Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Hiatal Hernia

minibabe

Recommended Posts

minibabe Contributor
minibabe
Posted

I have been in constant pain for over a month. My mom finally made me make a GI appointment. I am really scared to go. What are the treatment plans for Hiatal hernias? Has anyone had one and had surgery? I know that this is the problem because I was diagnosed with one about two years ago but i has never bothered me like this before. I am really scared :( to see what the doctor is going to say. My appointment is next wednesday.

Thanks everyone :)

Amanda NY

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


chrissy Collaborator
chrissy
Posted

more often than not, hiatal hernias in adults are treated with diet and lifestyle changes and medication. are you on a PPI? my 2 1/2 year old was born with a hiatal hernia which caused pretty severe reflux and she had surgery just before she turned 10 months old, but hiatal hernias in infants are different than hiatal hernias in adults.

minibabe Contributor
minibabe
Posted
  • Author

I was on prevacid for 4-1/2 years and it has done nothing for me. I eat antiacids like they are skittles. I live on them. I eat or drink anything and it makes me feel bloated and i feel very fatigued, I am also having some problems breathing (I am not sure if that has anything to do with it?) I will be 21 in about 1 month. When my doctor told me about this 2 years ago, she described it as being "abnormally large" now I dont know what that really means in medical terms and it really was not bothering me then, but now that it is I dont know if they can get worse or not. I am not really familar with it but all i do know is that it is making me feel like cr*p. :(

Thank you :)

Amanda NY

chrissy Collaborator
chrissy
Posted

one of my twins was having shortness of breath for quite a while before we figured out it was caused by reflux----so, yes, your hiatal hernia could be causing your breathing problems. i would like to have the surgery done on my daughter----the meds are so dang expensive. i don't know if she has a hernia or not, but she has a lot of trouble with her reflux. they do the surgery laparoscopically now, so there is minimal scarring and i have heard there is not alot of pain. eating only soft foods for a few months might be a pain, but it might be a lot better than the way you are feeling now.

i forgot to say that hiatal hernias can get worse.

trents Grand Master
trents
Posted

The most common surgery to correct a hiatial hernia is called a lap nissen, a laprascopic proceedure as the name implies. I think it involves taking a muscle from your chest wall or somwhere and wrapping it around your esophagus to create a substitute sphincter valve. This keeps the stomach contents in the stomach - theoretically. It's a lot less traumatic than the old way of repairing those hernias where they used to go in through the back of your neck. Sounds like you might be to the point where surgery is the one option left.

Steve

slpinsd Contributor
slpinsd
Posted

What are the symptoms of a hiatal hernia and how is it diagnosed? My reflux gets so bad that I feel like someone is sitting on my chest and I have difficulty breathing. I also have some kind of esophageal muscle spasms.

trents Grand Master
trents
Posted
What are the symptoms of a hiatal hernia and how is it diagnosed? My reflux gets so bad that I feel like someone is sitting on my chest and I have difficulty breathing. I also have some kind of esophageal muscle spasms.

You gottem'. Diagnosis is made with an upper GI/endoscopy. This is an extremely common medical problem and there is a higher incidence with Celiacs. I have a small one. Caught it pretty early and Protonix keeps my GERD in check.

Steve

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


minibabe Contributor
minibabe
Posted
  • Author

Thank you so much everyone. I really appericate your respones. I have been fighting reflux for over 6 years now. 4 of which i have been on prevacid. It makes me extremly uncomforable. I am really worried about scaring I dont want to have any scars on my stomach. I mean I am only 20 I love going to the beach and I consider myself to have a fit body. I would certaintly hope that it would improve my life style. How long is the healing process, because I commute back and forth to school carring a 25 pound back pack on my shoulders. I commute from Long Island to the city so it is about 2 hours. I go back to school in september. I would have to get it done at least a month before I go back to school right?

I am just extremely scared. Has anyone on this board gotten to this point where you have needed surgery. Also if you have how long did they keep you in the hospital and how long were you out of work. I also just sit at a desk all day so would I be able to go back to work sooner.

Thank you all so much again.

Amanda NY

powderprincess Rookie
powderprincess
Posted

I was recently dx with a hiatal hernia. They found it during my endoscopy for celiac. I am lucky because it rarely bothers me. Sometimes I would get the "heart attack" feeling they say is a symptom and need to take short breaths, but that goes away pretty quickly.

My Dr. told me one way to treat it is to have many small meals rather than 3 bigger ones. I have done that anyway for a long time which may be why I did not know I had an issue. Maybe small meals would help you.

chrissy Collaborator
chrissy
Posted

i can tell you about my daughter's procedure. it was called a nissen fundoplication. the top of the stomach is wrapped around the bottom of the esophagus and stitched in place, creating and artificial valve to keep stomach contents where they belong. a nissen wrap is a full wrap, a toupe wrap is a partial wrap. motility problems would one reason to do a partial wrap.

my daughter has 5 tiny little scars that are hardly visible. one below the sternum for the camera, and 2 on each side below her ribs. one to hold the stomach, one to hold the liver, and the other 2 for the surgical instruments. she went in to surgery around 9:30 in the morning----it took 3-3 1/2 hours. we only stayed one night in the hospital and went home the next evening at about 6:00. her surgery was on a thursday and i took her to church on sunday. she really did not seem to have much pain after the first couple of days.

she had to be on pureed food for about 2 months. she has never had any complications from her surgery. she cannot throw up, but she is able to burp.

there are probably different ways the surgery is done by different doctors---but at least this can give you an idea of what to expect.

minibabe Contributor
minibabe
Posted
  • Author

she can not throw up? why is that, not that I am looking to do that. Even being 20 I would still have to have the pureed food? If that was the case with me I dont know what I would do when I went back to school. Oh I also go tanning I know that it is not very good for you but I love the way it makes me look. I also only go about 1 to 2 times a week if that. Do scars tan? or would tanning make them more noticable?

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

Amanda NY

trents Grand Master
trents
Posted

Here's a link, Amanda, to the surgerical procedure we are talking about:

Open Original Shared Link

It is usual not to be able to vomit after this surgery, I think. The reason might be that vomiting involves the contraction of the stomach, which after this procedure where part of your stomach acts as a valve to close off the esophagus from reflux, would cause the esophagus to be closed off.

Steve

slpinsd Contributor
slpinsd
Posted

i had an endoscopy and nothing was mentioned about a hernia. can i assume i don't have one?

minibabe Contributor
minibabe
Posted
  • Author
i had an endoscopy and nothing was mentioned about a hernia. can i assume i don't have one?

If it was anything serious or anything that your docotor was concerened with she would have mentioned it to you. Or if you are that unsure......just call and ask. I usually dont have a problem with doctors returing my phone calls.

Good Luck

Amanda

Steve.....thank you for the website. :)

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Wheatwacked
      - Wheatwacked replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium. A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake. With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones. Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 1...
    2. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it. Gluten is the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part. Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein. Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Scott Adams's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3. Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C. Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine. Weight...
    4. Florence Lillian
      - Florence Lillian replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      11

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free. I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree...
    5. catnapt
      - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      3

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      highly unlikely NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,356
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    JAGAPG
    Newest Member
    JAGAPG
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Raising you vitamin D will increase absorption of calcium automatically without supplementation of calcium.  A high PTH can be caused by low D causing poor calcium absorption; not insuffient calcium intake.  With low D your body is not absorbing calcium from your food so it steals it from your bones.  Heart has priority over bone. I've been taking 10,000 IU D3 a day since 2015.  My doctor says to continue. To fix my lactose intolerance, lots of lactobacillus from yogurts, and brine fermented pickles and saurkraut and olives.  We lose much of our ability to make lactase endogenosly with maturity but a healthy colony of lactobacillus in our gut excretes lactase in exchange for room and board. The milk protein in grass fed milk does not bother me. It tastes like the milk I grew up on.  If I drink commercial milk I get heartburn at night. Some experts estimate that 90% of us do not eat Adequite Intake of choline.  Beef and eggs are the principle source. Iodine deficiency is a growing concern.  I take 600 mcg a day of Liquid Iodine.  It and NAC have accelerated my healing all over.  Virtually blind in my right eye after starting antihypertensive medication and vision is slowly coming back.  I had to cut out starches because they drove my glucose up into the 200+ range.  I replaced them with Red Bull for the glucose intake with the vitamins, minerals and Taurine needed to process through the mitochodria Krebs Cycle to create ATP.  Went from A1c 13 down to 7.9.  Work in progress. Also take B1,B2,B3,B5,B6. Liquid Iodine, Phosphatidyl Choline, Q10, Selenium, D and DHEA.     Choline supplemented as phosphatidylcholine decreases fasting and postmethionine-loading plasma homocysteine concentrations in healthy men +    
    • knitty kitty
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @catnapt, Wheat germ has very little gluten in it.  Gluten is  the carbohydrate storage protein, what the flour is made from, the fluffy part.  Just like with beans, there's the baby plant that will germinate  ("germ"-inate) if sprouted, and the bean part is the carbohydrate storage protein.   Wheat germ is the baby plant inside a kernel of wheat, and bran is the protective covering of the kernel.   Little to no gluten there.   Large amounts of lectins are in wheat germ and can cause digestive upsets, but not enough Gluten to provoke antibody production in the small intestines. Luckily you still have time to do a proper gluten challenge (10 grams of gluten per day for a minimum of two weeks) before your next appointment when you can be retested.    
    • knitty kitty
      Supplements for those Diagnosed with Celiac Disease

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @asaT, I'm curious to know whether you are taking other B vitamins like Thiamine B1 and Niacin B3.  Malabsorption in Celiac disease affects all the water soluble B vitamins and Vitamin C.  Thiamine and Niacin are required to produce energy for all the homocysteine lowering reactions provided by Folate, Cobalamine and Pyridoxine.   Weight gain with a voracious appetite is something I experienced while malnourished.  It's symptomatic of Thiamine B1 deficiency.   Conversely, some people with thiamine deficiency lose their appetite altogether, and suffer from anorexia.  At different periods on my lifelong journey, I suffered this, too.   When the body doesn't have sufficient thiamine to turn food, especially carbohydrates, into energy (for growth and repair), the body rations what little thiamine it has available, and turns the carbs into fat, and stores it mostly in the abdomen.  Consuming a high carbohydrate diet requires additional thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  Simple carbohydrates (sugar, white rice, etc.) don't contain thiamine, so the body easily depletes its stores of Thiamine processing the carbs into fat.  The digestive system communicates with the brain to keep eating in order to consume more thiamine and other nutrients it's not absorbing.   One can have a subclinical thiamine insufficiency for years.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so the symptoms can wax and wane mysteriously.  Symptoms of Thiamine insufficiency include stunted growth, chronic fatigue, and Gastrointestinal Beriberi (diarrhea, abdominal pain), heart attack, Alzheimer's, stroke, and cancer.   Thiamine improves bone turnover.  Thiamine insufficiency can also affect the thyroid.  The thyroid is important in bone metabolism.  The thyroid also influences hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and menopause.  Vitamin D, at optimal levels, can act as a hormone and can influence the thyroid, as well as being important to bone health, and regulating the immune system.  Vitamin A is important to bone health, too, and is necessary for intestinal health, as well.   I don't do dairy because I react to Casein, the protein in dairy that resembles gluten and causes a reaction the same as if I'd been exposed to gluten, including high tTg IgA.  I found adding mineral water containing calcium and other minerals helpful in increasing my calcium intake.   Malabsorption of Celiac affects all the vitamins and minerals.  I do hope you'll talk to your doctor and dietician about supplementing all eight B vitamins and the four fat soluble vitamins because they all work together interconnectedly.  
    • Florence Lillian
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Florence Lillian · Posted

      Hi Jane: You may want to try the D3 I now take. I have reactions to fillers and many additives. Sports Research, it is based in the USA and I have had no bad reactions with this brand. The D3 does have coconut oil but it is non GMO, it is Gluten free, Soy free, Soybean free and Safflower oil free.  I have a cupboard full of supplements that did not agree with me -  I just keep trying and have finally settled on Sports Research. I take NAKA Women's Multi full spectrum, and have not felt sick after taking 2 capsules per day -  it is a Canadian company. I buy both from Amazon. I wish you well in your searching, I know how discouraging it all is. Florence.  
    • catnapt
      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

      By catnapt · Posted

      highly unlikely  NOTHING and I mean NOTHING else has ever caused me these kinds of symptoms I have no problem with dates, they are a large part of my diet In fact, I eat a very high fiber, very high vegetable and bean diet and have for many years now. It's considered a whole foods plant based or plant forward diet (I do now eat some lean ground turkey but not much) I was off dairy for years but recently had to add back plain yogurt to meet calcium needs that I am not allowed to get from supplements (I have not had any problem with the yogurt)   I eat almost no processed foods. I don't eat out. almost everything I eat, I cook myself I am going to keep a food diary but to be honest, I already know that it's wheat products and also barley that are the problem, which is why I gradually stopped eating and buying them. When I was eating them, like back in early 2024, when I was in the middle of moving and ate out (always had bread or toast or rolls or a sub or pizza) I felt terrible but at that time was so busy and exhausted that I never stopped to think it was the food. Once I was in my new place, I continued to have bread from time to time and had such horrible joint pain that I was preparing for 2 total knee replacements as well as one hip! The surgery could not go forward as I was (and still am) actively losing calcium from my bones. That problem has yet to be properly diagnosed and treated   anyway over time I realized that I felt better when I stopped eating bread. Back at least 3 yrs ago I noticed that regular pasta made me sick so I switched to brown rice pasta and even though it costs a lot more, I really like it.   so gradually I just stopped buying and eating foods with gluten. I stopped getting raisin bran when I was constipated because it made me bloated and it didn't help the constipation any more (used to be a sure bet that it would in the past)   I made cookies and brownies using beans and rolled oats and dates and tahini and I LOVE them and have zero issues eating those I eat 1 or more cans of beans per day easily can eat a pound of broccoli - no problem! Brussels sprouts the same thing.   so yeh it's bread and related foods that are clearly the problem  there is zero doubt in my mind    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.