Surgery for this can go well or not so well. It is your last resort in my opinion. I have a small sliding Hiatal hernia. It causes the esophagus to dysfunction for many people. I manage it with diet only. many people have a relaxed sphincter and dont have the surgery. I also am I major exerciser. The abdominal straining over many year caused the HH my gastro said. Tissue wears out with regular over the top exercise. Have you had a scope done? That will confirm what you have exactly. I think you can also manage this with diet but it take over a year to get good at it and yes you can have regular reflux after going off a PPI because you will always have to manage your diet carefully with a lazy sphincter. It takes time to get good at this and a lot of discipline with diet. certain foods can make that valve relax too much as well. Google foods to avoid for that issue. This can get way better and is a frustrating issue!

HI Lesley- Thank you for your reply! Yes, I had a few upper Endoscopies in a past year because of some insignificant inflammation. Good that I don't have a HH even thought it was doctor's assumption. To be honest with you my diet is absolutely strict and really no idea how to better it at this point (the only guilty pleasure left is coffee - cold brew=> less acidic.
Are you still on PPI of you don't mind my asking? Also do you experience painful sensation in a gastric body? My GI said that the symptoms I am experiencing are much stronger than the actual picture and he started to think that it might be more of so called "anxiety" pain.
And what trainings do you usually do to avoid any pain/ reflux?

OK the coffee may be continuing your problem. It is like the number one thing you cant have, even if it is lower acid coffee. It is a major refluxer and relaxer of the esophagus. My advice is to stop the coffee and see what happens. Doing a food journal is a good idea. even some plain foods are bad for reflux.
I never took a PPI except for 2 weeks after a holiday. I dont take them at all. I will take a low dose Zantac if I treat myself too much here and there. I agree with the anxiety causation issue. I have been helping people on this site for 4 years now and I notice anxiety/ trauma/ mental health issues are in the top causes of reflux and gastritis. I know a lot about this issue and over the years I mention to people that they need to be aware of how mental well being affects their reflux and gastritis. If you have regular reflux and or gastritis it can feel painful. if the esophagus is continually being exposed to acid, at some point it can become more uncomfortable but gastritis for sure can be very painful and the two of them often come together.
It is too bad that most of the veterans that were on the old site do not like this new Daily strength site. You would be getting even more good advice from a lot of people. I know a relaxed esophagus is very common and more so as you age.

I hope this helps! I know how hard this issue is and is depressing until you get really good at the diet part and you have to prop up on a wedge a night forever sometimes. Night time reflux while sleeping continues the symptoms forever!! It is silently impacting the esophagus while sleeping if you have a relaxed esophagus. You have to stop eating early at night as well and make that last meal rreally small and boring. Plain chicken. No salt or pepper etc. Have sweet potatoes and plain potatoes and cooked spinach and banana and plain bread. Stick to that for a while and see how you do. Drink water only. This is what it takes to get better. Time makes you better at this and I do believe you can get way better. Do the food journal and prop up at night. get a pillow wedge and try Zantac instead of the PPI and see how that goes but continue to be careful with the diet. Start journalling.

lesley

Also stop eating or drinking milk in the night. Start taking Gaviscon chewable foaming tablets at bed time. They work really well to block acid from coming up. Just drink a glass of water before you have them and prop up all night long for a while.

Hi -
Thanks. Unfortunately I can't stop my medications. And no I don't drink coffee every day if this is what it sounded like:) We are talking once a month. Thank you very much for your suggestions , however, everything has been done as described so far and doesn't seem to help. Gaviscon (even UK manufactured) doesn't make any difference and don't keep the acid to come up.
I do have a food journal for 4 years now and there is no correlation whatsoever. I know it sound weird but there is not. Sometimes I can feel terrible after busckwheat, sometimes after an egg and sometimes even after a banana. And feel awesome after coffee. This is what triggers me the most. Every day and nothing to seem to be improving.
Yes my bed is elevated (for the pat year or so:)

I am just confused as of why this happens at such an early age.

That is all very frustrating!! OK I did elevate my bed but that never worked well. you need to try a pillow wedge but it is actually sounding more like gastritis to me now. The diet thing is very different with gastritis. The stuff that is bad for reflux is fine for gastritis. The bad stuff you have no problem with, with gastritis but the good stuff can annoy you. A scope doesnt always show gastritis. You can have reflux with gastritis. I am not sure I might try going to another doctor. It is very frustrating for you I am sure! gastritis is more like..the food you eat one day it is good and another day it is bad or you can eat fries and coke and not have an issue. I think coffee is Ok for some gastritis people as well. You cant have that stuff when you have a heartburn issue only. it is different and has to be managed differently than gastritis.

Hang in there try the wedge it has to be about 10 or 12 inches high and no longer than 32 inches . You need to create a certain degree to prevent symptoms that is why the bed thing doesnt work it doesnt create the right degree. Try it and see.

Also DDD go on the gastritis site. it does sound more like a gastritis based issue to me but i am not totally sure. There is a pro o gastritis called shihonage. check out his name here and he has instructions on how to heal gastritis.

I know right! I mean I went to 4 different doctors:) First I thought that the first one was incompetent but they all can't be incompetent lol! I do have gastritis but last time when i had a scope the inflammation was mild (even tho I do have chemical gastropathy because of NSAID use) but overall my GI said it's just not a big deal! (actually all 4 said so). I assume half of populataion live with this issue. And another thing that 24 h manometry showed that I do have refluxed but it's not correlated with the symptoms . So the verdict of 2 doctors (1 is NYU GI ) and + 1 NYU surgeon was that my pain level is way lower and maybe some other people wouldn't notice the pain I am constantly feeling it. If that makes any sense>)

That is so frustrating. I have heard this before on the gastritis site. A doctor says it is mild gastritis and the pain shouldnt be so bad. But they are in pretty bad stomach pain and it can radiate to other areas. You are not alone with this issue! The other thing is that unless a doctor has had this problem I think they assume they understand the discomfort level. I know many others have had the same experience! I understand what NSAID can do to the lining of the stomach etc. There are a few on the gastritis site that have had bile gastritis or chemical gastritis and the stomach doesnt appear to be inflamed but many refer to it as visceral pain. They all feel lousy with this condition. it may be harder to heal the stomach after years of NSAIDs but I bet it can be done. it will take longer than a few years maybe. The stomach wants to heal but it is hard when it produces acid all the time! Still go to shihonage he uses mastic gum and pepsin GI(zinc carnosine) A lot of people on the gastritis site follow his treatment plan for producing new stomach cells and healing the lining. I think he has it all posted on his site still. You can google him as well and I think it comes up. it is worth a try. In the old gastritis posts you can find his instruction as well. This new site is not great. The old site you could easily find all the old posts he made. Hang in there!

Thank you so much Lesley-
For your words and support! You know it means so much just to understand that there are many people out there who were able to better this condition:)
I know it's not life threatening but it is so nerve wracking.
I forgot my ppi and antacids today at home and I feel like I armless ! I am so psyched what would I do!!!!
Also QQ - do you think that elevating the bed (if I use 3-4 pillows would be enough?) it's so uncomfortable to put under the bed frame smth every evening:(

Also I was told that there is a new procedure where they endoscopically tighten the valve of the sphincter (not Nissen and non-invasive). I really am thinking of it. I am 28 and it does affect my lifestyle so much! I also do have a lot of concerns and I am scared to death about any complications of reflux. Like I had liquid chlorophyll at 6am (actually helps to reduce the pain) and at 8.15 my tongue and my teeth were still green because it backed up. Argh.

Anyway thank you for support!!!

I hear you! I feel for you. Chemical gastritis is more complex I think. This is a worry but try not to think about it all the time. That can give you more reflux etc. Your stomach is a major barometer for stress. Just give me a bit of your history. How did it develop at 18? have you had a stressful life and childhood? Was your diet bad. When did you start taking anti inflammatories? What caused it at 18? So young for this but it is happening more and more I find with our stressful busy lives.

OK the wedge is small and lightweight. Goes on top of the bed.The ones at Bed bath and beyond are about 26 inches long and wide and 7 inches high but I think you need a higher one. You can get them online or at a medical pharmacy. Try this first and stop eating early. That is the hard part for most people. This takes discipline.

The surgery has been done by some on the hiatal hernia site. Some have had great luck, some have not and regret it. Check the threads in there. One guy just had it done a few months ago and was in bad pain questioning why he did it. You have to be smart about it and get the best doctor and do some serious research. But the Shouldice hospital in Ontario is considered the best. I live right near it and people from around the world go there and have it done. You can go online and check it out to start but I think you have to be very careful.

Reflux over time is not good but if you eat low acid foods all the time it is has less impact on the esophagus. Do you know the PH of the foods you eat? You need to. Google that. Low acid foods dont create the same type of acidic environment in the stomach. So even if the acid is coming up it is not damaging the esophagus in the same way. The PPI will greatly reduce the chances of developing Barretts etc as well but keep your diet really low acid and it is even better. Keep getting scopes done too, to stay on top of it.

Have you had years of no reflux after you were diagnosed with the lazy valve? If yes you need to analyze why you are having an issue with it now and went periods of time without it.

I hope this helps,

Relax your brain for a while and give yourself a break. Go out and exercise. It can strengthen the esophagus as well.

Lesley

Hi Lesley-
I want to thank you for your patience again. I truly appreciate this:) I feel like noone wants to listen me anymore as this is all I can think about now. And I know it's a very bad thing because exactly as you mentioned it does aggravate the reflux. Any time I am getting a bit stressed I have a very bad pain or reflux. I tried to slowly wean off 30mg of Lanzoprazole (by opening a capsule and leaving 2/3 of it) and it looks like won't work for me. In a week I can feel the acid coming up so badly so I went back to 30mg a day again:(

Well a bit of a backstory:) To be honest - gastritis is not uncommon where I am originally from. I gre up in St Petersburg and you name a few people who didn't develop it by the age of 20. H Pylori played a huge role as well ., however I we eradicated it in my early 20s. So at the age of 18 I was diagnosed with GERD but noone actually made a big deal and I didn't do much with it. So I guess overtime it just got worse. Also of course my diet was very bad (college time :( , alcohol (not excessive but college parties you know, I also used to smoke for a long period of time. So overall I did do this to myself not that it came from nowhere. Also my grandparents and parents are having GI issues on the regular basis .

Thank you very much for advises on the wedge. Will definitely purchase this one. In re to stop eating early. You know the problem is (and I read that it's the same for some people) when you eat or drink you feel that it washes down the acid. And when I starve for longer it makes you feel that it will burn a whole. But definitely will try. Also going to buy Mastic gum at whole foods today ( read good reviews about it and hope it will help). Thank you!

I am definitely on top of alkaline diet and am pretty religious about it:) I do have the stripes and even alkalizing filter for my water:) However, I didn't know that if you are following alkaline diet and even if the acid is coming up that it doesn't damage the lining as bad. Thank you for pointing this out.
I have a very bad cancerophoby so I think that also aggravates the symptoms. This is all I can think of even though I know that meditation and positive thinking is the key:)
I honestly didn't have such a bad refluxes until November last year when I started strenuous exercises in preparation for a photo shoot. And here we go. I didn't have a manometry until March this year so don't know if the valve was weak before:(

Fitness is my life and I just can't can't can't stay without it (pilates, yoga, spin and barre, some condition exercises) , I already had to give up running which I just loved and hope to run a marathon one day.
PPIs though are contributing to weight gain:( I alway swas pretty slender (120lbs 5'9'' but gained like 8lbs in a few months:(
Lesley- you are an angel. Thank you for support and listening. And indeed it is the most importnat part to relax your brain:)

Also Lesley-
Sorry to bother with all this. But do you happen to know if it's possible to suffer through the rebound of weaning off PPIs?
I am indeed very scared of not taking it cause of possible complications (which I am not even certain that ppi can help) but what is true that it's damn hell to wean off. I had 2 worst days of my life and realized that it's rebound :(
It's like depression and acid acid acid.
But on the other hand I am not sure if that's ok to keep taking it.
Doctors are saying do not stop.

You mean St Petersburg Russia not Florida. Many have gastritis there? Interesting. You have had some challenging issues. H pylori is tough and not easy to eliminate. Have you been tested again for it just in case?

OK This is what I know for sure. Too much liquid with food slows down digestion. Not a good idea. So drink in between meals if you can. Just have food then water later etc. Also when your stomach is empty eat something safe but not too much. gastritis does get worse when the tummy is empty.

Also yes... it is very hard to wean off PPIs. Dont suffer through rebound. It just re inflames everything. Can you not take Zantac instead of a PPI to slowly get away from the PPI? Or take zantac with a lower dose PPI. Your esophagus may not be ready for any reduction yet. It is not great to take these things(PPI) for too long.Being able to go a week before you get symptoms after stopping that PPI is encouraging. A lot of people start the pain within 12 hours. You need to get to a good place before you go off them. I know people who have taken them since they were around in late 1988 and they have never developed any issues but there are long term side effects and you have a point in wondering how effective they are. Zantac is safer and you can take 300-450mg a day. That is what many do on the site but your stomach/esophagus may not be ready for that. It may be too inflamed. There are some other good natural things you can do while on the PPI. You got to check out Shihonage. He is from Russia as well. His name is Aleksey. He can help you with your stomach if you read what he suggests. He has had bad issues with his stomach and ulcers etc. You cant stop taking a PPI cold turkey. It has to be gradual. Many drop to Zantac or a combination of the two.

Yes there is an enzyme in the acid that they think clings to the stomach lining and esophagus that may cause cancer for some people but very few develop this type of cancer. When you eat low acid food that enzyme is greatly reduced.

I love exercise too and am in fact obsessed with it. A few doctors and naturopaths have told me that reflux, heartburn and gastritis is way more common in athletic people. No one knows why though. Yoga is also good for strengthening the esophagus and good mentally. Running is hard with gastritis for sure. I am addicted to running! Overdoing anything is not good for our bodies. I am 56 and having lots of injury issues now due to wear and tear from 34 years of constant exercise. You need to find a balance with it because over doing it may be adding to your issues.

This is depressing. I have been there. It took me about 2 years to get good at this. I went to a chiro and osteopath after I started getting heartburn and the HH. Both helped with this issue a lot. Many on the old gastritis site also do this regularly.

Try and relax and empty your mind. You need to. It will help you and your stomach etc

Have a better day tomorrow!

Thank you Lesley-
Everything literally everything you said s so helpful! At least for my mental health:)
I feel a bit relieved that even if acid triggers the lining it's not necessarily will grow into anything.
Also I truly didn't know that being on PPI is quite common and that people are staying on it for so long. I just got upset that I had to start so early:( I actually tried to wean off gradually but I guess it was still too fast:( so I am back on 30mg a day and will try to reduce very very gradually. I had some personal circumstances that also triggered rebound to be worse. To be honest, I realized that PPIs do help. I always thought that it's not helping at all but this week was terrible and I see that it does. I would be taking it for my life cause it makes my life a bit better . At least I can drink and eat not to wake up in the am with my last meal from 5pm last night:) I read a lot about atrophic gastritis and that PPIs can contribute to that but not sure how true it is.

But I know that on PPIS I can even enjoy coffee and to be completely honest - coffee is the last thing that actually hurts my stomach (weird?). But sometimes it is a relief when it washes down the acid.

Thank you for referring to other groups. I read everything very carefully. Everyone is swearing by mastic gum. I am chasing it and never though it would be so hard to find it in NYC! It's sad that the groups are a bit outdated and only a few are most recent ones.
Indeed gastritis is very common in Russia. I had 4 checkups for H Pylori this year and for other parasites. Negative.

Yes I realized that fitness helps me with everything . These are the hours when I stop thinking about anything.

You are very strong mentally and it is contagious:)

I am trying to relax as much as I can. Do acupuncture but the rebound also affected me (as well as the whole gastritis / gerd saga) and it really leads to such a deep depression.

Agreed on overdoing but what exactly is overdoing. I know that for some people exercising 3 times a week is ok but for me pi;ates / yoga in the am and then cardio in the pm is perfect combo/ every day. Interesting that doctors in RUssia suggest not to exercise with GERd. Isn't that controversial ?

I will try to relax and I guess it is what it is now. Thank you!