Hi Janet
I'm not surprised it had that effect - [url]see here[/url]. Sounds like A&E is the best place for her - but make sure she has enough money for a taxi home if they decide to send her home at 4am as some old lady was from a hospital near here and no one checked she had any money 😡
I'm sorry you are having so much to cope with. Do look after yourself!
I rea the side effects and was horrified - she did also and her Dr said to stay on them no longer than a month because the side effects were bad and some I do believe not reversible.
I'm quite annoyed with her GP's because even after an endoscopy which showed the ulcers and adhesions she was referred back to her GP - it was bad - I saw the printout and cannot believe that she was not referred straight on to a specialist in this. I have believed all away along the line and the number of times she's been to the Doc that they it was evident they didn't have enough knowledge to treat her - why did they not refer her to a consultant after the results of the encoscopy?
She has suffered horrendously, and more so with living on her own and no family and what friends she classed as "friends" just haven't wanted to know - shows who your true friends are in a time of crisis!
Caroline as a practitioner - in your opinion do you think she could be sorted out by going to see an alternative therapist who gives natural remedies, supplements etc. to heal her gut and get rid of the acid and basically just to get her back to good health again so she can eat and be pain and fear free?
I believe it is likely that something can be done to help her heal her gut by using suitable foods and food supplements and some herbal remedies, It will take a bit of time but the outcome may possibly more beneficial than using pharmaceuticals which have too many side effects.
I know I have posted often about Liz Lipski's Digestive wellness - an excellent self-help book and well worth getting. Then I suggest you download [url]this book[/url] which will give you a reason why things can go wrong and what happens when it does go wrong and how to deal with it. I suspect she fits into both categories.
A [url]registered Nutritional Therapist [/url]is trained to deal with these sort of problems and solutions, and most will do telephone or Skype consultations. Well worth a try. If they feel it is too much for them (eg newly qualified) ask who might be able to recommend.
Thanks Caroline -I've given her the name of a woman called Rhumana who practices in Newcastle, and has wrote articles in the Evening chronicle and does seem to be very good - she had a call booked but she cancelled it and I asked her why because she could at least talk to her - she said she is going to rebook the call.
If it was me after all the problems with allopathic medication etc. I know the road I would be going down and I've tried to tell her this - and that at least any side effects or aggravations would be so much less, if any. She's been a bit better over the weekend since the hiatus of Friday although far from well or cured but I have a feeling that after restarting the slow release Metformin on Monday, allbeit half the dose she was on, the problems are going to restart all over again. She said she was going to ask for another diabetic tablet after everything seemed to be pointing towards Metformin also causing problems along with all the other antacide meds she has had but Doc said it was the best tablet and to try half the dose as there would be a level she could tolerate but once found she would need to back it up with another tablet to support it! After she said that unfortunately Metformin was well known for causing stomach issues! She said she would give the half dose another go so will need to see if the reduced dose causes a problem - somehow I think it will.
I'll pass on the information you have given to her and see what she thinks.
Thanks for your help Caroline.
Can anyone offer any advice - not for me but my cousin.
She had an endoscopy after a ton of problems with stomach problem and acid reflux and it showed that she has adhesions and tiny ulcers on her stomach.
Omazoprole and an anti sick pill created a ton of problems i.e. breathing problems, continous coughing, swollen legs and feet, Lansaprozole looks like it has started to do the same after 2 days taking it - she rang today and said she has passed water every 10 mins during the night (she is also diabetic). i feel the problems have gone on too long (7 months now) and she should be referred to a specialist. She rings me some days as she is so ill and she is in tears - she lives 35 miles away from me and lives on her own and I really do feel for her. She has literally no-one - my hands are tied with my mum being in a home after a stroke and me being her only visitor but it is coming to a point where I may have to go and stay with her she is so ill.
She reckons she is ill if she takes medication and ill if she doesn't so is there anything that she can take that will help her until she gets to see a specialist.
I'm at my wits end at the moment with the stress of not only my mum but her and everything else that seems to be going on at the moment.
I think a good probiotic etc. digestive enzyme she would benefit from but I'm not an expert but there must be something or someone that can help her. She can't eat currently has this diarrohea but going around so it's not good.
Anyone help?
Not sure if she is still having problems or not, but I suffer from a multitude of gastrointestinal issues. Your cousins story and my story are mildly different. I've been diagnosed with IBS, GERD, and pleurisy. All effects of not having a gallbladder to help digest and filter out toxins in the food that I eat. I've been battling with severe GI problems since I got my gallbladder taken out at the age of 14, and the longer I have to deal with these things, the worse they get or the more problems arise. It wasn't until 3 years ago that I became so ill I could no longer work for the fear of being in immense pain or being stuck in the bathroom constantly for long periods of time. Hard to keep down a job with all of that, yet these digestive issues are not taken as seriously as they definitely should be. Multiple doctor's later and many prescriptions later I have found that, yes a bland, non- acidic diet does help to maintain stomach acid. But maintaining isn't good enough. It isn't a fix. And a lot of doctors will tell you if you do this it will eventually get better. And it really doesn't. I have noticed that medications like omeprazole or ranitidine do nothing to help ease the pain or discomfort, or even lessen my "bathroom breaks". I found a medicine called pantoprazole worked for me better than any medication I had tried at the time. It helped ease my stomach, colon, and intestines even with pain and cramps here and there. My suffering from my illness was cut in half with pantoprazole. Eventually discovered a waayyyy better medication called metaclopramide. In my opinion, it is a miracle worker. With this medication, I can still feel my intestines and stomach cramping and groaning but with no pain. No fear of being in pain. It's almost like my gastrointestinal issues never existed. So i hope this post helps if the help is still needed. Good luck to both of you in your struggles.
A consultation with a registered [url]Nutritional Therapist[/url] would be my first port of call - this can be done on Skype or even over the phone if no-one is available to visit her. Her circumstances need careful handling.
Keffir is great if you can find it, but may not be enough on its own. Has she been tested for H. pylori? This situation is a mega-breeding ground for this bug and she will not get better if they have embedded into her stomach wall. Antibiotics are essential.
Please don't give her digestive enzymes at the moment - her gut lining is far too fragile and they will start digesting her own body, hence the Lansoprazole - the stomach lining needs soothing and rebuilding before any kind of extra enzyme is introduced. Something like [url]Slippery Elm Food[/url] will help, plus [url]deglcyrrhyrised liquorice[/url] (DGL) both from H&B for a start - be careful with the DGL, don't take for more than a week if she has raised blood pressure.
But my favourite (along with those, or on its own) is rice water: Boil a cupful of brown rice in a large pan of water for about an hour, drain and drink the water. It looks a bit like wallpaper glue, but is incredibly soothing. It can be flavoured if she likes (fruit juice, stock powder, etc) but is actually fine on its own. This liquid contains something that has been isolated for settling stomach problems called gamma-oryzanol. I prefer to use it as a whole from the rice itself unless a stronger amount is needed. She can drink as much as she likes. The rice itself can be used for meals or frozen for another time. Do this for at least a fortnight (by which time she should have seen a NT to advise her specifically)
Another thing that makes an enormous difference to the gastric lining is cabbage juice. It has been shown in studies that a litre of cabbage juice a day for 10 days will cure stomach ulcers (when there is no other underlying problem). This would be taken in shot-glass sized doses several times a day, and again can be flavoured with other things like apple, garlic, onion, and so on. Garlic is particularly helpful too. The juice must be drunk within half an hour or frozen immediately (ice cube trays are good) and then consumed as it melts. Cabbage was used as a medicine by the Romans - it contains sulphorophanes which help reduce bacterial, glutamine which is a building block protein for regeneration of endothelial cells which line the gut, and glucosinolates which both help the body detox and are anti-cancer - amazing stuff.
As far as the reflux is concerned - do NOT eat protein the same time as carbohydrates - eat them at least 2 hours apart. Awkward I know, but when the carbs have digested (it starts in the mouth) the breakdown product is CO2 gas, which if the stomach is still waiting to digest protein (because that part of the cycle is malfunctioning as it will when taking Lansoprazole or because of the ulceration) the gas needs to escape and brings the stomach contents with the waiting proteins up with it - reflux.
This is a starting point for her. I hope she is sorted soon.