Ibs and acid reflux

[Haptonvalley]

Does anyone suffer from both of these ,I've been going thro stress and seamed 2 have brought them both on together .

[Linpin63]

Hi Haptonvalley, yes, I suffer with both. If I am having a big flare up, it seems to effect my whole digestive system and I get acid reflux and pain under tight rib that radiates to my upper back. Can wake me up too. I find for me Peppermint tea really helps calm things down.It's so horrible living with IBS. Stay strong

[Aqb2c3]

Hi yes I suffer from both and it seems when my IBS is playing up badly so is the other. Then once the IBS starts to calm down and my mind is racing around thinking it's something worse everything else starts to calm down

[Gizmo6]

Yes I do. I've had ibs for 30 ish years. Then acid reflux started when my brother was told 5 years ago his cancer had spread and there was nothing they could do Sadly he died the year. After he passed the acid just multiplied during the first lockdown. My gp told me the 2 tend to go together. Not the news I needed. I started researching natural treatments I hated the Omeprazole. I came across slippery elm this definitely helped along with changing my diet. I still have acid reflux but I cope alot better. I still take slippery elm for for about 3 months at a time then rest from them for 3 then go back on them. They have made a difference for me.

[Haptonvalley in reply to Gizmo6]

Thanku for this ive had this pill before think will try again ,my husband just had an operation for bowel cancer so think it's made everything worse with me I have awful health anxiety,had an awful flare up but trying 2 keep it to myself and care for my husband ,plus I care for my brother with down syndrome so sorry to hear about your brother I've had irrible bowel about 25 yrs but flare ups still worry me ,its nice 2 speak 2 people on this site ,sending love for your brother .xx

[Frasina]

Either get meds from the GP (such as omeprazole) or you can buy otc gaviscon advance (must be the advance one though) which will definitely help. IBS and acid reflux do go hand in hand but some people are lucky enough to not experience the reflux too badly.

[Fiddler165]

I have had both since I was a child (I am now 63) and the reflux was identified at age 6 as I have a hiatus hernia which was discovered by a barium meal at that age. I take lansoprazole for the acid reflux and it is generally well controlled but does flare up depending on what I eat. My IBS is horrendous and controls my life. It used to be very specific to certain foods but since I had COVID 3 years ago it now seems to just flare up with no warning and no idea what has caused it. I have finally found a gastroenterologist who listened to me properly and who is going to try and investigate what is causing it to be so bad. I was recently in hospital with what they thought was gallbladder problems but now having had loads and loads of really thorough investigations and seen gastro and gallbladder surgeons the gastro thinks it could be bile malabsorption, pancreatic insufficiency or possibly bacterial overgrowth in the bowel. So he is going to be doing different investigations, and if it is bile malabsorption it can be treated, as can the others. It has only taken my whole life for someone to think differently and pursue the cause not as possible cancer or one of the serious bowel conditions such as cellist or inflammatory bowel disease.. Hope you can get some relief! 😮‍💨

[Elgar1961]

Hi Hapton. I suffer from both. It's not nice at all and comes and goes. I also suffer from general anxiety disorder that is likely to be where both these disorders sprang from in the physical side. Have lansoprazole for reflux. I've just been prescribed propranolol for anxiety but not taken it yet!! I wish you all the best

Keep in touch if you like

Paul

[Elgar1961]

Ps. I have health anxiety as well as you. That's why I've not taken those tablets yet!!

[buddy99]

I have both and seem to have some success with taking HCL and pepsin with each meal. It needed a bit of calibrating at first but the outcome was encouraging. Now, of course, this most likely will not work for everybody and there are so many things to experiment with. We are all individuals with different requirements, but I thought I'll share this experience just in case it could help somebody else.

By the way, I found that I need to take a bit more with high protein meals. Hope you find some relief soon with whatever you find will work for you.

[Harrisonford]

Yes I have both but never associated them with each other. I take peppermint caps 3 times daily before meals and lansoprazole once daily.

I also take a good probiotic daily which helps tremendously with my IBS symptoms.

[Haptonvalley]

Thanku everybody for your kind replies we are all going thro our health issues and it's really nice to hear everybody's issues if we can help each other its a bonus .Thanku everybody they say a problem shared is a problem halved .

[Luisa22]

Do you have IBS with constipation?. The reason I ask is I started with IBS D badly in 2020, and by the end of the year (December) I had managed to get some much better days and was feeling hopeful. I had gone on a low fibre diet which was really helping.

Unfortunately, it was also "backing me up". I wasn't literally suffering from constipation but wasn't "going" as well as I should have been.

Then I suddenly developed something like reflux. I got indigestion, burning feeling, and a weird unstable feeling in my lower oesophagus (hard to describe but it was unpleasant) I would also wake up in the morning with mild post nasal drip sometimes.

I elevated the head of my bed about 8 inches, took herbal bitters which I made myself, to avoid Senna, which is in many bitters you buy. I ate Manuka honey. I did certain diaphragmatic breathing exercises during the day. It plagued me for four months, then one day it just went away (but my IBS D wasn't cured!) I decided to accept the fast gut transit as being the lesser of the two evils.