Date with the Cam

Hey all,

Just thought I'd share that I'll be joining ranks with you who have stomach problems.

I've recently developed what I thought was vicious heartburn but I just got back from the doctors and he thinks it might be an ulcer - relief when I eat, bloated feeling, lots of burps, acid reflux, slight pain in the vicinity. It doesn't help that it seems like ulcers are easily gotten in my family, my mom has them on a regular basis and my mom's side of the family has several chronic sufferers.

Now I've got a date with the tummy cam next Friday to see what's going on in the depths of me.

I have to say, after he showed me some pics of the stomach cam, I'm scared sheeitless that he'll discover some massive tumor or what not growing down there.

Wish me luck! Hopefully this will be resolved soon and I'll be back to enjoying my beer!

hope it turns out to be nothing.
good luck

I'd say that cam was no fun, but when I had one done, they put me completely under (I don't know if that's the norm) and I got the few hours of goofy anesthetic high when I woke up. Couldn't eat for a while beforehand though. But I'd rather do the camera than the barium swallow.

Best of luck, hope it turns out ok!

Thanks guys!

Yeah, I can't eat much that day and I've already taken that half of the day off (it's in the afternoon, no sense in losing half a day of work over it).

Honestly, I'm hoping they get in there, see an ulcer, nothing more, and say, GOOD LET'S FRY THAT F####ER and send me packing with meds to get the job done (and start the recovery of my aching stomach/digestive system).

Just got back and the doc found nothing. In fact, he said I'm as clean as a whistle!

King Elessar said:

Just got back and the doc found nothing. In fact, he said I'm as clean as a whistle!

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Greats, have a home brew to celebrate.

So...are they looking at a change in diet along with lab work up?

Well, they just said to proceed full bore ahead. I do need to lose about 10 more kg so I'm starting on that tomorrow morning with a trip to the gym.

Strangely enough, today it feels almost non existent...

And I cracked open an nice IPA to celebrate! To top it off, I found my very favoritest commercial beer at the store - Wychwood's Wychcraft...ubber yumminess.

Try taking Prilosec for 2 weeks. I now do it every 6 months. No problems in 3 years.

In 2007 I had a Nissen Fundoplication for reflux, has went well but many people have complications. Still have some stomach issues that we are trying to sort out.

Glad this test turned out fine.

For those who take the over the counter heartburn meds, how do those work? Are they different than PPIs? I'm on a PPI, but I don't know if it's doing what it's supposed to (I heard for some people it doesn't do much...)

Glad to hear nothing was wrong with you! I was expecting to hear "no more beer for you" from the doc!

I just found and bought a bottle of Wychwood's Wychcraft here yesterday too. I'd never had it before it but thought it was pretty good! Ever had their Goliath? curious how that one is.

King Elessar said:

For those who take the over the counter heartburn meds, how do those work? Are they different than PPIs? I'm on a PPI, but I don't know if it's doing what it's supposed to (I heard for some people it doesn't do much...)

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WHICH PPI are you on? For instance, prilosec(or other generic omniprazole) is a PPI. I had mild success with it.

Do you have heartburn even after taking it consistently? Are you taking it regularly and consistently? If you do not take it every 24 hours, it will fail you. If it still does not work after a few weeks and you are taking it daily and consistently, then you may need a higher dose.

The other OTC "acid reducers" are taken on an as needed basis AFTER you get heartburn. If you genuinely have constant reflux, then this would get old. fast. If you get just occasional reflux, then maybe a PRN as needed medication would be fine.

PPI's DO work, but if the problem is anatomical, like a hernia, then they can only do so much. That was my problem and why I had the Nissen done.


I took so many tums that I ended up with two thumbnail size kidney stones. Surgery became a must.

Some basic info on PPI's:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton-pump_inhibitor

I take the PPI that my doctor recommended (a Japanese version of the same thing I believe??). Do PPIs come in different dosage strengths? I don't think the problem is physical as he told me during the cam thing that everything looked great.

I rarely miss a dosage and I still get some pretty bad flair ups.

I've got acid reflux disease and have had it most of my life based on suffering from frequent and often severe heartburn since young adult hood. Doc put me on Prilosec (omeprazole) and the problem vanished completely within a few days. I can go about 48 hours before symptoms begin to return if I stop taking it. This drug has dramatically improved my quality of life. It's a proton pump inhibitor (ppi) IIRC. There are others available and I would say if one is not effective, try a different one or maybe increase the dosage (under docs supervison, of course). Your stomach cam experience doesn't sound like it was too bad. Just wait till they want to go in and take a look from the other end. That was a whole lot of fun (endoscopy, I think it's called). I read long ago that some stomach ulcers are caused by a specific type of bacteria that can be treated with antibiotics. I have a friend who suffered for years with this type of ulcer and the antibiotics cured him completely and it worked very fast.

Now then, if you really want to have some fun, try using a fiber supplement like Metamusil. The outcome is much more emotionally satisfying, if you get my drift.
This, of course, has nothing to do with acid reflux disease, but it does have a lot to do with general health and improved physical well being. If you try the fiber supplement, I sugges using a lot of it, like two or three heaping teaspoons in about 12 oz of water. Just chug it like you used to do with beer in your college days. It's not horrible to drink, but it is a lot to chug quickly.

Proton Pump Inhibitors + fiber supplements = true happiness

...now where did I set my IPA?

Cat...that was ah...enlightening...

Thankfully, I have absolutely no problems with being regular!

I'll have to see if my mom can send me some OTC priolosec or somethin

unionrdr said:

Ime,the usual way the dosage strength changes is from the top shelf brand,going down the ladder of generics. Some of those generics are near worthless,as my pharmacist tells me.

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I'm on a generic version of Prilosec (Omeprazole) and it has been working just fine for me. I think the dosage is based on how much of it you take. ie, two pills vs one a day etc. I think your pharmacist may be biased toward making more money from the brand name stuff. I've learned from talking to other patients that effectiveness of any one particular AR drug can vary substantially for different people. One of my friends has only had marginal success with Prilosec. Much different than my experience.

King Elessar said:

Cat...that was ah...enlightening...

Thankfully, I have absolutely no problems with being regular!

I'll have to see if my mom can send me some OTC priolosec or somethin

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I thought you might enjoy that! BTW, it's about much more than just regularity, although that's certainly one of the benefits. One must experience it to fully understand.

I just did some research on my meds here and it is available in a stronger dose as well.

Me thinks I might push the doc for it or try to see someone else.

I'm also retooling the diet to make a run at dropping another 20 or so pounds - hopefully this helps too.

King Elessar said:

Just got back and the doc found nothing. In fact, he said I'm as clean as a whistle!

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Great news mate!!

Continue to work with medical staff to figure out what is wrong. I know it is difficult to continue when you get 15 - 20 minutes with someone before you are labeled and then sent for treatment.

If you are self medicating, make absolute sure that you inform your doctor as to what you are taking, when, and for how long. This goes along with changes in your diet. Keep a journal as to what you eat and when you have symptoms or flare ups. Your doctor can only diagnose and treat by what you tell them.

I am a nursing student, and as such I am not going to try to diagnose your symptoms, especially on a homebrew forum. There are a few things that can be causing your issues and it is imperative that you keep pursuing a cure or at least effective long term relief. These things happen for reasons and sometimes what are symptoms of one issue are really symptoms of something else.

There is a lot of information available on the net and you can use your symptoms as a guide to get a better idea of what can "possibly" be causing your symptoms. Don't self-diagnose and don't just take what someone else took when they had something similar.

Just my two cents....

King Elessar said:

I've recently developed what I thought was vicious heartburn but I just got back from the doctors and he thinks it might be an ulcer - relief when I eat, bloated feeling, lots of burps, acid reflux, slight pain in the vicinity. It doesn't help that it seems like ulcers are easily gotten in my family, my mom has them on a regular basis and my mom's side of the family has several chronic

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King Elessar said:

I do need to lose about 10 more kg

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King Elessar said:

For those who take the over the counter heartburn meds, how do those work? Are they different than PPIs? I'm on a PPI, but I don't know if it's doing what it's supposed to (I heard for some people it doesn't do much...)

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Ok I'm going to be a dick but your posts raises alot of red flags.

Did you get any bloodwork done? Many times people think its just heardburn but it could be heart related. Being 20lb overweight is no joke, put the damn fork down.

It could be your gallbladder or just related to diet and lifestyle.

Change your diet asap for a few weeks, no fatty foods,milk/cheese, beer and eat lots of fresh green fiber rich foods and drink lots of WATER each & everyday.


Not knowing the drugs your taking isn't funny and shows lack of care on your part.

If your lucky its nothing but it could also be the start of a lifetime of taking meds $$$$$.

E-Mursed said:

These things happen for reasons and sometimes what are symptoms of one issue are really symptoms of something else.
.

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+1

King Elessar said:

I'm also retooling the diet to make a run at dropping another 20 or so pounds - hopefully this helps too.

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This.

I had severe and recurring acid reflux that affected my upper GI. There were times that the constriction of my esophagus would get out of sync and food would get stuck. This was extremely painful and often the only relief was to vomit. The doc had me try several different things but I got very little relief.

Then I finally decided to lose some weight. At the time I was over 250 pounds. I started a strict well balanced diet with the help of a nutritionist along with a light exercise program.

When I was down to about 200 I realized that I had not had any GI problems recently. As a matter of fact I couldn't remember the last time I had an incident.

I am now down to 175. I have picked up my exercise routine to what I would consider a moderate level.

I still follow the guidelines of my nutritionist, but I no longer worry about the type of food I eat. If I want spicy bbq and beers I just do it. I don't worry about it making me feel bad, because it won't.

I recently gave my mom all of the meds I had in the cupboard because she suffers from the same problem, and I had not taken any of them for quite a while.

I realize your mileage may vary, but it couldn't make things any worse.

Regarding weight loss, I gradually crept up to a whopping 175 lbs. This is about 25 lbs above what I think is my ideal weight of 150-155. I grew uncomfortable with the excess weight and decided to do something about it. The first thing I did was to buy a digital bathroom scale (cheap these days and quite accurate). I began weighing and logging my weight morning and evening. Meanwhile I just told myself to get used to being just a little hungry as much of the time as I could. I stopped eating anything between meals (with an occasional exception), cut out soft drinks etc, reduced meal portions by about 25%, eliminated ice cream and any late evening snacks, and most importantly, drank a lot more water. My weight dropped like a brick and I was back to my normal weight in about six weeks. The first 5 lbs came off very fast. The scale really helped as it reads to the 1/10 lb. I kept a log and it was very encouraging to see the drop from day to day. Oh yeah, I cut my beer consumption drastically. That was easier than I thought it would be. I still allow myself a beer whenever I want one, so I don't feel particularly deprived of beer or food. I don't adhere to any of this strictly. I just sort of approach it in a more casual, but deliberate way. I do get more exercise this time of year, so that certainly helped. I hope to be able to maintain my present weight through the winter and I think the scale will help with that. It also helped that I grew more comfortable as the pounds dropped off. That was a great incentive.

Since this thread has taken a turn toward being a bit preachy/self helpish (clearly out of care) I would add that smoking is a MAJOR cause of gastritis/esophagitis so if anyone suffering these symptoms is also choking down cancer sticks the first thing you need to do is drop those, yesterday.

Also, to KE, I'm assuming they ruled out H. pylori which is a bacteria that can live in the stomach and cause gastritis, GERD, ulcers or even gastric and esophageal cancer, particularly if you smoke and consume fermented malt based beverages on a regular basis. If they find H. pylori it is treated with antibiotics and a PPI like you are on as well as medicines like pepto bismol.

+1 on omeprozal. Similar symptoms as you. I take 1 a day for years with no symptoms. 40mg. Try various if omeprozal doesn't work for you. I've heard different people have different results with different meds. My body responds fine to it, but my wallet responds best compared to alternatives.

Wow, a lot of great advice here!

Thank you everyone! Of course, I'm going to keep working with my doctor to get to the root of it, but at least one hurdle has been cleared with the cam.

In the meantime, I'm going to do what I know I have to do and get myself into a healthier lifestyle (and body weight)

I have a small reflux problem. I used to weigh 140 ish for YEARS since high school, but due to change in job format, I gradually gained weight. By the time I was closing in on 190, I started having REGULAR heartburn. I got Prilosec and felt better right away.

But I wanted to lose some weight. Shooting for 170. As soon as I dropped the carbs and eating more than a small share at a time, my heartburn disappeared.

I'm now about 180 and the 10 lbs made a big difference. I gave my Prilosec to a friend with severe problems (I had a bunch cause my SIL works for a pharm maker) and only take Pepcid on the rare occasion when I eat or drink too much.

It seems Prilosec needs to be built up a bit to work well. Pepcid is better for a quick fix as it seems to work in about a half hour to an hour for me. The Prilosec was great when I was having some heartburn most every day.

I think the biggest ting for me was less stress and not filling my stomach up too much (eating smaller portions several times during the day).

acid reflux is diet related. keep a food diary. what ever upsets your stomach, make a note and stop eating it.

PPi's are bad news because they prevent stomach acid production. you need stomach acid to absord nurtients properly.

liquid nuritents are the least upsetting on the digestive system - vegetable soups, bone soup, cabbage soup (if ulcers are present), colliodal minerals etc etc.