Endoscopy today

[RRL31]

Good morning I had my endoscopy this morning. The Dr said it was all clear and no signs of GORD or anything else.

That’s great, but I have symptoms of something! I get very bloated at times, nausea, pain + the reflux in the oesophagus / throat feelings- burning, horrible taste in mouth etc.

He said to restart the omeprazole and obviously I need to speak to my GP when I can.

I don’t what they will do now though? Are they likely to say that it’s just something I will have to put up with?

The symptoms I have described are not constant but when they are bad it is quite debilitating.

I do have health anxiety too, so there’s always ‘something bad’ in the back of my mind!

[Catatvet05]

I have same symptoms and have had all test doctors will offer. My reflux and regurgitation is 24/7 and my teeth have suffered as a result.

Ppi don’t work and I’ve tried Amitriptyline, which is a pain killer/ antidepressant.

Doctors have no other suggestions or treatments to offer me other than to “forget about it and get on with it” is the phrase my doctor used.

I’m upset about my teeth but what can I do. Currently I’m taking silo gel, slippery elms and probiotic for the gut to heal IBS on top of reflux.

A gastric specialist said it’s functional heartburn and the cause is a result of anxiety. Reason why none of medications I’ve taken have worked. Has ppi worked for?

This has been going on since 2017! I was diagnosed with HP last year and that has caused really bad IBS symptoms: pain, bloating, gas and fatigue. On top of that, I’m suffering with reflux.

Have they put you on any other treatment?

[mjrminor]

Hi RRL31, if you're getting symptoms some of the time rather than all of the time could it be that a specific food or drink is causing you occasional painful reflux but not enough damage to show up in an endoscopy? Stress and anxiety can also cause acid reflux, so maybe you get a flare at stressful times and not when feeling fine? Just some thoughts.

I had an endoscopy about two months ago and was diagnosed with LPR (silent reflux). I was told to double my Omeprazole, but the main thing to do is to control it through diet by cutting out all trigger foods. It's a very long list for me, which is hard going, but my reflux has drastically reduced.

Might be worth you keeping a food diary for a few weeks and noting everything you eat and when you have reflux, then seeing if there's a pattern. Also things like eating too late, too fast or too much ( I was guilty of all three!) can also cause problems.

Hope you find an answer.

[RRL31]

Thanks for the replies.

I do think stress / anxiety have a lot to answer for in my case!

The dr who performed the endoscopy said that the higher dose of omeprazole I’ve been taking since Jan has probably healed any signs of damage, so maybe I’ll just have to stay on that.

I think eating too much / too fast is definitely a problem for me.

I’m going to start eating smaller meals more frequently (and slowly!) and see if that helps.

[Bellaowl in reply to RRL31]

Perhaps also find out if you are allergic/ intolerant to something you eat only occasionally. The bad taste maybe a clue. I only have to smell something to know if it will set me off- initially >dizzy feeling, but may be a different sensation for you.

Good hunting. Bella

[Josie-Anne in reply to Bellaowl]

Hi there, yes I found out i have a wheat intolerance which bloats me up with nausea and pain so yes it could be something your eating especially spicy foods and eating later than 6/7pm I was told it also puts weight on you because your stomach stops working by then so it sits there until the morning, good luck anyway 😎

[Zorrosox-1 in reply to RRL31]

Agree with you re: stress but my doctor said it’s not a good idea to take PPI’s long term

[Hidden]

I don’t know if this may have something do with your issues, but one thing that I think is often overlooked with this condition is the impact of hormones, particularly the extreme hormonal swings which occur during the peri menopause/menopause/post menopause stages (you might be amazed at just how ignorant some consultants are about the menopause - mine have all been male which may have something to do with it). The consultant I initially raised this possibility with initially dismissed it, saying that at fifty six (nearing fifty seven) I was way past the post menopause stage. He was wrong on several counts: I became post menopausal at fifty five (nearly fifty six), which he said was unusually late to enter that stage - it is not, it actually falls within the normal range but at the later end of it. Having entered the post menopausal stage symptoms of menopause, such as hot flushes, can also continue for a number of years (I know someone who suffered from symptoms for eight years plus after she had become clinically “post menopausal”).

We still don’t know what is causing my issues, though stress and anxiety have taken a back seat now (though it took three years for me to convince the consultants that there was more to it than that). I’m sure the stress of the situation over the past fourteen months hasn’t helped with my reflux etc, but the fact is that the problems were already there before covid came along.

[Josie-Anne in reply to Hidden]

Hi MaggieHP,

I think your right, I had bloods done, told I was post menopausal which should be 200/300 in the blood test, mine was 928 but had dropped to 725, I know it’s the male hormone too, they said you are normally still like that for about 2/3 years after, my sister was pre-menopausal for 10 years and had all the symptoms,especially the mood swings, tiredness, hot flushes, same as myself but some unfortunate women can have the effects for up to 10 years, I’m still battling with my doctor which he said he can’t do anything, surely he should be able to give me some oestrogen to balance it out, I can’t go on HRT because I’ve had blood clots and a pulmonary embolism, can anyone offer any advice please.

[AHG123]

Read up about Silent reflux, also known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).

[Hidden]

I had results from manometry and 24pH monitoring last week. For that I had to come off medication which helped with my reflux issues: off cimetidine seven days in advance of the test and off gaviscon advance 48 hours in advance. The results which came back showed my acid levels were normal but the consultant also made the point that this did not mean that reflux wasn’t happening, only that the acid levels within it were not elevated. The manometry also showed that my gastric motility was fine. Irritatingly the consultant failed to mention what I should do about the medication I was on to suppress levels of stomach acid. Logic dictates that if my acid levels are fine they certainly don’t need to be suppressed. Having done some chasing on this point I’m now waiting for a decision on that from the consultant. I’m also waiting a follow up discussion to decide what happens next.

[Josie-Anne]

Hi there,

I’m due to have my endoscopy with a monitor on my oesophagus and a monitor around my waist which I have instructions on as their is Barrett’s disease in the family, panic and anxiety attacks I get which can cause some acids and the feeling of the throat closure and the fast breathing, the bloating could be due to IBS with stressing, I would go and talk with your doctor and just mention it to the, hope you get sorted ☺️