Blimey you really have been through the mill! Glad you are out the other end and all best wishes for the future. On the one hand I'm really proud to be part of an NHS that can provide such great care. However there really should have been a robust call / recall system in place to make sure you were regularly monitored (as you say Barrett's is pre cancerous so needs monitoring) - it shouldn't entirely rely on the patient. Thanks for sharing
I was fortunate to be able to get myself off Omeprazole by stopping eating within 5 hours of going to bed. Hey Presto! The reflux went away almost overnight. The high-pressure corporate lifestyle I had at that point has a lot to answer for.
I agree with stopping eating hours before bed. I work 12 hour shifts and home for half seven so only have about 3 hours from making and eating tea. Changing wine has helped my reflux dramatically.
Hey BP, I’m really sorry to see you’ve been through this. I can’t agree with you more strongly, if anyone on here has Acid Reflux, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT – NOW. It would appear that lots of people suffer with no clue as to the possible consequences, and I applaud you for recounting your story to raise awareness of what can happen. I’m just sorry you found out the hard way. I’m familiar with the whole situation as my Older Brother has been down exactly the same route: Acid reflux for many years – struggling to swallow rapidly becoming difficult – Chemo – having his insides cut and shut. He had the same diagnosis and operation as yourself @8yrs ago and is now fully recovered. There are some compromises to his life of course, but they are nearly all things that are a healthy option in the first place. It's a pet subject of mine, I see colleagues at work stuffing the Rennie tablets and recount my Brothers story to try and frighten them into doing something about it. I also try to help with my own story mentioned below. Obviously the importance of a visit to the doctors cannot be stressed enough, but there are things that anyone can do to help themselves whilst waiting for help. I too was a Rennie addict until about 20yrs ago when I realised something was very wrong. Every jacket and coat had a packet in a pocket, there were some in the car, my work bag, on the shelf in my workshop, my desk at work, on my bedside cabinet, and one of my first thoughts when going somewhere was to grab a 6 pack of my foil clad companions. Despite Lady Nasher getting quite vocal about it I refused to visit the Doctor. Stupidly I decided to do something about it on my own, and have been really lucky so far. One day I just stopped taking the Rennie, and found other ways to stop the Reflux and so the pain. Mainly I adjusted my diet and where and when I ate. I put a couple of inch thick spacers under the headboard end legs of our bed to ensure I was sleeping slightly ‘head end up’. And found that sleeping on my Left side was far better than my Right. I only now have a single Rennie possibly once or twice a month, when I’ve eaten something like a hot Chilli or something new I’ve not tried before. Again, I can’t agree with BP more strongly with his suggestion that if you have Acid Reflux DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT – NOW.
I know Lincolnshire is a large county but I too had a work colleague from North Lincolnshire called Martin just under 60 and passed with the same Cancer
A point worth making is that I had absolutely no clue anything was amiss up until the very moment I was unable to swallow a mouthful of food. None. There was no change in symptoms, no feeling ill, just the rude surprise! Even at that point I suspected that it was some after effect from a bout of Covid I’d had about a fortnight before. If left alone, it could have metastasised and spread to other places in the body. The only sign of spread was to three lymph nodes at the top of the stomach, but they would be removed with the oesophagus anyway. Hammering the point - the sooner you get checked, the better.
Thanks for sharing your experiences ...... you may well have saved some lives ! I know many people who treat stomach problems as just "part of growing older " and simply plod on . Reading this thread confirms some of my beliefs - 1. What fragile beings we are at times 2. Big Pharma does not always have the answer ( even if they have the meds ! )
I had a 'scare' earlier this year....The way the GP/NHS treated me/misdiagnosed me/scared the shIt out of me was f*cking harrowing. There has (IMO) never been more pertinent time to invest in your own well being...Physical, mental and spiritual.
I have posted some time back that in February this year I was told by my oncologist that I had only a few months left to live with terminal cancer. After another ct scan I was put on another course of therapy and amazingly the cancers had gone in to remission.What a great day it was for me when I was given the news.I had sold all my bikes and organised my financial affairs.My cancer had spread to the lymph glands in my groin and that is usually pretty serious.Next Tuesday I will be collecting my new Honda CB300R, a lovely little bike.I have rarely felt so happy and excited.
Borgo Sorry to hear you have been through this but glad to hear your out the other side, i have an idea of part of what you have suffered, i also suffer from reflux and i have a few early signs of this and that to keep an eye on, my last camera down was 8 weeks ago. As you mention above no sign until you cant swallow my grandfather and father were the same, All the best to you
Borgo, Like others thanks for sharing, sound like you have been through the mill. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. Cheers Gaz
Another long term Reflux sufferer here. Rennie, Remegel and cheese used to be my choice of relief. eventually I was diagnosed with Schatzki's Ring which was causing the difficulty swallowing food. I had been drinking a pint of water with every meal for a number of years to assist with my restricted food pipe and it did get so bad that I had to go to be sick when food actually got stuck. Endoscopy then a procedure which I don't remember the name of where they inflate a balloon in the narrowed part to break up the ring of hardened tissue was perfoemed and I have been fine since apart from the Daily Omeprazole dose. Thankyou to all the above sufferers for sharing their experiences and I wish you all well for the future. I am certainly going to try some of the suggestions on here to reduce my intake of medication.
Bongo, Great thread and that you’ve shared your experiences, the problem in this country is no one talks about health issues and many suffer in silence or ignorance. About eight years ago I was suffering from bad acid reflux and digestive issues that caused me to lose 8-9kg in about 6-8 weeks, major alarm bells ringing as the symptoms could been bowel cancer, crohns or ulcerative colitis… fortunately my doctor was superb, 3 days later I was in to Salisbury hospital for gastroscope camera noon my neck and a colonoscopy… neither were pleasant to say the least but did result in a swift diagnosis - ulcerative colitis, the lesser of the three possibles so something of a mental relief if nothing else. The acid reflux was linked to the UC but sorted quickly (but am at risk of Barretts), the bowel issues are on going and while largely under some control, it’s had a massive impact in what I can eat, no fermented foods (includes booze), no dairy, no wheat, the list goes on. as UC is an auto immune disease, it’s linked to others, I was diagnosed with ankylosis spondylitis about 25 years before the UC flared up, I then found out if you have the AS you have about an 80% change of getting the UC too, never knew that and in hind sight it flared up in my late 20’s (I’m 54 now). I’ve been very open with anyone who asks about either, if it helps one person get checked out then that’s good. Don’t suffer in silence folks, not only does it physically bugger things up, it plays havoc with your mental state, I’ve seen some very low points but good support helps no end. so again, well done Borgo for sharing, keep well! Ped
I used to suffer from it and in my case it’s hereditary or certainly one of my grandfathers, father and brother all have/had it. Mine is kept under control with Lanzoprazole, which I take 3-4 times a week and when on holiday every day. Mine has lessened since losing some weight.
Glad your on the mend,it sounds like a big op. Im 53 and do get heartburn but its only if I eat late at night ,or drink a lot or have a afternoon out ,eating crisps ,chocolate ,large amount of food and beer and again. Ive been thinking this is normal ? I tend to eat around 6.00 normally ,dont snack later and dont drink during the week or eat crisps or chocolate cake etc so its normally a 1 off occasion. I guess from the other replies its only if its a regular thing i should be worried ?
Been thinking about this thread Gall bladder pain can be very similar to acid reflux Gall bladder pain can come and go also and fatty foods can irritate it. When you consume fatty foods the gall bladder has to make more bile to break it down any left over bile can become stones, it's the stones that block the gallbladder and can cause infection Happens over time Always best to get any acid reflux checked out
