GERD/stomach issues and RA

[Fran88]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post - thanks in advance for listening. I'm worried about my husband (33) who has experienced stomach issues (GERD) for a few years now. He gets bad acid reflux which is managed with Omeprazole. Symptoms in the past have included nausea, feeling 'hungover' when waking up, hoarseness in throat, fatigue, excess saliva. All tests have come back negative apart from one showing inflammation in the stomach.

He has also had joint pain on and off for a year or so. At first we thought this was connected to running as it started in his knees but has now spread to wrists, thumbs, ankles, hips and elbows. He also experiences fatigue. One of the antibody tests has just come back positive so he has just been referred to a rheumatologist.

I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced similar stomach issues with RA? Or whether you have any advice based on your own experiences.

Thanks so much,

Frances

[Chelle101]

Hi, I'm totally new to all of this myself but somethings I have read lead me to believe that our gut health has a huge impact on the rest of our bodies & that ra can stem from an underlying unhealthy gut? I have multiple intolerances so I'm always reading bits, having read about the possible link it made sense to me as my gut health isnt at best.

[Fran88 in reply to Chelle101]

Hi, thanks for this! If you've found any useful articles it would be really helpful if you could send a link. I'll do some googling too Thanks!

[medway-lady in reply to Fran88]

Be carefull Dr Google it'll either frighten you or confound you. If RA was down to gut issues the NHS would not need to spend millions on medications but would just tell us to change our diets. The one thing that diet might do is obviuosly due to weight put more pressure on joints.

[Hidden]

Sometimes GERD is because you don’t have enough stomach acid. Look up low stomach acid there is a simple home test to see if this is the case it was with me. Not saying it’s your husbands problem. I’ve had GERD for years with a hiatus hernia caused by pregnancies and I too have RA never thought to connect them . RA is an inflammatory disease and I’ve been told by a nurse that inflammation can occur anywhere with RA maybe a connection who knows

[oldtimer]

It is more likely to be unrelated.

But if he has been taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the joint pains (ibuprofen or others) that might make it worse. But usually people with reflux (and on omeprazole) are warned about that.

The biggest problem with both Rheumatoid Arthritis and reflux is weight gain - both can be made much more troublesome by excess weight. And, of course, if your joints hurt it's much more difficult to keep your weight to normal levels.

[Fran88]

Thanks everyone. My partner isn't at all overweight - he's always been slim and has a good level of fitness. It could be that they're not connected at all but seeing as inflammation results from both issues we were wondering abuot the connection.

[helixhelix]

I had GERD for years before being diagnosed with RA, and just put it down to bad luck. Since having RA I have totally improved my lifestyle and microbiome tests show I have a perfectly fine gut health despite taking loads of drugs. My inflammation levels are always low. And I still have GERD...

Sometimes it just happens that way. Maybe they’re connected, and GERD was an early sign, and maybe they're not. So I try not to overthink it too much and just get on with living.

[Ontwowheels]

Do you know what antibodies your husband tested positive for. There is a rare autoimmune disorder that can cause swallowing and gastrointestinal problems. I’m not saying he has of course.

[Gnarli]

GERD is an amazingly common problem so the (suspected) inflammatory Arthritis may be just coincidental. I have had GERD for donkeys years but the Rheumatoid was only diagnosed just over two and a half years ago. I had increasing symptoms of RD for several years before that.