upper central stomach ache, pains in left side and reflux

[susie1]

Thankyou for your reply.

I know you are probably right. Can I reflux/gerd also cause the pain under my left rib which is pretty constant? It feels like everything is twisted. my husband has lived with my HA for years but is struggling to be supportive now - which I completely understand. it jsu feels so scary

[poppy77]

Yes, especially if you have a small hiatus hernia. Most hiatus hernias are the sliding type (the hernia part slides up causing the reflux and down again). Many people report feeling discomforts in the abdominal area under the ribs. Hiatus hernias are very common, most people who have them don't have symptoms so don't even know they have one. Intense exercise, lifting weights, constipation, pregnancy, childbirth amongst other things can cause them. Mine was probably caused by giving birth to three big babies (I've just turned 40).

[susie1]

Thankyou for your reply. I know I just have to try and get on with this. I have a fantastic GP and I am going to try and get in and see her before Christmas - just scared in case she suggests tests - which will be after Christmas and it's the waiting that will send me into a spin. perhaps though I am jumping the gun and need to try and apply the strategies I've been taught. Can anything be done about the hernia other than surgery?

[poppy77]

How old are you Susie?

[susie1]

55. That's what scares me the most. all these years of HA and now I really am in the cancer age bracket

[Fishmanpa]

Good advice Poppy! One more thing. THE FODMAP DIET!

My wife and I both have reflux. We take Protonix and have followed the FODMAP for a couple of years now. We made a list of foods that aggravate it and avoid those as well.

Just as an example... Tomato sauce always messes with us. Last night, we made fresh sauce with the last of our home grown tomatoes. It was delish but I woke up at 1am with acid in my throat and had to swig some Mylanta. Same thing happens with pizza. It is what it is I'm afraid

Positive thoughts

[poppy77]

You probably have very simple acid reflux made worse by anxiety. Even if you have a small hiatus hernia, all that will generally be done is PPIs or another acid suppressant type like Zantac, lifestyle changes (such as weight loss advice if you carry too much weight, raising your bed head, cutting down on caffeine and alcohol which can relax the sphincter between the oesophegus and stomach, not eating close to bedtime etc). Only in extreme cases will they operate. But there is that option if necessary.

I think, you will find, that once you get the anxiety under control, along with the ppi, you will be back to normal in no time at all!

Definitely speak to your Dr though as he/she will have the best advice especially about controlling/managing the anxiety and the reflux.

---------- Post added at 20:41 ---------- Previous post was at 20:41 ----------

Too much tomato seems to mess with me as well!

[susie1]

Thankyou. Just you both replying helps me no end.

[jojo2316]

I have left side pain under my rib right now! Also worried it is cancer of course. I do suffer from crippling HA and had a gastroscope fairly recently which showed some gastritis. I'm not sa re if my symptoms are caused by this, hyper vigilance, or.... something much worse (this last option is the one my brain always wants to jump to!)
So - I do relate to you. Good luck managing your anxiety.
Enjoy christmas

[poppy77]

Jojo, if you had a scope done recently and they said it was gastritis, that's what it will be. Things like stomach cancer are usually diagnosed in more progressed stages due to the fact that they usually have few symptoms earlier on. A scope would see these things clearly. Gastritis is usually dealt with a double dose of a PPI for a short while then reduced to a single dose and then off.