Recently diagnosed suffering almost constant indigestion, sometimes painful heartburn. I am trying to analyse this to see what might have

[romarin]

this effect. Only advice seems to be Rennies or Gaviscon which hardly work...has anyone else had this problem. It may not be connected to CLL of course but it has never happened so frequently before.

[Newdawn Administrator]

Romarin, it would appear that there is a link between CLL and indigestion (and indeed a multitude of gastrointestinal complaints).

leukemia-cll.blogspot.co.uk...

However, there's a high profile Health campaign running urging people who suffer constant indigestion to have it checked out to eliminate other causes (like throat cancer). High use of antacids can aggravate things so I'd be mentioning to your doctor to have the reason checked out. May be totally unrelated to your CLL.

Regards,

Newdawn

[redden]

You really need to get the heartburn checked out by your GP. I had serious problems with heartburn and didn't get it checked out properly ending up with oesophagul cancer. I am not for one minute suggesting that is what you have got. Mine was an extreme case whereas yours could so easily be treated at an early preventable stage.

[AussieNeil Administrator]

Definitely get it checked out. I ended up with an obstructed oesophagus caused by acid scarring from gastric reflux. I didn't have any heartburn warning signs (the acid had burnt out the nerves) and only ended up having an endoscopy when swallowed food wouldn't stay down. No oesophagul cancer, thankfully and the surgeon was able to stretch open the constriction. I'm now on a script for a proton pump inhibitor to reduce acid generation and I've had no recurrence after 5 years. If I forget my daily tablet, I may experience reflux and heartburn the following day, so the nerves have recovered.

Long term use of proton pump inhibitors can reduce your body's absorption of vitamin B12, which your body needs to create red blood cells among other things, so you can also suffer from additional fatigue due to lower haemoglobin and hence anaemia. Not a good combination if you already have fatigue issues due to your CLL.

Neil

[Damms]

It could be CLL related, I had problems with my intestines due to CLL infiltrations.

So go get i tjecked out.

[fieldmeadow]

Hi Romarin, See your GP. I was diagnosed with gastric erosion (following an endoscopy) largely due to several years of cardiac medication. It was not related to cll.

Was prescribed Lansoprazole which works really well. (Over-the-counter meds did little to alleviate the discomfort)

Try not to panic. It may be something very simple to remedy.

[shazie]

I have been taking Nexium 40 mg for acid reflux. It takes about 5-7 days to kick in but it is definitely the best remedy for acid reflux. Over past 25 years, I have almost tried anything else and none of them helped me except Nexium. I suggest to see a specialist (Gastroenterologist) not a GP.