Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: kerrieann on February 16, 2014, 12:37:39 PM
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hi ladies, ive not been on here for a while seemed like i was always moaning about my health and was getting quite fed up with myself, but decided to come on this morning to see if anyone can help me make sense of my latest health issue :)
The day before christmas eve i started feeling really sick and a terrible taste in the mouth, thought it was a bug, but i carried on for 4 weeks, i went to gp and he said it could be h pylori bacteria, he didnt test just gave me the eradication treatment, 2 lots of antibiotics and lansoprosil for a week, didnt get tested to see if i had still got it ( if i ever did) it was a terrible week felt awful but got through it, next on the agenda was camera down the throat had that done last week and the dr. told me there and then that there was nothing sinister, i have a small hiatus hernia, and he told me to stop taking omeprazole every day and just take them as and when.
Well obviously i was relieved there is nothing serious BUT although the sickness has eased a little my stomach is burning with acid, i am eating very little because everything tastes like metally and iam not sure what to do about it, i have gone back to taking the omeprazole thinking it will heal my tummy but if there are no ulcers there to heal ?? I havent got a clue where to go from here i dont no anything about hiatus hernia and the doctor said it was very small so think he assumes it isd not causing problems. thanks for listening kerrie
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Hiatus hernia are common in ladies of our age. If the medication is no longer working for you, try Milk of Magnesia ……… HH can cause heartburn and reflux particularly when we lay down. That can cause the altered taste.
Have a look at your diet and when you eat. Maybe your heavier meals earlier in the day and light snacks in the evening? for 4 weeks to see if it helps. Acidic foods can create more acid in the gut.
Also a good probiotic drink/tablets can ease symptoms
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I follow the advice to never eat after 8 in the evening and to eat little, but often. In other words, smaller portions, but more meals or snacks. Avoid eating junk food and refined sugar. Helps with weight loss too.
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thanks ladies clkd do you think the omeprazole can stop working then ? i have been on and off ppi for years different ones for acid tummy but now they dont seem to be doing anything, although i wonder if all the anti biotics i was on for h pylori has really upset my stomach although i was quite surprised i didnt get the runs.
I have been eating very little but often mainly slices of toast with manuka honey as i cant taste anything everything tastes like metal.
Do you think milk of magnesium would be strong enough to stop the acid if omeprazole isnt stopping it?
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For years and years I had terrible acid stomach problems. I started off on Zantac and over the years had to take stronger and stronger PPIs. Eventually a consultant told me that some of the problems that I was having were being caused by the pills I was taking. I think it was the over use of PPIs that triggered my IBS. Basically the consultant told me that my stomach was forgetting how to function properly.
I went to an alternative practitioner and stopped all medication in favour of a natural approach.
It was not easy to start with but with time and patience I got there. It's not perfect but I now have a normal diet and if I do get an acidy attach then Zantac sorts the problem. The alternative practitioner that I consulted is quite famous and also has a help line staffed by very informed people who can advise over the phone. I have to say they will also sell you stuff and post it off to you.
If you want the details I can pm you.
The only advice I can give is never to sleep lying down with a hiatus hernia. Always prop up the top of the bed.
Honeyb
x
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hi honeybun, i feel very confused and i have suffered like you for years with acid but never been so nauseous and horrible tasting mouth its been constant now for about 7 weeks, iam wondering if i did maybe have h pylori bacteria and all the anti biotics cleared it but have really upset my stomach because i didnt have all this burning pain when the sickness started before christmas, it was pain in the shoulder blade and sickness, but now its my stomach.
feel a bit scared to stop the ppi in case i develop an ulcer from all this acid
the other strange thing to me is that it doesnt affect me at night when i lie down
I have come off ppi and cimeitidine type pills my self several times over the years and always been put back on them, not sure what to do for the best, i finshed all the antibiotics a week last thursday x
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Whenever my stomach is bad I get a horrible taste in my mouth that I think is coming from my stomach.
You really need to go back to your GP. There are a range of pills that you can take to manage your condition. I think one of the stronger ones that worked for me for a while was Nexium.
Go back and ask. Meanwhile try adjusting your diet. All white foods for a couple of weeks. Fish, chicken, and rice mainly. Give your tummy a rest. You can buy aloe Vera juice from the health shop which is very soothing and that may help too. Stay away from milk and milk products, they are very acidy.
Honeyb
x
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surprised to hear that milk is acidic, i have been drinking it instead of tea or coffee as i thought it was better for lining the stomach :(
Wondering, as the consultant said the hernia did not need treatment, could the acid and pain have anything to do with ibs ? going to the loo has been awful as it a bit like pellets (sorry) it bulks up if i take fybogel but iam not sure if the fybogel adds to the acidity in my stomach i feel it does at times
The other thing i have been given is mottillium when i was really feeling sick, does anyone think i may be better with those than the fybogel
Sorry for all the questions but this has been going on for about 7 weeks now and iam getting more stressed than i normally am
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Fybogel :sick02: ………. Motillium acts by moving food through the stomach and gut quicker. It is an anti-sickness medication. Eases transition. I was advised to swallow it within the hour of eating my main meals: I had to take 3 pills to get a result : as it would then begin to ease food through therefore allowing space for the next meal = less bloating.
Milk is given for people with ulcers ;) full fat mind you, not any of this diluted stuff ……
Try giving your stomach a rest for 24 hours but drink water rather than juices - stop the Omeprazole and as Honeybun suggested, try white rice with steamed chicken/fish - eat more often. Dry toast - no butter ;-). Local bought honey eases gut problems ……… a teaspoon several times daily if you don't fancy anything else.
HiPylori can only be diagnosed by a sample taken from the gut ;-)
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I did a google ::)
"It's easy to get confused about whether milk is an acid or a base, especially when you consider that some people drink milk or take calcium to treat an acidic stomach. Actually, milk has a pH of around 6.5 to 6.7, which makes it slightly acidic. Some sources cite milk as being neutral since it is so close to the neutral pH of 7.0. Milk contains lactic acid, which is a hydrogen donor or proton donor. If you test milk with litmus paper, you'll get a neutral to slightly acidic response. .. "
Goats milk is however, 'different' so you may get on better with goat products.
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Milk,yogurt, cheese can cause excess acid. Really don't know why but it does.
For lining the stomach, porridge is very good made with water. I always have it in the morning when my stomach is bad.
Metroclopramide is really the best for speeding up transit and stopping sickness. It's what they give you before an anaesthetic and also along with morphine to stop you being sick. It empties the stomach very quickly. It's prescription only though.
Drink plenty of water and until you get new meds, take your pill just before bed as the stomach makes a lot of acid during the night.
Your bowel problems sound like IBS to me.
Make that appointment. Write down all your symptoms and discuss with your GP.
Honeyb
x
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the milk thing is confusing, i will give it a miss for a while, also the fybogel, i do have ibs the constipation type, i will give the motillium a chance for a few days
i have been wondering if all this has been brought on by stress, i am always anxious and before christmas i was getting very stressed, thats when the sickness and pain in the shoulder came about, then being sent for scan for gallbladder which came back clear so did my full bloods so i was worrying what else is could be as my mom had stomach cancer so did my grandad, so then came the endoscopy which has thank god been shown clear apart from a small hiatus hernia, finally a close friend of my partner has been diagnosed with bowel cancer at 45 and they have told him to look at 2 years, so ladies is it possible that i have stressed myself into this problem :-\
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You need to take a list to your GP.
You will need to take Motillium regularly i.e. every day within an hour before your main meal for at least 4-5 weeks before you notice a difference ;-)
Drink plenty of water. Helps ease bowel movements, don't wait until thirsty ……… drink regularly.
I have twice done a bowel test kit and both times it has been OK. Talk to your GP!
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been looking at side effects from omeoprazole and 1 of the main ones is stomach ache, so as the consultant said to take it as and when iam going to leave it off and see how it goes, when you say you did a bowel test kit clkd, did you buy it or have it done through the gp ? iam not really stressing about that side of things just want the tummy to settle down and the taste to go out of my mouth, so as you ladies are saying iam going to give my tummy a rest :)
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You could try some Zantac. It is an older fashioned pill with less side effects.
Honeyb
x
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Think iam so confused its stressing me :-\ if all the tests show only a small hiatus hernia why is my tummy so sore and burning ? i think all the stress is making everything worse and iam well aware of the horrible side effects from omeoprazole and other ppi but if i dont need them to stop the acid and burning then wont it get worse ? and then i will get an ulcer ? ooh i think anxiety is taking over :(
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Hi Kerie Anne, My first meno symptoms where stomach related but not too bad at first. The nausea got really bad though after a few months & it was 24/7. I had all sorts of anti sickness meds from the GP plus omneprazole. I just got in more & more of a mess stomach wise my anxiety was also spiralling out of control because of the stomach stuff. I was tested for h pylori too but they lost the sample so had to do it again. Months had gone by & I got in a really bad way. I stopped all the stomach tablets when my h pylori test came back negative. I seem to have got my stomach onto a more even keel now. It was all anxiety related due to peri I am sure. I had a black tongue at one point due to all the acid. It comes back a bit if I have a very stressy day. Worst time of my life ever so you have my sincere sympathies. B x
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thanks bev, yes iam thinking that this is whats happening, had lots of stress over the past 10 weeks or so and i feel that its making my stomach much worse :( i have always had bad side effects from meds my stomach is very sensitive and iam like you say going to it it a rest.
I had all the treatment for h pylori without even being test, just as a precaution and that was vile, 5 anti biotics per day and 2 doses of omeprazole so i suppose its no wonder that my stomach is in a mess x
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Bev, was there anything else you did to help your stomach heal ?
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Kerrie
You sound stressed as anything (I got myself in the same stupid state very recently) I was able to rationalise my fears (with help from this forum) and because they were irrational and not based in fact from fear.
But I think from what you have said you really need medical reassurance and advice from your GP. Ask if you can have a test to make sure the h pylori has gone. Try and focus the list on your symptoms (rather than the real and obvious distress they cause you) a GP can only diagnose and treat based on your physical symptoms.
Antibiotics can really upset your tummy.
From what you have said you have said I think you have IBS; and stress just makes that worse and worse. I have pain all along my left side up to my ribs and dreadful bloat. But when I am calm and not stressed the symptoms and pain are much less or gone!
I am sorry you are having a miserable time right now but you will be able to get things sorted out and be feeling good again soon.
Good Luck
Lubylou
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thanks lubylou, i do have ibs and i have got myself into a right state, thinking about what you are saying my symptoms are burning acid tummy horrible taste in my mouth and constipation .
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I got so poorly the GP put me on an AD called sertraline, diazepam & sleeping tablets. I could barely eat last September my stomach was in such a mess but I forced myself to eat 4 meals a day. My anxiety was really bad I wasn't coping with normal things. I turned a corner by the end of November. I think the peri started it all off to be honest. I have a GP appt in a few weeks time & I am going to insist on HRT. I am 51 & my bloods show no peri but I know they are wrong. I think if I had got HRT this time last year I wouldn't have got so bad. The AD & benzo's have helped though & I just take very low doses as needed now of the benzo's. I think controlling the anxiety helped the most to heal the stomach, it seems a lifetime ago but I was so stressed I used to go to bed at 7pm just so I could end the day asap. Eating a rich tea biscuit felt like an ordeal. I do not & never did avoid certain foods as I knew it was anxiety. I ate what I fancied. My last problem is the nausea has robbed me of going out & I know it would do me a huge favour to get out in the real world again. I work from home & have been working hard since December having taken 5 mths off so small steps I am sure the going out bit will come. Sorry this sounds a little disjointed I am tired:) Hope this helps a little bit. My mum was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia when I was a teenager many yrs ago after a hysterectomy. It turned out to be anxiety due to the meno, in those days they took everything away & no HRT was given. I have a few swallowing problems too like a lump in my throat sometimes, once again I know it is anxiety. Thank goodness I can tolerate wine again it used to feel like paint stripper ;D B x
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10 years ago I paid for a whole bank of tests including a pooh test all of which were normal. When I turned 60 I was invited by the NHS to repeat the stool test and again, result is normal.
Anxiety can cause acid tummy. So maybe peppermint tea would help? Eating dry foods etc. as previously suggested, little and often? Sipping drinks rather than gulping as that can increase any wind problems. The trick is to 'line' the upper stomach and gut to reduce acidity.
Stop all the anti-acidic treatments for 3-5 days. Allow Nature to reheat the body. You are unlikely to get an ulcer because the amount of acid feels more than is needed to cause ulceration which usually takes years to form.
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hi clkd, thanks for the advice, think i have been getting myself so stressed and with all the drugs i have had lately its really set my tummy off, my partner was only saying this morning that the only time my pellet like poo's change to normal is when we are on holiday, which tells me that when iam relaxed things settle. I have been trying to do some deep breathing and to be more aware of stressing out all the time, my son does meditation and he has been trying to get me into in for a while, he has changed quite alot since doing it, he runs his own business very stressful and its helped him alot, i do keep trying but find it so hard to clear my mind.
It has been suggested that i try anti depressants, but i react so bad to meds i dont really want to.
Tonight iam haveing a mri scan on the whole of my spine to try and discover the problem with my lower back and hip, this has been ongoing for 12 months, i did post about it a few months ago, but felt like i was on here moaning all the while :(
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It is wise to go through the investigations to rule things out. Then the symptoms can be treated appropriately.
Relaxation therapy needs practice!
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Well thats the mri scan done, not something i would choose to do, but not quite as bad as i thought :)
I was probably stressing about that as well, just cant help myself, yes clkd relaxation therapy must need alot of practice, i do keep trying but to clear your mind isnt easy is it, but i will keep trying till i manage it.
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I was advised to sit quietly. No phone, radio, TV. Curtains closed. Cat used to sit on my lap :-*
Shut eyes. Hands in lap. Begin by tensing and flexing all the muscle groups from the toes upwards. 3 times each. Concentrate on that area alone. It takes a while for the brain to stop wandering which is why this technique requires practice, 1/2 a day!
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ckld, yes i have been trying to sit quite and clear my mind for some time now, maybe now all my health tests are done i can try again to relax, well that is except for last nights mri scan, the results wont be through for 6 weeks :( the burning tummy is a little better today iam being careful with what i eat and taking no pills other than blood pressure.
Was thinking this morning i have a resperate machine for lowering blood pressure which i havent used for about 12 months, it basically teaches you to slow down your breathing, to relax you, iam going to use that tonight and try to get back into the habit of using it, see if that helps me to relax.
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Have you tried hypnotherapy tapes? Paul McKenna does some good ones. You either sit or lie down and you don't have to listen carefully. You just let the words wash over you. I found trying to relax on my own hard work! But the tapes really help and I feel more energised afterwards.
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ju ju, no i havent tried hypnotherapy tapes, but will look into them thanks kerrie