• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease? (GERD)

Cheerupcharliexo

Cheerupcharliexo

Member
Messages
7
Location
Shrewsbury
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi guys, so for the past year or so I've really struggled with acid reflux, heartburn,indesgestion, night sweats the lot and didn't think anything of it until I went to the doctors and they put me on medication to try help. At first this worked then it stopped doing anything.

I've really been struggling as lately and nothing helps I end up in agony, coughing and it sends me into a bad asthma attack from the pain and coughing. I know something isn't right however and I got told about GERD and it can be found to be linked in with diabetes? Can anyone shed any light on this disease and the best way to go about it? I'm pretty useless
 
What is the medication the doctor put you on? I have had GERD for over a decade and I take omeprazole, which is a protein pump inhibitor - it reduces the level of stomach acid. I couldn't live without it.

You should put blocks of wood or something under the head of your bed, to raise it by up to 6 inches. This has helped me a lot.

Gaviscon is good for short term symptom relief.

You should also be referred for an endoscopy, which is when they sedate you and pass a tiny camera down your throat to look at the inside of your stomach. If the result is normal, that's good, but you may still need omeprazole to manage the condition.

I hope that info helps, please ask if you want to know more.
 
I've been given omeprazole and they don't do a lot for me I find myself still really struggling. I try peppermint tea as mint is meant to help but nothing. I've found myself having to run to the toilet a few times because of acid reflux and I've been sick. I know I need to go to the doctors as its getting too much now. How is is living with it :/?
 
Yes you should see your doctor asap, and keep seeing them until this is sorted.

I find living with it ok nowadays because my medication and other things I do keep it under control.

You might need your omeprazole dose increased from 20mg (the usual dose) to 40mg. There are also other similar drugs that could be tried. There is a peppermint oil product called Mintec that might help. I don't think peppermint tea would be strong enough to help you. Gaviscon is available over the counter and would be worth a try. However, it won't stop you vomiting if the reflux is bad enough. Try to eat smaller more frequent meals. It sounds like a normal sized or large meal would be a bad idea for you at the moment. If you are overweight, losing weight can help too.

I think after a year of suffering you should get referred for an endoscopy and your doctor should be doing more to help you. Ideally you would have had an endoscopy after a few months.

Aside from the suffering, the risks of not treating this are that you could accidentally inhale some liquid and it can cause a chest infection. Liquid can even end up in your ears or sinuses, and cause problems. If a person doesn't take an acid-lowering drug, then over a long period they can be at increased risk of eosophageal cancer. Endoscopy checks for this.

You could also have an h.pylori infection in your stomach and be at risk of stomach ulcers, which can get serious. You could have a condition called delayed gastric emptying or even gastroparesis.

For all these reasons, and to stop the pain and discomfort, you should see your doctor asap.
 
The problem with the proton pump inhibitors is that they are really only meant to be prescribed for a short term and once you're habituated to them, stopping them can cause a worsening of the symptoms you were taking them for in the first place (rebound effect).

Doesn't stop doctors prescribing them for year after year though, despite mounting evidence about side-effects of long term use.

@Cheerupcharliexo - I was able to come off PPI's after 9 years on them (after they totally stuffed up my digestion and gave me symptoms very similar to gluten intolerance) by following the combination of Chris Kresser's advice and the work of Norm Robillard - a low FODMAPs/fermentable fibres diet and the use of digestive enzymes and betaine HCL. Norm Robillard has a book about GERD and Chris Kresser has a free downloadable ebook:

http://www.amazon.com/Heartburn-Dig...qid=1438910389&sr=8-1&keywords=norm+robillard

http://chriskresser.com/heartburn/

Hope you can get some relief soon :)
 
Indy51 said:
The problem with the proton pump inhibitors is that they are really only meant to be prescribed for a short term and once you're habituated to them, stopping them can cause a worsening of the symptoms you were taking them for in the first place (rebound effect).

Doesn't stop doctors prescribing them for year after year though, despite mounting evidence about side-effects of long term use.

@Cheerupcharliexo - I was able to come off PPI's after 9 years on them (after they totally stuffed up my digestion and gave me symptoms very similar to gluten intolerance) by following the combination of Chris Kresser's advice and the work of Norm Robillard - a low FODMAPs/fermentable fibres diet and the use of digestive enzymes and betaine HCL. Norm Robillard has a book about GERD and Chris Kresser has a free downloadable ebook:

http://www.amazon.com/Heartburn-Dig...qid=1438910389&sr=8-1&keywords=norm+robillard

http://chriskresser.com/heartburn/

Hope you can get some relief soon :)
Click to expand...

I think doctors keep prescribing them long term because they have not seen enough scientific evidence that the side effects outweigh the benefits for that patient. The benefits are that if a person doesn't have a hiatal hernia that can be surgically repaired, or there is a reason why surgery is not appropriate, then exposing the lower oesophagus to acid every day for decades is associated with the risk of Barrett's Oesophagus, which is a percursor to cancer. Personally, I'm not prepared to take the risk of that, and I have never found a way to control my reflux without omeprazole. Also, I find the pain and other symptoms of reflux so severe that they are intolerable.

If a person stops taking omeprazole, I think it would be wise to have an endoscopy, and possibly have one every 5 years, to make sure there aren't signs of damage from acid. It's possible to have reflux without symptoms too. So I would be very reluctant to stop taking omeprazole, which I believe is preventing serious illness in my case.
 
Cheerupcharliexo said:
Hi guys, so for the past year or so I've really struggled with acid reflux, heartburn,indesgestion, night sweats the lot and didn't think anything of it until I went to the doctors and they put me on medication to try help. At first this worked then it stopped doing anything.

I've really been struggling as lately and nothing helps I end up in agony, coughing and it sends me into a bad asthma attack from the pain and coughing. I know something isn't right however and I got told about GERD and it can be found to be linked in with diabetes? Can anyone shed any light on this disease and the best way to go about it? I'm pretty useless
Click to expand...

For clarity, I have never suffered reflux, but my non-diabetic partner has a long-standing hiatus hernia which he has managed by keeping his weight down. Historically, for him increased weight equalled increased reflux incidents.

Since my diagnosis and both of us adopting of a lower carb way of eating, he has commented, unprompted, that his acid reflux has virtually disappeared. He hasn't reached for the Gaviscon in months. At the outset, he lost around 3kg, but has stabilised his weight, at the lower weight, as he likes to stay very trim.

Obviously, we have no scientific proof his improvement is due to his marginally lower weight, or the sustained lower carb consumption. Whilst he was extremely supportive in my T2 management, he followed my eating patterns purely to make our domestic catering easier to manage. That said, these days, he shows no signs of regularly increasing his carbs any further because he feels so fit and well, and of course the reflux bonus.

I have no idea what your eating patterns are like, but I have read of other GERD sufferers commenting on improvements on adopting a lower carb way of eating.
 
Hi Charlotte
I too have struggled with acid reflux for many years ( about 6 in total )
gaviscon was my best friend -- but after not being able to take it any longer i finally sort of demanded my doctors investigate properly.

so I had an endoscopy about 16 months ago
result -- hiatus hernia and grade 3 oesophagitis -- i now take 80mg of omprezole per day
40mg am and 40mg before tea -- no pain , no reflux - have seen the comments of others above regarding dietary change which sounds good too

also noted your blog -- will check it out :)

and ps -- you're not useless at all -- you are just like the rest of us-- wanting to look after yourself but not always knowing what to do for the best ( we have all been there)
thank goodness this forum is here
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have GERD and had Barret's diagnosed 17 years back Proton Pump Inhibitors didn't to much for me apart from giving me dry eyes and a vague hungover feeling but Ranitidine 75mg three times a day and Gaviscon at bed time did the trick. After a few years some healing must have ocured and I found I could get away with a taking Ranitidine only at bedtime but after I was diagnosed Type 2 and put on Metformin and Statins the acid reflux started to bite again. Having gone LCHF my Metformin dose is now lower and I am off Statins my GERD symptoms have reduced again.
 
Sirmione said:
I have GERD and had Barret's diagnosed 17 years back Proton Pump Inhibitors didn't to much for me apart from giving me dry eyes and a vague hungover feeling but Ranitidine 75mg three times a day and Gaviscon at bed time did the trick. After a few years some healing must have ocured and I found I could get away with a taking Ranitidine only at bedtime but after I was diagnosed Type 2 and put on Metformin and Statins the acid reflux started to bite again. Having gone LCHF my Metformin dose is now lower and I am off Statins my GERD symptoms have reduced again.
Click to expand...
That's great to hear. I took Ranitidine for a couple of months before starting on Omeprazole, and then a few years later when my GERD got worse, it was added back in as an extra med. I take 300mg before dinner time if I am having a bad day of GERD. Do you get regular endoscopies to keep an eye on the Barrett's?
 
The medics lost interest in scoping me a long time back, initially it was 6 month intervals then a year after another couple of years it obvious I was only being given appointments when there was a gap in the list to fill as I was only being informed by phone at best 2 or 3 days in advance and usually on a holiday period. After that I was told 2 year intervals but in reality it stopped altogether. I was lucky and my Barret's seems unlikely to progress.

The thing I find with Ranitidine is that though the drug information states it works for "up to 12 hours " in reality it works for 10 hours at best so for me a smaller dose 3 times a day gave more effective relief.
 
Sirmione said:
The medics lost interest in scoping me a long time back, initially it was 6 month intervals then a year after another couple of years it obvious I was only being given appointments when there was a gap in the list to fill as I was only being informed by phone at best 2 or 3 days in advance and usually on a holiday period. After that I was told 2 year intervals but in reality it stopped altogether. I was lucky and my Barret's seems unlikely to progress.

The thing I find with Ranitidine is that though the drug information states it works for "up to 12 hours " in reality it works for 10 hours at best so for me a smaller dose 3 times a day gave more effective relief.
Click to expand...
That's good for me to know about Ranitidine, thanks. When I have a bad day, the symptoms are worst after dinner, so I'm guessing that's why my doc prescribed it that way. I have also been known to wake up in the middle of the night with GERD symptoms so bad I feel like I'm having a heart attack - chest and back pain, pressure, burning, sweating, feeling faint, nausea. Thankfully that hasn't happened for a long time, I think because of medications and having the head of my bed up on blocks.
 
Those who have never experienced how bad acid reflux can be cannot imagine how the pain can be mistaken for a heart attack, it is an intense crushing burning pain.

I found to control my symptoms I had to be one step ahead and take Ranitidine before my meals.
 
Sirmione said:
Those who have never experienced how bad acid reflux can be cannot imagine how the pain can be mistaken for a heart attack, it is an intense crushing burning pain.

I found to control my symptoms I had to be one step ahead and take Ranitidine before my meals.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's really quite astonishing how an irritation in one small part of the body can have you sweating profusely and in 9-10 out of 10 pain levels. It's kind of nice to hear from someone who knows what it's like too.
 
just to add to this in terms of chest pain
I had an acid type attack about 11 months ago in the middle of the night and although it turned out to be gastric in nature at 1:45 in the morning**** -- waking with chest pains and being older rather than younger -my wife phoned 999 - i spent 15 hours in A&E
no heart attack but because of the Diabetes this resulted in me having multiple appointments with the cardiac department ( who have all been wonderful ) including 2 heart scans ( and I have 1 more to follow up in about 3 months )


**** add to this possibly being low blood sugar as well ( i was a bit too stressed at this point to test -- just kept saying my BG didn't feel low )
 
himtoo said:
just to add to this in terms of chest pain
I had an acid type attack about 11 months ago in the middle of the night and although it turned out to be gastric in nature at 1:45 in the morning**** -- waking with chest pains and being older rather than younger -my wife phoned 999 - i spent 15 hours in A&E
no heart attack but because of the Diabetes this resulted in me having multiple appointments with the cardiac department ( who have all been wonderful ) including 2 heart scans ( and I have 1 more to follow up in about 3 months )


**** add to this possibly being low blood sugar as well ( i was a bit too stressed at this point to test -- just kept saying my BG didn't feel low )
Click to expand...
Always better safe than sorry when it comes to chest pain, I think. Apparently the first or second most common reason for going to A&E with chest pain, is an acid reflux attack.
 
Back
Top