Acid reflux - acid going down

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

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

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.

Agree with boiled ?

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.

Gloopiness not gloominess, enough of that going round!

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!

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.

I've had it for years. The acid was causing me to sound as if I was on forty fags a day. I started on omeprazole and graduated to ranitidine which mostly keeps it in check. It is mostly spicy foods that set me off and it is rare for me to eat them, but I made a curry for lunch and I am paying for it now so I shall be taking Gaviscon this afternoon . The thing about acid going down doesn't make sense to me either. It is a dysfunctional sphincter that allows acid to come back up into the gullet. It can cause some serious problems down the line if left without treatment. I have never had stomach pain as such, and if it doesn't improve ask the doc to send you for an endoscopy (if you haven't already had one).

Oh yes! Very possible. (I have half a teaspoon. Can't cut it out altogether. Too miserable)

Maybe the dizziness was caused by sudden caffeine withdrawal?

Perhaps the nurse meant acid from certain foods, going down.

Five almonds is not a meal! Not even a small one. Have some white bread. And a nice boiled eggie. (swore by eggs when I was ill. Still do)

I am reading and googling.
I dont have any throat/voice/breathing problems whatsoever.

I am doing the small meal part[5 almonds this morning!]. I think plain noodles for lunch sounds like a good idea.
I am drinking more than I want to, as per all the good advice above.

The nurse did temperature[normal] and blood pressure[normal]. She did not mention any tests.

I am thinking that providing pains dont get worse, I will go back to the surgury on tuesday, unless the pill and medicine work[no sign so far, but early days I should think].

Thank you everyone for all the posts and thoughts. Greatly appreciated.

I probably havent finished all the googling yet about the things above, and those that I have, have other links that are probably worth me lloking into too.

The pain in the last couple of days, had started to somewhat disappear for a few hours then reappear. No such luck today so far, but mornings seem to be worse than later in the day on the whole.

I am thinking that if gaviscon is supposed to protect the osephogus, and I dont have any burning, then gaviscon is rather pointless for me?? But I will carry on taking it.

Gastritis - I will look at again. I did google it earlier, but my concentration is rather poor lately, so I need to relook at it.

I had similar pains in my stomach several years ago obi and the pain seemed to radiate through to my back, so it was rather difficult to diagnose until a young locum at my GP surgery did the H Pylori breath test. The test proved positive and I was prescribed triple antibiotics and an anti acid.

I had been suffering with this problem for years and it was wonderful to have a diagnosis, treatment and relief.

I'm sure your practice nurse is excellent at what she does but please make an appointment with your GP and let him/her run some tests.

I'm no expert but I thought acid reflux was all about acid coming up, not going down. I get nasty attacks of this occasionally, for which I take Omeprazole, but then I can go for months and months without an attack, providing I eat carefully. This puzzles me. Why is the pain so bad, but then goes away for months at a time?

Silent reflux. Do not stop eating and drinking, have small frequent meals or snacks. My rescue food was plain noodles, there is absolutely nothing to irritate the oesophagus. Milk is not recommended for gastric symptoms, yes I know they used to force feed ulcer patients milk, drinking water is adequate.

Yes DaphneB. The middle of the night thing is awful. I was in the bathroom last night doing a little dance of despair! So want a good night's sleep without this.

When I first had mine, along with what I thought at the time was a virus, the doc did full bloods. Perhaps you should ask for that obi? It would include looking for h pylori.

My SIL (39) had Gastritis and it was excruciating (he is no wimp) so you have my sympathy . Acid reflux sadly afflicts so many of us. I remember my mum saying of some food item "I like it but it doesn't like me" and I had NO idea what she meant. I do now!
Little and often, not rushing your food, sitting up in bed until the symptoms wear off, Gaviscon, Ranitidine, all of these also regular and "forced" deep breathing (remember you ante natal classes?) have helped me in the middle of the night.

If you've lost your appetite you should be tested for Helicobacter Pylori infection.

When you see the nurse again in seven days, she will most likely refer you to the doc if you have no improvement.

Don't worry about it though. It's very common in us older folks.

Definitely eat small, plain meals through the day. The acid needs something to work on.

Yes. Do some googling. You will be an expert in 'digestive conditions' when you come offline in about three days. Sigh!

I agree, I would want those other symptoms checked out, of course it could be two different problems, but see the GP.

If I were you I would see the GP unless it gets a lot better in the next few days - and even if it does, I would go to the GP for a checkup. The nurse practitioner is good for a lot of things, but not for diagnosing the reasons for acute stomach pain.

You may have an ulcer, or almost have one. Perhaps you had a mild gut infection of helibacter virus - they now reckon that helps to cause ulcers.

But if you don't eat and don't drink, you solve nothing, just make it worse. If there is nothing for the normal stomach acid to break down and digest, it irritates the lining of your digestive tract. You should eat as usual, but avoiding highly spiced things, and cutting down of coffee and tea. Drink plenty of water and milk.

And get a GP appointment