Ulcers...UGH!!

[carrbowl]

So what do you do to make yours better? I have been taking nexium twice a day for two months and havent' seen much improvement. I know my life doesn't help--one child having heart issues had to have a loop recorder inserted in his chest and the other has tonic clonic seizures after going to sleep. But I've got to do something to make these better. I don't eat much fried foods, maybe fries once a week, I'm not overweight, can't tolerate alchohol right now (which might be the real issue!!!!), don't eat large meals, the only "bad" thing I do is drink a diet coke every day....Please please please...give me some majic potion!!! : )

[TheFantasticG]

You don't smoke do you?

I was having killer hearturn. Couldn't even drink a Gatorade without ending up on my knees in pain, unable to move. I quit smoking last September. I barely get indigestion at all now. My Doc said stress could be a major contributor as well. I don't stress about anything so... When I do feel a heartburn session coming on a I take Prilosec. I find it works better than anything else for me and my bodies chemistry. Oh, and a gallon of milk.

[carrbowl]

nope..never smoked....

[SJHester]

Renae,

I am having a similar issue, not ulcers, but actually unable to swallow. had tons of tests, last possible test is next Thursday. Doing the nexium thing twice a day too, not any change. Been going on since the day before Thanksgiving (good news, i have lost 40 lbs, and am no longer over weight).

My doc is saying if this last test shows nothing, then Yoga will be my only resource, he says it's stress, if so, maybe more time in prayer will be better than yoga.

[tjavery]

Renae,

Sorry to hear that. Ulcers are no fun. I'm guessing you're talking about a stomach ulcer?

I had one earlier this year, and I think it's mostly healed at this point.

I had to:
- stop alcohol completely for about 2 months (yes, that sucked big-time)
- double up on my meds (Omeprezole - later changed to Kapedix (sp?))
- no fried foods
- cut down on greasy foods
- nothing highly acidic (tomatoes, lemons, etc.)
- cut the spicy foods (salsa, etc.)
- and I rarely drank anything carbonated - it always seemed to sting a little, so I just didn't drink many cokes

I should state that my ulcer was not the type caused by bacteria (most are, but mine wasn't), therefore antibiotics wouldn't work. Has yours been tested for that?

[carrbowl]

@ Steve...it might be worth it if I could lose some weight!!! I take it they have tested your "flapper"!!! : )

@ TJ...no they haven't tested it. MMM...I go back in for a follow gi...I will ask about that. Diet coke is really the only thing I have that I shouldn't and I'm not sure I can give that up!!! The caffiene helps keep migraines away...it may be the lesser of the evils soonn.

[Cajungaltx]

Take this with the loving care that I intend it to be said with....

You are one stressed out chick! If it were POSSIBLE... (and I know how likely that it isn't at all possible!) you need to at least stop stressing about all the 'stuff'...

You need some down time...you eat well...your darned active...and while I know 'every' woman always says they need to lose weight...you are in great shape!

Get a massage...go get dinner and eat it sitting down, without any kids... hire a maid... anything to help you reduce stress...

;-)

[TxLerman]

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

Take this with the loving care that I intend it to be said with....

You are one stressed out chick! If it were POSSIBLE... (and I know how likely that it isn't at all possible!) you need to at least stop stressing about all the 'stuff'...

You need some down time...you eat well...your darned active...and while I know 'every' woman always says they need to lose weight...you are in great shape!

Get a massage...go get dinner and eat it sitting down, without any kids... hire a maid... anything to help you reduce stress...

;-)

+1

I also suffer from stress and take nexium. One thing that helps a lot is that I take an hour long walk by myself as often as I can each week. I prefer evenings because it helps me sleep better and I have trouble sleeping. A good bit of exercise, coupled with a nice luke warm shower afterwards and it takes the edge off my stress.

[carrbowl]

Donna, don't tell anyone, but I did get a massage last week!!! It had been over a year!!! That's just wrong!!!! And you know me...I think the biggest stressor is with John and his seizures. Every night I lay in bed waiting for him to have a seizure..if he doesn't I'm it takes a long time to relax and go to sleep, if he does, it takes even longer because I lay there listening to make sure he is breathing. !!! I am in the process of changing his doctor to a better one...hopefully that will help some....

[Hanky]

I have concerns over the daily coke, would you consider dropping them for a while?

[JenJohnson79]

Originally Posted by carrbowl

@ Steve...it might be worth it if I could lose some weight!!! I take it they have tested your "flapper"!!! : )

@ TJ...no they haven't tested it. MMM...I go back in for a follow gi...I will ask about that. Diet coke is really the only thing I have that I shouldn't and I'm not sure I can give that up!!! The caffiene helps keep migraines away...it may be the lesser of the evils soonn.

When I gave up cokes; my caffiene headaches were horrible, so I drank tea, or else took a caffiene pill each day. No HEADACHES! I gave them up for a stomach ulcer as well. . . although nexium seems to be helping mine. Not as sensitive anymore.

[brewercm]

You can always try the Excedrin Migrain medicine. It's just a mixture of caffeine, acetaminaphen, and aspirin.

[tjavery]

Originally Posted by brewercm

You can always try the Excedrin Migrain medicine. It's just a mixture of caffeine, acetaminaphen, and aspirin.

While that may be a good, sneaky source of caffeine, it's actually bad advice for someone with a stomach ulcer.

NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) are harmful to the protective lining in your stomach, and prolonged use can actually lead to ulcers. The very first advice my dr. gave me was to stop taking Motrin, something that I'd done on a regular basis due to problems with my feet.

[brewercm]

Originally Posted by tjavery

While that may be a good, sneaky source of caffeine, it's actually bad advice for someone with a stomach ulcer.

NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) are harmful to the protective lining in your stomach, and prolonged use can actually lead to ulcers. The very first advice my dr. gave me was to stop taking Motrin, something that I'd done on a regular basis due to problems with my feet.

Thanks, not aware of that since I don't suffer from ulcers but do suffer from migrains. This helps some of the times for me and sometimes I just have to take my migraine meds that have side affects that kind of suck themselves but are better than the migraine.

My father jut had to have an ulcer fixed (whatever they do). He kept loosing blood and would have to have a transfusion to bring his level back up over the last couple of years. Finally got a Dr that went in and found the ulcer and said it could have been the issue. He had other things going but they should have found this sooner than they did in my opinion.

[ggeen]

I took Nexium for 4 years. 2.5 months is nothing. Keep up the good fight.