gerd and MS

[sbr497]

Hi,

I was wondering if it is common for people with MS to develop GERD.
I was thinking that GERD and MS are totally unrelated but looks like there is a link.

Regards,

[Mustang0064]

I have been starting to have a lot of acid reflux...it started in the late summer august here...I thought it was the beer lol at the campground.

now i am wondering if it is the ms combined with smoking and a couple of beers??

[essdipity]

It seems very plausible that weak muscles could contribute to gerd. Weak muscles in MS are caused by nerve damage, so we're back to that.

My own neuro dismisses all symptoms and conditiions that can't be accounted for by MRI or his own tests, no matter how many of these build up, and no matter how inmplausible it might be that all of these occurred independently in a year or two. He would rather believe I'm just falling apart (almost his words).

ess

[sbr497]

Dont you all think GERD could be due to weakening of muscles around the chest region. We all know that MS causes muscle weakness. Many of us also know that people develop tummy when their back is weak.

Doctors typically tend to dismiss anything for which there is no formal proof. They will rarely accept that they have not been able to comprehend these issues fully.

Regards

[Deb61]

When I wrote reflux in MS can cause demyelination my words were all written backwards and didn't mean what I was trying to say.  

What I found from the research was that in MS that sometimes the demyelination in the 10th cranial nerve (vagus nerve) where the medulla oblongata in the brainstem is can result in the reflux.  I don't even know how I mixed up the words to say that!  It sure made me look like an idiot!  I do that a lot lately--wording things in a way that means something completely different than what I mean.  

Where was my head?  I think it was missing when I wrote that post . . .

[tonyad]

Chimming in to agree w/ Quix.
I too was dx with Gastro-Paresis. They are calling it Idiopathic in nature so whatever floats their boat.
I am also dx w/ IBS..... both, IBS-C and IBS-D....And I REALLY have a TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE time w/ Acid Reflux!  

Don't know if it is all related to MS or it is just another one of those "Things that make
you go Hmmm" things?   Which by the way, I know longer go Hmmmm, I just get pissed when it is really flared up  :)

Be Safe,
~Tonya

[Zacksmomi]

I have self dx's esophageal spasms.  I had problems with my stomach for years and was dx'd with IBS.  When I was 22 I weighed 123lbs at 5'9" tall.  

I medicated myself with weed as it was the only thing I found to help reduce the spasms and allow me to eat. I guess it was reflux.  Trust me I put on plenty of weight :)

I still deal with it on occasion, but as with many other issues I have had in the past, I have never officially related it to MS.

D

[jensequitur]

I began having esophageal spasms several years ago, which my doctor said was caused by GERD.  Five years later, I was diagnosed with MS.  I think that the spasms are actually caused by a spinal lesion, but I do have problems (relapsing and remitting) with indigestion and aspiration.

[Quixotic1]

I agree that if GERD is associated with MS it is not a cause of it.  

ess is right.  GERD is incredibly common.  One of the first factors leading to GERD is obesity which is common in both groups.

In my mind there is a question whether slowed emptying of the stomach is a product of MS.  It's called gastroparesis and my docs were in disagreement whether MS was the culprit.

However, MS is known to cause constipation, which is often caused by a slowed transit time - slow emptying of the colon.  As the colon slows, often so does the rest of the intestines.  That would predispose to GERD.

We also often take meds that slow everything.  Almost all of the sedatives contribute to constipation and slowed intestinal emptying.  This, in turn often slows gastric emptying.  All of the meds related to daizepam (Valium) do this.  And the narcotics have  potent slowing effects on the GI tract.

Yes, the difficulties swallowing are common with MS.

Quix

[essdipity]

Well now, I think this is a complicated issue. For one thing, problems with acid reflux are extremely common in the population as a whole. So we would expect quite a few MSers to experience acid problems as a matter of course. I don't know whether we have this at a higher rate than the general population does. Does anyone have any data?

I myself have reflux problems diagnosed this year after an endoscopy where dilation was needed (also after an abnormal barium swallow), and I have an esophageal stricture. Possible connection to MS? Who knows? My neuro sure doesn't think so. I have other swallowing problems not associated with acid that may be related to MS, namely extreme pain when food gets 'stuck.' That part is quite common in MSers.

I don't see, though, how reflux can cause demyelination. That would make it an actual cause of MS. To me, it makes more sense that nerve damage from demyelination could make the stomach/esophagus valve malfunction and that could cause a backup of acid.

ess

[Deb61]

I have GERD and MS, and so does my sister.  Someone I used to work with said she had GERD and had MS, too.  

When I looked this up on the internet, I see a connection because reflux in MS can cause demyelination/lesion of the medulla oblongata in the brainstem where the 10th cranial nerve (vagus nerve) is.