Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

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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