Acid Reflux and Hiatus Hernia

odonovana9

Hey
I have just been diagnosed with hiatus hernia and also have a chronic cough. They think it's from silent heartburn and want me to take tablets for life. I have been taking omeprazole which gets rid of the cough but don't fancy staying on medication for life.
I think it has happened from stress, bad eating habits and sugar addiction!
Has anyone any advice on treating silent reflux without meds? Thank you.

ardinn

I also have HH and developed a tickly cough on friday that wont piss off - I have no advice, im sitting herre waiting for a reply like you

Gremlinertia

Hi Odonavan, your self-awareness has definitely answered some questions for you - perhaps a dietician for help with your food, some coping mechanism for stress or lessen the stress itself if possible.. Your doctor most likely has knowledge of people that may suit this..

Mod note deleted your duplicate thread

happyoutscan

Use 2 pillows and dont eat for 2 hours before bed. Ive no cough so cant advise there.

not yet

Apple cider vinegar will help..

Braggs is best.

La.de.da

Hiatus hernia is likely to be a life long condition. As is reflux. It might do you good to keep a food diary and see if any particular foods are a triger.

Small frequent meals can help.

Your doc should be advising what the best course of action is. I take the medication you're on about daily with no adverse affects.

Talk to your GP.

SATSUMA

Would you not take the tablets for 6 months or so and let things settle down and then come off them and see how You are. That's what I did. I was advised to stay hydrated, avoid spicy foods, alcohol, coffee and lose weight.

thelad95

Depending on the severity of the hernia, in certain cases it can be massaged out by a chiropractor. Of course your doctor will never tell you about this as he'd prefer to keep you on expensive medication for life but mention it too him/her and see what they say. Some doctors are more open minded about alternative therapies than others.

Arbie

thelad95 wrote: »

Depending on the severity of the hernia, in certain cases it can be massaged out by a chiropractor. Of course your doctor will never tell you about this as he'd prefer to keep you on expensive medication for life but mention it too him/her and see what they say. Some doctors are more open minded about alternative therapies than others.

I'm not sure if that's a joke or not. If you are being serious, can you provide evidence of this conspiracy among doctors? There are thousands in Ireland alone, so it would be a very hard secret to keep. Docs don't get commission from drug companies for prescribing meds. If you think it's to collect the prescription fee then why do docs also prescribe to medical card patients who pay no fee?

The reason most doctors don't mention chiropractic is because it's quackery and not evidence based. Doctors who approve of "alternative therapies" are either being polite or having been taken in by the woo. If alternative stuff worked then your GP would be doing it themselves and charging you for it. Rubbing a belly to get rid of reflux/hernias would be easy money. Usually when people say "open minded" they in fact mean "gullible".

ardinn

Arbie wrote: »

Docs don't get commission from drug companies for prescribing meds

Hahahahahah

lololololololol

Thats TOOOOOO Funny

thelad95

Arbie wrote: »

I'm not sure if that's a joke or not. If you are being serious, can you provide evidence of this conspiracy among doctors? There are thousands in Ireland alone, so it would be a very hard secret to keep. Docs don't get commission from drug companies for prescribing meds. If you think it's to collect the prescription fee then why do docs also prescribe to medical card patients who pay no fee?

The reason most doctors don't mention chiropractic is because it's quackery and not evidence based. Doctors who approve of "alternative therapies" are either being polite or having been taken in by the woo. If alternative stuff worked then your GP would be doing it themselves and charging you for it. Rubbing a belly to get rid of reflux/hernias would be easy money. Usually when people say "open minded" they in fact mean "gullible".

I never once mentioned anything about conspiracies amongst doctors. My point was moreso that doctors would prefer to prescribe something that has been proven to offer relief but can be ridiculously expensive in the long term, over an alternative therapy that may or may not work. PPIs (the treatment for reflux and hernias) are over prescribed and often at a dose far higher than is necessary and what's worse is that they're very difficult to get off of, giving really nasty rebound symptoms, often much worse than pre-treatment.

Hernias range from being so severe that surgeons won't even go near them, too a small kink between the stomach and esophagus which could easily be manipulated back into place. Patients in the latter category could easily be prescribed a PPI at a far too high dose when really they could probably manage symptoms using a little common sense in terms of their dietary habits. Or, as I said, could have it manipulated back into place in certain instances. It would certainly be worth giving it a go before succumbing to a life with a heavy burden of pills both on your finances and lifestyle.

ardinn

Now that I have stopped Laughing, your assessment of drug companies not rewarding Doctors for prescribing drug is well, laughable.

Trust me, money does not change hands, but, I have worked and ran events for big pharma which take over some of the biggest and best hotels in the country and invite Doctors and partners away for 4 days to promote products and instill a culture of prescribe and reward.

I worked in a venue in the south east where 140 doctors attended an event, plus partners, 4 days golf, up to 12 spa treatments for the ladies if they preffered, dinner, and entertainment - and not your average wedding band either, aslan, clannad, sawdoctors, snow patrol etc etc.

Total cost per head was something like 4k

These happened most weeks!

Doctors are heavily rewarded for prescribing brand names over generics and advising against other treatments that are not pharma!

Arbie

thelad95 wrote: »

Depending on the severity of the hernia, in certain cases it can be massaged out by a chiropractor. Of course your doctor will never tell you about this as he'd prefer to keep you on expensive medication for life but mention it too him/her and see what they say. Some doctors are more open minded about alternative therapies than others.

thelad95 wrote: »

I never once mentioned anything about conspiracies amongst doctors. My point was moreso that doctors would prefer to prescribe something that has been proven to offer relief but can be ridiculously expensive in the long term, over an alternative therapy that may or may not work. PPIs (the treatment for reflux and hernias) are over prescribed and often at a dose far higher than is necessary and what's worse is that they're very difficult to get off of, giving really nasty rebound symptoms, often much worse than pre-treatment.

Hernias range from being so severe that surgeons won't even go near them, too a small kink between the stomach and esophagus which could easily be manipulated back into place. Patients in the latter category could easily be prescribed a PPI at a far too high dose when really they could probably manage symptoms using a little common sense in terms of their dietary habits. Or, as I said, could have it manipulated back into place in certain instances. It would certainly be worth giving it a go before succumbing to a life with a heavy burden of pills both on your finances and lifestyle.

I have re-read your post above and it still reads as you saying that doctors won't tell people about chiropractors because the doctors want to keep you on meds. That is a conspiracy as docs would have to collude to keep this "secret" from the public. Overprescribing of PPIs is not because doctors want people on them - it's a multifactorial problem that going to a chiropractor will not solve.

There is no peer-reviewed evidence that chirporactors (or anyone else) can do what you are claiming.

Arbie

ardinn wrote: »

Now that I have stopped Laughing, your assessment of drug companies not rewarding Doctors for prescribing drug is well, laughable.

Trust me, money does not change hands, but, I have worked and ran events for big pharma which take over some of the biggest and best hotels in the country and invite Doctors and partners away for 4 days to promote products and instill a culture of prescribe and reward.

I worked in a venue in the south east where 140 doctors attended an event, plus partners, 4 days golf, up to 12 spa treatments for the ladies if they preffered, dinner, and entertainment - and not your average wedding band either, aslan, clannad, sawdoctors, snow patrol etc etc.

Total cost per head was something like 4k

These happened most weeks!

Doctors are heavily rewarded for prescribing brand names over generics and advising against other treatments that are not pharma!

We don't need to trust you or take your word for it - it is on the public record that drug companies spend millions influencing doctors through sponsorship, advertising, and indirect rewards. Doctors acknowledge this. So it's not a revelation.

Doctors don't get commission for the type or amount of drugs prescribed. Whether they prescribe by brand or generic they get the same money from the patient. The drug companies are trying to get the docs to prescribe their particular drug, they are not dictating the indications for the use of the drug.

Apart from your own anecdotal experience, what is the evidence that doctors are routinely advising against effective non-pharma treatments?

thelad95

Arbie wrote: »

I have re-read your post above and it still reads as you saying that doctors won't tell people about chiropractors because the doctors want to keep you on meds. That is a conspiracy as docs would have to collude to keep this "secret" from the public. Overprescribing of PPIs is not because doctors want people on them - it's a multifactorial problem that going to a chiropractor will not solve.

There is no peer-reviewed evidence that chirporactors (or anyone else) can do what you are claiming.

Again, I've said nothing whatsoever about any conspiracy????

Doctors want to keep you on meds because they work! However they are expensive. Again, I've said nothing about any secret, I've said that it COULD work for some people but obviously there are multiple mitigating factors and in most cases it probably wouldn't. Doctors won't recommend it, because you're right, there is no evidence to back it up.

But if you mention it too them, they may be able to recommend a chiropractor they trust or who they know won't you rip off, coupled with a recommendation that it's only something that MAY work.

Honestly, this is Long Term Illness, not After Hours, it's really not the place to discuss Big Pharma conspiracies, and that was really not what I was alluding too.

Arbie

thelad95 wrote: »

Again, I've said nothing whatsoever about any conspiracy????

Your original statement was:

thelad95 wrote: »

Depending on the severity of the hernia, in certain cases it can be massaged out by a chiropractor. Of course your doctor will never tell you about this as he'd prefer to keep you on expensive medication for life...

So you said that there is a non-pharmacological treatment that doctors are aware of but that they deliberately choose to keep people on medications for life instead. There is no other way to read that. If that is what you meant, then you were alluding to a conspiracy.

Contrast that original statement with your most recent post:

thelad95 wrote: »

Doctors want to keep you on meds because they work! However they are expensive.

That reads very differently. We have to assume good faith and accept your clarification, but the original statement still reads as though doctors are up to something nefarious.

thelad95 wrote: »

Again, I've said nothing about any secret, I've said that it COULD work for some people but obviously there are multiple mitigating factors and in most cases it probably wouldn't. Doctors won't recommend it, because you're right, there is no evidence to back it up.

But if you mention it too them, they may be able to recommend a chiropractor they trust or who they know won't you rip off, coupled with a recommendation that it's only something that MAY work.

It's unethical for doctors to recommend treatment if there is no evidence, particularly when there are safe and effective treatments available. Chiropractic has no more benefit than placebo, and may make you worse. Surely that is the definition of a rip-off.

thelad95 wrote: »

Honestly, this is Long Term Illness, not After Hours, it's really not the place to discuss Big Pharma conspiracies, and that was really not what I was alluding too.

You're right, it's not AH, so people should be careful not to promote alternative "treatments" such as chiropractic.