Hello Everyone!

Please forgive me if I am in the wrong place with my question.
I am 42 and so utterly confused! Recently I have had the delightful experience of heart palps. Had not a clue what or why - now I am leaning toward peri as my cycles have begun to change as well and I've had a hot flash or two as well as night sweats. One of my many questions is this:
Does gerd/acid reflux/heartburn or other chest sensations connect with peri? I'm never nauseous but have a feeling of swallowing around a lump in my throat. Also sometimes I can feel what starts as mild heartburn all the way to my upper back-like I have been sitting too long in one position-very stiff. This can happen if I have eaten or not-sometimes in the morning before I have eaten a thing. ANY AND ALL comments welcome! Thank you so much for being here!
:0) Jan

Hi there,
I was diagnosed with AC/Gerd by way of a barium swallow a couple of years ago. I would have been 48 at the time. I would never have made the connection to perimenopause, but I have been told by my doctor that hormonal fluctuations can certainly bring it on. Also, and probably one of the biggest issues is stress to aggravate Gerd. Certainly makes sense to me as I was beginning to really feel anxious about all kinds of peri symptoms around that time.
I was prescribed Prilosec which I think in the States you can get over the counter. The first pill did the trick for me and you don't know how happy I was to get rid of all of those nasty sensations (I was sure I had some terrible terminal disease or was having a constant heart attack). Since then I've come to realize that some foods are off limits if you want to keep those symptoms at bay; coffee, chocolate, nuts, tomatoes and FAT!!!! Basically most acidic foods. Trying to keep your body alkaline is also good for AR. You can find lists of foods online that can help you do that.
I've also started taking probiotics in the morning and at night which helps. DGL (liqorice) is also very good for your stomach.
If it gets bad, I would suggest a trip to the doctor to confirm it's what you have, then start eliminating those foods that aggravate symptoms and make a trip to the health food store for the other items I mentioned.
I know lots of people who are or who have suffered with GERD. While it's not fun, it can be controlled.
Good luck.....;-)

Hi,
Here's a link to a recent thread where I told how I suddenly developed GERD, how it was causing heart palps, and what I did:

http://www.power-surge.com/php/forums/inde...mp;#entry245472

Hope this helps.

Oh thank you both so very much for your insights!! I actually feel that I am not imagining these sensations now and there is a connection! Wonderful advice - I need to re read now and take some notes. I thought I would start a little journal to track the timing and severity with my cycles. Thank bunches again!!!
:0) Jan

froggin: Lump in the throat could be many things...definitely GERD, but anxiety, swollen glands, laryngitis, etc. If it persists, I would get it checked out...

I had an interesting conversation with my kid's ortho on Saturday. Started with talking about coffee and he said that he loves, loves, loves it but can't have it. Long story short, he has GERD. Took himself to the hospital when he didn't know what it was because he thought he was have a coronary episode. They gave him a shot of Malox and told him he had acid reflux. I also had TERRIBLE heard palps and pain in the upper middle back with the AR (before meds). Also, had the lump in the throat.
Apparently, the esophagus runs parallel to the aorta and can create that feeling if the acid coming up is bad enough. Fun stuff!

Arrrghh! I am such a coffee lover too! I have recently switched to decaf (when I don't cheat) and that helped with the heartburn thing. I suppose I should cut it out all together-along with all of my other favorite caffeines-lol! I need to make a list of 'no-no's' and see if cutting out a little at a time makes a difference also. I don't see my nurse practitioner again until March-she and I have hashed over peri symptoms and I'm not feeling poorly enough to go to the Dr.--If anything persists or worsens I will make an appt. for sure. Thank you BUNCHES!!

froggin: You are not alone in the coffee dept. I would give up all my other other vices (geez, do I even have any left? I rarely drink anymore, I don't smoke anymore, sex is...huh, what is sex? lol...okay, so maybe I watch too much tv.) anyways, my point is: I LOVE my java! I'm a true coffee lover; nothing puts me in a better mood than a fine pot of coffee brewing..the aroma, the steaming cup with it's dark, mellow-goodness. It's one thing I just refuse to give up, and I should. I have borderline high blood pressure, I'm anxious, and I have GERD.

But I love it!

There's more to coffee than just the fabulous taste and smell. I love the conviviality of it; the way it universally brings people together. Somehow, no matter how bad life gets, it always lighten up a notch or two if I brew a fresh pot of joe....

Hello, froggin3 -

I'm 51 and was diagnosed with acid reflux/gerd, when I was 40. I wasn't in peri back then, so I don't think my hormones had anything to do with it - yet, it was weird how it first happened: As if out of nowhere, one day I woke up with what felt like a lump or ball in my throat. I, too, had to swallow around it. Well, I waited a week or two to see if it would go away, and when it didn't I went to my internist, who said I had acid reflux, and he prescribed Prilosec (I think it was). For me, the "ball" got worse and even grew! I just knew it was probably something horrible in my throat, because it felt like a tennis ball had been stuffed down my esophagus, and it wouldn't go away. I had alot of anxiety about it.

After about two months of agony with the whole thing, and still taking the Prilosec, I decided to see an ENT. He sent me for a barium swallow, which revealed nothing wrong with me - and the ENT said that the Prilosec had dried up my tissues, which made the "lump/ball" sensation even worse. So, I went off the Prilosec completely and just tried to watch my diet.

Finally, the ball went away - but I still struggle with occasional reflux/gerd, though I haven't had that ball sensation come back. For me, when I recognize that my esophagus is feeling weird, or tight, I immediately take a couple of tablespoons of Peptol Bismol, and it usually works.

Acid reflux/gerd can really depress a person. It's a condition I wouldn't wish on anyone, because it affects a person's life, terribly, when the symptoms are severe.

I hope you feel better! Try the Peptol (can't hurt!) and watch your diet, carefully. The gerd should eventually subside, but it takes awhile and might even come back from time to time.

Sweet: Great posts. A few more suggestions for GERD:

1. Sleep with your head elevated. My doctor told me I should actually elevate my bed with some boards, but I just use 3 pillows.

2. If you take Prilosec, make sure you take it first thing in the morning, at least a half an hour before any food or liquid touches your lips.

3. Don't overeat. This is sooooo important. The typical stomach can comfortably accomodate an amount of food approximately the size of two balled-up fists (your own). Eat six times a day, but smaller meals...rather than 2-3 big meals.

4. Never lie down after you eat. Stay upright, even if it means you have to sit up in bed.

5. This last one is something I discovered from many years of trial and error: Don't eat fruit on anything but an empty stomach. Raw fruit digests very quickly, and if you have eaten anything before it (bread, meat, any carbs) it will sit on top of what you've already eaten and create gas, acid, and pain. The worst thing you can do if you have GERD is to eat an apple after a large meal (I would literally be doubled over in pain.)

Hope I helped some~!

Those are great suggestions, RoundRobin! Thanks.

That last one - about not eating anything with fruit - is one I hadn't heard of before, but it really makes sense. I think that people have a tendency to overeat, too, which can cause or aggravate gerd. Sometimes, when I'm having a bout with my reflux, I can't even watch t.v. commercials about food -- some of them are disgusting! Especially when they advertise drippy hamburgers with chili fries, or some such thing. Eewww!!! I have to eat very bland food - nothing spicy or too acidic. And you're right - our stomachs don't need heaps of food at a time - just whatever will fit in our cupped hands - which should be a smaller amount that most people ingest when they eat.

OMG - I have not thought of hardly ANY of this info!! Thank you all so much! As far as eating/overeating...I am one who will forget to eat unless I am at work! I sub teach and feel great most of the time while 'on schedule'. While I am at home, I am so scattered (much like my posts!) and at times forget to eat-like I just had lunch a few minutes ago-lol! I had no idea about not eating fruit with a meal! I am a huge carb fan! I rarely eat meat-just because I don't like it much, I am not a strict vegetarian. Today I am swallowing around a 'marble' while yesterday it felt like a golf ball! I have no sleep or night time issues at all-just fatigued alllllll the time! I sleep on 2 puffy pillows so my head is elevated (compared to the rest of me, lol) What I really, really need to do is adjust my bedtime (too much of a night owl) and structure my eating habits better. I suppose I should give up my Hershey Kiss fix before bed time too-aargh!! A nice glass of wine sounds really good....but not toooo close to bed time-I can't tell you all how much your support means to me! My nurse practitioner is a lovely lady in her 50s, so she's been there, done that...at my last visit, she was telling me about taking 3 motrins in the morning and 3 at bedtime and was trying to explain the benefits...I was getting the numbers and whatnot all confused, so she began to draw me a very good diagram/chart....ON MY PAPER GOWN! lol!! She totally understood everything I had to tell her the last time I was there which was regarding really heavy periods (for me) and that was the first time I had ever heard the term 'peri'. She said maybe, maybe not for me at that time, but now I can tick off a few more signs/symptoms with everyone's help here. (((HUGS TO ALL)))!

Hi froggin'! Love the name! It's not so much avoiding fruit with a meal, as no fruit after a meal.

Eating fruit on a completely empty stomach is the key. In the past, I forgot, and had several slicex of watermelon after stuffing myself with hamburgers and hotdogs at a summer picnic, only to find that I'm doubled over with pain! Gas in the digestive tract can be excruiating, and mimic other, much more serious conditions...

Ahhh... and I just re read where it says your fruit will sit on top of whatever you have just eaten. So fruit with a meal is ok, just not as like a dessert so to speak. So my lunch today was an english muffin and applesauce-which is a typical lunch for me-lol - sometimes cheerios mixed with applesauce...lol. I rarely get the doubled over pain no matter what I eat-it's just this annoying heartburn feeling and, of course, my 'marble' which I cannot feel right now, knock on wood!!!
((HUGS))

Many things can cause those symptoms. I tend to get a lump in the the throat from anxiety. It sometimes takes weeks for it to subside and it is a most uncomfortable, scary feeling. Hiatal hernia can cause a lot of upper digestive issues and can even mimic heart symptoms. I also have one of those, so I do speak from experience. Anxiety makes all symptoms worse, believe me.

Hearburn issues started in my early 40's and I was living on Tums for quite a few years. I was on Nexium until my insurance refused to pay for it anymore. Now I've been on Prilosec for a while and I'm blessedly heartburn free. I still suffer from hernia symptoms if I'm very stressed and don't watch my diet. I also have to remember to sleep elevated.

About 7 years ago, I had the lump feeling in the throat, after many tests, the doc that I loved and wish I had back again (he's in another state) diagnosed me with IBS. That is a common symptom of IBS also. Plus I had a bit of health anxiety back then because of the belly troubles, nothing like my anxiety now though!

Hang in there and if you are really worried, have it checked out.

Kim

How odes IBS cause a lump in your throat? I constantly have a lump in my throat and with it comes lots of burping. They said i also have IBS, just wondering what the connection is and how do you control your IBS?

My IBS comes and goes, some weeks just fine, and others, awful. Seems like when stress is up so is the IBS, sometimes it hits after an event, days later, and doesn't give up for a while. It happens even with good things that make me excited. I haven't come up with anything solid to help, I do try aloe vera water, protonics, etc, but it just has to run its course, at least for me.

I hope you feel better. I get the lump from gerd and use prilosec when it's really bad, first thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything.

Good luck.

My IBS comes and goes, some weeks just fine, and others, awful. Seems like when stress is up so is the IBS, sometimes it hits after an event, days later, and doesn't give up for a while. It happens even with good things that make me excited. I haven't come up with anything solid to help, I do try aloe vera water, protonics, etc, but it just has to run its course, at least for me.

I hope you feel better. I get the lump from gerd and use prilosec when it's really bad, first thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything.

Good luck.

Hello ladies. The lump in your throat is called "Globus Hystericus" and its the bodies self defence mechanism for preventing acid damaging the throat. It can also be caused by anxiety, I should know, I've had both for years and have not come to any harm so far!

Hi
I dont know if this is related to your problem or not, but it is related to GERD and I think it's something everyone needs to know.

My husband was diagnosed with GERD over 10 yrs ago, and ever since then, he had to take a prescription medicine for it every day (I think the last one he was taking was RANITIDINE, but there were others before that). He also had to be very careful what he ate (e.g., orange juice and tomatoes were forbidden, along with other foods that would aggravate his problem). He also had to change various other things in his lifestyle like not eating right before bed and so many other things.

He was told by the doctor that he would have to take this medicine for the rest of his life to control his GERD.

So he resigned himself to the fact that he would always have this condition and would always be on this prescription (which wasn't cheap!) and would never again eat oranges etc etc, since that's what the doctors said.

But it turns out, they were all WRONG!

He happened to read something online one day about somebody who was able to get rid of their GERD and get off and stay off their medication by taking an antibiotic!

Next time he went to the doc, he mentioned this to them, and with some reluctance, they prescribed him FLAGYL, an antibiotic. He only had to take it for one week, and when the Flagyl was gone, so was his GERD! I guess that means it's actually a bacterial infection.

It has been over three years now since he took the Flagyl, and he is completely free of GERD still, and he can now eat anything he wants and he takes absolutely no medication for it, not even TUMS or Rolaids or anything. He never has heartburn anymore and it's completely gone.

That was all it took.

After all those years of prescription pills for this and being told he would always have to keep taking them and having to keep making doctor visits regularly, and that was all they had to do after all.

Now you tell me that isn't a racket.

I would never have believed it myself if I'd just heard about this happening, so I understand if you're skeptical (especially in light of what this says about our medical professionals putting profit motive over the health of their patients!) But if you're in this same situation, if I were you, I'd at least give it a try. I don't think it can hurt. And I do think it will help! I just know it did for him and I still cant believe it.

I am so disillusioned with our doctors from this incident. He's never talked to them about this after he took that Flagyl, so we don't know what they would have to say in their defense, but I can't imagine that there would be a whole lot that they could say. I guess it's just all about money, same as with everything else in life, but I always thought that with doctors and nurses and all those people you trust with your very health, who are supposed to be taking care of us and looking out for our best interests, etc., that it would be different. Now I don't.

So I think it's a good idea for us to spread the word around so more people can get off that prescription and quit lining the pockets of the doctors and drug companies and whoever else is profiting from this scam. Makes me wonder how many other things there must be like this that we still don't know about.

Hope this helps someone!

Sun: Welcome to PS. Your story struck a chord with me, because I too, have IBS and GERD and for years, I took prescription Nexium (at a $50 monthly copay) and then my insurance company wouldn't cover it anymore, so I switched to Prilosec. A lot of Prilosec.

As the others have said, IBS is a very weird, ever-changing, variable disease. I really think it is a catch-all phrase for a whole variety of mouth, throat, stomach, intestinal, and colonic problems (notice I started at the top and went down ) I've had months at a time where I'm perfectly regular; never get heartburn, I'm not constipated, and my stomach is quiet. Then, out of the blue, (and often on vacaton ), I'll start having chest pains that make me think of heart attack, or my bowels will get completely messed up (I recently had diarrhea for six weeks; SIX weeks...and then one day, poof! it just stopped.) Other symptoms: metallic taste in mouth, difficulty swallowing, bloating, constipation. It's very frustrating.

But I digress. When I was going through the whole six weeks of diarrhea, I insisted on a course of antibiotics..broad spectrum. My condition was strange; i would have loose bowels only in the morning....it would awaken me at 6 am and I'd go at least 30 times until 10 am and then it would stop completely for the rest of the day. So my gastro doc gave me a script for Cipro, which I took.

And guess what? My GERD went away. I haven't popped a Prilosec since. Coincidence? Maybe. Will it come back? Probably. But in the meantime, I'm enjoying the $30 of month (the co-pay on Prilosec) that I'm saving...

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to say that my lump in the throat feeling has totally disappeared....along with any feeling of heartburn.....I'm recording all of my info to see if there is any kind of pattern to it since this just hit me out of the blue a few weeks back. Now I am looking forward (not!) to my period on Sunday and what do ya know....it began this morning, sort of. I am on bcp and have never missed a pill. I did take last Sunday's 2 hours late, but was told that this is not considered a missed pill, so not to do anything differently such as take 2 or something like that. Whoever said something like, 'one thing stops and another starts...' was so totally correct! Thank you for so many responses-!!

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