Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Personal Experiences => Topic started by: Katie999 on January 19, 2023, 07:04:26 PM
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Please can anyone share their stories about acid reflux/gerd?
I’m 47 and have been suffering for some time. Have been to the doctors and they just prescribed Omerprazole for 4 weeks which didn’t make a difference.
Every time I eat or drink something I get like internal hiccups. It’s driving me mad.
Also get very bloated in the afternoons and very windy :-\
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If you buy nexium capsules over the counter these contain esomeprazole which is slightly different to omeprazole and might work for you. Were you on 20mg omeprazole and when were you taking it?
Taz x
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Hi Katie,
It can take over a month for omeprazole to take effect, take it for another month and hopefully you will find an improvement.
You are at the age when you have to think about what you are eating, for me it was fats, cheese and milk which I had to give up. It's all about experimenting now but will say if you see no improvement obviously go back to your GP.
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As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax which allows the shutting off reflex when we swallow to become loose, allowing food/gastric juices to come back up. YUK. I've had indigestion since a child, controlled with Milk of Magnesia tablets/milk.
As I aged I noticed more reflux, so chew 'rennies' in the early hours. Due to a reflux related irritating clearing-of-throat my GP prescribe Omeprazolol.
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there are several threads relating to reflux so you aren't alone. Hiatus hernia is common too.
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I’m 43 and get severe reflux :-\. Find out if any of the meds affect absorption of other key vitamins.
Mine is worse in luteal phase. x
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Hi Katie, I suffered with GERD for a long time which is caused by inflammation. I researched for months, changed to a Mediterranean diet & was recommended, by a wonderful Redditor that I needed to "cool things down" so more research. I heard nothing but good things about Turmeric capsules! I was on a prescription which wasn't helping at all, so, bought a bottle of 500mg Turmeric capsules, started taking them about every few hours, up to 8/day. Eventually healed my GERD. I still take them here & there rather than Gaviscon but they are the only real long-term relief I've ever found. It's inexpensive, around $15 CAD for a bottle of 90 capsules from Walmart. Hope this helps!
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Thanks for responding ladies. Have been reading some of the other similar threads and it does seem to be a common thing. I finally went back to the doctors this week. Back on omerprazole for 8 weeks and a referral for an endoscopy! 😩😩😩 absolutely dreading that and will be scared to death when the time comes.
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Thanks for responding ladies. Have been reading some of the other similar threads and it does seem to be a common thing. I finally went back to the doctors this week. Back on omerprazole for 8 weeks and a referral for an endoscopy! 😩😩😩 absolutely dreading that and will be scared to death when the time comes.
I hope the omerprazole helps. With the endoscopy perhaps you should tell them you are nervous and would like sedation.
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There are not many of us get to nearly 50 and not have to have an endoscopy, so try not to worry!
As it's your first time I would recommend you be sedated. My sister had her first recently and was surprised at how well it went, her gallstones play her up rotten sometimes :)
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You're not really meant to take omeprazole for more than a few months, though I know lots of doctors prescribe it for years. Suppressing the production of stomach acid comes with its own problems long term, as it's so important for good digestion. There are some great videos on YouTube for how to address it with diet and supplements.. Apple cider vinegar (with 'the mother', which is where most of the benefits are found) is one of the things that's recommended that I've found helpful. I buy it online from Natures Best, it's a good brand (Ostlers), and tastes a bit better than others I've tried. I dilute 2 tsp in a small glass of water with some lemon juice, and add some stevia as otherwise it's very sharp and pretty unpleasant. It's a beneficial thing to take generally.
I had a bronchoscopy under sedation a few years ago, so similar to an endoscopy, and was dreading it too. It was so much better than I expected, the anaesthetic throat spray was the worst part, funnily enough, and other than that it was absolutely fine. I didn't feel the tube go down, and the next thing I knew I was waking up and it was all over. I'm a great enthusiast of sedation now!
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You're not really meant to take omeprazole for more than a few months, though I know lots of doctors prescribe it for years. Suppressing the production of stomach acid comes with its own problems long term, as it's so important for good digestion. There are some great videos on YouTube for how to address it with diet and supplements.. Apple cider vinegar (with 'the mother', which is where most of the benefits are found) is one of the things that's recommended that I've found helpful. I buy it online from Natures Best, it's a good brand (Ostlers), and tastes a bit better than others I've tried. I dilute 2 tsp in a small glass of water with some lemon juice, and add some stevia as otherwise it's very sharp and pretty unpleasant. It's a beneficial thing to take generally.
I had a bronchoscopy under sedation a few years ago, so similar to an endoscopy, and was dreading it too. It was so much better than I expected, the anaesthetic throat spray was the worst part, funnily enough, and other than that it was absolutely fine. I didn't feel the tube go down, and the next thing I knew I was waking up and it was all over. I'm a great enthusiast of sedation now!
I’ve read that :'( when I’ve been on it before I can’t say it made a difference. Giving it another go in sheer desperation. I’ve read up on the Apple cider vinegar and did try it for a week but didn’t notice any difference. Maybe gave up too soon. Also have tried aloe Vera juice and still taking that with the omerprazole.
I may be completed deluded but I hope not to have to resort to sedation purely because it says you can’t drive for 24 hours. Depending when it is, I hope to be in work the next day. I work for an agency so don’t get paid when I’m not in so can’t afford two days without any pay.
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Look into zinc l carnosine as a natural healer. There are some studies.
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A lot of people don't bother with sedation and have the throat spray instead.
The sedation feeling is only temporary and after a sleep when you get home, you will be fine the following day to carry on with your life.
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You're not really meant to take omeprazole for more than a few months, though I know lots of doctors prescribe it for years. Suppressing the production of stomach acid comes with its own problems long term, as it's so important for good digestion. There are some great videos on YouTube for how to address it with diet and supplements.
For those of us on it for the long haul it's vitally important to do research on supplements that will compensate for any side effects of taking PPI's.
Important to me are Zinc-15mg, Probiotics, B12, VitD-3. Calcium is important but as I am unable to take it, zinc also helps bone strength.
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I have GERD, I have stopped all foods identified as causing too much acid, most dairy and gluten. I am on max dose of lansoprazole in the mornings and famotidine in the evening. Unfortunately with all this it’s still poorly controlled so next steps for me is ph and manometry testing where a tube is inserted in my nose to my stomach for 24 hours to see what’s going on. Quite frankly I’m ready to explore surgery as I’m not prepared to be in such high meds for the next 20-30 years, I’m 46. Be careful with apple cider vinegar it made me worse and is for low acid rather than high, but worth a try. All started when I hit perimenopause, most importantly don’t eat for at least 2-3 hours before bed.
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I have GERD, I have stopped all foods identified as causing too much acid, most dairy and gluten. I am on max dose of lansoprazole in the mornings and famotidine in the evening. Unfortunately with all this it’s still poorly controlled so next steps for me is ph and manometry testing where a tube is inserted in my nose to my stomach for 24 hours to see what’s going on. Quite frankly I’m ready to explore surgery as I’m not prepared to be in such high meds for the next 20-30 years, I’m 46. Be careful with apple cider vinegar it made me worse and is for low acid rather than high, but worth a try. All started when I hit perimenopause, most importantly don’t eat for at least 2-3 hours before bed.
That sounds awful for you. :( Like you, I do not eat for at least 3 hours before bed and have to cut out lots of food. I hope the test goes well.
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Katie999
Another sufferer here. Recently had an endoscopy which showed inflammation of the gullet caused by too much acid. Burning pain, bloating, wind and palpitations were my symptoms. I too tried Omeprazole at first but it made me worse. Lansoprazole worked for a while but the one I took became unavailable and the next brand I got made me feel really woozy. I have had difficulty finding out what foods are the culprit as some days I'm not too bad then can feel a lot of pain without actually eating anything different. I assume its the build up of acid getting to a certain point, then erupting up my gullet (that's how I describe it). I take Gaviscon advance which helps a little but cant take Peptac (prescribed by doctor) as this upset my tummy. Don't worry about the endoscopy it was nothing near as bad as I had thought it would be. Sedation was not an option on the day I went (staff shortages!) so I just had the banana flavoured throat spray. I felt the camera once it was inside me a little and my symptoms were certainly worse for a few weeks afterwards, so must have agitated the inflammation, but, what I found helped me was once I was lying on my side, was to concentrate on a certain thing in the room (mines was a big button on the bottom of the screen) and stare at it whilst counting really slowly. It was all over in a few minutes and I was altogether in and out of the hospital in 20 mins. I am not taking any medication at the minute but I am drinking peppermint tea after every meal and I have started taking a Yakult yogurt drink every morning, and I am seeing a marked improvement. (Might be a fluke, I'm hoping not). I realise everybodys 'gut health' is different so it will be trial and error. Hope this helps a wee bit.
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Hi ladies,
I am now about 6 weeks into taking omerprazole twice a day and I honestly don’t think it’s making a difference. I still have this almost constant internal belching after eating, it’s even their first thing in the morning when I wake up. The last couple of days I’ve been experiencing full back ache across the middle of my back and shoulders. I haven’t got a date for my endoscope yet and driving myself mad with worry. I have health anxiety and now worrying I have some form of either bowel cancer or ovarian cancer. Can anyone else relate to this? Could it all really be hormone related? Has anyone else tried omerprazole and found it didn’t work? Thanks xx
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Hi ladies,
I am now about 6 weeks into taking omerprazole twice a day and I honestly don’t think it’s making a difference. I still have this almost constant internal belching after eating, it’s even their first thing in the morning when I wake up. The last couple of days I’ve been experiencing full back ache across the middle of my back and shoulders. I haven’t got a date for my endoscope yet and driving myself mad with worry. I have health anxiety and now worrying I have some form of either bowel cancer or ovarian cancer. Can anyone else relate to this? Could it all really be hormone related? Has anyone else tried omerprazole and found it didn’t work? Thanks xx
Do you eat any foods that cause acid? I have to avoid things like tomato and mint for example. If you have a hiatus hernia then I can quite understand the belching especially after acidic foods. Which dose of omaprazole are you on? Sometimes omaprazole is not effective and something like lanzaprazole works better for some people.
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Do you eat any foods that cause acid? I have to avoid things like tomato and mint for example. If you have a hiatus hernia then I can quite understand the belching especially after acidic foods. Which dose of omaprazole are you on? Sometimes omaprazole is not effective and something like lanzaprazole works better for some people.
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Sorry, can’t quite get the hang of a direct reply to a post. I try and eat a pretty boring diet. No matter what I eat though it’s the same. I try and either have a probiotic drink or yoghurt each day.
So I’m on 20ml x 2.
Today I’ve had ready brek for breakfast, a wrap with ham and cucumber and mayonnaise for dinner with a packet of quavers and a yogurt. For tea, I’ve had cottage pie.
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Do you eat any foods that cause acid? I have to avoid things like tomato and mint for example. If you have a hiatus hernia then I can quite understand the belching especially after acidic foods. Which dose of omaprazole are you on? Sometimes omaprazole is not effective and something like lanzaprazole works better for some people.
Sorry, can’t quite get the hang of a direct reply to a post. I try and eat a pretty boring diet. No matter what I eat though it’s the same. I try and either have a probiotic drink or yoghurt each day.
So I’m on 20ml x 2.
Today I’ve had ready brek for breakfast, a wrap with ham and cucumber and mayonnaise for dinner with a packet of quavers and a yogurt. For tea, I’ve had cottage pie.
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If the cottage pie contained any tomato then that could guve you acid. Crisps can also irritate a hernia due to being cooked in oil.
I know how miserable thess symptoms are and I am sorry you are having them. Often caffeine can trigger hernias so tea or coffee or fizzy drinks will too.
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I've discovered my acid reflux has nothing to do with what I eat, it's anxiety. Been going to Reflexology as I mentioed in another thread and this had totally cured it and I'd not needed antacids anymore. However, been on holiday the last couple of weeks and spent the first week on my own, nothing unusual, but I started feeling a bit anxious and within a couple of days the reflux was back with a vengance and the Rennies were going down like sweets. My family arrived the 2nd week and within a hour my reflux was gone and I've been fine since.
The burping is also part of this anxiety ritual as well.
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I’ve take Tumeric capsules over the last few years and l definitely think they help with reflux:https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/turmeric-acid-reflux
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Today I’ve had ready brek for breakfast, a wrap with ham and cucumber and mayonnaise for dinner with a packet of quavers and a yogurt. For tea, I’ve had cottage pie.
As we get older we can become intolerant of some of the foods we loved to eat.
Cucumber, well known for causing bad indigestion, Quavers so greasy stomach acid will work overtime digesting it and causing reflux.
Cottage pie, was it made with lamb, if so again greasy and if the potatoes were mashed with butter, again more grease.
Depressing I know but these are foods I can no longer eat, perhaps a closer look at your diet might help you to control your stomach acid.
Probiotics in a capsule form every day has been brilliant for me and helped enormously at controlling my stomach acid.
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Today I’ve had ready brek for breakfast, a wrap with ham and cucumber and mayonnaise for dinner with a packet of quavers and a yogurt. For tea, I’ve had cottage pie.
As we get older we can become intolerant of some of the foods we loved to eat.
Cucumber, well known for causing bad indigestion, Quavers so greasy stomach acid will work overtime digesting it and causing reflux.
Cottage pie, was it made with lamb, if so again greasy and if the potatoes were mashed with butter, again more grease.
Depressing I know but these are foods I can no longer eat, perhaps a closer look at your diet might help you to control your stomach acid.
Probiotics in a capsule form every day has been brilliant for me and helped enormously at controlling my stomach acid.
Looking at it like that you have some valid points. I always think Quavers are slightly better than “normal” crisps.
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I've discovered my acid reflux has nothing to do with what I eat, it's anxiety. Been going to Reflexology as I mentioed in another thread and this had totally cured it and I'd not needed antacids anymore. However, been on holiday the last couple of weeks and spent the first week on my own, nothing unusual, but I started feeling a bit anxious and within a couple of days the reflux was back with a vengance and the Rennies were going down like sweets. My family arrived the 2nd week and within a hour my reflux was gone and I've been fine since.
The burping is also part of this anxiety ritual as well.
I do struggle with anxiety and have a fairly stressful and busy lifestyle. I suspect it contributes to it. It becomes a vicious circle as the worse it gets, the more I worry… :'(
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An update on things as I look at threads for advice and some always seem like they just end without things being resolved.
The acid reflux continued so has been going on over 2 years now and nothing seems to work to help. Eventually went back to the doctors at half term and it turns out the endoscopy had been requested but not sent off. Anyway, I finally had it today (and was very brave and did it just with the spray) and everything was good! Nothing showing. Doesn’t explain my reflux problems which I suspect are down to perimenopause, stress and poor diet at times. Need to monitor my diet for triggers and maybe get a bit more active! At least the endoscope has put my mind at rest.
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HRT caused my reflux, I think oestrogen is meant to relax the lower oesophigal splincter. It is early days, but one week of taking testosterone and it has completely gone. Hoping it is just not a coincidence.
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A lot of people don't bother with sedation and have the throat spray instead.
The sedation feeling is only temporary and after a sleep when you get home, you will be fine the following day to carry on with your life.
. I found it very bearable with just a throat spray. Much easier than a hysteroscopy.