I’ve just had the unpleasant experience of having an endoscope shoved in my nose and down my throat and have been diagnosed with the signs, as well as the symptoms, of acid reflux: Anyone else have this?

They put me on Gaviscon 4x a day and Lansoprazole (sounds like a pasta dish) 1 x a day, and given me a list of foods and drinks to avoid that basically precludes anything nice (hot, spicy, tomato-based, citrus, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, salty, crispy or crumbly foods, fried, fatty etc etc). Oh, and meals must be small and regular.

Should I just end it all now? 😀

Any “silver lining” type advice?

prop up the bed and I think not to eat too late.

Wait til they suggest doing 24hr ph test where they stick another probe up your nose.

Hopefully your symtoms are manageable with the prescription. Luckily it shouldn’t stop you riding 🙂

Had it for years. Take Omniprazole (sp) and can eat normally, but not just before bed.

Reintroduce food slowly once the medication has taken effect and see how you get on

PS – Curry and beer last night, packet of crisps and a Mars bar just scoffed along with a bottle of Coke with lemon juice in it which seems to be a fantastic combination of all the things on your list

I guess the silver lining is finding out before it causes something serious 🙂

Don’t know about Acid Reflux especially, but having got the big D diagnosis a few years ago I’ve had to adjust how much and what I eat.

Best advice is trust the docs, despite the media wanting to put them down all the time I’ve found the NHS pretty good.

I just took the tablets and followed the diet for diabetes and all fell into place, once I was sorted with sugar levels I could then try things and see what happened. Some things I can’t really eat anymore as they send my blood sugar sky high for hours – no more rice for me. Other things are OK in small quantities – pasta, bread and chocolate.

I guess it’s the same with Acid Reflux, get it better then try the banned list one at a time until you find out what to avoid and what you can get away with small doses.

Good luck with it.

I’m the same as bentandbroken – Omeprazol ( incorrect spelling i’m sure !) seem to do the trick . I’ve mentioned it to the doctor in the past & he wasn’t overly concerned .
I seem to get it more when i’m tired & not so much with what i’ve eaten .

I’ve had it for nearly 7 years and its radically changed my life.

I’ve had three endoscopes over the years, barium swallow / contrast xray, PH monitoring (the tube through the nose for 24 hours ala Peep Show) and an esophageal manometry test. I’ve also been diagnosed with a small hiatus hernia which from doing my own research is primarily what is causing me problems.

I’m on the full dose of PPI for the rest of my life apparently, although these only help to some extent. I’m in pain 24 hours a day, and a lot of this pain is caused by the hernia rather than acid.

Good luck getting it sorted OP. Despite what some doctors will say, this can end up as a chronic condition where the only ‘cure’ is usually surgery which a lot of consultants seem to discourage, despite the fact that it has a good success rate when done by a competent surgeon.

I’m due to see a consultant at Bradford hospital next week to start the process of going down the surgery route as I’ve had enough.

There have been some threads on here about it before which might be of use.

I have had bad reflux for over twenty years, had the delightful endoscopy a few years ago which showed I had a shatski ring which is a ring of damaged tissue above the pyloric sphincter. I have to be careful swallowing as if I don’t chew properly food gets stuck which is pretty alarming, rice in particular is bad.

I was on omeprazole but didn’t see it as a long term solution and didn’t like the long term side effects so stopped taking it and in fact it feels better since I stopped taking it, just taking a rennie/gaviscon when I need it.

Oily food is the killer for me, smoked mackerel for example results in agony which is a shame. Booze is also bad and coffee/tea, whisky causes pain for days

The specialist I saw before/after the endoscopy seemed disinterested and basically said I need to figure out what I can eat and can’t, as I already have trouble swallowing surgery to tighten the sphincter probably isn’t an option. The NHS don’t seem very interested in reflux in the UK from my experience, in Australia there were big ad campains on TV and warning about long term health risks but here they seem to see it more of a complaint than a problem if that makes sense.

I do worry a bit about the long term risks, links to cancer etc though.

the tube through the nose for 24 hours

It’s amazing how you get treated differently be people when you walk around with a tube going from your nose to your pocket, people open doors for you, stare at you. Quite unusual.

Unfortunately I had my 24hr immediately after my endoscopy and hadn’t eaten for 24 hours or something so didn’t get any significant reflux at all.

Don’t rule out low stomach acid which can be a symptom of ageing. Ime the NHS would rather hand out pharmaceuticals.

+1 Omeprazole is what you need.

I have had problems in the past..

I have a hiatus hernia, however I rarely suffer from acid reflux. I use Omeprazole if I have an ulcer along with antibiotics, however since moving to Italy to work as a bike guide the problem has only recurred twice in 10 years, whereas working in London it was annual.

My biggest advice is to avoid too much salt and acidic foods and too much dairy. And don’t eat late at night, this is the worst thing as reflux will be worse when you lie down. also don’t sleep on your left side.

And exercise, this has been the biggest benefit for me..

I’ve had various dyspeptic symptoms which got much worse in November with bad reflux. Also had the gastroscopy just before xmas (unpleasant experience).

I’ve been on lanzoprazole (same sort of thing as omeprazole) for years, if you are new to them you might find they sort you right out, they did for me for ages. I am on 30mg twice a day so if you find your symptoms aren’t controlled you might be moved onto twice daily which might do the trick.

since the gastroscopy I’ve packed in wine and I don’t eat after about 8.30 at night. And I’ve stopped eating my own body weight in a single meal. 6 weeks of that and I feel much better, not perfect but manageable.

I think it is a case of working out what is particularly bad for you. For example I thought the super hot curries I eat would be really bad, but it turns out they are fine as long as I’m not eating a massive amount, late at night, with wine.

google things that people are avoiding, tomatos seem very bad for some people for example.

If you find any magic solutions let me know!

Unfortunately I had my 24hr immediately after my endoscopy and hadn’t eaten for 24 hours or something so didn’t get any significant reflux at all.

Similar thing happened here. Basically I didn’t leave the house for 24 hours and didn’t really do or eat what I do usually so didn’t provoke the reflux I usually get and they said that my reflux levels were “normal”.

A year ago though I asked for copies of my test results and they showed a value of 16 on a scale where anything over 14 is proof of reflux apparently, which goes against everything they told me at the time.

You can also get a type of reflux called laryngopharingeal reflux or non-erosive / non-acidic reflux which won’t show up on any of the tests but still causes significant symptoms and pain. Recent studies have shown that a digestive enzyme called pepsin is responsible for this, and finding a doctor in the UK who knows much about this condition has been rather difficult.

Definitely doesn’t seem to be a priority condition on the NHS. Will hopefully come into some money in the next few months so thinking of going down the private route.

that magnetic ring thing they offer privately looks like a much better solution than what is offered on the nhs (not that I’ve looked at any trial results in detail or anything but seems appealing conceptually, I would be properly going through the evidence before committing £10k and putting myself in the care of a non-nhs surgeon though)

http://www.linxforlife.com/

Off subject but ‘acid reflux’ does sound like the sort of name Trek would call a full sus bike 😆

I have to be careful swallowing as if I don’t chew properly food gets stuck which is pretty alarming

I have this and have had a few panics when chocking on stuck food, in one a colleague was about to do the heimlich manoeuvre on me in front of a packed canteen, lucky I coughed it out.
I never had much indigestion before the swallowing problems and it took them some time to diagnose it – gastroscopy and barium swallows. I was prescribed Omeprazole but only 10mg and even then I don’t take it every day.
As I don’t have it bad I’e never tried to find out which foods cause it – also out of fear that in may be beer or chocolate. I don’t think I’ve had any side effects from taking Omeprazole for 6 years although I’m convinced the Acid Reflux is related to my Atrial Fibrillation although the medics I have seen deny this.

Actually the ‘don’t sleep on your left side’ is another good point. I am OK on my left as long as it is at least 4 hours since I last ate, but it was easier to just train myself out of sleeping on my left side altogether

I’ve just been diagnosed with a hiatus hernia but I don’t have any acid reflux (yet). My main issue is I can’t eat any quantity of food without being uncomfortably full, if I eat too much I get quite serve pain above my diaphram. Too much in this case was 2 x eggs scrambled on a single slice of toast, having eaten nothing else all day!

I’m awaiting the results of the biopsy I had taken a week ago to see if there’s anything else going on. Although hiatus hernias seem very common there seems to be no actual treatment it’s all just avoid whatever gives you acid reflux which doesn’t apply in my case!

I was relatively fit over the summer but since I’ve had the hiatus hernia my fitness has dropped as I’m finding it so hard to get enough fuel on board due to the above issues.

Thanks for the input, folks.

Lots on info to..ahem… digest

Actually the ‘don’t sleep on your left side’ is another good point. I am OK on my left as long as it is at least 4 hours since I last ate, but it was easier to just train myself out of sleeping on my left side altogether

I naturally sleep on my side; usually starting off on my right, and then moving over on to my left. I didn’t realise it made a difference. I’ll try and remember to stay on my right.

I’m on 20 mg of lansoprazole every day. Was first diagnosed when I used to get awful acid reflux when exercising, running especially, so much so that it was hampering my enjoyment and ability to exercise.
I found gaviscon etc.. didn’t touch the symptoms so mentioned it in passing to the doc, gave me omeprazole at first but it gave me bowel problems (I won’t go further into that) so they put me onto something else (can’t remember the name as it didn’t work at all) and now lansoprazole. I find the rattly tablets work best, must be slow release or something.
Only get reflux now if I forget to take the tablet so keep a pack at work too just in case.
Luckily it works as they mentioned the tube down the throat and I struggle to swallow the tablet as it is!!

that magnetic ring thing they offer privately looks like a much better solution than what is offered on the nhs (not that I’ve looked at any trial results in detail or anything but seems appealing conceptually, I would be properly going through the evidence before committing £10k and putting myself in the care of a non-nhs surgeon though)

http://www.linxforlife.com/

This is the procedure that I’m thinking of getting done. Its been around a few years ago and unlike the main surgical procedure (nissen fundoplication – which involves cutting up your innards and tying your stomach in a knot) is fully reversible if it doesn’t work. Quite a few places in the UK do it now.

The consultant surgeon I saw in 2013 at St James’s in Leeds slagged it off though and said it would never be offered on the NHS. About six months after he told me this they started offering it in a couple of NHS hospitals and has a high success rate.

Just goes to show, you need to shop around with doctors and always get a second or even third opinion.

Any good small, but often, meal suggestions. Eating decent meals is quite difficult at the moment as I’m at Uni three nights a week and have to grab whatever is left in the canteen during the break.

I had chronic acid reflux for many years and eventually went for an endoscopy to check for the early signs of oesophageal cancer, which came back all clear thankfully. I took Omeprazole (a proton pump inhibitor like the Lansoprazole you are on, I think), which was very effective – far more so than Rennie or Gaviscon which would only give me temporary relief. But that was just treating the symptoms and not fixing the root cause, which was of course my diet. In actual fact my diet has changed very little but one thing I have done is to cut out sugary drinks completely and now only drink water (I used to drink a lot of cordial) …and this alone has more or less fixed the acid reflux. Nowadays I only rarely need to take the occasional Rennie when I’ve over-indulged. So my advice would be to experiment with your diet to find the things that trigger it and you will soon learn what you can eat and drink without bringing on the acid reflux.

Omeprazole for me too. Diagnosed with a HH having had the tube treatment!
I find my Reflux and associated dyspepsia is cyclical. I had it really bad for months towards the end of 2014.
I remember being in a hotel room in LA New Years Eve and had the worst Heartburn ever, I was minutes away from calling for an ambulance I thought I was going to die.
The next day I felt a bit rough but it didn’t come back and actually never returned for 11 months, I came off the omeprazole and life continued. Then without warning a couple of months ago, it came back. I assume I’d eaten or drunk something that played havoc with my body chemistry.
So, its back on the omeprazole, and I’m assuming that eventually my internal chemistry will get back to normal and I’ll have relief for a few more months.

This is very interesting. I havent been able to have a decent meal ‘later’ in the day for years that i didnt sick back up at about 2-3pm in the morning.

Its usually a guarentee that if i have pizza, coke or bread or crisps any later than 6-7pm i wont make it through the night.

I put it down to some kind of lactose intolerance and due to other medical issues i hadnt got around to sorting it until recently. I have cut bread, pizza and coke nearly 100% out of my diet now and other than one night after ONE bottle of Bud where i was sick, i havent had a reoccurance.

This acid reflux sounds like what i have. I cant sleep on my right hand side. I end up with none of my food digested hours later and sick a lot of acid.

Not sure if i should go and get checked out or thank god i changed my diet a bit recently which seems to have helped massively

Oh and indeed as my old biking buddies will testify, i used to be sick a lot when riding the bike. No it wasnt down to being tired, i would be sick, then feel much better and after a bit of water have a second and third wind

This is very interesting. I havent been able to have a decent meal ‘later’ in the day for years that i didnt sick back up at about 2-3pm in the morning.

Its usually a guarentee that if i have pizza, coke or bread or crisps any later than 6-7pm i wont make it through the night.

I put it down to some kind of lactose intolerance and due to other medical issues i hadnt got around to sorting it until recently. I have cut bread, pizza and coke nearly 100% out of my diet now and other than one night after ONE bottle of Bud where i was sick, i havent had a reoccurance.

This acid reflux sounds like what i have. I cant sleep on my right hand side. I end up with none of my food digested hours later and sick a lot of acid.

Not sure if i should go and get checked out or thank god i changed my diet a bit recently which seems to have helped massively

Exactly the same symptoms I get. Ask your GP to trial you on proton pump inhibitors for a month and see if you improve.

Interesting: I’ve just Googled the sleeping on side thing and most of the articles say it’s sleeping on the right that aggravates it, whereas on the left if better for it.

I had acid reflux for many years until someone told me about omeprazole, and I have been taking one a day ever since(almost)
It’s been a wonder drug for me. But if I drink a lot and eat too much,or dont sleep, the reflux returns
I did stop last year, but then I got terribly bloated, and a doctor told me to keep on taking it,even though I had no reflux. I suspect lactose intolerance again.
Now the amount of reflux seems to depend on the amount of heavy exercise that I do

I’ve never been able to work out whether sleeping on the left hand side means your “left” or the left hand side as viewed by an external observer (i.e. your “right” hand side).

If I sleep on my left hand side then I get terrible night reflux and sometimes heart palpitations as if the hernia is squashing a nerve or something.

As such, I can only usually fall asleep by sleeping on my right hand side.

Just ask the Dr to give you a prescription for a large pack of Rennies and get on with life.

My missus has a Hiatus Hernia and suffered badly for years ; she takes Omeprazole also but in addition she takes Turmeric tablets which help considerably . She also took Centaurium drops( A.Vogel) for a while but found that the Turmeric helps more.
Watching what you eat helps considerably ; for my wife that means no red meat, no processed food or things like bread/pastry. The spicy stuff is fine though

Nexium 40mg Esomeprazole a day for the last 8 or so years…

Would love an alternative as I’m sat here with notable reflux, I’ll go for the magnets if I get the chance.

My concern is as a long term consumer of these drugs is the info relating to prolonged use and magnesium deficiency…

Bin through all of this, was in 40 mg a day of lanaprazol, if I missed the meds the heartburn would come back with a vengeance. Went and had the Nissen fundithingimejig and it totally worked for me. Six years since having it done and have no meds, no reflux, no heartburn and don’t need to worry about what I eat or when. The only issue I had post op was difficulty in burping for a few months which is now all back to normal and even now I have to eat stuff like bread (especially nan bread etc) steadily cos the entrance to the stomach is much tighter than it was before.
Pre-op I had the manometer test for swallowing and the 24 hour ph test. The actual op (keyhole) was done on a Friday night and I was home on the Sunday, took a week off work and had to eat soft food for a couple of weeks.
The consultant said the success rate for completely curing the condition ( ie being meds free and therefore symptomless) was largely down to the surgeon judging exactly how tightly to sew things up, thankfully my consultant chose well with the surgeon he recommended to me.
I am so glad I got this procedure done. I was lucky enough to have this done through BUPA, I am not sure if NHS would offer this.

Bread and cake give me bad acid, lay off those two and I’m fine, easier said than done….

Lanzoprazole work wonders for me!

Yup me. Ignored many symptoms for years but eventually went to the GP as the dysphagia was pissing off. Had an endoscope but orally not nasal which is a bit odd. I’m now on omeprazole have been for over a year, it’s like a miracle drug. I can eat what I want and drink what I want. I ran out the other week and took 4 days to get restocked. I felt ill for over a week, reminded me just how bad I’d felt.

I should add. I have to eat regular if I go too long without food especially missing a meal it’ll cause a flare up.

Wow, a lot of responses, thanks.

How long do people generally find it takes for the drugs to work?

I noticed a mild improvement within a couple of days, after a month I felt amazing more energy, big appetite again, no discomfort, no vomiting and no dysphagia.

6 months in and I required no top from a peptac.

I’m taking Omeprazole as i’m currently taking a 6 week course of Naproxen. Have to agree with others it’s great, not had the slightest sign of any indigestion since taking it.

Cool, thanks Drac. I’ve got 28 days worth and I’m supposed to go back to my Gp at the end (rather than the ENT unit I went to yesterday), either to get a repeat, or to review and possibly look at new courses of action