Hiatus Hernia

[Cat-222]

I had a endoscopy on Thursday. I have a sliding hiatus hernia, oesophagitis/reflux and gastritis.

Does anyone suffer with this and does anyone manage this without taking prescription drugs?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

previous post

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Last time I did private blood tests my T3 was low and my T4 was high, I told the GP but they didn’t want to know so what’s the point of paying out for these tests?

Yes…..this is typical for someone on just levothyroxine with poor conversion rate

GP can NOT prescribe T3

Email Thyroid U.K. for list of thyroid specialist endocrinologists and doctors who can prescribe T3

[e-mail]

How long ago was last private test done

You need to test TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 together if not tested in last 3 months

Test early morning and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

Also test vitamin D

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

[Anthea55]

Have you checked for low stomach acid? Many of us have it.

Doctors know about high stomach acid, but don't seem to know about low stomach acid. Acid and alkali can both be caustic, but the treatment is very different. If you treat low stomach acid with something to reduce the stomach acid you will just make things worse.

Here are 2 links which explain about it. It's called hypochlorhydria.

healthline.com/health/hypoc...

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Hypochl...

Several years ago I had swallowing problems. At the hospital they did a gastroscopy and found a hiatus hernia and inflamed oesophagus. The hospital sent me a prescription for Omeprazole (a PPI) without any further tests. I looked up the patient info sheet for Omeprazole and was horrified, so I refused to take it. I did the basic 'burp test' which showed that I have low stomach acid. I now take a teaspoon of apple cyder vinegar with fruit juice at breakfast, but there are other things which can help.

I used to find that I needed to loosen my bra when the hiatus hernia was being awkward. Now I find it helps just to add extensions to my bra so it's not too tight.

I hope this helps.

[Roma2975]

mine was discovered before my thyroid issues. I suddenly started to suffer from reflux. I don’t have gastris. I was put on ppi pills to resolve it. Now I only take them as and when needed. Weight loss helped and low fat and acidic diet . Now I’m on levothyroxine i make sure I don’t take the ppi close

[buddy99]

I was supposed to take PPI but fortunately my naturopath suspected low stomach acid in connection with my thyroid issues. He tested and confirmed. I started taking HCL with pepsin and over time I needed to take less and less of it. Now I only take it when I eat food very high in protein and/or fat. It resolved all issues that came with the reflux. Strangely enough doctors always use the term "acid reflux" when asking about reflux, even when there is no or little acid involved.

[Tiggerdumbo]

Hi, I have a hiatus hernia, GORD, Oesophagitus, Duodenitus, polyps on my stomach and its a nightmare!! Have been taking meds for 30 years and I am only 51 Its awful!!

[Anthea55 in reply to Tiggerdumbo]

Hi Tiggerdumbo, I suggest you check for low stomach acid. See my reply to this post above.

Worth a try 😀

[Tiggerdumbo in reply to Anthea55]

Thank you. Is there any test for this?

[Anthea55 in reply to Tiggerdumbo]

Apologies for not replying sooner. From one of the links I suggested earlier there's a link to The Burp Test. Click on this

avogel.co.uk/health/digesti...

A short way down is a heading "Bicarbonate of soda test - how to take the test".

Hope that helps.

[Batty1]

I have a small hiatal hernia and gerd and I have tried numerous times to go without stomach pills but I just can’t do it … I really don’t have any specific food that agitates me either.

My issue runs in my family all my siblings and mother have it but my father was fine.

[Imaaan]

I have a small hiatus hernia and struggled with gastritis for several yrs.

Suggestions:

1. For reflux, elevate the head of your bed using a wedge or a mattress elevator or place blocks on the end of the bed legs.

2. For hernia, get on your tippy toes and drop on your heels . Look up the exercise on YouTube

3. For reflux, purchase or ask your doctor to prescribe the IQORO if you're in the UK

4. Dgl, slippery elm gruel, zinc carnosine help with gastritis and reflux. If you have high blood pressure, you might want to take the lowest amount of dgl.

5. Cabbage juice, turmeric, salmon, sardines, bone broth or gelatin help with inflammation and heal the lining.

You can always try carafate or gaviscon advanced uk version since they dont reduce your acid.

****If I could have a do over, I would have taken a PPI for a week and then an H2 blocker for a week and then switched over to dgl, zinc carnosine and slipper elm gruel to help heal the gastritis. I think I did more damage to my lining by avoiding the meds and it took me a few yrs to recover. ******

[Kapuna]

Join the club of those of us who have suffered. I found out the best way to eliminate the reflux and heartburn has been to avoid spicy foods, red wine and distilled liquor, and too many sweets. Yeah, I know, those are the things that make life more enjoyable. Keep a log with all the things that give you trouble and find a way to eat less of them. And, when you go yo bed always start out sleeping on your left side with your head elevated a bit. That helps keep the acid in your stomach from surging up your windpipe or sloshing into your hernia.

My husband had reflux so bad it caused him to choke, which is something you really want to avoid.

Something also occurred to me. Since I was diagnosed with serious sleep apnea and have been using an APAP I haven’t had many problems. I have heard that apnea and reflux may be related so check with your doctor to see about having a test for apnea… husband had the same thing happen to him and hasn’t had reflux since he became a “hose head”’.