PN & Gerd

[Aussie99]

About 3 months ago I made the big mistake and bought some diet pills called Xenical. I only made it to day 2 before they caused extreme dyspepsia and esophagus spasms lasting 3 days. I even had chills from the spasms.Since then I have had terrible Gerd,and worse I have had esophagal spasms all the time now. It's like my esophagus has lost it's rythym all together, I can hear it contracting constantly, and liquid going up and down.

I also feel a bit of a chill or coldness with the spasms, deep insude the chest wall.

This is driving me nuts, and with my anxiety, forget it!!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might I do? I am more prone to this because of my SF PN?

Last night I took my usual magnesium capsules combined with an anti spasmodic agent and B6. It marginally helped.

Thank you very much!

[BEGLET]

Is no fun! It sounds like your esophoghus was really irritated - probably by the meds but may be a coindidence and is part of your autonomic PN? Constant GERD can damage your esophoghus - perhaps see your doc for one of the standard GERD meds like Prevasid or Prilosec (you may be able to buy these over the counter)...... and if that doesnt help maybe they need to take a "look" into your throat and stomach with an endoscopy.... not such a bad procedure.....

Feel better!:)

[dahlek]

To look at my heart, which was just peachy, thank you! They put you under, and when you wake up...all over!! Only they want someone to keep an eye on you till the anathes...stuff is out of you. It' was easy, painless and the only irritating part was that I had to get to outpatient 4 hours early. I asked WHY so early after and was told it was 'in case of a cancellation'. THAT was irritating! Better to check it all out than have it get worse. Put your mind to ease about it.

It's less of a bother than a visit to the gyn. without question!

Does this help you Aussie? I know your anxiety can give you a different take on things. But really, it was an easy one!

Hugs and a few pain free moments! - j

[Aussie99]

I have been on some amino acid of late called Inositol,and it has calmed me down quite a bit. My BP has also decreased as a side effect of this amino acid.

I would have thought I would of been paranoid today, but I wasn't. I went to the doctors and she listened to my heart,and my esophagus, and the acid was swooshing about like crazy. And best of all, I had all the classic symptoms!!:D

It just makes me really happy to finally have the "classic symptoms", to something, even if it is Gerd.:rolleyes:

Usually I am "Atypical".

Well she gave me some Nexium,and I am feeling a tiny bit better. Not a whole lot,but a tiny bit better. I will take it again in the morning and see how I go, and update.

PS. Thank you Karen & Dahlek!

[dahlek]

'normal' for a problem is a GOOD thing?
Goodness, how we adjust to life in ever so many ways! At least, thats one thing to check off the LIST!-
Hugs - j

[mrsD]

my GERD completely resolved when I started paying attention to the nutrients
needed by the stomach and lining of the esophagus...Omega-3's.

I have an EFA thread here on the Vitamin Forum...please take a look.

I have been helping people for 38 years...and within the last 15, we now have an epidemic of this new "disease" GERD. Even children now!

I think this is mostly due to dietary neglect! If you put the wrong fuel in your car...you can't expect the engine to run properly. And in this country USA
and other industrialized ones, this has been true. The dreaded transfats, also
have contributed to health issues, and only now, are being removed, but slowly from our food chain.

I have a hiatal hernia, a severe one, and congenital malrotation of the GI tract and accepted my GERD diagnosis 10 yrs ago as cast in stone. But I do not have it anymore, not for 10 yrs and am not taking drugs for it either. When I started EFAs to help my triglyceride profile, I had no expectation of other effects. Well, was I surprised? You betcha.

Our bodies will heal themselves, given that we understand what our bodies need and provide them. We have only to understand that taking a drug to remove acid, does NOT build or fix cells that are damaged. All those drugs do is take away the symptoms of burning because the acid is gone. They create an artificial stomach environment that we did not evolve to use. We need that acid for many reasons, to kill organisms in foods, and to enable absorption of calcium, B12, folic acid, zinc and iron. (those are only the ones known so far).
Without acid, protein does not digest well, and it moves on to the bowel, to ferment there by bacteria, who make GAS, which moves up to create more reflux. It is the GAS that moves the stomach contents into the esophagus..it is a major cause of heartburn. If one has pylorospasms then the stomach does not empty properly and will also reflux back. Certain foods also, may stimulate this..coffee is a common example. GERD is a complex issue, mostly due to lifestyle, I think. I have seen it grow to enormous proportions during my lifetime.

Aussie: I am glad you are getting response from the inositol. :D But it is not an amino acid. It used to be associated with the B complex family, but it is not really a vitamin either.
definition:
A type of sugar that has a different chemical structure than glucose (the chief source of energy for living organisms). It is a basic part of cell membranes, and is important in nerve, brain, and muscle function. Inositol is found in many foods that come from plants, and is being studied in the prevention of cancer.
Inositol enhances insulin actions, and in the brain, helps stablize anxiety, depression and OCD. It is also called myo-inositol. Another form d-chiro inositol is being studied in type II diabetes.

[Aussie99]

I bought it in powder form and take 2 level teaspoons (2.5 grams) daily,one in morning and one in night.

It has made a believer out of me,and has worked very quickly. My GP has asked to lower my BP meds from 100 mg x 2 of Betaloc, to 50 mg x 2 due to numbers going down significantly.

I appreciate your recommendation.

[MelodyL]

Hi Aussie:

I do hope you are feeling a bit better. My husbands's family....well THEY ALL HAVE GERD!! But not Alan, isn't that amazing.

His sister lives on AXID, Gaviscon, takes ativan and trazadone.
But at least she eats somewhat like a normal person. But she drinks a cup of hot water with each meal. Have no idea why but she does this.

Now her husband, here's an interesting case for ya!!. He has had endos up the kazoo because of his stomach.

He only eats white stuff. He lives on Rice, spaghetti, and bread. I'm not kidding.

He'll turn 70 in December. He is about 5 foot 9 or 10 and weighs 122 and has weighed that all his life. He told me two weeks ago, that is what he weighed when he went into the army. The army got him up to 150.

I looked at him and said incredulously, "you once weighed 150 lbs, YOU??" He burst out laughing and said "yes, me, unbelievable isn't it".

I once asked him why he eats only white stuff and he explained he has gerd, his stomach can't take anything else. He can't eat fat of any kind and because he always had diarreah, he eats only carbs. And he still goes to the bathroom all the time. He also once mentioned he takes Bentyl. He takes pepsid, and also gaviscon right before he eats anything.

When he came to my house, he ate nothing I served. I had to boil plain spaghetti for him. He puts absolutely nothing on it. He never eats salt, sugar, anything spicy. NOTHING!!!

Oh, he does eat boiled vegetables once in a while. I once asked my sister-in law if he was anorexic and she said "oh,no, he eats a balanced diet". I almost said "but he only eats white things". but I kept my mouth shut.

Very interesting diet, this white diet. I never thought anybody could live on rice, bread and spaghetti and maybe a few boiled veggies sometimes.

Their two daughters both have Gerd and both use pepsid. They watch absolutely everything that goes in their mouth. Nothing fried either.

I guess some people have iron stomaches and some people eat white only.

mel

[Aussie99]

It hit me out of the blue again!!

I have this thing where I feel great for a while,all is peacful & lovely....

and then BAM!!:eek: Wham!:eek:

Some new illness hits me like a ton of bricks.

It sucks so bad, that I am actually smiling while typing, cause if I didn't smile I don't know what I'd do.

I love the expression "up the Kazoo"!

Yeah Mel, I have been having Gerd up the Kazoo! LOL!!:D

[MelodyL]

lol. I forgot you are not from the U.S. you probably never heard the expression UP THE KAZOO, right?

now you learned a new expression.

hope you get better.

Mel

[mrsD]

You know I never understood the word hooters...you know why they are
a nickname for "you know what"...

But I do understand the noises men make that sounds like monkeys hooting....

So the name really pertains to "men behaving badly" IMO:D

[MelodyL]

Is that was Hooters means? the noise that men make??? I thought it referred to a part of a woman's anatomy. lol

When Frank was 14, we visited my dad in Florida. He was 80 and in a hospice environment in a nursing home because he had congestive heart failure.

So we land in Florida, we take a cab to the motel. We check in and then we go see my dad. He scooted around in this Rascal Scooter thing.

Well he says to us. "let's go to Hooters". Had no idea what it was.
MY son was 14.

Well, you should have seen my son's face when all these gorgeous girls in little short shorts began making a big deal out of him and my dad. They babied them, they joked with them. All the while serving something called Buffalo wings (never heard of them before).

So there's my dad (with his congestive heart failure) wolfing down Buffalo wings, french fries (I'm just staring at him), and the girls are going "welcome back, how have you been, nice to see you again, we missed you". ???????
THEY MISSED HIM??? The guy was 80 and had congestive heart failure.

It was the best day of our visit. I have pics of that day. Frank was smiling. My dad was smiling. I wasn't smiling because I took the pics and I weighed over 200 lbs and I was NOT wearing short shorts.

Oh brother!!!!!

mel

P.S. Alan did not come with us for that visit. I can ony imagine the fuss the ladies would have made over him (just because he's a male). I would have taken a buffalo wing and threw it at them.