Acid Reflux: How do you get relief?

Posted by ldholley505 @ldholley505, Jul 12, 2020

Hi,

I'm 42 and have been suffering from health issues for over 20 years and have been told that I have fibromyalgia but the following have been progressively getting worse over the past years.

- constant burning in esophagus from acid reflux after eating or drinking anything along with belching and stomach discomfort.

- sharp pain in lower right back side and radiate into abdomen and armpit with bloating, gas and cramps.

- food gets stuck and hard to swallow.

- sore throat with enlarged lymph nodes and neck pain.

- have lost weight.

- fatigue even with enough sleep.

- teeth being greatly impacted by acid erosion causing staining to teeth and gum sensitivity.

- constant sour taste in mouth.

- headaches since a teenager.

- sensitivity to sun.

- nerve and joint pain for about 20 years.

- tailbone pain on and off for 8 years.

I’ve had the following tests and seen the following doctors.
- Gastroenterologist 3 times. Recent endoscopy and colonoscopy findings 3 weeks ago include Grade A Esophagitis was seen in esophagus, normal mucosa in antrum, incisura of stomach, stomach body, pylorus and cardia. Slightly blunted villi noted in duodenal bulb and second part of duodenum. 4 biopsies taken from 2nd portion and 2 from duodenum and results are normal. Colonoscopy normal.

- Neurologist 3 times and had nerve testing done with no findings.

- Allergy testing - no allergies to most common foods about 2 weeks ago.

- Celiac panel over a week ago - negative ( have cut out gluten for months now)

- H-pylori - year ago

- E-coli present about 8 years ago and took prescribed medication

- Hospitalized about a year and half ago for gallstones and elevated kidney

- Urinalysis - normal

- CBC - normal

- Lipid panel - normal

- Hepatic panel - normal

I’ve tried the following.

– diet changes: no acidic or spicy foods, cut out refined sugars, eliminated herbal teas, eating smaller and more frequent meals, elevating head at bedtime, no tight clothing, no bending down after meals, no eating too close to bedtime, no gluten and grains for months. Tried acid, low fodmap, inflammation and microbiome diets. Bone broth, kefir and yogurt.

– digestive enzymes, healthy gut powder, Atrantil, tumeric, multi vitamins, apple cider vinegar good strength probiotics, magnesium.

- lemon balm, nettles, cat's claw, marshmallow and slippery elm powders and aloe vera.

– omeprazole, famotidine and antacids.

Not sure what more I can do to get some relief.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.

Have your doctors considered proton pump inhibitors, such as Aciphex, Protonix, etc?

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No. They have not considered. I have follow up with doctors at the end of the month and will ask.

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@Idholley505 - Very frustrating for you - You have had a detailed work- up. You mention that you always feel fatigue, even when you sleep well. If you have some autoimmune inflammation in your body, fatigue is common. I had that for years too. Question- Did you ever have a sleep study done? Sleep apnea also causes fatigue because sleep quality is poor. I had that too.
You said that testing for celiac was negative- you mentioned that you have stayed away from gluten for a long time. If you have not had a reasonable amount of gluten before testing, the test will be normal. Maybe bring that up too when you see doctors again.
Looking forward to hearing from you after your visit!

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@astaingegerdm

@Idholley505 - Very frustrating for you - You have had a detailed work- up. You mention that you always feel fatigue, even when you sleep well. If you have some autoimmune inflammation in your body, fatigue is common. I had that for years too. Question- Did you ever have a sleep study done? Sleep apnea also causes fatigue because sleep quality is poor. I had that too.
You said that testing for celiac was negative- you mentioned that you have stayed away from gluten for a long time. If you have not had a reasonable amount of gluten before testing, the test will be normal. Maybe bring that up too when you see doctors again.
Looking forward to hearing from you after your visit!

Jump to this post

Question about testing for gluten sensitivity:
I was given a liquid to drink before the breath test for celiac. What did I drink??
I tested positive for gluten sensitivity. Liquid gluten?

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@helenfrances - I believe you drank a sorbitol solution. The breath test would show how your intestine functions.

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ck out Sjogren's disease

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Hello @mmclark2 and welcome to Connect!

I appreciate your post in this discussion group about Acid Reflux. I see that you have mentioned Sjogren's disease. Is this something you have personally experienced? If so, you might be interested in reading other posts about this disorder. Here are the links,

https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sjogrens/?pg=12#comment-274072
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sjogrenshashimoto/?pg=1#comment-402297

As you are comfortable doing so, will you please share more about your interest in this topic?

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I use digestive enzymes whenever I eat. They help so much with reflux and digestion. They make it easy to eat. Try Enzymedica. Their product, Digest Gold, is the best!

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Are your iron levels elevated? I’m assuming you probably have had ferritin tests. I have hereditary hemochromatosis found through a gene test and feel similar to you on many counts. Hope you can find some relief someday soon!

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