leytonstones said:
How I feel for you. I have to take Omerprazole for the same condition and I also have an hiatus hernia. My meds aren't working at all well. I am so uncomfortable everytime I eat or drink anything.
My doctor suggested that we raise the top end of the bed but hubby hasn't got round to doing that yet. I am not sure it would make any difference anyway.
Are you finding certain foods make your condition worse? I find I can't eat anything with a high fat content like chocolate or fries anymoree.
Blessings
I've been on Prevacid/prilosec for about 10 years (at first when needed and then every day) and it always worked really well for me unless I got really stressed out. Maybe once a year I'd get a lot of pain from the GERD but that was about it. It's only been recently that I've had more problems. For one thing the insurance company kept taking me off of it to prove I really needed it (sick, huh?) and after the last time, the prevacid wasn't exactly doing it for me. Helped 90% though. Then it got a good bit less effective so they switched me to Nexium. That helped a bit for about 6 months but the last month or so has been awful.
Part of the problem, I think, is that this was a "holiday" season, in that there were a ton of celebrations with friends, coworkers retirements and weddings, and so on, with lots of feasting. The major problems started after one such 'feast' that lasted on and off for a whole day. One party after another. So my stomach never quite got empty and stayed full. I don't know if it was something I ate during these pot-lucks, but oh well. I started getting heartburn about 2 weeks ago (yup right around that feast time) and it has been there on and off for most of the day, nearly every day. This is a major change for me.
They say elevating the head of the bed can help. I usually sleep with lots of pillows to elevate the bed since my husband didn't want to do it either. But he needs it as bad as me. He has asthma. In any case, with the way he snored, I eventually wound up sleeping in the recliner since it is mostly upright. LOL! I bought this thing cuz it was cheap and what a waste of money. I can't let is stay in the full back position because of how my center of gravity is (in other words it's all in my middle). So half the time I sleep almost upright anyway. I am wondering if that isn't contributing to the problem since I get kinda scrunched that way, if you know what I mean. Strike 1. And it sure it's good to get comfortable in that after eating, another culprit I'm sure. I never could eat late. Now, I get home, fix dinner or buy it, eat around 6:30, and crawl into the recliner cuz I'm tired from working all day. Then I get warm and cozy and fall asleep in that chair around 9. Sleep for an hour or so (the kids and hubby don't bother me) and then I get up. This is strike 2. And strike 3 is simply that my heartburn used to be bad (if untreated) around 2 a.m. (empty stomach...I guess it's empty anyway after all that time), but since last summer, I was noticing it more when I woke up rather than at 2 a.m. GOTTA be empty by then. It's one reason I take the drugs later in the evening since it would be wearing off during the worst time of day for me.
Yes, certain foods do get to me. Chocolate is a big culprit though I have some from to time anyway. Fried foods never used to bother me during the day. Only if I ate them late and went to bed early. In fact, up until recently, I could eat just about anything during the day without problems since 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. was the worst time of the 'day' for me.
I have no idea if I have a hiatal hernia but I'm suspecting that is what's causing this problem. I also suspect that when I finally see my specialist, he will also suggest an endoscopy since I've never had one for this (at least not all the way down my throat and into my stomach). Sigh...I'm not looking forward to that.
In essence, I truly sympathize with you. Not much you can do about a hiatal hernia, either. Only work with it, take drugs, and ultimately surgery if bad enough. I fear they wouldn't want to do the surgery on me until I lose weight (that's docs for ya, and they could be right on this
) I'm pretty sure my weight isn't helping matters. My weight is redistributing. Right to my middle. That's gotta put pressure where it doesn't belong.
Blessings to you too!
