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Posted 9/15/2019 2:25 PM (GMT -5)
hi everyone
I suffer from ulcerative colitis but I've also had acid reflux issues through the years. the past week it's been extremely bad.the acid has been coming up every night up into my mouth and it's very painful . I just tried to eat a sandwich in small bites and it just was so sore going down my throat .I do have an endoscopy / colonoscopy in October . my stomach also feels very acity I'm going to go to the store and buy some Prilosec or something in the meantime I'm just kind of scared because I haven't felt this bad in the past.
any comments would be so helpful.
just a bit nervous
Thanksmile
donna
Posted 9/15/2019 7:11 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Donna, sorry about this suffering you're going through but I'm glad you're having some tests. I have a hiatal hernia which is not too severe, I guess, because I can sort of avoid reflux if I follow a few precautions. (These were orignially suggested by the doctor who diagnosed me years ago.) Since it will bother me at night when I lie down, I don't eat a large dinner and I don't eat anything after dinner. I keep the head of my mattress a little elevated and I take a Pepcid AC after dinner. I know that coffee or chocolate will trigger it so if I have any of that, it will be in the middle of the afternoon. If I drink wine with dinner, I may also end up with reflux - but not always.

Also, lying on the left side will help immensely until the antacid kicks in.

I don't know how much the UC contributes to this so this is something you need to talk to your doctors about. I do know that in my case, anxiety makes mine worse.

I wish I could help more but I'm sorry for your problem. I know it's awful.
Posted 9/16/2019 10:17 AM (GMT -5)
Hi. I have suffered with reflux/swallowing issues for many years. Recently, I had an EGD with biopsies. Luckily no abnormalities like cancer, Barrett's or strictures. The one surprise is that they discovered previously-undiagnosed Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). This is an immune/allergy condition which causes esophageal narrowing/swallowing issues due to inflammation (white blood cells called eosinophils which should not be in the esophagus). Guess this helps explain a food impaction I had a few years ago.

Currently, I'm on the six food elimination diet trial (milk, wheat, soy, eggs, peanut/tree nuts, and seafood) to help identify which food(s) is causing me these problems. Right now, after reintroducing several of the foods, I think my allergy trigger will be diary or wheat. Overall, I am having no swallowing issues at all. Even able to eat entire meals (chicken included) without needing water to help wash it down. Reflux is much improved, too.

In recent posts, I've suggested folks get tested for EoE when they get EGDs. Knowing you have it is a potential game changer, especially when you factor in that your problems might be solved or controlled with dietary changes.

Good luck.
Posted 9/18/2019 2:15 PM (GMT -5)
Hello, Donna - I'm new to this too, so this may not help as much. The people above have some good advice, so I'll let them handle that.

But it's 100% okay to be scared. I enjoy hiking and mountainclimbing and exercising, and the realization that this might get in the way of those was maybe even more scary to me than the (slight, compared to yours) difficulty swallowing.

You're doing the best thing you can, though - trying to get more information. And that might be hard, and you might have to deal with medical professionals that aren't the right ones for your issue, at first, but by trying to get this taken care of, you're confronting your fears and getting more information - to challenge things on equal ground.
Best of luck, and I really hope things improve!
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