Heartburn - absolutely sick of it

[Herewegoagain22]

I’ve been suffering from raging heartburn since around February. I’ve been to the chemist and had the usual Rennies, Nexium etc. But nothing worked. Been to the doctors and been tested for H-Pylori as I’ve also been suffering with bloating after eating. Well that came back negative.

Went back to the doctors who have prescribed Omeprazole, which takes the edge off the heartburn slightly but it’s debilitating. Doctor sent me away last time and told me to ‘come back in a few months if it isn’t any better as I can’t be on Omeprazole long term’.

I’m a good weight, I’m sporty, my diet is good, I exercise, don’t smoke, don’t drink. It’s just frustrating. I now have to eat smaller meals as I feel so uncomfortably full after a normal sized meal. And the burning sensation is just horrible.

I’m sick of going to the doctors and being panned off. That’s three times now. Anything else I can be doing? I’m at my wits end.

I’d go back and ask for an endoscopy and see if you can get any answers.

Have you tried the diet side such as limiting caffeine, fizzy drinks etc?

I was on omeprazole for about 2
yesrs for heartburn and I felt permanently bloated. I decided to eliminate food from my diet to see what would help and bread was my first thing to go and that was 2.5 years ago and I’ve never had heartburn since! I now eat sourdough but only if it hasn’t got yeast in and that seems to be the biggest problem.

This might not be the same for you but it changed my life, I know that sounds dramatic but it was so bad.

Pretty non-medical but have you tried fucking love hearts - the sweet?

Saved my life when I was pregnant

Oh shit

Sucking

SUCKING

😂😂😂

I’m experiencing the same thing. I’ve had endless tests including a couple of gastroscopes but all seems ok. It’s getting worse but I am in perimenopause and very stressed so that’s not helping. Just horrible, isn’t it?

I asked on a fb group today and had several suggestions for slippery elm and zinc carnocine so I’m going to try those. The Acid Watchers Diet was suggested a lot too.

Have you tried a bit of bicarbonate of soda in water?

Push for an endoscopy. Could be a haitus hernia, only an endoscopy can diagnose that.

i have to sleep with my head raised in bed, eat smallish meals, cut out acidic foods and dairy. Still get pain/ nasty taste in mouth sometimes

OP I suffered for years with heartburn. Then a few years ago I got v sick with other digestive issues(one of which was bloating). I went to Gp and they tested me for coeliac disease which came back positive. Almost the day I went strictly gluten free the heartburn disappeared. Please go to your docs and ask to be tested!

Are you by any chance menopausal? Mine has been awful since perimenopause. You have to be persistent with the omeprazole. Don’t miss a dose even if you feel a bit better. I also found some foods I had to permanently avoid. Melted cheese, anything with a high fat or sugar content. Biscuits are fine but cakes annd butter are not. It does improve but one day of rubbish eating and it returns.

Random I know, but have you been to the gynecologist recently? I had terrible heartburn a couple of years ago and was put omeprazole and gaviscon but it turned out that I had an ovarian cyst which was causing me to bloat and putting pressure on my stomach area and causing the heartburn. Once I had the cyst removed, the heartburn stopped.
Also, I found a yoga video online somewhere which said that lying on your back and hugging your knees while rocking from side to side can help alleviate heartburn if that helps at all, good luck , I hope you get to the bottom of it!

Why cant you be on omeprazole long term? I have to take it for life.

Although I do know that it can impact bone density so Im going to get a private dexa scan at some point

My GP told me Omeprazole was the old fashioned drug and put me on Lansoprazole. I asked about long term and he said there’s no concerns. I have to say it’s worked fantastically. Worth a try?

They're virtually the same drug arent they?

In fact Ive just checked my packet and Im not even on Omeprazole after all, Im on Esomeprazole!!

I suffered from horrible reflux, a couple of times I almost went to A & E it was so painful. Then I also cut out bread and pasta and now hardly ever get it. Occasionally, after a meal out, I take Gaviscon as a preemptive and that seems to work.

Avoid acidic foods or high fat content I've been on lanzaprosle for 30 years,it's great but avoid the above.

I second a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda in water. Tastes revolting ! but does the trick, neutralises the acid.

Have you identified any trigger foods? Gluten really sets my reflux off terribly. Even if you have a celiac test and it comes back negative, cutting out gluten still might help. There’s no test for intolerances so you have to go on how you feel.

Omeprazole is brilliant but according to my GP it’s a short term thing annoyingly!

Also take a sip of gaviscon (pink bottle) last thing before bed.

The dose is 4 x 5ml (teaspoon)!

I’m aware! If you wake up with a sore throat thought, taking a small amount coats your throat and stops it refluxing back down to your vocal cords. Thus preventing the sore throat. Why take more on a regular basis if you don’t need to.

It’s 100% something you’re eating.

I can’t eat many “healthy” foods like brassicas or too much onion. I get rampant reflux.

Try an elimination diet and reintroduce slowly to find the culprit.

I'd also get your gall bladder checked. My reflux was as a result of a large stone blocking my bile duct.

I've had heartburn since I was 14. I'm now 56.

I'm on Lanzoprazole and if I don't have it, I can't even hold down water. I've been on this for 15 years. I doubt I'll ever not be on it. Before then it was a mix of whatever I could get off the shelf.

It is great that you have had medical intervention in 3 months though. I'm not sure what it is you want the doctor to do. Millions of us have it without a cure and they have prescribed the drug to treat it and it's not like there is a method of actually finding out what it is that is causing it.

I've tried practically everything from restricted diets to drinking vinegar every day. I once had it so bad, even ON lanzoprazole that I bought a bottle of vinegar on the way to work and drank some neat to try and shock my system into closing the valve to stop the acid and it worked for about an hour.

I think you need to prepare yourself for having this for longer than it takes for your 4th visit to the doctors.

It does sound severe and I would want more investigation. A relative had similar and it was caused by a hernia that needed surgery.