Irritation In Stomach

[mamaw]

My brother just went through the endo and the colonoscopy. Of course he thinks I'm crazy when I mention celiacs, but I begged him to have the bioposies completed so I think the doc did them but I can't be sure. But the doc told him he has inflamation in the esopagus and stomach and told him to take pepcid or a product like that . The doc then said he was fine. Meanwhile he is gassy, overweigh,aches all over, burps alot, is fatigued and lifeless at times. I'm still not convinced he isn't gluten intolerant. I'm intolerant as well as one grandson but my daughter and another grandson are full blown celiac. Plus I suspect my father who is now deceased possibly had celiac's .....

What do you think???? I did not have the typical symptons of celiacs either.

mamaw

[jenvan]

Did the doc at all mention the state of your brother small intestine? With you family history and his symptoms, it is definitely possible he has Celiac or GI. Has he ever had the bloodwork done or tried the gluten-free diet for a period of time? Also, if your brother has moderate to severe GERD, I'd say pepcid is not strong enough for him. Did the doc mention how inflammed his esopaghus was or if he had to be dialated?

[trents]

Irritation of the esophagus (GERD)is nothing to take lightly. It can lead to deadly bleeding if an artery is eaten through or to cancer (Barrets disease). This problem your brother is having is common, I think, with Celiacs. I have it. I would suggest one of the Proton pump inhibitors such as Protonix or Prylosec instead of Pepcid. They offer superior protection and you do not develop tolerance to the medication's effects, i.e, you do not have to keep icreasing the dosage over time to get the same effect and they are very safe meds to take on a long term basis. Few if any side effects.

[mamaw]

Today my brother tells me they now have him on prilosec. And I guess I forgot that he gets a potty call directly after eating.... I truly believe he had a problem with wheat & gluten but as long as there is a doctor telling him no and basically laughing at me begging him to get tested he will never believe me... He says I look fine and healthy for a person my age....I guess I can only lead him to the water but I can't force him to drink. I just hate it when some docs thinks this is a in the head problem with no real merit......

My other brother went on vacation with us and when he ate alot he instantly got the runs and I took notice that was alway when he ate bread stuff.... He blamed it on eating to much but I can't see eating or overeating would give someone the big D!!!

Any suggestions on how to convince these jugheads that this is a real deal?????

thanks

mamaw