r/HiatalHernia

Does weight loss actually help with the symtoms or a Hiatal Hernia? I have lost 2 stone so far but im still fairly over weight, so far it's not made a slight bit of difference to my symptoms, I know I should carry on with the weight loss anyway but are the dcotors just pushing 'the weight is your issue' when its not actually going to help me at all.

Hey everyone, 28F here. Suffering from dysphagia, had an endoscopy in february, got diagnosed with hiatus hernia (had gastritis already from before).

My biggest symptoms are dysphagia, constant burping, shortness of breath, a bit of pain here and there.

I have a barium swallow study scheduled next Tuesday, because on my CT scan they couldn't find the hernia. So I was wondering should I push for more exams? What other medical examination is considered useful im diagnosing hernia, identifying its size or so?

I want to visit my surgeon with a lot of different medical reports, will the barium swallow be enough? Should I maybe do an endoscopic ultrasound? Or VFSS? I'm running out of ideas! I live in Bosnia and I have all the resources here, but I don't know what else could I do to make the process easier..

thanks!

Not sure if anyone experiences the same thing as me... but i can drink a 12 pack of beer with hiatal hernia... and i feel like it actually makes me feel a little bit better the next day... but if i drink just one cup of coffeee i feel like im being sent to the after life after a few hours... i feel like my esophagus gets inflamed for like 2 weeks from coffee

I need surgery for my hernia. I can't walk up hills without getting pain and out of breath and a bit Dizzy but I'm so worried about getting complications or dying any success stories to ease my mind. I miss going for walks with my partner I miss running

Hi everyone!

I want to share a little bit of a positive update! 😊

After 9 years of suffering with horrendous reflux, I finally got my nissen fundoplication surgery last Tuesday. I’m 28F for reference.

Pre-surgery, I was prescribed famotidine 20mg x 2, pantoprazole 40mg x 2 and sucralfate x 5ml to help manage my sliding HH symptoms.

Honestly, the recovery was absolutely fine. The first 2 days were rough whilst the general anaesthetic wore off and I needed a lot of support. I was on a complete liquid diet for the first 5 days but now I’ve moved onto a ‘slop’ food diet, and feel a lot better and a lot more energetic.

The worst part is having to take inhexia injections which I will have to continue to do so for another 2 weeks.

9 days post op, I’ve had 0 symptoms with no PPIs. It’s been great. I feel like I am ready to try to eat more solid foods but I am following the advice on my dietician and I’m going to wait until week 3.

Thought I would share this update for anyone who may be nervous as I know I was extremely nervous pre-op!

For people with a hiatal hernia confirmed by endoscopy, barium swallow, imaging or surgery, what symptoms did you actually experience?

I'm especially interested in symptoms that started or flared around the same time as your hernia/reflux problems, came and went in flares, changed over time, or improved after treatment or repair.

Examples of what I mean:

• pounding heart, palpitations or noticeable heart-rate changes, including seeming unusually fast/slow at different times
• shakiness, internal tremor, muscle twitching or spasms
• nervousness, agitation, irritability, rage/bad mood or panic-like feelings
• feeling randomly warm or chilled despite having a normal temperature
• getting unusually warm after eating
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• brain fog, head pressure or a tight/buzzy-head sensation
• temporary visual changes - blurry/nearsighted at times or unusually sharp/clear at others
• frequent/urgent urination or needing to pee small amounts
• stuffy/sniffly nose, sneezing, sinus symptoms or unexplained nosebleeds
• acne, rashes, recurrent bumps or other skin changes
• tiny blood vessels/capillaries seemingly bursting or unusual small bruises
• strange vivid dreams or sleep episodes, such as dreaming that you're being shaken or can't wake up
• intermittent tingling, gnawing, burning, pressure or other strange sensations in the mid/upper back, especially if they seemed to occur around the same time as stomach symptoms, meals, or an empty stomach
• anything else that didn't seem obviously related to a hernia

I'm also curious which digestive symptoms occurred alongside those, such as:

• tightness/fullness high in the stomach or getting full unusually quickly
• dull/burning ache high in the stomach
• gnawing when your stomach was empty
• a strange empty/hungry sensation even when you shouldn't be hungry
• burping or excessive gas
• odd/stale-tasting or stale-smelling burps
• constipation or other bowel changes
• reflux/heartburn
• throat tickling/irritation or an unexplained urge to cough/clear your throat
• globus sensation - feeling like there's a lump, pressure or something stuck in your throat even when nothing is there
• sour/acid taste or fluid coming into the throat
• a strange stale, metallic, chemical or urine/ammonia-like taste or smell in the mouth/back of the throat that came and went
• symptoms several hours after eating, when you hadn't eaten for a while, or during the night

If possible, please include:

1. How was your hernia confirmed and what size/type was it?

2. Which symptoms did you have?

3. Were symptoms triggered by meals, stomach fullness/gas, bending, lifting, slouching or lying down? If you had back sensations, where were they and did they occur at the same time as your stomach/chest symptoms?

4. Did burping, standing up or changing position relieve them?

5. Were the symptoms brief attacks, flares lasting days/weeks, or constant?

6. Did different symptoms seem to replace each other over time?

7. Did you also have gastritis, H. pylori, ulcers or another GI diagnosis?

8. If your hernia was treated or repaired, which symptoms actually improved or disappeared afterward?

Also interested in unusual symptoms I haven't listed.

I'm trying to distinguish symptoms that genuinely tracked with the hernia from symptoms that may have had another cause.

Having shortness of breath, chronic coughing and getting exhausted trying to do light physical exercise. Heart hammering going up a flight of stairs. Tried to get referral from PCP to pulmonologist. Nurse I spoke with yesterday to set appointment up said they might want to do EKG. Told her I'm not having any chest pains. I think it has to do with lungs from the gerd. Numerous studies have shown that lung issues are common for long standing gerd. She still wants to do it.

Going to see PCP this afternoon. I don't think there's any reason to waste my money on an EKG before we check to see if this is lung related. Another nurse I had spoke with before this second nurse said a good start would be a pulmonary function test. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

I have my surgery on Monday. I found out it will be covered by insurance. Hernia repair with toupet fundoplication. I'm very anxious but know that this is the best, logical course of action for me with the progression of symptoms and lack of response to conservative methods this summer. My biggest worries/fears going into this are as follows:

1. The surgery won't help my LPR symptoms. Throat clearing, inflamed vocal cords, sore throat, mucus in throat after meals, burning in throat and mouth, hoarseness/voice loss. But will only help GERD symptoms. Morning regurgitation and some heartburn and bad taste in mouth every morning. I've also had points where swallowing has been difficult and know it's reflux because it gets worse when I eat a few meals that aren't GERD friendly.

2. I'll end up with some complication worse than what I had before and still have symptoms.

3. I won't be able to mentally handle the recovery and I'll make a mistake early on that ruins the surgery.

I know my anxiety about this surgery is more than it should be, but please be kind in if you choose to comment. I'm a singer in a band and hope this fixes my singing voice and I can go back to living a normal life without all the crazy throat problems. I've found numerous medical articles that say this surgery is usually successful for LPR sufferers if GERD is objectively found with a hernia and like 90% of people are satisfied with it five years later.

Bom dia, tem como curar da gastrite com hernia hiatal, comecei a dieta e me medicar há 45 dias, vi muita melhora da gastrite.

I saw a surgeon for what the endoscopy report said is a 5cm hiatal hernia. My symptoms are GERD and vomiting stomach acid with bowel movements.

Right off he said he looked at a ct scan from June and he doesn’t think that the hernia is as big as 5cm. I reluctantly said that the symptoms (the worst of them) are abated with lanisprozol and he basically just said to keep taking it. He is going to have me do a 24 hour ph and manometry before ruling out surgery.

I am frustrated but I know that there’s always hoops to jump through. I saw no point in arguing about the size of the hernia although I can’t come up with a reason why the gastroenterologist would say it if it’s not the case.

The patronizing I can do without but I think it’s in every surgeon’s DNA.