hiatal hernia

[Sheanean]

I have finally found the answer. I think I have a hiatal hernia! My doctors all think I'm just nuts, so they keep prescribing medicines that either make the problem worse, or make me feel like I'm on another planet. I keep trying to tell them there is something else. I have had a pain in my chest since I was 12. No Dr. could ever come up with a good answer as to what caused that. They all gave me a different diagnosis. Now, I'm 38 and I'm getting closer to the truth. 7 years ago, I gave birth to my daughter and the nausea has been with me since. For 4 years now, I have had trouble going to sleep most of the time. It's like I fall off of a building right as I drift off...like 15 times a night. I started feeling fluttering and palpitations. the cardio tests showed a healthy heart but a sensitivity to the amount of adrenalin my body produced in surges. After doing a lot of outdoor work and heavy lifting, I got worse. Tons of gas in my stomach. The more gas in my stomach, the worse I felt. Dizziness, weakness, palps, confusion, voises seemed more distant. I ended up in the ER, (waste of time) two times when it got so bad that I really felt I wouldn't make it. It lasted for at least 7 hours each time and I felt bad the rest of the week. Both times though, there was a link between what I had ingested and how I felt. I'm sure it aggrivated the existing problem and brought on these terrible symptoms. I had drank an energy drink, taken a decongestant for my irritating allergies that have stuck around for a year now,  ate chocolate and had a little bit of Dr.Pepper.  Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. Now it is, and I'm sure it has everything to do with my stomach. We know our bodies, don't we? We live in them all of our life. We know when something is off, besides just our minds. I have read several things that say that anxiety can be a side effect of a hiatal hernia. Chicken and egg..one can cause the other. In my case, it was probably something that started in me as a child and got worse with each labor and delivery. the last child really made it worse, and the heavy lifting topped it off. However, getting my doctor, or any other doctor, to belive that, is a different story. It's like a movie where someone is trying to make people believe them, but no one will. So frustrating!
I'm going to the gastrologist next week. Maybe, he'll have it together and know exactly what's going on and how to deal with it so I don't have to for the rest of my life. I want my life back. This is terrible. You never know when an 'attack' will happen next. It was fuel for my fire when I found that one of my good friends had the same thing happen to her 8 years ago. She too, had anxiety and never put the hiatal hernia and the anxiety together. She went through counselling and all the meds, but at the same time she was seeing a gastro specialist and he put her on 'Aciflex'. She's taken it for the 8 years and is completely better, even with the small hiatal hernia. I'm getting closer guys! I can feel it! Let them say I'm crazy!! All I care about is surviving this and growing old. Oh, by the way...bad grammar is the least of my worries. Look past the spelling.

[itdood]

p.s, I forgot to add that I do think there is a tie between eating and PVCs.  So many people note this.  I just don't think anymore that it's a pressure area or erosion issue.  The same nerve bundles that control your heart beat also control digestion.    It makes your intestinal muscles contract rhythmically.  What I'm thinking is that this signal might be crossing over to heart bundles.  But, what do I know...  a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing :-)

[itdood]

Hiatus Hernia is a popular theory for PVCs.  I thought this as-well for my PVCs when they kicked in hard in 2009.  I was definitely having tummy issues when my PVCs started badly this year.  I've had episodes all my life, but they were never bad enough for me to seek medical attention.  IN 2009 that all changed.

I went as far as to have several major tests to investigate it.  I had an endoscopy of my stomach, a colonoscopy, and a high resolution cardiac MRI (in addition to echos and a nuke stress).

I did have a hiatus hernia though there were no lesions, everything else was fine.  My Colonoscopy was clean.  

The cardiac MRI went as far as to produce movies of my beating heart and showed everything that was going on towards my hernia.    Even the top of my liver was moving with the beat even though it's on the other side of my diaphragm.   There was tons of stuff pressing on my heart.  My lungs, my diaphragm, and all of it was moving with the heart beat.  It was also crammed up against my chest wall to the point that it makes my heart conform to its shape.    The least of the pressure areas was the hiatel hernia.  See for yourself, I posted the video on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ab4vqdB4Vo

My PVCs come and go despite any tummy symptoms.  Remember that correlation does not = causation.    Correlation means two factors behave together, they change at the same time.  That doesn't mean one causes the other, there could be a different hidden factor that is the cause.

Also keep in mind that hiatel hernia repair is one of those surgeries that has very mixed results.  The most sure proof way to fix it has many side-effects.  It's only done when GERD is absolutely intolerable and meds failed.  Other techniques can fail over time.

I could be wrong.  I'm just not as strong as a believer as I was in this theory after all my tests, experience, and research.

[questionnone]

I am also curious! Please post back what your status is now! :)

[mel48]

Dear Sheanean
This post had been here for quite some time.  i was happy to see this theory because i was thinking along the same lines also for my stomach.  Did you go see a chiropractor that helped you? Hope you still check these posts and can send an answer
Mel48

[danaw1948]

I have a Hiatal hernia that causes heart symptoms as described in all the posts and I obtained complete relief  by having my  stomach messaged out of my esophagus. This is after I've spent $16,000.00 on heart tests and doctors who would not listen to my weird symtoms,such as "every time i eat, my heart starts to skip beats". The DR's thought I was crazy. I've since taken action to discover why my heart was skipping beats.If you want to get rid of your problem, go see a chiropractor who knows how to message the stomach out of the esophagus . If he does it correctly, you will be a new person. good luck

[danaw1948]

I have a Hiatal hernia that causes heart symptoms as described in all the posts and I obtained complete relief  by having my  stomach messaged out of my esophagus. This is after I've spent $16,000.00 on heart tests and doctors who would not listen to my weird symtoms,such as "every time i eat, my heart starts to skip beats". The DR's thought I was crazy. I've since taken action to discover why my heart was skipping beats.If you want to get rid of your problem, go see a chiropractor who knows how to message the stomach out of the esophagus . If he does it correctly, you will be a new person. good luck

[Sheanean]

I'm going to a gastro Dr. tomorrow. I'll just have to see how it goes from there. I'm giving up on my family care Dr. He's just like the others. He just wanted to up the prozac, since he has no clue what my problem is. He looks at the stomach problems as being secondary. I'm positive it is the primary problem, causing adrenal exhaustion and just making me feel very ill all the time.

[oldie]

I have a 'huge' hiatal hernia. I got an opineion from five doctors. Two, a surgeon and an anesthesilogist, said  operate, now -  two said No. The last was undecided. I didn't have the operation. I have no symptoms, no reflux. BUT I saw an italian  study saying that a big hernia can affect the heart. My early X-rays said my hernia was pressing against the heart. But try telling that to a cardio! he says: yes, yes. Now about your medication....Why don't you try it with yours
best