gerd / reflux or something else?

[wfrances]

after an illness 13 months ago, i started to suffer with constant nausea, bloating, lack of appetite, chest pain, dry cough, excess mucus in throat, hoarse voice and sore throat in the morning- difficulty swallowing.

no heartburn /burning /burping /indigestion feelings.
given omeprazole for 2 months and peptac -but got worse.

after endoscopy, gerd diagnosed.
have tried now rennie, gaviscon ,ranitidine and lansoprazole. nothing works.
if this is gerd surely the medications would have worked?

im seeing consultant again soon, but am scared hell just say theres nothing more to try.
ive lost nearly 3 stones ,my hair is falling out and my periods have shortened.
does anyone have experience of this or some meds i could try?

Crikey, you've had a time of it. Has anyone suggested domperidone?

hi smallbrain yes i tried domperidone could only take for 3 days and consultant told me to stop it. i had severe stomach cramps ,diarrhoea and the sweats and shakes.

oh you poor thing -which Gaviscon have you tried ? Their formulation varies - Gaviscon Advance is supposed to be strongest I think .
www.gaviscon.co.uk/products/gaviscon-advance/liquids/

Have you had omeprazole ? Or metaclopromide instead of the domperidone ?

Have you tried sleeping propped up as upright as poss with pillows ?

Hope consultant helps .

hi ginger
yes i had an 8 week omeprazole course - in this time it got worse.
ive slept upright for the last 13 months,as well as cutting things out of my diet, not eating /drinking after 7pm.
i dont drink /smoke not overweight ( was a little before the dramatic weightloss)
im unsure what gaviscon it was ,as i finished the bottle .
ill have a look at the metaclopromide.
i dont know if it makes a difference but the endoscopy showed my stomach was full of bile not acid.

I imagine that your stomach being full of bile might make a big difference .
Surely it shouldn't be ? I hope you're appt is soon - you can't keep loosing weight like that .

If it's bile I can't think that domperidon or metaclopromide will help , or PPI like omeprazole either .But maybe try the Gaviscon Advance again ?

Hi Frances,
I have been suffering very similar to you....all the same things regarding reflux bloating etc I could have wrote the same post but add in dodgy bowel (either looses or constipated) wind coming up my back too.

Part of the problem is I feel so much better when I DONT eat and having to think about eating every single morsel was getting me down.

I am waiting for an endoscopy at the moment but recently had an MRI scan which is a whole other story.

Anyway, I have tried a few natural aids that may help. I have spent a small fortune in the Health food shop on the following:

Sea kelp Tablets (they contain iodine that can help digestion and also good for your hair I think....not sure about the hair bit but I think I read it somewhere)

acidiphilous tablets, which are good bacteria similar to what is found in yogurts

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, which is supposed to help and I've found quite good. It was only just over £2, and must be organic. You take a spoonful in a cup of water.

I've also taken Half a tea spoon of baking soda in water if I've felt really bad and found that to be good.

Basically when you feel so rotten you reach a point where you will try anything. I've felt so bad a couple of times I thought I was having a heart attack. Within 30 minutes of drinking the baking soda I passed a lot of wind. So I definitely found that helped.

I hope you feel better soon x

hi baby
i have bowel problems too ,started at same time .
im waiting for a colonoscopy
should have had it in december but had whooping cough so had to postpone.
exactly right ,you feel better not eating or drinking.
its as if you digestive system cant tolerate anything.

but i cant go on much longer without eating and the pain.
at the moment im not anaemic and not under weight,but i will be soon.

i was hospitalised in nov, because i was so weak and out of it- could hardly walk,extremely dizzy ,sweaty ,confused - turned out my sugar levels were dangerously low.
ill try the stuff you mentioned, ill try anything now.
thanks