What is Hiatal Hernia
Hiatus hernia or hiatal hernia is the protrusion (or hernia) of the upper part of the stomach into the thorax through a tear or weakness in the diaphragm. The symptoms include acid...
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Hernia Symptoms or not?? (sorry so long!!)
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Hey everybody I'm new to the group, and I just thought I would ask if anybody had these symptoms. I was diagnosed with acid reflux about 5 years ago. I had my gallbladder removed about 4 1/2 years ago and since then everything was fine up until about the first week of August this year. I woke up one morning and felt fine later on that afternoon I felt like there was something stuck to or blocking my throat near my voice box, literally on my voice box. I thought maybe I didn't swallow something right so I started drinking water and it didn't go away. After a couple hours it went away and everything seemed fine. As the days went by it progressed to where it felt like something was lodged right behind my voice box obstructing my breathing so much I felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen at all and I felt dizzy from lack of oxygen and felt wheezy. I have asthma so I took my inhaler and nothing worked. One night the pain/pressure went from my throat area down to my chest area felt like somebody sat a weight across my chest (shoulder to shouider) and felt like my throat was closing up needless to say I went to the ER and the doctor said "this is all in your head I think it's panic & anxiety" she gave me phenergan (don't ask me why) and sent me home. So these symptoms went on horribly for about another week until I had enough and went to an ENT doctor. I explained my symptoms and he took his miror and looked down my throat. He said nothing was attached to my voicebox but he believes its GERD. He put me on Omeprazole 20mg once daily for the acid he said the other symptoms should go away. So far I've been on the Omeprazole for about a month now. I have zero acid but the symptoms are still there. Feel shortness of breath throughout the day all day, pressure in throat and chest area. Sometimes it feels like I have a real bad sore throat and like my throat is going to close up. I changed my diet don't eat greasy foods. Drink only water and sometimes apple juice. I've elevated my bed, and don't eat after my early dinner time. I don't eat chocolate, or drink coffee I don't smoke. A friend of mine said this sounded like I have a hiatal hernia, which I've been reading up on and it does but I can't be sure. I have another Dr.'s appointment coming up this week to see if I'll need an endoscopy, which I'm scared of but I would like to find out what's going on. I was just wondering do these symptoms sound like a HH? Just a note sometimes when the pressure is really bad if I eat something it seems to make it go away which is weird. But any thought or comments would be great, thanks!
Posted on 09/19/09, 02:09 pm |
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Yes, sounds like hiatal hernia symptoms. I have one and when the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm it crowds the lungs and all types of symptoms can occur. Shortness of breath, chest pain, chest pressure, reflux, etc. It seems for each person the symptoms are different. Try drinking about 16 ounces of warm water in the mornings and raise up on your toes and drop down forcibly on your heels. Do this about 5-6 times. If you do have a "small" hiatal hernia this may bring it down. It works for me sometimes. The warm water relaxes the stomach and dropping down on your heels pulls the stomach down like a ballon effect. Also an EGD is a breeze. The Dr. will sedate you and the next thing you know you'll be waking up in the recovery area. I've had 2 myself. Also, try changing from Omeprazole to another PPI. This drug can cause some of the lingering effects you mention. I was on it for 8 months and had shortness of breath, stomach pain and bloating. I changed to Protonix and these effects went away. All PPI's are not the same no matter what the Dr. might say. Find one that works for you. Beest wishes! 
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can hiatal hernias be cured, w/out surgery?
I've just been diagnosed, after an endoscopy...I've been diagnosed w/ this, and with 3 types of ulcers. I too was terrified of endoscopy, delayed it for a year...but the pain became intolerable so i went for it. It really wasnt as bad - its the nervousness and fear that make it worse. I suggest go for it ASAP. I still have to meet with a gastroenterologist to see what he says about my report.
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Hiatal hernia in my understanding cannot be "cured" without surgery. However, if the hernia is small and one is not overweight a chiropractor can manipulate the stomach out of the diaphragm. This is only a temporary measure which will have to be continually repeated. From what I have learned surgeons don't want to operate on the hernia due to high redo rates. They want to wait until the hernia becomes so bad one cannot hold down food anymore or the hernia strangulates cutting off blood supply to the stomach. There are 3 types of hernias: sliding, paraesophageal and mixed. Which one do you have? However, surgeons are more inclined to fix a paraesophageal hernia than a sliding one. There is a new procedure called Esophyx which sounds promising to me. Do some research on the types of hernias and this new Esophyx procedure. Hope all goes well for you....
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Does anyone know - If the hernia strangulates cutting off blood supply to the stomach - how does that show itself specifically. Does that go on for days or what. How do they know its strangulated rather than just another long and intensly painful hernia attack/ I have had 13 hour bouts of severe pain radiating right through the upper body to my back (after it starts with just the severe chest pain) and vomiting and hard to breathe etc but then it goes.
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Learn the symptoms of a strangulated hiatal hernia.The symptoms can mimic some other medical conditions, including cardiac arrest. They include: difficulty swallowing, chest pain, stomach pain, fever, vomiting, chills, weakness, bloating and swelling or tenderness at the site of the hernia.Different people may experience different symptoms. You may experience only some of these symptoms or all of them. In either case, get medical treatment right away if you suspect a strangulated hiatal hernia.
Feel your hernia.If it is swollen, hard, tender, painful or protruding more than usual and you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed in Step 1, you may have a strangulated hernia. Tenderness at the site of a hiatal hernia is a strong indicator that it is either strangulated or becoming strangulated. Listen to your body.You will know when it is telling you something is wrong. Is the pain or tenderness continuous or does it come and go? Typically, the pain associated with a strangulated hiatal hernia is continuous and increases as time goes on. If the pain comes and goes, you may have a different problem. Is the pain lower in your abdomen, rather than your chest? It's possible you're experiencing another illness, such as food poisoning. In any case, if your hernia is painful or if you are experiencing severe pain anywhere, get medical treatment right away. The only "cure" for a strangulated hernia is surgery. An untreated strangulated hiatal hernia is deadly. Best wishes and I hope you find relief soon...
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