Hiatal Hernia and Esophagitis

[Crystal8]

In Feb. 09 I had an endoscopy for pain while swallowing. I was diagnosed with mild esophagitis caused by GERD. I was put on Aciphex. I was also diagnosed with hiatal hernia during endoscopy. I already knew I had one because an upper GI series 6 years ago detected it. Even so, the doctor who performed the endoscopy, sent me to get another more current upper GI series. The results came back “no obvious hiatal hernia”, even though the endoscopy showed one and the upper GI series from 6 years ago did too.

Since the recent upper GI series said “no obvious hiatal hernia” my gastroenterologist said she doesn’t believe my GERD is caused by hiatal hernia.

I went to a surgeon who specializes in repairing hiatal hernias for another opinion. He told me that he believes my GERD is caused by hiatal hernia and I should get surgery to fix it. He said the upper GI series isn’t always accurate because you’re lying down during it so the severity of hiatal hernias isn’t always detected. Is this true? Is it possible hiatal hernias can be seen on endoscopy, then not seen on upper GI series?

I’m very confused. In your opinion, is my GERD caused by hiatal hernia? And, if so, should I get it fixed? Is taking proton pump inhibitors just putting a band-aid on the problem if the real cause is the hiatal hernia?

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the GERD forum.

Yes it is possible for a Hiatal hernia to be missed...there r sliding hiatal hernia's and position can "hide" them also.

Surgery should be the last option and only if it is so severe and meds do not help.....

I have had a hiatal hernia since high school and recently turned 50......I have been able to go yrs and not need meds......u do need to change ur diet and lifestyle in order to keep it in check. Stress will trigger a flare as will certain foods.

I recently had a flare and the PPI's stopped working and I am now on HII instead and they work great for me in addition to diet changes ect.

There r sooooooo many side effects from this surgery....use the search this community for NISSEN proceedures and read the threads for more info.

Good luck
"selma"

[Crystal8]

Thank you so much. This really helps me. I'm 40 years old and diagnosed w/hiatal hernia 6 years ago. I'm flustered now that I have erosive esophagitis, but I don't want to rush into surgery if I don't need it. I just want relief and healing and the more I learn, the better.

[Crystal8]

Also Selma, may I ask if you've ever developed erosive esophagitis from the reflux like I have? If so, did the meds and/or lifestyle and diet changes help heal it? I feel like I'm fighting against time right now to get better so this won't go over into something more severe. I'm pretty stressed.

[Crystal8]

I'm so sorry Selma, one more question...what are HII?

[selmaS]

HI Crystal...... sorry HII or H2 blockers are histamine blockers ...PPI's are proton pump inhibators....they work differntly.

Over the yrs the diet and lifestyle changes helped so much I was able to stop the meds for yrs at a time.....my most recent flare was stress induced from another condition that I had dx and then had surgery and the drugs made my system all wonky...so I am on meds again, but the PPI's stopped working and I am on the HII.....they r working great, I am still watching my diet ect....

There r so many bad affects from the surgery, unless ur condition is chronic and u tried everything....I would not consider doing it...but that is for me....u have to decide for urself if ur quality of life is affected to the point u need to do it bcuz nothing else works.

Stress can make ur flare worse....I have not developed additional problems due to the gerd/reflux.....but, I can tell how much acid is in my system and what foods to avoid to keep it all at a minimum.

I hope I answered ur questions
"selma"

[Crystal8]

A question about the forum...I posted my same question on the expert's forum and got an answer from a nutritionist. I replied to him/her and now his/her post is gone. There was some valuable info in the post. Is there a technical problem with the board sometimes like that? Just wondering if you know how I can see that post again.