Indigestion

Oh, they tell you that all over the place WW. The real medical people say it's useless though. (Raising bed head)

I sent for some Slippery Elm food. It came from America via Amazon. It looks horrible and I haven't dared to try it.nthere are no instructions either. I have wasted so much money trying to remedy this condition.

Toast makes me cough. Irritates my hero at.

Polly. Thanks for that.
Ana. That's exactly what I'm thinking.

Tricia I was interested In the fact that you are able to eat bread/toast - I find that sets me off - I love toast but rarely eat any at all. Gradually I am finding things I totally avoid if possible and ones I can have in small doses. Some people I know find taking digestive enzymes about meal times helpful as there is a theory it seems that as we age under production of acid is also a cause of reflux. I found it made little difference so don't take them regularly although if I am having a bad patch I take them just for a couple if days and it seems to help.
Does anyone think meds taken for other conditions cause or aggravate this? I have just wondered as some of the large tablet type pills at times make me feel nauseous.
I have been told to raise the head of the bed (by a couple of inches at the most) should help - however I dare not give my source for this advice!

It doesn't sound as though the 24 hour monitoring system would be much good for LPR sufferers.

The fact that it's 'silent' reflux means we don't know when the acid is refluxing, so the button would be redundant!

Also if you sleep on your left the stomach is in a better position than when you are on your right That probably explains why, when I turn onto my left side in bed after reading for ages on my right side, I give a long, loud burp in DH's ear.
there's nice for you!
We would probably be better having our main meal in the middle of the day.

Eating two or three apples could help, but even if they don't it's not going to harm you whereas taking a drug or supplement that someone suggests could have an adverse effect.

Omeprazole and lanzaprozole are both PPI, so similar drugs surely? I was prescribed Omeprazole but, having read up on the side effects, decided not to take it. It was prescribed to line my stomach when I had to take anti-inflammatories. I stopped the anti-inflammatories in the main too although I may have to ask for them again. The GP said he took Omeprazole and gave it to all his family when they went on holiday to stop them getting bad tummies

Elegran do you have stairs - you could go mountaineering up them with your Alphine poles.

I read an article some time ago by a leading specialist in this field, and he said that there is not enough investigation into this as the drug companies have hijacked it.

They sent me home with the tube in situ and a box you wear like a shoulder bag. The box contains a machine which records information. When you are awake you press a button when you experience acid reflux. You are told to eat and drink normally for the 24 hours.

Polly. That's interesting. Your the only person I 'know' who's had the 24hr thing.
Nobody has told me if I'm staying in hospital for the 24hrs. I was going to call them nearer the time (11 April) and ask.
I don't want to ask my Doctor as he's rushed off his feet ( one man practice)
and to be honest I now know more about this condition than he does. His words.

I've had the op. I can still burp but I cannot vomit. I still need drugs, so it wasn't exactly a success.

I looked into having the operation for this. Thankfully there was a warning in the article. Beware, after having this OP, you will never be able to burp.
That put me off. If you've ever had that feeling where you want to bring up wind and it won't come, you will have that forever.

I have just eaten and enjoyed a roast pork dinner. Mincemeat pie and cream for dessert and a glass of white wine. And a bag of Valentine sweets given to me by my very darling daughter.

I cock a snook at consequences.

Do keep up, jings !

Jessm. I think giving unsupported facts about drugs in common usage is dangerous and wrong. I am not being 'snippy' as you call it. Don't project your own characteristics onto me please.

Oh sorry. Didn't see someone has asked a direct question. Soz soz soz.

Elegran. We know. We have all got doctor google now.

If you can come up with a reliable cure for it, that would be very welcome.

Hiatus hernia is a condition that can give rise to acid reflux - which can have other causes.

A hernia is a bulge of a bit of "innards" through a weak bit in the muscle above it - men can get one in the abdominal wall at the point where the testicles descended from the abdomen to their final resting place. Weight lifters can get one from the strain of lifting heavy things, that is why they often wear hefty belts to reinforce their muscles.Both men and women can get them in other places, if the parallel muscle fibres weaken a bit to allow a bit of intestine to protrude through. If that bit then gets squashed or can't slip back to where it should be, then there can be serious trouble. Surgeons can put on a terylene patch to strengthen the weak point.

A hiatus hernia occurs where the digestive tube goes through the diaphragm, a muscle that crosses between the chest and the stomach. There has to be a hole in that to let the tube through, and a weak spot can develop there.

What's the difference between acid reflux and hiatus hernia?

Gaviscon doesn't work for me. The only thing that works is the right dose of a proton pump inhibitor. I don't get side effects from them.

Some people need to take them in order to have a reasonably normal life.

The study which showed the rebound effect hasn't been widely replicated and the sample of subjects was small.

There's an awful lot of stuff on the internet about reflux and PPIs. Much of it is rubbish.

Like Elegran I now have main meal at lunchtime, and very little after that. Toast etc in evenings. Plus fruit.
I can only eat eggs at breakfast, otherwise terrible indigestion.
A lot of trial and error to find a solution.

Jing I don't understand why you are being so snippy with Welshwife . Just because you feel like maybe? And then go on to recommend a similar remedy - Is it OK for you to recommend kiwi fruit but not for someone else to recommend apples.
Gaviscon is different to other antacids because it contains a seaweed product that forms a frothy layer. I can imagine that apples do the same as I think mashed up apple would float on water, wouldn't it?
Acid blocking medicines are drugs which stop the stomach producing acid and something that has such an effect will inevitably run the risks of side effects. NICE does not recommend their long-term continuous use. They are also hard to give up for some people, as there is a "rebound effect" i.e. when they are given to non patients and then taken away a significant number suddenly acquire acid reflux symptoms.

Pollyparrot I think in my case it is an ageing thing. Agree about chocolate. Yesterday I was tempted by, and ate, a small Valentines bar of chocolate. Been paying for it since. [big sigh]

Someone on GN a little while back said that Kiwi fruit can help reflux. I am trying this and finding it effective. Thank you to whoever it was.

I have reflux. I've had two endoscopies and two 24 hour manometry tests. I think the truth is, if you have reflux your valves, which keep stomach acid in your stomach, are weak. This could be part of the aging process or due to a predisposition.

There are a number of things that can help and are definitely worth trying. The thing that's helped me the most is stopping all alcohol. The alcohol replaxes the valves further and irritates your stomach. Chocolate has a similar effect. There are other foods worth noting, such as fried food, spicy food, raw onions, tomatoes, caffeine and fizzy drinks.

Other things to do include losing weight, eating smaller meals, eating earlier in the evening, wearing lose clothes and raising the head of your bed. Smoking is a big no no.

If you do all the things suggested, you will probably still have some reflux. Keep going back to the doctor until you are prescribed enough proton pump inhibitor to control it. Silent reflux needs a higher dose.

Welshwife "....other than the Omniprazle as all those drugs do eventually do something to your intestines - he went into graphic details which I can only remember the gist of."

Can we have a link to the scientific paper your marvellous French GP got his evidence from. Please.

(I assume you meant 'Omeprazole'.)

Thank you I am now going to eat my main meal at lunchtime and try eating more apples as I have the same problem.
However, I would always ask for a heart check if I have bad indigestion because when she was 59 my mother had terrible pain during the night and thought it was indigestion. She spent the night walking round the bedroom in agony and in the morning my father called the doctor (he would have accepted her self diagnosis during the night or may have been asleep). The doctor took one look at her and sent her to hospital where they diagnosed a coronary thrombosis and luckily she recovered.