Hiatus Hernia

[kite]

Hi

I was told on Wednesday that I have a hiatus hernia. I had a endoscope done & I was wondering if any mums on here have this?? I am hoping to get pregnant this year but now I am afraid that I will have this sore rawness all the way through my pregnancy and I would love to hear from mums to be or mums that had this while pregnant.

Does it make the pregnancy worse?? Is it manageable during pregnancy - will it be worse after giving birth??

I would be grateful any advise you may have for me.

Thank you

Hi Kite, the hiatus hernia is a loosening of the hiatus cartilage/muscle ring. This ring stops food from coming back out of the stomach after a meal or drink. During pregnancy the muscles tend to relax due to hormones so acid reflux is more common anyway. So with a hiatus hernia it will possibly exaggerate your symptoms. It can be operated on though, so I would ask to get on a waiting list. At the end of pregnancy you tend to get heart burn due to the space the baby takes up, pushing organs upwards so this makes acid reflux worse as well. You can take Gaviscon during pregnancy which can help.
HTH

Thank you tori32 for your reply.

I asked about an operation but my consultant felt it was not needed just to watch my diet and take the tablet to control it. She said to drink the maloox & gavison when it got very bad.

She said it was not inflamed around the hiatus hernia which she said was good.
But the pain of it is shocking - maybe I am a big wimp .

If anyone else has experience of this I would be grateful for your advice.

Thanks again

I have one - horrid, isn't it? I got mine during my first pregnancy, had appalling heartburn (needed Omeprazole to make it manageable, otherwise I coughed non-stop) which went away when my dd1 arrived - then came back, though not as badly. I had endoscopy a year later when I was still getting heartburn all morning and whenever I lay down - and they found a hiatus hernia. GP said surgery often ineffective, and to manage it with meds.

I take, on GP's recommendation, one Ranitidine or Zantac (same thing) tablet every evening, which means I almost don't feel it at all. If I eat spicy food, or too much chocolate, I might have to take an extra tablet during the day - but basically, Zantac is a total godsend.

I had heartburn earlier during my second pregnancy, but amazingly needed less medication for it than I had the first time around - forget Gaviscon though, Ranitidine is far far more effective and fine in pregnancy (prescribed by my OB, who is a v experienced one).

Thank you Elibean for your reply,

The last few days it seems to have calmed down a bit so I am a bit more happy now. I can eat some food without it being too uncomfortable .

I hope to have it manageable before ttc #2 .

Thanks again