New Diagnosis: Hiatal Hernia
#236347 - 01/06/06 02:10 PM
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uwponine
Reged: 03/19/05
Posts: 209
Loc: Wisconsin
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Just had another ENG done and this was the grand addition. Then they are sending me for a gastic emptying test. Diet changes to make for the hernia? Maybe I've been being too adventerous lately w/ eating...  Gotta get back on track and start feeling better. You help is greatly appreciated. I'm so lost and confused.
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IBS-C with major bloat!
Gluten Free Vegan
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I will e-mail her for you; she has a hiatal hernia, as well as IBS and GERD. I know she can help you. Hang in there...
Bevvy
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Hey, I have a HH, too! You can email me anytime at merchantg@comcast.net. There isn't anyone one else on the board that I know of that can TOTALLY relate.........having a HH, GERD AND IBS-D....I don't think, anyway
It's horrible isn't it!?!! Oh, I hate it.....I hate it more than my IBS!!
I was so sick In October and November that I couldn't eat hardly anything at all. It took a month for me to be able to eat again. 
The doc says the only "CURE" is surgery. But, they're trying to control the symptoms with Nexium. I have been on it for 2 months and it's working pretty good. It took 3-4 weeks to even kick in, though. My GERD was BAD!!!
Do you know what a hiatal hernia is?? Here's a good website on it.
http://www.joyfullivingservices.com/hiatalhernia.html
If you can't open it, just let me know I will email it to you.
Basically, I have to eat very bland so it doesn't get irritated. I eat lots of alkalizing foods like potatoes, mushrooms, beets......no acidic stuff!!
I know bread and pastas are acidic and can irritate my hernia and GERD but it really helps with my IBS-D, so I just kind of have to find a balance.
I Eat the soluble stuff first and then eat something alkalizing to keep the stomach acid down....like green beans, almonds. Almonds are good for my GERD.
Stuff to stay away from??? It sucks sooo bad, I know!!!
Sugar
Chocolate
Caffeine
Carbonated Drinks
Red Meat
Citrus fruits
Tomatoes
There are plenty more, these are just a few that are very clear in mind not to touch or I will DIE!!!
Are you on a PPI, yet?? Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, Protonix????
There are alot of people in the world that have hiatal hernias and have no symptoms at all until something is done to irritate it. Born with it (DOC thinks I was born with mine), too much exercise, coughing to hard (like bronchitis), hiccups.....Anything strenuous can cause the stomach to bulge up into the esophagus.
Anything can irritate the hernia and then the PAIN really sets in. I can LITERALLY feel my stomach in my chest, sometimes, when it's really bad.
I take my thumb and press down on my sternum to try to push my stomach out of the esophagus back down where it's supposed to be. I get horrible chest pains....like a heart attack, sometimes.
Sometimes it's hard to breathe, hard to digest food because it gets stuck in the hernia and just sits there for hours before it digests......it's nasty and it hurts!!
I want the surgery but Insurance won't pay for it unless none of the PPI's work. But, the Nexium is working okay right now, so maybe I won't need the surgery this time around. This has happened twice, now, in 12 years where I have gotten really sick and couldn't eat.
Hope you get to feeling better soon!!!
Educate yourself and you will get better!! You just have to find the right diet that works for you.
Michelle 
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Oh, and how about those time when you just feel like you're going to puke, right there right then....anywhere. Yea, it sucks! It's hard for me to burp, too. One of my best friends in VA has it and her hernia is so bad she can't burp at all. She sounds like a frog croaking when she burps......it's funny. Hers is A LOT worse than mine, actually.
One day she was walking in the mall and just threw up. No warning....no nothing. Just puked right there all over the floor. See, this kind of stuff leads to my anxiety disorder. I cannot deal with being like this. I would go 15 days at a time without leaving my house because I constantly felt like I was going to puke.
Now that I'm finally getting control of the hernia/puky symptoms, my anxiety is better. A LOT BETTER!!!!
Hang in there, it will get better....
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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WOW!
#236364 - 01/06/06 04:01 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Michelle, you ROCK! I knew you could help out, but this is INCREDIBLE stuff!
Damn we're good on this Board! Look how HELPFUL we are! I like us.
Bevvy
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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I have a mild hiatal hernia and it gives me almost no trouble. My GI guy said something like 25% of adults have one - including him. There are some writeups on it on WebMD, including this one which seems to be a good overview. I think the big question is whether your symptoms are a result of your hiatal hernia or of something else.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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This one is good, too, Sand thanks!
Yea, they say that alot of people don't have any symptoms. You are one of the lucky ones!!!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Michelle
#236383 - 01/06/06 05:02 PM
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Betharoo
Reged: 01/28/05
Posts: 815
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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wow I think I may have been diagnosed incorrectly with a hiatal hernia, either that or mine is not anywhere near as severe as yours is. I am IBS-A with GERD and what I thought was a hiatal hernia. I do have alot of the symptoms from the website you posted but they overlap/ correlate with my IBS and GERD as well. I was diagnosed with this long before I ever was diagnosed with IBS. I have had stomach problems my whole life. I missed alot of school when I was really young because my mom would give me cereal and orange juice or apple juice for breakfast and I thought I was going to die lol. I also remember the regular visits to the dr with lovely "tests" because I would sit on the toilet and cry because I had to go but couldn't. Unfortunately, that leads to me remembering the suppositories I used to have to get as well. Not the part of my childhood I like to remember but I always wonder where all of these gastro problems came from and if I was just born with a messed up digestive system. I am IBS-A now though, for a long time I was only IBS-D or maybe I always was A but thought C was just normal after having D for so long. I am just rambling, but reading how you suffer just makes me feel so sympathetic for you. I have had some rough times with GERD, IBS and HH and as I have said mine does not seem as severe as yours so I cannot imagine the hell you have gone through. You are a very strong person for taking control of your health and trying to make this better. Don't give up, it will get better
Beth
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Microscopic Colitis, IBS-A, GERD, Hiatal Hernia
Bethany, Ontario, Canada
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Hey, Bethany!
You probably do have a HH if the doc said you do. Your symptoms just aren't severe. They think I was actually born with my HH and have shown no symptoms at all until 2 years ago. So, it's possible that yours is just not irritated right now, which is good!!! Now that you know you have it, try not to do anything to irritate it, like really hard exercise, bending over alot after eating, eating spicy, greasy foods, basically stay away from the trigger foods that heather has on her list.
I had started smoking again and started drinking alot of carbonated drinks (Sprite) and I think those two, in particular, are what irritated my HH. I only smoked for a month before I got horribly ill!!! So, of course, I quit again.
I never really had problems with reflux until I started smoking back in college. Ever since then, I have been having more and more problems with frequent heartburn until 2 years ago when it got so bad, I couldn't even eat!! It's been a long time coming, I know that!!!
Glad you're HH is not flared up!!! Good news.....
Stay Well!!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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Just a quick question about your HH. Hubby was diagnosed a few years back with one and he doesn't really have the heartburn feeling but I was wondering about your shortness of breath symptom. He does have that and breathes in real heavy like he's almost catching his breath. Also he feels uncomfortable after eating. Some of the foods on your list really bother him especially pop. We are wondering if when he goes back to the doctor that this will be more of the reason he is having such a hard time catching his breath. We are wondering if the HH is putting stress on his heart and that is why his echo came back abnormal. Does your shortness of breath bother you alot?
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I'm sorry to hear that your hubby has a HH, too!!
The shortness of breath comes and goes but it doesn't bother me like it does your husband and it's not supposed to be that bothersome. It sounds like he needs to have the surgery to open the airway. His stomach may be protruding through the esophagus pretty badly.
Sometimes I can hardly catch my breath and sometimes I'm fine. It's worse when I'm laying down and I cannot lay on my right side at all!
I don't know if his shortness of breath is contributing to the abnormal EKG. I don't think a HH stresses the heart at all, unless it's strangling the esophagus. At that point, they do surgery because the hernia is cutting off the air supply. It sounds like his HH is worse than mine if he's having that hard of a time breathing. That, in fact, does put stress on the heart!!
I don't have typical hearburn symptoms either. That's why I never suspected that it was a HH or GERD. I don't have the burning in the back of my throat or burning feeling in my chest.
I just have crushing chest pains like I'm having a heart attack. The doc said that's a symptom of my HH AND GERD, actually.....he said it doesn't have to burn. I've had these pains since I was little. I was always very active in cheerleading and thought I just strained a chest muscle all the time, when in fact, it was probably heartburn. It just didn't feel like heartburn.
I'm ALWAYS uncomfortable after eating because some of the food gets stuck in the hernia and take a million hours to digest. So, I can definitely relate!! It's almost an everyday event for me. Tack on the IBS-D and GERD and it makes it even more fun!!  
I would def. talk to the doc about this. I think he should have the surgery option available to him if the HH is what is causing his shortness of breath. Is he overweight?? That can make the symptoms of a HH AND GERD worse, too.
Take Care!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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I am having IBS for the past 5yrs...recently detected with acid reflux. I donno of gerd and acid reflux r same...GI doc did an endoscopy to find this...and I donno if I have hiatal hernia or not.
How does doctor diagnose hiatal hernia ?
I am having reflux for past 6months...It was 3months tht i realised tht it is bcose of acid...I felt that someone is holding my neck...and i used to get heart burn...GI doc gave me nexium...and they changed it to aciphex bcose i was getting constant headache from nexium.
I felt better thorught the time I was ahving nexium...no heartburn at all..and i avoided spicy foods and had lot of yogurt...as I am fine in having yogurt even during peak IBS- D time..
I am 27yrs old and we wanted to have kids very soon...so I am just wondering....If I will have to tke this medication for long or not ?
Please advice me on how to tke care ?...Shd I stop taking medication and try to get pregnant ?
or shd i wait ? but for how long ?
i have heard tht acid reflux gets worse drng pregnancy...wht to do ?
my husband wants kids very soon...I am confused...pls advice..
I am thiking to contact a naturopath ....
any ideas ?
pls advice on how to tke care without medication ?
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Hey Nisha!
The only way your doctor can diagnose a hiatal hernia is by doing an endoscopy. A lot of people have hiatal hernias and don't even have any symptoms...I do, however.
I don't really know if acid reflux is the same thing as GERD either. Someone else told me that acid reflux AND GERD ARE the same thing. I meant to ask my doctor about it because he diagnosed me with GERD...but I haven't seen him SINCE my procedure in November.
I would talk to your doctor about whether or not to stay on the aciphex, while being or trying to become pregnant. I have a friend that refused to get pregnant unless her doctor would allow her to continue to stay on Prilosec and he said okay. I don't think doctor's recommend that you be on your acid reflux med unless you cannot function without it. I'm not sure, though. I have never been pregnant....
Good Luck and talk to your doctor!
Michelle
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IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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