiting...you know the symptoms.  Had all the usual tests and turns out GERD.  Keep in mind that this can be caused by the H ployria (sp) bacteria...very common. It can be tested.by breath test or blood test.  Sounds like something you might have.  Get it checked and if it is the H ploria bacteria, 2 courses of antibiotics should do the trick.  Good luck and you need to get it sorted ASAP.  Can turn into ulcer if not treated.

[Puffin Mama]

Thanks so much for your replies, CLKD and whatsup - reassuring to know I am not alone, although sorry you're both suffering as well!  I can't take omeprazole or any of the 'prazole' family, as they make me feel really spaced out and weird.  My GP did do a stool test a few months back for H pylori, which came back negative - but I'm pleased that she was thorough.

It's just so bloody uncomfortable 

[CLKD]

Peppermint capsules, i.e. 'colpermin' - I was advised to swallow 1 within an hour of my main meals.  I needed several a day and my poo eventually smelt of peppermint  but it worked to relieve upper gut wind.

Maybe have a word with a local Pharmacist?  I find 'rennies' enough, generally.

[Whatsupwiththis]

If it is GERD, you will need something to help.  If not, esophagus can start to become affected and much worse problems.  Like CLKD, I take Rabeprazole and GERD has been well managed.  Could your GP recommend something else to decrease acid production?  Zantac, Tagamet, Pepcid AC...? 

[jillydoll]

Hi

It could also be anxiety.
I get those symptoms when I have a bout of anxiety.
Just a thought.
Xx

[dangermouse]

Try some digestive enzymes or fresh lemon juice in water with meals (or wine!). You may be reducing the acid too much with those meds.

I've had slow transit and SIBO which irritates the vagus nerve and can feel
like suppressed breathing. Breaking the food down in the stomach, as above helps, and try to avoid any acid suppressing meds as they can block the stomach up (like a toilet!) and cause acid to reflux up.

[lesley998]

Hi Puffin Mama

Not been on the boards for a while...but saw this and thought I would give my pennethworth....

I have suffered with gastritis and digestive problems for years and was told the dreadful chest/heart pain I get is due to eosophogeal spasm.  Worth a google.   In most people, non-cardiac chest pain is related to a problem with the eosophagus.  Sometimes I can feel the wind going around my heart which my mother also used to say...and of course it is, as the gullet, vague nerve and heart are all so close.

Edit: meant to add, when I get bad pain I take apple cider vinegar which works quicker than anything else I have ever tried!   I take two teaspoons in a shot glass topped up with water and get it over in a oner.

I've been worrying for years and still here with it.  So I've stopped and started worrying about covid19 instead!

[Jules53]

Hi Puffin Mama

I haven't been here for a while and was interested to read your post, as I could have written it myself! I have been having stomach issues and constantly feel like I can get enough air in. I've even had breathing physio to teach me how to breathe properly again! It's called hyperventilation syndrome and I have got into bad breathing habits because of the anxiety of the stomach pain. The pain was excruciating at times. Like you, I have had various scans and seen a gastroenterologist. 

She said it is either reflux or nerve pain in the stomach.  I tried PPIs but they made me feel worse and gave me bad anxiety, so the next thing they are trying me on is a very low dose of Amitriptyline (which is an old antidepressant they now use for nerve pain). I have been taking it for nearly a month and it's completely solved the pain! It's also helping me feel a bit calmer.  However, I  still have a problem with my breathing so am doing the breathing exercises the physio taught me, which does help a bit. You could ask your GP fo refer you to a physio, which may help. I think the situation with the Coronavirus is making those of us with anxiety worse, so I'm trying to stay away from the news as much as I can.

Danger mouse- I'm interested in what you said about SIBO as I had thought I might have that. Did your GP test you for that and are you in the UK?

Puffin Mama - I just wanted to let you know you are not alone and I hope you get some answers soon. Jules

[Puffin Mama]

Hi again all - so sorry to have appeared to be ignoring you all!!  For some reason, I wasn't getting notifications that anyone else had replied 
CLKD - the peppermint smelling poo made me  .   I have taken Colpermin in the past, with varying degrees of success - at the moment I've been using it to supplement my 3 times a day doses of Digestisan (herbal supplement).  The two together seem to take the edge of it but again, it's sometimes more helpful than at other times.  The Digestisan does seem to reduce the 'wind' element of this though 
Whatsup,  I can't take most PPIs as they made me feel very weird and spaced out - my GP did have me on a course of ranitidine/zantac and this had some effect but didn't shift all the symptoms and when that ran out,  I didn't carry on with it as I am concerned about reducing stomach acid too much and that then causing other problems.
dangermouse - I LOVE the idea of wine  .  I hadn't heard of SIBO but have just looked it up and it sounds so much like what I have, including the suppressed breathing.  I try to do yoga at least 2-3 times a week at home and this does make you more conscious of your breathing, but of course when I feel really crap,  I don't feel like doing yoga.......I have a gastroenterologist's appointment in June but who knows if that will go ahead......the image of the stomach being blocked up like a toilet really made me laugh!!! (and it's exactly how I feel right now - blocked up! I do feel that Dynarod would be the best option sometimes!)
Hello sparkle, fancy seeing you here  - the chest pains are scary!  I had a very thorough heart screening a few years back as my father has a hereditary condition, and my heart was completely clear of anything, so I know it's not that.  Also, one of the things that seems to help is to go for a long walk  - it really eases up then but I have to be walking for at least an hour, so my logic is that if it was a heart problem,  I'd probably feel worse with exercise.....I have a super GP, who is very thorough, and she sent me off for an endoscopy and colonoscopy about 18 months ago - all clear as a whistle, thank goodness.  Been tested for hpylori and coeliac as well, both negative. 
Sweetpea - my GP also mentioned that it might be muscle spasms - I think that's why wine seems to take the edge off as I suppose it acts as a relaxant!   Interesting about the apple cider vinegar,  I might give that a try as it can't do any harm, thanks for the suggestion.  Do you take it regularly as a preventive or just when your symptoms are bad?
Jules53 - I hadn't been here for a while either but this has flared up so badly that it drove me to start posting again!!  I hate that feeling of not being able to draw a really deep breath - I had it in the middle of the night last night and had to remind myself that I knew what it was, otherwise I could feel myself starting to panic.  I wonder if my GP could test me for SIBO or if it's a gastro apt for that?