gastritis and Gerd

[Cookiebaker]

I have been taking HU for ET for 4 years. Can this cause gastritis and GERD ?

[hunter5582]

HU can cause a variety of GI uses. So can aspirin. You can also get GERD/gastritis independent of the meds. Suggest consultation with a gastroenterologist and checking in with your MPN care team.

[Cookiebaker in reply to hunter5582]

I had endoscopy with dilation yesterday. I hope the dilation will help .

[hunter5582 in reply to Cookiebaker]

Not a fun procedure. Hope it helps.

[George1976]

You might also check your other meds and or it could be a function of your MPN itself. Gerd can sometimes be a neurological problem brought on by meds or even MPN’s. I had a really bad case of it 2 years ago possibly due to diet, peg withdrawal or my ET or maybe benzodiazepines. Or a combination of all the above. Gabapentin seems to have helped along with an update to my diet that eliminated some fodmaps. Plus I rarely take benzodiazepines now which can cause serious neurological issues for older people. See this link for some info on the neurological link to Gerd. nemechekconsultativemedicin...

[Pachena in reply to George1976]

that was an interesting link.

In the past I resolved my reflux/GERD by reducing carbs, processed foods etc and not eating a lot at night. Having an earlier dinner helped as well.

[saltmarsh]

I've been taking HU for 2 years, Initial dose of 1500mg/day couldn't be tolerated by digestive tract so reduced a few months ago to 1000mg/day. This is being tolerated with an occasional half tablet of pepto bismol. I noticed at the outset that the HU made my stomach more sensitive than ever but watching my diet has been effective. Sorry to hear about your issues and hope that a solution will be found soon. I agree that you should consult a gastroenterologist but have also found that much can be achieved with simpler approaches first, meaning timing i.e. when I take the HU - in my case immediately after lunch and dinner with lots of water. Otherwise, my gastro advised me to nip digestive tract problems as soon as they appear with either pepto or pepcid, depending on the nature of the discomfort. This generally works for me. I don't know your age but I'm 76 and like most my age have had some hiatal hernia issues which added to the acid reflux challenge but a fairly simple exercise has mostly eliminated that problem. Best wishes.