I have suffering from acid reflux for 15 years and I had many different anti acid tablets. Sometimes when it’s gets better, I don’t take them everyday. These past 3 months my acid reflux was really flaring up I’ve had an endoscopy beginning of July21 and been diagnosed with a 2cm sliding hiatal hernia. Before the endoscopy I had a bad acid reflux but not this epigastric heaviness and horrible back pain. As soon as eat the pain starts at the front, upper stomach area and also the same area on my back. So I am so confused and depressed by this pain. I tried omeprazole with no help. On the endoscopy report, it says 2cm uncomplicated sliding hernia.
Has anybody with hiatus hernia experienced this type of pain at early stage, and what do you do to help it ?
Thank you
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Minette53
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Hi Sal53 I suffer hiatus hernia, I drink peppermint tea every morning with my breakfast. If it's really bad I have a drop of peppermint oil in cup of warm water and honey. I used to eat lots of Smints. It's getting better now as I watch what I eat.I stay clear of any type of peppers or iceberg lettuce. Its. a lot better now.
Hi Flamenca1. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will give peppermint tea a go but I remember a long time ago, the gastroenterologist told me to be careful with peppermint tea as it can worsen the reflux symptoms for people with GERD .Do you get swollen and sometimes painful glands
With stuffed ears when you have an acid reflux flair up?
Thanks for the input. This is life when we age with health problems. I am happy for you that you managed to keep it under control. Wish you all the best
I have a hiatal hernia as well pretty small and peppermint tea would absolutely kill me actually anything mint causes horrendous pain but we all are very different.
If your having a heartburn flare its most likely linked to something your eating or you could be eating to much fat or sweets which can also cause acid issues. Starting and stopping heartburn meds is not helpful.
My big offending foods are any type of peppers and anything super spicy and I never lay down after eating and don’t eat late at night either.
Thanks for you reply Batty1,I really appreciate all the tips.
I don’t eat any fatty, processed or spicy food or drink fizzy drinks or alcohol. Just never liked them but I love red sauces, bread and cakes and I have reduced a lot the intake since I started having acid reflux.
To be honest, when I was told I have hiatus hernia and then read about it, like there is no way out of it and the only treatment for it are PPIs with their horrible side effects.( I must say that I am a bit paranoid when it comes to medication) or surgery and both are not even always helpful. It’s like choosing between the plague or the cholera, I felt so depressed, sad and sort of trapped.
Now, after reading all your replies, I feel so much better and relaxed. I guess that I will have to try different things to work out what works and doesn’t work for me.
Issue with a hiatal hernia is it creates a stretched out esophagus which allows acids to wash back up….. you need to either figure why your having and uptick in issues and try and remedy it that way or take the PPI for a while and allow your esophagus to relax.
I can’t take tablet form of PPI I must take a capsule due to slow digestion (hypothyroidism) the slower your digestion is the longer the food you’ve eaten rots in you stomach and the more opportunity you have to get heartburn which agitates the hiatal hernia.
I don’t have much advice but l just wanted to say l am currently experiencing the same kind of pain l have a hiatus hernia and acid reflux and have experienced the same kind of pain l had a trans endoscopy last week but this was due to food now getting stuck in my throat when l eat and also awful painful throat when l had my previous endoscopy consultant said losing weight will help l do try but I have other conditions which limits the amount of exercise l can do l hope you get some relief and does start to affect your mood take care
Hi Shanpa69,Thank you for your reply. The same here. I have been suffering with this bad flare up since mid April, tried omeprazole then famotidine with no help but horrible constipation, esomeprazole gave me horrible stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Only Lanzoprazole gave me some relief. Now I am investigating this Hiatus hernia to get my head around it and find what works and doesn’t work for me.
Do you still get throat and ears problems when you eat something that triggers the acid ?
Yes l am still experiencing ears and throat problems l don’t even know if it’s connected to the acid reflux problems l am on famotidine and Omeprazole but find they don’t help much the recently gave me advance Gaviscon because l was up all night with the pain in my stomach and throat and ears lm having my ears syringed today l am hoping that will help my ear problems
Do you have a gastroenterologist that you see all the time regarding your problems ? I was but discharged me l recently gone to a new hospital but l don’t know if they will see me again l just would like some relief from all this pain
No I don’t. They discharged me after each procedure.I am going to ask my GP to refer me back to discuss the new diagnosis. I am so sorry to hear that you are still suffering. Me too, still with blocked ears, and swollen gland. The stomach pain is on and off since I started taking a glass of water first thing in the morning then jump 3/4 times after that. Apparently it helps the hernia go back down. Read this somewhere online. The Gp says throat, and ears can be affected by acid reflux but who knows. I am so fed up with all of this and I wonder if anything will ever go smoothly. Good luck with you appt today. Let me know if it helps
Sal53 do ask your GP to be referred to a gastroenterologist because they may have other treatment options lm going to ask my GP to refer me as l need help with the food being stuck in my throat as well as the acid reflux and hiatus hernia issue l was interest to read the water and jumping to help with hernia l really hope you get the help you deserve it has been nice to share with someone who understand take care
Hi Sal53 how kind of you to ask …well the appointment was a bit of a waste of time as l waited six week for the appointment and my ears was bothering me so much l bought some drop and was putting that in them myself when I got the appointment the Dr said your ears are no clear you must of done it yourself l am still feeling like my ears are blocked up and last night had awful night with my throat so much pain..l actually had to cry as l fed up of it ..l am glad your seeing your GP lm thinking of going back to mine again but l get really conscious of contacting them all the time let me know what your Gp say next week l hope it’s helpful 🤞🏽
So Sorry to hear the appointment was a waste of time and didn’t help with the problem. It’s frustrating. Please don’t think twice about insisting with your GP and do so until you get an answer. I am taking lanzoprazole but my glands are still swollen and my ears still blocked. I wonder if the upper endoscopy can pick anything abnormal in the throat. I hope your throat is better
Our symptoms are so similar it is very depressing l know your correct and we need to insist until we feel a little better my GP just called me to ask about the endoscopy l told her l had no report yet and they said they couldn’t see anything but l said l am in a lot pain with my throat and upper stomach area she said to take one more famotidine hopefully the report will come through any day now through she even if the report said nothing wrong she going to ask what can be done to help with the pain and food sticking so will have to keep going let me know what happens with your GP appointment next week take care
Yes they are very similar. I had the endoscopy report there and then, probably because they found the hernia I guess which I wasn’t aware of. The consultant said that all my symptoms come certainly from my acid reflux . Well I hope you will have more answers and help with the pain once you get the report in the meantime try some fennel or camomile tea to help reduce the acid which is causing the throat pain. I will keep you posted. Look after yourself
I have a hiatus hernia too, sadly it’s not responding to treatment and therefore I’m opting for surgery however my consultant recommended Esomeprazole instead of omeprazole, it tends to be more effective, plus famatodine and Gaviscon advance. Hopefully they’ll help you.
Hi Sunlover56,Thank you for your response. I am sorry to hear you didn’t find relief from treatment. I wish you all the best with the surgery. If you don’t mind me asking, how long since you had hiatus hernia?
Hi Sal53, I must have had it around 3 years now, it came on soon after my Gallbladder removal. I have EDS and unfortunately it is common with people with EDS.
Hi I’m also suffering with acid reflux and hernia and at times the pain is unbearable that I’ve ended up in AnE the only thing that has slightly eased my condition is pepperminn prescribed by my doctor I take at least an hour before meals n helps a little after trying every single antacid on prescription through a specialist i was pleasantly surprised something as simple as peppermint oil gives relief definitely worth a try good luck hope this helps
Thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear that you too are suffering from acid reflux. It’s a horrible thing someone can suffer with. Happy that peppermint oil is helping. I will definitely give it a try. Do you mind me asking you what’s the name of this peppermint oil so I can ask my GP? I am trying to avoid PPI’s if I can.
Hi, I've had reflux all my life and then found I had a hernia a few years ago. I have been on Omeprazole then Lansoprazole nearly 30 years which I find effective. I find a glass of milk really helps prevent pain and calm it down when painful. Frequent small meals instead of few large meals helps me too. You can buy peppermint oil capsules at the chemist and I have used these in the past and like others have said do help. I lie and sleep on a slight incline made of pillows and I find tight clothing can exacerbate pain so now tend to wear elasticated clothing. I hope some of these tips help. It is a matter of trying everything and see what works for you, good luck.
I have 4cm sliding hh finally diagnosed 10 months ago. I read somewhere 5cm is “large”. Acid indigestion about 5 years now and had Ranitidine which sort of helped until that was withdrawn(2+ years ago). Currently on esameprazole as I can’t manage only on Gaviscon. However I do need G too and even so I often have pain below my ribs, dispepsia and aweful persistent taste. Occasionally I also use peppermint oil and/or laxido for constipation. I’ve been v careful with food and drink for years. I was reassured that it’s not cancer/ulcer but I do know the symptoms have deteriorated with time and wonder how bad they can become. I accept it as part of my ageing (75) but I’m fit otherwise apart from tinnitus and neuropathy in my gums. I do find walking helps, if I have the energy.
I wish you all the best and think it’s not a simple problem to solve. It changes and develops. They say it doesn’t bother many people so I’d love to hear from folks who have resolved their difficulties.
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