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Acid reflux - acid going down

(59 Posts)
obieone Sat 27-Aug-16 09:07:08

I have been diagnosed with acid reflux, but I dont have any burning sensation at all.
In my case I have had pains in my tummy for 9 days.
The nurse practioner[another story] said that sometimes that can happen, instead of the acid going up, it goes down.

Has that happened to anyone else?

I have had a read of about 3 threads on gransnet about acid reflux, but I cant find anywhere that it has happened to others like that.

obieone Sat 27-Aug-16 14:40:11

I did tell the nurse that I was burping more than normal. She said that meant the acid was trying to come up, but it was not doing that successfully.

I think I have now googled everything above, and nothing seems to properly fit that I can see, even the links going on from those.

I dont have back pain or pain anywhere else. She did ask if I had found anything at all that helped. I said the only thing that helped was taking off my bra!

Tegan, yes, perhaps you are right about the caffeine withdrawal.

I am not sure whether to see the same nurse next week[assuming not much changes] or insist on a doctor. The nurse I would have thought, if nothing had changed, would refer me to a doctor? This is me being partly wussy , so as not to upset the nurse and receptionist.

I realise from the posts, that if I need tests, it will have to be a doctor.

Thanks for all your messages.

midgey Sat 27-Aug-16 14:49:40

Try having a little porridge in the morning, it does help. Another thing I have been advised to drink is linseed soaked overnight, I just drink the liquid, not delicious but definitely works. Apparently you need the 'gloominess' to help line your stomach. Annoying but 'they' were right! It's worked for me!

midgey Sat 27-Aug-16 14:50:36

Gloopiness not gloominess, enough of that going round!

NanKate Sat 27-Aug-16 15:03:43

I have recently had a few bouts of acid reflux which I was warned about as I am on steroids for my Polymyalgia. They prescribed Omeprazole which mostly keeps everything ok, but recently I have had one or two bouts of acid reflux/indigestion late at night.

I would like to take Gaviscon then but, unless I have read the bottle incorrectly, this should not be taken when on Omeprazole. One or two of you appear to take both. Advice please until I get to see the Doc in about a month.

grannylyn65 Sat 27-Aug-16 15:08:08

Agree with boiled ?

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 27-Aug-16 15:10:11

Doc prescribed me omeprazole and gaviscon. I rarely bother with the gaviscon though as it seems to do nothing. I find three bisodomol tablets help the most in the night. They are cheap too.

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 27-Aug-16 15:11:17

Oh. I wondered who boiled was. Then I realised.... #bitdaftme

NanKate Sat 27-Aug-16 15:35:35

Thanks Jing I shall get myself some of your tabs and give them a whirl.

Greyduster Sat 27-Aug-16 15:37:38

I was also told it was ok to take Gaviscon alongside my Reflux medication. I have just looked at the label on my Gaviscon bottle (whose b****y silly idea was it to put six peel off pages of instructions underneath the label? It took me about quarter of an hour to get the damned things apart so I could read them!) and I can't see where it said it shouldn't be taken with omeprazole or Lamsoprazole or Ranitidine. I fully stand to be corrected if anyone else can find it.

annodomini Sat 27-Aug-16 16:01:06

Gaviscon Advance, plus Ranitidine and Omeprazole were prescribed for me by an ENT consultant to deal with my laryngopharyngeal reflux. The Gaviscon was to be the last thing I swallowed at night, even after I'd brushed my teeth. I have rigorously followed this advice for many years and don't get acid reflux overnight.

obieone Sat 27-Aug-16 16:25:29

The nurse told me yesterday to take the Omeprazole at breakfast time, and do not start the gaviscon until lunchtime, as the two do not go together very well.

jinglbellsfrocks Sat 27-Aug-16 16:28:03

I think you leave a gap between taking the two because the gaviscon coats the stomach so preventing the omeprazole to do it's job. (Read that on one of the patient leaflets)

obieone Sat 27-Aug-16 16:29:59

My bottle doesnt say anything either Greyduster[if you hadnt said something, I would never have even realised that that was where the instructions for the bottle were].
I had been wondering where the piece of paper with it was. I agree, stupid idea.

Ana Sat 27-Aug-16 16:34:12

Yes, if you swallow anything straight after the Gaviscon Advance it will break the seal of the 'raft' stopping the acid coming up from the stomach.

Best to take any other medication first.

obieone Sat 27-Aug-16 16:42:19

midgey - I will have porridge tomorrow. I will have to go to a health food shop for the linseed or send someone.

NanKate Sat 27-Aug-16 16:53:45

I have confused you all and it is my error - firstly I have got Boots Heartburn Relief which has similar ingredients to Gavison.

It lists everything not to take this medicine with and it says 'medicines for osteoporosis , pain or rheumatoid arthritis' which partially relates to me and DOES NOT mention Omeprazole, so I am sorry to cause confusion.

It does say on the Heartburn med 'do not take this medicine within 1 or 2 hours of taking any other medicine', which confirms what Ana said.

Ana Sat 27-Aug-16 16:57:31

Gaviscon Advance is the stuff that forms a protective cover over the stomach contents.

Ordinary Gaviscon doesn't have the same effect and neither do other indigestion-type remedies, although the advice about taking other medicines might be the same.

obieone Sun 28-Aug-16 10:18:15

My tummy is feeling a bit better this morning. It feels like it has "calmed down" a bit. The medicines might be working.

Elegran Sun 28-Aug-16 12:28:27

I reckon you should see the GP, not the nurse, obieone

"burping more than normal. She said that meant the acid was trying to come up, but it was not doing that successfully" I wish Galen were here to clarify that. I have always thought that burping was the AIR rising up, or perhaps the gases made by the interaction of the acid with other substances in the stomach, not the acid itself!

Similarly with "bottom burps" (or what ever the current polite name is for farts) That is the air that has been swallowed with the food, or the gases made in the intestine. No-one thinks that farts are acid escaping (what a thought!)

Katek Sun 28-Aug-16 12:50:17

I have had a hiatus hernia for the past 16 years but it's very well controlled with Omeprazole and the occasional slug of Gaviscon. I don't so much get reflux as a feeling of being knifed between my shoulder blades! (no cardiac issues) Hope you get this sorted out soon Obieone.

Izabella Sun 28-Aug-16 15:26:14

Obione just a thought. Have you had your gallbladder removed?

Elegran having seen the BFG recently I think the term "whizz poppers" is great!

midgey Sun 28-Aug-16 18:05:46

My daughter bought me Supergest, it has made a huge difference.

obieone Sun 28-Aug-16 18:36:49

Never heard of supergest, I will take a look.

Thanks Katek.

Izabella, no. The thing at the back of my mind is adhesions. I had an operation for these 30 years ago, and was told they might come back. But I dont think the pain is exactly the same as last time from what I can remember.

Elegran. Your post makes sense and it made me laugh! If in a few days I am feeling a lot better, then I think I will see the nurse. If I havent improved much, I think I am going to have to put my foot down to see the doctor.

jinglbellsfrocks Sun 28-Aug-16 19:25:17

Beware! You can sink an awful lot of money into trying one miracle product after another. Been there, done that.

boheminan Sun 28-Aug-16 19:41:20

I've had these symptoms for years, usually at night. The first attack I had I thought was a heart attack, with a piercing, excruciating pain under my chest bone radiating through to my back. I went for hospital investigations about ten years ago, the result being I had my gall bladder whipped out.

A few months down the line and the pains started again.

I find during an attack, that trying to breath slowly helps. I'm now prescribed Omeprazole, which I take at the onset of an attack, and they do seem to help (well, they shorten the length of the attacks, which can last up to an hour)