Hi I was diagnosed with a sliding hiatus hernia last year after 2 years of problems.I am oomeprazole too but don't give 100% relief.at A &E recently I was given Gaviscon as they thought it was flare up of hiatus hernia. I feel nauseous a lot of the time but that could be due to other conditions.hope you feel better soon and get something to help you.
Similar symptoms on my part led to an initial diagnosis of hiatus hernia by my GP. A request to see a specialist gastroentorologist led to the discovery of a tumour on the oesophagus. I don't want to be alarmist, but I would counsel further investigation.
My gP referred me to gastro but due to a computer blip he didn't have the referral letter so wouldn't consider anything.went back to Dr who I thought was arranging another appointment but turned out she just emailed him.bit angry at not being given the chance to see gastro for myself instead of him looking thru my notes and making a decision on them .I contacted the consultant myself but his secretary just said he won't reply to insecure emails..no letter from him either.going to email him again and maybe get an appointment.
All those symptoms sound all too familiar for many of us.
Hiatus hernia is very common. It can restrict the operation of the lower oesophageal sphincter exacerbating reflux.
Reflux may be responsible for chest pain (though the doctors will need to check your heart). Reflux may also aspirate into the respiratory system. The cricopharyngeus muscle of the upper oesophageal sphincter can spasm attempting to prevent reflux here giving the lump in the throat feeling. It can also be the cause of the other symptoms you describe.
From my earliest childhood I experienced these symptoms. It wasn't until I was 50 when my doctor suggested the reflux coming up my oesophagus may be entering my airways that I finally understood the cause.
Although there are medicines that help with acid, they may not help with reflux. Gaviscon helps a bit by forming a raft on top of the stomach contents to hold it down. You need to make sure you don't overfill your stomach by eating little and often, leave at least 3 hours between last meal and bed and raise the head of the bed by 6 to 8 inches.
Thank you so much for your reply it has helped me so much to understand my illness and given me many answers I did not understand .
The link you sent is very good and it explain all my symptoms
ie ''silent reflux'' irritation to my voice box
hoarseness and sore throat
dizziness
dry eyes
catarrh
asthma like symptoms
Etc ....
Please if you have more infos about the treatment get in touch
The loss of sense of taste and smell may (or may not) be connected with reflux. Hiatus hernias can be repaired surgically, and it may well be worthwhile asking for this to be considered. On one hand it is an operation; on the other, the prolonged exposure to reflux won't do you any good.
I have already seen a gastroenterologist specialist after fighting so hard with my GP for a referral . The specialist sent me to have an endoscopy where the hiatus hernia was diagnosed .
But I have not received yet a follow up appointment to see the specialist, it is now 2 months since the endoscopy results . My GP prescribe me Omeprazole which I am taking now . He says my hiatus hernia is only 3 cm . So I am still waiting to see the specialist , I want to ask many questions because my symptoms has been going on for many years and only now I have ideas what it was about . The Omeprazole that am taking only calm the symptoms down and I can not miss a doze otherwise I am in trouble !!!
Well done, you are further down the investigatory path than I had appreciated.
What worried me reading your history was when you said that you had experienced symptoms for many years.
In case you don't already know -----
The tissue (skin) which lines the stomach is specially evolved to resist the powerful cocktail of acid and enzymes which are excreted to breakdown and start digesting your food.It achieves this protection mostly by secreting a thick, gloopy layer of mucus which also contains neutralisers.
The stomach is connected to the throat by a long thin tube, the gullet (eosophagus).
Where the bottom of the eosophagus joins the top of the stomach there is a valve (the lower eosophageal sphincter - LES) whose job it is is to prevent anything from the stomach leaking back up the eosophagus.
Nature has not done a terribly good job of designing the lower eosophageal sphincter and it often fails to seal properly. One of the most common reasons for this dysfunction is an hiatus hernia.
When the LES valve malfunctions stomach contents gets squeezed up past it into the eosophagus [and all the way up into your throat, mouth, lungs; if you are asleep, lying down].
The tissue which lines the lower eosophagus just above the LES, does not have any protective properties like the stomach lining.
When these unprotected lining cells experience the action of stomach contents they "are fooled into thinking wow we should try and change into stomach lining cells"
This process of induced change is called hyperplasia, which, if the stimulus is strong enough for long enough can progress on to dysplasia and, in turn, in a small percentage of sufferers the cells then go on to become cancerous.
I had my hernia at aged 17 (from a bicycle accident) and was diagnosed with eosophageal carcinoma aged 47 - so the erosive changes took place over 30 years.
The changes mentioned above produce altered appearance and it is the function of an endoscopy to allow a visual inspection. If any changes are apparent a small sample(s) will be snipped out (a Biopsy). The tissue sample so collected will be sent to the pathology laboratory for microscopic examination. That examination will determine the extent, if any of hyper/dys-plasia changes in the cells.
If there are changes in the cell structure then this syndrome is called Barretts Eosophagus.
Frequently the endoscopic examination is recorded on video to enable review and comparison later. You could ask to be shown yours.
Did your endoscopy report include the results of the Path Lab examination?
If negative then you have little to worry about excepting putting in place measures to prevent any further deterioration and, of course dealing with the hernia. If positive then, depending upon the staging a wait and watch programme will be put in place.
Do bear in mind that the staging diagnosis, if any, is difficult and depends upon the skill and experience of the Pathologist. If there is any equivocation then you may want to consider requesting a second opinion. [I speak with a smattering of experience having been given that task as a medical student many, many years ago!]
Two months seems to be a long time to leave you dangling in suspense.
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Hi i was wondering how i might get response? Iron depletion i am
perscriped Ferrous Sulfate 325 mg 3 times a day. it's been making
me sick. I am investigating a Slow Release Iron Supplement. it is
associated with Low Hemoglobin levels. In the Hospital my Hemoglobin level was 7.6 it required 3 units of Iron and 4 units of Blood Transfusion. Which put me up into the 9 + level 12 being normal. What's going on? The Doctor said Internal Bleeding. There's a wound 3/4 of the way down the Esophagus. and a leision in my upper stomach with a Mass of 10 cm. 2 weeks ago my Hemoglobin level was 9.4. This week it dropped to 8.6. Well this past Friday i had an Endoscopy Ultrasound at Stony Brook Medical Center on Long Island. The Doctor said there's no Bleeding. Not specifically understanding how i have deteriorated? Next week i am going to have a Cat Scan to site where the problem is located if surgery is required? Curious my stools since i have returned from the Endoscopy Ultrasound are Brown. The Pathology from the Endoscopy is Cancer it's called Adenocarcinoma with Signet Ring features. I am turning into an old man at 60 still a youthful person. Previous to this problem i weighed 215 lbs at 5'9". i was fitness fit and looked good for this medium size person. i love looking like a French Hippy with years of growing hair. I started getting sick in April and now weigh 165 lbs. Obviously i cut my hair realizing who i was going to deal with are Conservative. And now contemplating a different Monk style to shave my head? I use to be this weight as a skinny runner. I like the larger weight. And of course i want to be an athletic team this sickness may have ruined that opportunity for me as an older man? I am not specifically certain about anything with my situation yet?
In the UK what kind of Oncology and Surgical solutions are organized?
Hi Deveretth I live in franklin square LINY IT says we r 17 miles away I have APS my whole lifetime! Just recently DX'd in October! Lost my leg in January 7,2015 and going thru same thing in right leg now due to improper coagulation by my Long Island Hemotologist of 13 years being treat for even rarer blood disease cald PV/POLYCYTHEMIA VERA! They call my blood sludge and was treated with one whole aspirin a day obviously not enuf! No I'm DX'd with CAPS/ CATOSTROFIC APS! So sorry to hear u hav cancer! I've had 6 stomach operations 5 in 5 years, then in July of 2015? Had a aurora lockable and doc just thought another hernia and decided to let E suffer over weeken! On Sunday I couldn't stand the pain and by the time I got there was throwing up profusely and tubed immediately and was told had one mor day to live! Had emergency surgery and then did with APS! I often wondered if my stomach problems related to MY APS ??? Probably right??? I wish you aHAPPY AND MISTLY HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!! Please keep in touch! LET ME JNOW HIW UR DOING WIT ESOPHAGUS CA! GODSPEED
Awe thx Deveretth! You r very kind ! I live on Long Island, New York and I'll be going to Hospital For Special Surgery to a Dr. DORUK EKRAM! He's a Rheumotologist, the only one in USA THAT runs a special clinic at a very well known Hospital right here in NYC! I see him on the 28 of January! I'm so lucky to live in the Greater New York area! God Bless You Dear Deveretth and ya Love is everything!!! GODSPEED
Everything in "Gutless Wonder's" (not sure about the nom de plume", though) detailed exposition is spot on. But what about the biopsy following examination by your gastroenterologist?- have you had results definitively excluding oesophageal cancer? If so, conventional treatment should see you right. Best of British in any case.
I am afraid I have not yet received an appointment to go back to see my gastroenterologist and it has been 2 months since my endoscopy results . I do not know why . I am taking Omeprazole my GP prescribed me .
When I get to see the specialist I will ask about the biopsy I just don't know when
So as I told you one month or so earlier , I was diagnosed with hiatus hernia and the discomfortness is still there . I am prescribed by my GP 4 Omeprazole a day 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening . I have been taking them since I was diagnosed but it only reduce the discomfort . My chest is painful , a lump in the throat permanent and asthma like symptoms you know , really an nightmare .
I have just discovered that 2 of my cousins had it too ( Hiatus hernia ) They tell me the only way to get rid of it permanently , is through surgery of wich they had , and 3 years on they doing perfectly . But my GP tells me mine is only 3 cm sliding upward so I do not need surgery !! My cousin who got his fixed abroad says it was the same with him , it only slided 3 cm but they Operated it for him .
Is our nhs trying to save money here ? I wonder .
My day to day life is so affected including my job and I am sure if I went private they could fix it for me in a minute , but unfortunately I can not afford it !!
Hi sir I had endoscopy done two months ago been dignoze 2 cm haital hernia my symthoms cant sleep nusa vomiting stumoch pain Sometime burning pain no madication work if I don't take madication it's worse I don't want to take madication rest of my life where did your cousin went for surgery many thanks waiting for reply I'm in abroad at the movement they do they surgery here about 1000 pound but I prefer England thanks
I also have a hatius hernia. I'm in constant pain in my chest and in my back in between my shoulder blades, always have heart burn can't catch my breathe. Doctor taken a biopsy today. Does this sound like it could be cancer on my report it says something about lacerations and eroded esophagus also a hatius hernia. Sliding. ??
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