Omeprazole for life, sliding hiatal hernia

[Thislife55555]

Not sure if there is anyone out there with a similar issue, I experienced horrendous heart burn age 37, 3 yrs on from having our daughter, not sure if it's linked but I went through a lot of stress with her and was eventually sent for an endoscopy which they said I had a sliding hernia and that I'd need to be on omeprazole for life! I've been taking 20mg for the last 4 months so far presicebed by my Gp upon the letter from the consultant I saw for the camera but I've never had a discussion with the Gp about this medication. Due to how busy we've been I've only recently had time to sit down and read a lot this medication and I'm a bit worried. It is saying there is a long term side effects. I also don't think they're really working as I'm stil having issues. Does anyone know much about these drugs and what even may have caused me to get a hiatal sliding hernia? I feel so young to have this issue and I know it's serious it's so irritating, prior to this I was such a fit healthy woman who liked to eat a lot and now I'm swallowing constantly as can feel the valve is slack and I can't eat nowhere near as much as I used to. Also worried about my long term health having a 3.5 yo.

@stayathomegardener it would be great to have some info, thank you! I am thankfully very good with my diet, I don't eat gluten at all, very low amount of dairy, I use alternatives instead and I do try to eat sauerkraut regularly as I've read it's good for the gut, I did for a time take a lot of probiotics too after I had my daughter as I was on a lot of antibiotics which did me no good for my gut. But yes I have soem time vit c in the cupboard, I'm going to give it a go from tonight and see how I go on! I'll give it all a wk or so but I'm def going to need to discuss this all with the dr!! I never put two and two together as I saw two differnt drs! My initial one had said hives was likely caused by stress but then I had then acid issue and saw a differnt dr and the other never knew this and off I went but how I didn't realise it was stress when it was obv but I was in the thick of a very hard time in my life and I was in survival mode! Thank you for posting this though it sounds so plausible this could be a huge part of my issue but I will get it checked out properly, why the dr never checked me for low acid though I'll never know!

It dose say initially symptoms may get worse, during that period I used Slippery Elm bark powder as a drink to coat the oesophagus. Texture is gross but worth it for relief.

Long term use of slippery elm would inhibit nutrient absorption.

@stayathomegardener thank you!! I'll have a read of this soon as I can! Thanks again and hopefully I might start getting there. Our daughter has been a shock tbh, her behaviour is still so shocking, she is just a very difficult character by nature, is very intense and I've always felt it's not normal! I need to discuss this also as it's gone on for too long and clearly the there has been a damaging impact of this on us both.

My Mum had oesophageal cancer. It was brutal. She ended up on a feeding tube with the tumour which was blocking her throat, which then crushed her windpipe and stopped her breathing. I remember we used to joke about her taking Zantac for fun.

Take the omeprazole.

@PieonaBarm I'm really sorry about your Mum, a terrible way to lose anyone.

I think I said upthread there is a cancer risk if untreated but it's certainly worth throwing 6 months at the IQoro device, diet and gut acid levels to try and avoid life long meds.

@PieonaBarm sorry to hear this about your mum 🥹 I'm going to have a discussion with the dr to find out if I have a low acid issue firstly as app if I do omeprazole will only further reduce the acid meaning I don't need omeprazole, I'll consult with the dr and see if they can rule low acid out and go from there but equally anyone that is told they need to be on this medication it is def worth taking seriously as the effects of not taking it can lead sadly to a much worse outcome, my issue may be the reverse of increased acid as no one actually checked my levels, no one put two and two together re my hives and personal chronic stress and realised low acid could have been caused by my chronic stress, I'll be glad to get to the bottom of it but thank you for posting, we're very lucky we have all of these medications available nowadays 🙏💗

I suspect you won't get far with a GP in regards to low acid 🥴 sorry.

I had CFS triggered by a live flu vaccine in 2003 and then long covid post March 20, very little patience with GP's shutting patients down and medicating incorrectly.

Maybe you will need to be on Omeprazole but take control and rule out self help first.

@stayathomegardener Yes that's very true sadly, but yes I will certainly be trying a couple of these other things and see what happens; plus getitng one of those devices also, thanks for all the tips 🙌

Pleasure and good luck.

If it's any help with your DC's behaviour, I remember looking up to see if children could actually be feral when our DD was about 3.
Tantrum prone, wilful, didn't sleep, hated school it was super draining and as you say so stressful.

She on the other hand was a dream teen and that wilful independence stands her in good stead at 23 so hang on in there.