indigestion

[selphie]

good evening everyone wow been a while since ive posted on the site cant believe i even remembered my log in details tbh :ohmy: but i did and here i am still worrying about everything. im still on citalopram which does help. just wondering ive had indigestion now for two weeks wit really bad heartburn. im on lansoprazole which usually helps but this time its not really working.

could this be another symptom of the dreaded anxiety??. i thought it could be me and the fact that i do like a drink it does seem to calm me down but i thought this could be my problem but still got it. its leading me to worry more and have no sleep.

im a nan looking after 3 of them when their mum is at work so i need to be at full strength. they keep me going keep me smiling too. i fear this tummy of mine us starting to take over again and im dreading that. just looking for some advice maybe someone else whose got the same thing many thanks

[selphie]

would like to add ive not drank for over a week

[Mrsimpkiss]

Hi, I stumbled on your previous posts from 2015 about your chronic tickly cough so wanted to speak to you too see if that had resolved. I have been suffering the same thing for months, with tight chest and back, breathlessness, mild discomfort in throat, palpitations, stopped heart beat etc. I've been xrayed, blood tested, and had an ekg. All clear. I coughed blood 2 years ago too. But lately it's the cough which drives me mad.

As for your indigestion? That's a very common problem with anxiety. I've had indigestion problems pretty much all my adult life. I'm 52 now. I've had 100 symptoms, some chronic that genuinely felt life threatening. But guess what? 10 years of health anxiety, and no real health issues, even after the 100 doctors visits, or 10 hospital visits. The thing is, we have to bring down our anxiety levels with constant self work to recover, or we will just keep getting ill over the next symptom or sensation. We need to lose the fear of the fear itself. Journalling every day is key for this. By writing down how we feel, every day, bad and good, we can see the patterns of where we actually have better days, and over time it helps us recover. Also avoiding stressful situations whenever possible. Trying to lift our moods with a good comedy and uplifting music. And most importantly, an understanding counsellor. You can find many on the anxiety centre website. We need to bring our anxiety levels back to normal so our mind and body can recover. It doesn't happen overnight. It can be months, or a few years. Yes, it's hard work, but it's better than a lifetime of suffering.

I'm 90% better than I was, but still struggle a bit. This cough is more of an annoyance than complete dread that it's cancer. I still fear cancer because it killed my brother and father, who I cared for. This is what triggered my health anxiety journey. It is hell, but you can get through it. I was absolutely terrible 4 years ago. But now, I'm doing better. The setbacks don't scare me as much. I ignore things that bother me physically. If they're bad I go the doctors (which I hate) but I still go and face it, instead of creating a thousand dreadful situations in my head that aren't even real anyway.

I hope you find some comfort in this message if you read it. I wish you well in 2023, and beyond.

[serith]

I've had a cough after eating for almost 3 years now. I honestly never worried that it was cancer -- I did some googling and it actually helped, because some website said "unexplained chronic coughing is the number one reason for non-routine doctor visits"-- a huge number of people have unexplained chronic coughs-- when I told the doctor about it, she said that the only thing to do to diagnosis anything was an endoscopy, but hinted, without anything saying it, that there was no reason at all for an endoscopy.

(I said "I think it's because my coffee is too strong?" and she said something like "do you believe that's the reason?... because otherwise we'd have to do an endoscopy." Like she was fine with me believing that was the reason and leaving it at that, lol).

[Whizz]

I have "silent reflux". No PPI's work, though Omeprazole helps for the more classic indigestion systems.

A cough is also part of silent reflux, as is throat clearing, nasal drip, horseness etc.

I'd suggest to tell your GP as you might need to change over meds, some people have great success with one PPI, while others find certain types don't do a thing. It can be a bit of mix and match thing. You should also look at your diet and try to stop the more acidic foods and see how you go.