Digestion Hell. Advice Please.

mrvolcano

Hi.
I have a huge problem which is making my life hell for the past 6 or 7 years. I have had to try and live with it as best i can but it is a serious limitation.
I get digestion heartburn type feeling from nearly everything I eat. Sometimes I can feel the burning as it goes down - stuff like orange juices or tomatos), but most of the time the pain doesn't start for about 2 hours. It will come in waves, me having to bend over in pain sometimes, and getting reflux(repeating) sometimes too. Mostly I will get a kind of quick watery buildup in my mouth in response to a wave of pain. I wake up at night with the pains. Sometimes when I'm trying to get to sleep I have to lie flat on my back, cos to the side and I will get indigestion, especially on the right.
I was taking rennie tablets to sooth the pain for nearly 2 years but have decisde now I'm gonna try and get to the bottom of it. So I went to the doctor - who asked me to go to the hospital and have a H pylori test done. You drink orange juice and then wait a half hour. Then you blow into a few tubes. 2 weeks later the results came back and I was shown to be clear. What the hell can I do now? when I'm in the company of others this build up and the pain of it makes me swallow and look real nervous. Plus the fact that all this saliva swallowing is giving me really bad breath too. Look if anybody has been in the same situation please offer your advice . anything.

mrvolcano

oh yeah - important - the pain is always behind my breast bone.

Wolf

Hmm the fact that you had the test done and where shown in the all clear is diturbing? Do you suffer from anxiety at all? Or anything else phcological ?

mrvolcano

you mean psychological? I do get alot of anxiety and I do get the odd panic attack. This is all because of this bloody digestion pain. I get so uptight and emabarassed and bottled up and frustrated because of it. Theres nothing I can do.

patch

I suffered with that for years, had a camera dropped down in the hospital. Said just had high acid level.

I made it better by eating properly, regularly. You most likely can't eat acid food at all. oranges, tomatoes, vinegar,pepper, curry etc.

After stopping those, I felt a world better, had a food allergy test done- stopped milk and wheat too!! much better still!!

Finally I stopped smoking too- increases acid too, suppresses hunger, so you just build up acid!!!!

ps. my stomach was so fecked I was puking liquid in the morning before I could eat...... Had to eat basic, natural food( boiled potatoes, plain. Cheese. plain chicken etc.) to give my stomach a chance to heal.

Wolf

Do you have a high pressure job, relationship or anything else that contributes to it ?

thedrowner

start cutting out certain foods and see if it gets better. i read a story about a woman who had a similiar experience to yours, and she tried that, and founf out cutting out high fat foods made it go away. just see what works for you (if it does)

someone told me just yesterday, in fact, that grapefuit juice or eating a grapefrut aids digestion.

Wolf

This is because this can be caused by an acid/alkali imbalance. So eating differnt food one way or the other can help.

echomadman

For one thing rennies aren't worth a damn, you need losec, pariat zoton or zantac, all pretty expensive, try gaviscon advance liquid for day to day relief

sounds very like my stomach, I have six ulcers. I puke up acid/bile pretty much every morning, and it gets severly aggravated by stress.
Its been like that since i was 13 or so but it got really bad in my last job, I was doing tech suppt. I would finish a stressful call, go puke stomach acid, take another call, repeat process ad infinitum

I found that no particular food is worse than another, my remedy was to quit the job and bugger off to nice hot countries and lie in hammocks for 3 months, I ate spicy food and drank beer and never had problems. Now i'm back inthe rat race i'm pretty much in teh same boat again

all i can say is that look for things that are stressing you out, whether conscious or unconsciously and try to reduce your stress levels.

gaviscon is also good for the reflux, as the acid which your stomach can handle is tearing your oesophagus to bits, hence the burning behind your breast bone, and the bad breath..


got get a gastroscopy/endoscopy, they knock you out, stick a camera down your throat and they can take a sample of your stomach contenets to test for H pylori, the test you did just sounds weird.

mrvolcano

Listen I've tried the food thing. I'll give you a list of all the things that hurt like hell - crisps, sausages, cheese, orange juice, most soups, bread - brown. Wine, Pasta, and cheese and tomato crisps cause me to vomit. Sometiimes water makes me just repeat food. I can't win.
I stayed off a lot of this stuff for a while, tested one day with, another without etc. It's very frustrating and I'm skinny enough anyway.

mooman_00

this isnt professional advise but stop taking any form of indegistion remedies, they (afaik) quell the initial indegistion problem but lead to further attacks which can be more agressive.

Drink more milk/eat a banannas before meals, about a half hour or so, and again about an hour after. Dont eat between meals and if you have to have a drink make it milk or water. Peppermint/Camomile(spelling) tea or other such herbal teas help strengthen your stomach ask in a health shop for details. I cant think of any others at the mo.........

i used to get really bad heartburn like you did before, maybe not to the same extent though. I used to wake up in the middle of the night with a burning feeling in my chest/ throat area....it was cruel and indegestion remedies made it worse. The next few days would be hell, unable to eat properly or drink comfortably. Above are a few of the things i tried and now i dont suffer anymore. I wasn't as bad as you but i hope these do something to help. Good luck.........

Gordon

Have you tried oriental medicine? Go to a herbal centre maybe.

Would fasting for 2 days be bad for you? I presume it would as indigestion is a build up of acid in the stomach. Presumably you've seen all the links but here's another one.

yellum

H Pylori is in half the population. I got an Endoscopy done and they found H Pylroi gave me anti-biotics and said it would work. It didn't. A nice waste of 400 quid.

I found bread and anything with wheat and yeast made it worse. I stayed off them for almost 6 months and th majority of my problems cleared up. I was off bread, pasta, beer, all sweets and crisps, minerals and everything else fun. I was pretty much on rice and chicken and veg, but it worked for me.

Pepcid AC worked for me before but its annoying to have to constantly carry it around with you.

After six months I was sick to death of giving all this up so went back on the beer and the bad food and was okay for a while but then the problems started creeping back. I went to another Gatro consultant who gave me tablets called Nexium. Wonder drug for me.

I was taking one a day for a while and then started cutting back. I might take one a week now or one every two weeks. I'd take one sometimes if I was going out for a meal or a nights drinking.

Do NOT take Peppermint tea or any kind of Mint. Mint relaxes the muscle that seals the stomach from the gastric tube. This means acid in the stomach will travel up your throat. Milk is always a good natural fix. I dunno about Banannas though as they are hard to digest and stretch the stomach. I always seem to get heartburn after having one.

Indigestion and reflux is now a very common part of western life. They are still uncertain what causes it but they think its linked to the food we consume and our modern way of life.

Back to the caves for all !

mooman_00

Originally posted by yellum

Do NOT take Peppermint tea or any kind of Mint. Mint relaxes the muscle that seals the stomach from the gastric tube. This means acid in the stomach will travel up your throat. Milk is always a good natural fix. I dunno about Banannas though as they are hard to digest and stretch the stomach. I always seem to get heartburn after having one.

ok scratch the mint idea, didnt know that and i had no problems with it.....banannas afaik are good for your stomach but i cant remember why or how, but i know they are good for people with ulcers which is what led me to eat them..........however ive never gone to see someone about it so my advice might not be the best......

Saruman

Hmmm try Peppermint.. seriously!!! Get some pepermint capsules and take one with your meals... It will help, you may have to burp but it will smell like peppermint and better than indegestion!! I suffer with it sometimes.. Not so bad these days though.. used to throw up acid every morning.

My mail problem is Ulcertaive Colitis.. your getting off easy with just a bit of indegestion believe me!

commuterised

Try Colpermin, take them 30-60 mins before a meal.
You can get them over the counter in chemists.

seamus

Watch your alcohol intake too. My whole family has the acidy stomach thing, and after a heavy session, we get heartburn constantly for up to 3 days. Longer if we're under stress or go on another heavy session.

Try stomach relaxants too. If this condition is making you edgeym and worried about it, then it's not going to go away. Try a motilium half and hour before you go to bed, and a piece or two of unbuttered bread (not toast) to soak up any excess acid.

GuanYin

Originally posted by echomadman

got get a gastroscopy/endoscopy, they knock you out, stick a camera down your throat and they can take a sample of your stomach contenets to test for H pylori, the test you did just sounds weird.

It doesn't sound like the direct symptoms of a pylori infection, but it may be a related condition.

In any case, go for a consultation. Thats the only real smart answer.

Originally posted by yellum

H Pylori is in half the population. I got an Endoscopy done and they found H Pylroi gave me anti-biotics and said it would work. It didn't. A nice waste of 400 quid.

Before anyone panics, the prevalence is only about 30% in Western Europe and infection seems to best correlate with socio-economic status and age (very young or old). Couple with this the fact that of those infected, not all suffer from pathogenesis of teh bacteria.

Its about 70-80% in Asia and asian strains differ significantly in binding adhesins (ability to bind in vivo).
True, worldwide the prevelence is about 50% but its not well understood what causes pathogenesis in those infected.

mrvolcano

Thanks for all the response lads and lassies.

What is colpermin?

Did I forget to put Bananas in that list up there - they hurt and can't be good for the stomach. Everyone with a stomach problem says they hurt.
TBH I can deal with all the pain in my chest but this thing of getting flushes of watery saliva, whats the story? I've had it for the last 6 or so years. I mean what makes your salivary glands produce too much? It's embarassing socially.
I'm banking on the hope that they're linked.

Saruman

Im going for a Vega test on Friday the 9th! Its an allergy test run by naturesway.

You might give it a go.. You could be lactose intollerant for instant and its dairy products causing it.. I recently gave up milk as im sure im in that catagory! I have never ever liked milk and NEVER drink it on its own. In tea i only put in such a small drop i might as well drink it black.. sometimes do! I just replaced it with Ricedream.. its not the best tasting but since i hate the taste of milk anyway its not too much of a problem.

seamus

Originally posted by mrvolcano
Thanks for all the response lads and lassies.

What is colpermin?

Did I forget to put Bananas in that list up there - they hurt and can't be good for the stomach. Everyone with a stomach problem says they hurt.
TBH I can deal with all the pain in my chest but this thing of getting flushes of watery saliva, whats the story? I've had it for the last 6 or so years. I mean what makes your salivary glands produce too much? It's embarassing socially.
I'm banking on the hope that they're linked.

Oh yeah, they're definitely linked. When I get a really bad attack (like when it feels like I'm about to puke), my mouth will fill with saliva. I'm not sure of the purpose of this, but it may be to protect your mouth from serious damage when the acid comes up. Or it may just be a reflex.

patch

Originally posted by mrvolcano
Thanks for all the response lads and lassies.

What is colpermin?

Did I forget to put Bananas in that list up there - they hurt and can't be good for the stomach. Everyone with a stomach problem says they hurt.
TBH I can deal with all the pain in my chest but this thing of getting flushes of watery saliva, whats the story? I've had it for the last 6 or so years. I mean what makes your salivary glands produce too much? It's embarassing socially.
I'm banking on the hope that they're linked.

I was told green bananas help, as their full of potassium......I can eat them fine now, no bother- but when your stomach is fecked up, I found them painful!!

I used to puke up the watery stuff too, I reckon it was my stomach trying to balance out the acid.

smiles

Originally posted by mrvolcano
What is colpermin?

They're a tablet which contains, among other things, mint, which has been used to treat IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrom) and stomach complaints for hundreds of years.

Try drinking mint tea, and also Gaviscon (takes like ****, but can help balance acid and stuff).

<< Fio >>

Gaz

Sounds exactly like what i suffer from and heres whats being done about it.

I was sent into hospital back in September for a endoscopy , thats when they stick a camera down your throat and take a sample , turns out i had this bacteria that can cause the problem, i was put on a triple treatment of anti-biotics , while on the drugs i was fine but once i had finished the course it started again.

So next my GP sent me the a gastro specialist and he sent me to James to have a monitor fitted for 24hr observation , that was horrible, they stick a tupe up your nose and down into your oesophegus and make you drink water and a machine measures the contractions. This lasted about 20mins

Next she pulled out that tube and stuck in another one with the other end attached to a monitor you wear on your belt, when you get heartburn , eat or sleep you press a button and it takes a reading.

Next week i have a consultation with a surgeon, he will discuss the results and go through my options.
Basically i have two 1: Drugs for life 2: corrective surgery on the valve that connects the oesophegus to the stomach.

I am going to go for the surgery , depending on how severe the problem it will either be tightened or a artificial valve will be put in its place, its key hole surgery so isnt invasive and i will only be required to stay in hospital for 3 or 4 days then another week or so recovery time.

If you have any questions i will do my best to answer them but what you described is exactly what i suffer from so this may be the route you will have to take.

patch

That all sounds fair enough, but i'm a big believer in trying the natural remedy, before the hospital. all the endoscopy told me was I had high acid in my stomach. I knew that.

I reckon get a food allergy test done. My mother's reading a book which reckons, depending on your blood type, only certain types of food suit you. Others cause you problems.

BrianD

Hi

I suffered from this problem too a number of years ago. It is worsened by diet and how fast you eat! I am told that eating small amouts regularly is better than eating large meals irregularly. Beer - unfortunately - used to bring on bad bouts for me.

So I went to the doctor and he said - in his own practical way - that he can send me in for tests resulting in tubes being inserted all over the place and is particularly uncomfortable or I can give you the prescription that they will more than likely recommend after the tests. The prescription consisted of three types of antibiotics to be taken over a course of three weeks.

The drugs were very hard on the system and were mood changing but they worked. I occasionaly get heartburn now but it is more the exception rather than the norm. Having said that I am on a gluten free diet of late which means that I have cut out stodgy cereal based products such as bread or pasta from my diet.

mrvolcano

So you reckon if I try and regulate myself for a month or 2 of seriously stomach friendly living, there might be a chance my tummy might become a little better and more tolerable to non-stomach friendly living?

Also, Just what else do you think affects the saliva production in the mouth? Is it just this bad digestion, or do other factors matter like salt intake and oral hygiene?

patch

Your stomach is also most likely missing most of the enzymes that a healthy stomach needs. you need to get a probiotic yoghurt to put everything back.

I now take EVERYBODY by yoplait. I'm taking them first thing for over a year now, and reckon their a lot to do with my feeling waaaaaaaaay better.

Get to a health shop and buy some aloe vera digestive products made by pura.

And yes, after a couple of months you'll be ale to try some more risky food types!!! most likely though, most of them will make you feel so bad, that you'll only allow 'treats' once in a while:D