Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[jam]

Hey all,

This is a bit of a personal post, so I'm sorry if I'm clogging up the system! But I was hoping that you could help me understand a few things.

Well, about a month ago I went to the doctors because I'd been feeling ill for a while and after some medication and a return trip a month later, we came to the conclusion that i have acid reflux, yum. So I've been given more medication and a lifetimes supply of gaviscon, then I'll go and see him again when I've nearly finished them all. I've asked him more about acid reflux and I always come out with more new questions than answered ones about it than when I went in. I know what it is mechanically, but what don't understand is why I've got it in the first place. At first I suspected it could be stress related and I have noticed that at stressful times, like exams which was when it first flared up, it has been worse. but I've also been getting it a lot in between for no apparent reason, so there's no rhyme or reason to it. So why do I get it and what could it be caused by? The thing that's been on my mind the most is will it ever go away, or will it always be there?

I don't really like talking about it that much because I know that there are people out there suffering from much worse illnesses than me, but I just thought Id ask to see if anyone could help give me a bit of peace of mind because it's getting quite frustrating now and it's quite refreshing to vent my feelings about it. I'm sorry if the questions are difficult to answer, but other points of view would be great as I've only had the one from my gp.

Thank you in advance

[Steve the Gas]

Can you describe the symptoms- important!!

 

I would get a test for HP, Helicobacter Pylori, this can be a cause of such things and is easily treated...

Other causes your oesophageal sphincter is not keeping closed when it should be and allowing gastric juices to flow the wrong way- this contains HCl - hydrochloric acid- hence 'acid'

There are more but your syptoms will help.

Has your GP given you Lanzoprazole or the other Omeprazole?

 

 

I am not a Doctor

[jam]

I was first given omeprazole, then when I went back and they gave me lansoprasole alongside the gaviscon.

Ok, symptoms:

Pain in the middle of the chest (ive been told caused by the acid coming up)

Horrible taste in my mouth sometimes when acid comes all the way up

Nausia

Flatulence (sorry if thats too much info!)

Not so much a symptom I don't think, but If I havnt eaten anything in as little as a couple of hours, I get a really sloshy stomach and then I usually get The pain and acid in my mouth. I've found that eating some biscuits every hour helps alot, but I'm concerned about school- you should see the amount of food I get through in a day, I can't take that all to school with me!

I've also lost about half a stone over 3 months because of a loss of appetite due to the nausea, discomfort etc

[Steve the Gas]

Suppose all you can do is treat it with what you have been given, your school will have to help with food storage and the fact you may have to eat in class, - get your parents to arrange this.

[jam]

That's an idea, I should get my parents to do that. Im going to be finishing the course of lanzoprasole in a fewdays but I'm not too sure what they were suppose to be doing to be honest!

[Steve the Gas]

It is normally given to treat ulcers, reflux and unexplained gastric probs.

Check out

 

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/

 

On there you can research the prob and ask about the drugs too.

[jam]

Thank you! That was really helpful. I feel better about it now.

[Chickvic]

I also suffer with this - it was undiagnosed for about 12 weeks and ended up with a few trips to casualty! I had the camera down to see if this was the problem (not nice!) and scans for gall stones. When it was diagnosed I was given omeprazole which on it's own was not very effective, I also take mebeverine 20 mins before food which moves the food on quicker. I found a lot of gaviscon causes flatulence They also think I have IBS I also felt terribly bloated and sluggish. In September I paid to have a food intolerance test which shows I am intolerant to cows milk and yeast. Cutting those out has made a huge difference as well, very rare any IBS symptoms and hardly any acid reflux problems - I do still take the medication! Perhaps worth mentioning intolerance testing when you go to the dr's? I also had to lose weight which will help my symptoms.

[patsylabrador]

Forgive me if this is a load of rubbish. I can suffer from a very uncomfortable stomach if I don't follow my rules. I haven't been to the doctor's because I'm stupid like that.

I avoid bread, I always get indigestion if I eat bread, I avoid anything rich, cakes, biscuits, eggs, chocolate - anything like that. I'm not overly strict, just careful.

I also have found that doing exercises in the morning makes a considerable difference, I found this out by chance. I don't know why it helps, maybe it's just the act of stretching your innards out.

So, right now, after a Christmas of rich food and being incredibly lazy with exercise & working hard at sitting, I feel awful.

I cracked on back with my exercising this morning, just a gentle bit of weights & yoga and found it refreshing for my tummy. I think if your tummy feels bad you have a tendency to sort of fold over which can't help with indigestion.

There you have it, I hope this helps if only to know that your not on your own and that you had the good sense to go to your Doctor.

[scarlettohara]

I've had acid reflux and it took a year before it really went. Changing your diet helps

[Alis girls]

If it continues Jam I would return and ask for a referral - you may need a gastroscope to see if you have an ulcer. You dont mention your age but my son was checked for an ulcer at 10 as we have a huge family history on both sides. Anxiety is a big cause and both me OH and ES are on meds for various gastric refllux probs. Also Steve sugested Helico test - simple if you can provide a pooh sample they will send off to be checked (probably too much info if you are reading this and eating toast)

[jam]

Wow, thank you for the responses, they're really helpful. And chickvic that's really interesting that you have an intolerance to some foods, because I thought that might be behind it, but when I suggested it to the gp he blew the idea out of the water straight away. I know that might not be the reason behind the reflux in my case, but after what you've said I think I'll have a look at that again. Where did you get the test from to check for an intolerance? And did your throat also start to feel quite tight because of the reflux and did little bits of food get stuck in your throat easily, because I've been having that lately and after reading the article I think maybe I should get that checked out...

[Chickvic]

Yes - I had a very 'swollen throat' feeling and when I mentioned that to my gp he did say that was part of the symptoms. I paid for someone to do the allergy testing because the dr did do a blood test but it never picked anything major up. I think the one I paid for was more sensitive. When I switched to goats milk/cheese and tortillas (no bread at all!) the symptoms reduced quite quickly. Within a couple of weeks I felt much better and my asthma hasn't been as bad either, I've only had one lot of antibiotics this year (instead of my usual week on week off!) and no time off work

My DH has just pointed out that the test the dr did was an allergy test - I'm not allergic but intolerant and there is a difference! I found my intolerance had built up to such a level that it was making me run down all the time. It may be worth looking in your area for someone to do intolerance testing - it wasn't cheap, cost me £160. But it was one of the best things I've done.

[Chickvic]

I feel I should also point out that this is just my experience and may not be true for all! You may find other ways that help you

[jam]

Thank you! I feel loads better now I've heard from someone who suffers from it. Seeing as the Lanzoprazole hasn't been doing much I think I'll try a take a few tests to see if I can whittle it down to one or two potential causes. It Sounds strange but I'm quite happy because I've found some new routes to look down, whereas before I felt as though is hit a dead end with nothing else to look for.

[Chickvic]

The dr did point out to me that sometimes there is nothing as a cause as such and you may have to live with it, but it may help if you can find things that help you or alleviate some of the symptoms

[jess1merlin]

I would ask you GP to refer you to a Gastroenterology consultant at your local hospital as there could be numerous causes for your symptoms and they should be able to give you the best advice and any tests they think might help find out what is causing this.

[..lay a little egg for me]

Hi

 

I'm not a doctor but am a medical writer and have in the past written quite a bit of stuff about reflux for various clients. My thoughts are:

 

I would definitely get the test for Helicobacter pylori. It is a bacterial infection that can cause stomach or duodenal ulcers and recent studies have suggested it may play a role in gastroesophageal reflux. The test is simple and so is the cure...a test for the presence of certain chemicals in your breath and a course of antibiotics, respectively. If your symptoms are caused by this bacteria, no amount of dietary changes are likely to cure it. So, in my opinion, the first thing is to exclude that possibility before embarking on the rather more complicated problem of finding what foods to avoid etc.

 

Stress is another well-known cause of reflux so anything you can do to reduce the stress in your life is likely to help things.

 

Also, hormone changes can cause reflux as progesterone causes the muscle that holds the sphincter at the top of the stomach closed to relax somewhat and allow reflux, so women often get reflux when pregnant or during the menopause when there is a lot of progesterone in their system. I think that birth control pills and also hormone replacement therapy for the menopause can also at least worsen reflux. You say you are at school, so clearly not menopausal! However, are there any hormone changes likely to be occurring that might account for it/worsen it??

 

Last, as others have said, referral to a consultant at your local hospital would be worthwhile.

 

Hope you find relief soon.

[Steve the Gas]

The Helico test I had was not as described on page 1 - thank my lucky stars.

However - just a word of caution here, if I may.

I thought I had got/developed IBS perhaps 7- 8 years ago, I would seem to lose the ability to get rid of gas - at both ends. I would dose up on strong pain killers and I mean the biggies like Tramadol. This would last 26- 36 hours and felt like someone had kicked me.

As of Feb 2010 - found out what it was when I had a lovely heart attack and had 6 stents put in my heart. No (IBS) since.

So please get checked out - I agree referral is the way to go.

Jam this obviuosly shouldn't apply to you - due to your age.

[Janty]

I was diagnosed with IBS about 5 or 6 years ago but was told that allergy testing wasn't available.

 

 

I sent off for one of these home tests and it was spot on. I'm no longer ill all the time and have very few symptoms now.

 

http://www.camnutri.com/food-detective-c-23.html

[Alis girls]

The helico used to be a blood test and is now a pooh as described. Not any big deal with a pot, gloves and tongue depressor begged of your friendly practice nurse The faces on folk when asked to do this are priceless but if it is positive it is easily treated beleive me. Worth the faffing about

[Alis girls]

Just in case anyone is wondering what the hell i am on about - gloves - obvious you wear them, tongue depressor wooden stick for oiking your motion into pot - seemples eh - anyone eating and perusing forum

[Christian]

I wasn't wondering actually Ali. But thanks.

[jill the potter]

I avoid bread, I always get indigestion if I eat bread, I avoid anything rich, cakes, biscuits, eggs, chocolate - anything like that. I'm not overly strict, just careful.

 

I totally agree with this -I have known for sometime but always revert to eating bread etc and suffering for it. It is not so much as a wheat allergy but more of an intolerance. It also may have something to do with yeast. Anyway if it is food related you have to eliminate one thing at a time, and for more than a week. I go for months without eating bread and think I'm ok then after a couple of weeks on bread I'm back to square one. From what I have read it is something about the variety and fermentation of wheat these days which causes a lot of people problems.

 

Of course you should always consult your GP as a precaution. Hope this helps.

 

p.s. am on bread free at the moment and after weeks of agonising heartburn am ok...you think i would learn

[Alis girls]

happy to oblige Christian