Tummy problems!

[CanadaSam]

Ok, an excess of alcohol, plus the extra spicy food in Thailand, seems to have got me, with severe GERD (acid reflux), and ulcers too.

 

So, I spent many thousands running from pillar to post trying to resolve this medical issue.

 

Amazingly, the best hospitals here (Bangkok Pattaya), seem to have the very latest in GERD treatments like FIP (Fundoplication) which is a type of surgery performed through an Endoscope into the mouth and down to the stomach, but they don't have a much older procedure which is cauterization of the ulcers through the same procedure!

 

Strange.  So basically my search in Pattaya to a solution to the problem has ended, and now I shall proceed to Bangkok hospitals to see if any of them can help with the ulcers.

 

Anybody had similar problems, and any possible solutions (Sheryl?).

 

Thanks, and happy Songkran to all.

[georgegeorgia]

Farang doctor,Dr Oliver is good 

[jacko45k]

I had reflux  issues but not the ulcers, Regular use of Gaviscon, a course or two of Sanosec, reduction of certain foods, (spicy)  changes of habits like eating less large meals and sitting upright after meals and not having a gallon of beer in my belly so often, seemed to ease things. 

[sirineou]

8 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Anybody had similar problems, and any possible solutions

It had come to the point where having a glass of water would give me indigestion. 

I took one capsule of Omeprazole in the morning, every day.

Problem solved.

  Then a few years later, I run out of  Omeprazole and skipped taking if for a couple of days. Noticed no Issues .

So I checked to see what I was doing differently.

Three thing I was now doing that I was not doing before. 

B complex vitamin in the morning, Magnesium in the evening , and I had started pickling these little cucumbers in a Vinegar, watter and a bit of salt brine. And would have a pickle every day. 

It could be one of these things, a combination of these things, or something completely different. 

A couple of   of weeks I run out of Pickles and had not made anymore, 

I noticed that my indigestion started coming back. But not as bad as before. 

Was it the pickles? not sure ! 

But I remember my sister who was a nurse practitioner telling my that a  spoonful of vintager would help with indigestion, as counter as it might sound.  

So I think the pickle thing might have rebalanced the PH in my stomach,

Thinking about it when I saw your  pOP ,I just googled it.

"apple cider vinegar to relieve acid reflux symptoms, but there's no guarantee it'll work. It's thought this home remedy helps balance your stomach pH by balancing stomach acid. It's generally accepted as safe to consume a small amount of apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water. " 

https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/apple-cider-vinegar-for-acid-reflux#treatment

 

It does not hurt to try.

 

[fredwiggy]

There are many things that contribute to poor digestion. Alcohol, spicy foods, onions, and other foods can hurt some and not others. I had(have) trouble with some things and have always eaten healthy. I had h pylori here and pretty much thought I did before going to the doctor here. he gave me a prescription for antacids and antibiotics, which stopped it fast.

 

Since then, I've been trying to figure out what causes the symptoms. They happened back in Texas 6 years ago, and I thought it was coffee, which is something I stayed away from for most of my life. I tried stopping coffee and it still happened at times. Here, it's gotten worse. I thought IBS, because it does just come on .

 

Even though I eat foods that aren't bad for you,I do have some spicy foods here. It comes and goes and my daughter recommended collagen, which I always thought about but never tried. It started helping pretty fast, although it still goes back and forth with the symptoms. I now eat bananas, along with the usual toast and rice recommended in the Brat diet change. Pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and yogurt, along with probiotics, are also good for your stomach. Reflux can be if you're eating and or drinking late at night before bedtime.

 

Process of elimination can help you, although a doctor checking you, meaning a GI doctor, is always a good choice.

Edited April 3 by fredwiggy

[Guderian]

You could also try taking something over-the-counter to reduce the acid reflux, as it's a very common problem. The original medicine for this decades ago was Zantac (Ranitidine), but things have moved on and PPI's are widely used now, like Lansoprazole. They're not completely risk-free, so maybe talk to a doctor first, or at least to the pharmacist (some of them here seem smarter than some of the doctors, lol).

[pattaya1234was]

2 minutes ago, Guderian said:

You could also try taking something over-the-counter to reduce the acid reflux, as it's a very common problem. The original medicine for this decades ago was Zantac (Ranitidine), but things have moved on and PPI's are widely used now, like Lansoprazole. They're not completely risk-free, so maybe talk to a doctor first, or at least to the pharmacist (some of them here seem smarter than some of the doctors, lol).

Suggest Miracid from Fascino. Works in 20 minutes             

[newbee2022]

14 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Ok, an excess of alcohol, plus the extra spicy food in Thailand, seems to have got me, with severe GERD (acid reflux), and ulcers too.

 

So, I spent many thousands running from pillar to post trying to resolve this medical issue.

 

Amazingly, the best hospitals here (Bangkok Pattaya), seem to have the very latest in GERD treatments like FIP (Fundoplication) which is a type of surgery performed through an Endoscope into the mouth and down to the stomach, but they don't have a much older procedure which is cauterization of the ulcers through the same procedure!

 

Strange.  So basically my search in Pattaya to a solution to the problem has ended, and now I shall proceed to Bangkok hospitals to see if any of them can help with the ulcers.

 

Anybody had similar problems, and any possible solutions (Sheryl?).

 

Thanks, and happy Songkran to all.

Yes, Sheryl will visit you and will do it by herself. Sure.😂🙏👍

[jcmj]

I had the Nissen Fundoplication years ago due to severe acid reflux and at the time open was the only way and it was very difficult to go through. Now they do it laparoscopically but you still have to be on liquids for a couple weeks before starting soft mushy foods and eventually getting to eat solids again but in smaller portions. If you are a beer drinker and don’t want to stop for an awhile or stay away from coffee, chocolates or spicy foods then I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a new lifestyle not a quick fix. Works great for some people, but others say it’s the worst thing. I’m happy with it and if I do eat something that stirs my stomach up then I’ll eat ginger. Vinegar or anything pickled, as recommended before is another option. Turmeric is also good for stomach issues. Try them out and see how it goes. Otherwise be prepared before you consider surgery. 

[xxeo]

Omeprazol and similar are very strong. Blocking stomach acid. Should not be taken for long long time.

Try Famotidin or Cimetidin -- on sale now after Ranitidin gone, reducing stomach acid (which you need each and every day), not so strong. In your pharmacy.

[ronster]

5 hours ago, pattaya1234was said:

Suggest Miracid from Fascino. Works in 20 minutes             

Gastrosec also works the same . Buy in any pharmacy usually.

[bkk6060]

Well, I would not just self medicate but see a good gastro Doctor.

With your alcohol consumption, it could have created another more serious issue.

Edited April 3 by bkk6060

[action]

Personally I avoid the big name hospital(s) in Pattaya.  
I suggest checking out Samitivej in Siricha.

[NickyLouie]

3 minutes ago, action said:

Personally I avoid the big name hospital(s) in Pattaya.  
I suggest checking out Samitivej in Siricha.

 

owned by same group.

[Bobthegimp]

Most people prefer taking drugs to living a clean life, which is why pharmaceutical stocks are a good bet.  

 

How do you solve your stomach problems?  Straighten up and fly right, pilgrim.

 

I've got a friend who's a boozer and his guts are shot. He drops his foul gas and it makes people leave the room. Like exhuming a corpse. One time he passed a horrendous amount of gas into a pillow, then held it over his girlfriend's face and started rambling on about "this is how it was in the camps".  She was Thai and the allusion escaped her.  He eventually impregnated her mother and that was the end of that. God only knows how many little bastards he has scattered all over this country. 

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

It had come to the point where having a glass of water would give me indigestion. 

I took one capsule of Omeprazole in the morning, every day.

Problem solved.

  Then a few years later, I run out of  Omeprazole and skipped taking if for a couple of days. Noticed no Issues .

So I checked to see what I was doing differently.

Three thing I was now doing that I was not doing before. 

B complex vitamin in the morning, Magnesium in the evening , and I had started pickling these little cucumbers in a Vinegar, watter and a bit of salt brine. And would have a pickle every day. 

It could be one of these things, a combination of these things, or something completely different. 

A couple of   of weeks I run out of Pickles and had not made anymore, 

I noticed that my indigestion started coming back. But not as bad as before. 

Was it the pickles? not sure ! 

But I remember my sister who was a nurse practitioner telling my that a  spoonful of vintager would help with indigestion, as counter as it might sound.  

So I think the pickle thing might have rebalanced the PH in my stomach,

Thinking about it when I saw your  pOP ,I just googled it.

"apple cider vinegar to relieve acid reflux symptoms, but there's no guarantee it'll work. It's thought this home remedy helps balance your stomach pH by balancing stomach acid. It's generally accepted as safe to consume a small amount of apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water. " 

https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/apple-cider-vinegar-for-acid-reflux#treatment

 

It does not hurt to try.

 

Vinegar is acetic acid.

 

Stomach acid is in the pH range 1.5 to 3.0. Apple cider vinegar has a pH of 2.5 - 3.0. Therefore, consuming a small amount of it would have zero effect on "rebalancing" pH, and is more likely to be simply a placebo effect.

 

OTOH, I replaced pantoprazole with half a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water, and have not needed the medication, or had gastric reflux since.

 

The pH of baking soda in water is 8.3. Draw your own conclusions.

[Freddy42OZ]

17 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Ok, an excess of alcohol, plus the extra spicy food in Thailand, seems to have got me, with severe GERD (acid reflux), and ulcers too.

 

So, I spent many thousands running from pillar to post trying to resolve this medical issue.

 

Amazingly, the best hospitals here (Bangkok Pattaya), seem to have the very latest in GERD treatments like FIP (Fundoplication) which is a type of surgery performed through an Endoscope into the mouth and down to the stomach, but they don't have a much older procedure which is cauterization of the ulcers through the same procedure!

 

Strange.  So basically my search in Pattaya to a solution to the problem has ended, and now I shall proceed to Bangkok hospitals to see if any of them can help with the ulcers.

 

Anybody had similar problems, and any possible solutions (Sheryl?).

 

Thanks, and happy Songkran to all.

 

 

Have you determined if your ulcers are caused by bacteria or another cause. 

 

[sirineou]

13 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Vinegar is acetic acid.

 

Stomach acid is in the pH range 1.5 to 3.0. Apple cider vinegar has a pH of 2.5 - 3.0. Therefore, consuming a small amount of it would have zero effect on "rebalancing" pH, and is more likely to be simply a placebo effect.

 

OTOH, I replaced pantoprazole with half a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water, and have not needed the medication, or had gastric reflux since.

 

The pH of baking soda in water is 8.3. Draw your own conclusions.

Dont know id it raises , loweres , or does not change the ph . The only reason I mentioned PH is because it is contained on the quote I posted. 

and it does not say scange it says balance.  How it does that ot even if it does I dont know. 

" apple cider vinegar to relieve acid reflux symptoms, but there's no guarantee it'll work. It's thought this home remedy helps balance your stomach pH by balancing stomach acid. It's generally accepted as safe to consume a small amount of apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water."

It seems that many publications seem to say the same thing. 

In my case , I was suffering from it for years, Omeprazole worked well for me.

all of a sudden it stopped. What had changed , Vitamin B complex , it could be that it was a nervous  system issue. B1 is known for balancing the nervous system. 

  Magnesium  "Magnesium plays a vital role in maintaining proper gut motility and facilitating peristalsis, "

And I started consuming vinegar, , in fact I just  made a new bunch of pickles. 

I am not sure if it was one of these things, a combination of them, or maybe something totally different. 

All I know is that at this time I have a cast iron stomach 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

12 hours ago, sirineou said:

Dont know id it raises , loweres , or does not change the ph . The only reason I mentioned PH is because it is contained on the quote I posted. 

and it does not say scange it says balance.  How it does that ot even if it does I dont know. 

" apple cider vinegar to relieve acid reflux symptoms, but there's no guarantee it'll work. It's thought this home remedy helps balance your stomach pH by balancing stomach acid. It's generally accepted as safe to consume a small amount of apple cider vinegar. Dilute it with water."

It seems that many publications seem to say the same thing. 

In my case , I was suffering from it for years, Omeprazole worked well for me.

all of a sudden it stopped. What had changed , Vitamin B complex , it could be that it was a nervous  system issue. B1 is known for balancing the nervous system. 

  Magnesium  "Magnesium plays a vital role in maintaining proper gut motility and facilitating peristalsis, "

And I started consuming vinegar, , in fact I just  made a new bunch of pickles. 

I am not sure if it was one of these things, a combination of them, or maybe something totally different. 

All I know is that at this time I have a cast iron stomach 

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of pH, a spoonful of vinegar does nothing w.r.to stomach acid. Apple cider vinegar does have compounds present, such as probiotics and antioxidants, which may be beneficial..

Belief is a powerful entity, there are some events science has been unable to explain.

 

[Roo Island]

17 hours ago, NickyLouie said:

 

owned by same group.

But operates much differently. Way better. But! The best doctors with the best equipment are in Bangkok.

 

I would avoid all hospitals in Pattaya, especially when they start recommending surgery.

[john donson]

do not eat anything for 3-7 days and see if you finally feel better...

[Sheryl]

GERD is one thing, ulcers are another.

 

Are you referring to gastric ulcers or esophageal ulceration? 

[how241]

Years ago,  I read that ulcers are best treated with a certain antibiotic.  Google would know more.  Just a suggestion.

[Sheryl]

59 minutes ago, how241 said:

Years ago,  I read that ulcers are best treated with a certain antibiotic.  Google would know more.  Just a suggestion.

That refers to ulcers caused by h.pylori and it is not a single antibiotic but a combination of at least 2 plus a PPI  

 

In OP case we don't know if positive (or even tested) for h.plylori and for that matter not completely clear if he is talking about gastric ulcers or esophageal ulcers secondary to GERD.

[CanadaSam]

Sheryl, VERY grateful for your joining in, so far, I have only had a full abdomen ultrasound which shows nothing conclusive.

 

I suspect ulcers because of severe pain, especially after heavy meals.

 

The hernia I am more sure about, because when I bend over to put on socks, or bend a certain way in the shower to scrub my back, there is a definate protusion that pops out, and an excrutiating pain which, if I stay absolutely still for about 5 minutes, then it goes back in and the pain subsides somewhat.

 

The doctors have told me (at both Queen Sirikit and Bangkok Pattaya Hospital) that my ulcers are probably due to gerd, and excess alcohol, although I stopped whiskey a couple years ago and now am only on beer.

 

I wanted to go for MRI but doctors feel that may also not be required, to go for endoscopy / gastroscopy.

 

I am seriously looking for a hospital where they have the expertise and equipment to do the endoscopy and simultaneously fix my tummy problems, and a friend doctor in Canada said they can do it with cauterization for the ulcers and possibly also resolve the hernia, as well as fundoplication to fix the gerd, otherwise another laparascopy operation can do the hernia(s).

 

My difficulty is, I don't know which hospital I should go to, obviously, I would not like to pay astronomical rates, as I am self-financing this.

 

Once again, thanks to Sheryl, and everybody else, who helped with their valuable advice and suggestions.  Sorry for the lengthy post!

 

Just to add, most of the hospitals I am contacting are replying with the answer that they only do endoscopy to look at things, and don't do any procedures simultaneously to fix things, especially cauterization, it seems to be unheard of, in Thailand hospitals, oddly!

 

 

Edited April 4 by CanadaSam
Spelling

[Sheryl]

5 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

Sheryl, VERY grateful for your joining in, so far, I have only had a full abdomen ultrasound which shows nothing conclusive.

 

I suspect ulcers because of severe pain, especially after heavy meals.

 

The hernia I am more sure about, because when I bend over to put on socks, or bend a certain way in the shower to scrub my back, there is a definate protusion that pops out, and an excrutiating pain which, if I stay absolutely still for about 5 minutes, then it goes back in and the pain subsides somewhat.

 

The doctors have told me (at both Queen Sirikit and Bangkok Pattaya Hospital) that my ulcers are probably due to gerd, and excess alcohol, although I stopped whiskey a couple years ago and now am only on beer.

 

I wanted to go for MRI but doctors feel that may also not be required, to go for endoscopy / gastroscopy.

 

I am seriously looking for a hospital where they have the expertise and equipment to do the endoscopy and simultaneously fix my tummy problems, and a friend doctor in Canada said they can do it with cauterization for the ulcers and possibly also resolve the hernia, as well as fundoplication to fix the gerd, otherwise another laparascopy operation can do the hernia(s).

 

My difficulty is, I don't know which hospital I should go to, obviously, I would not like to pay astronomical rates, as I am self-financing this.

 

Once again, thanks to Sheryl, and everybody else, who helped with their valuable advice and suggestions.  Sorry for the lengthy post!

 

Just to add, most of the hospitals I am contacting are replying with the answer that they only do endoscopy to look at things, and don't do any procedures simultaneously to fix things, especially cauterization, it seems to be unheard of, in Thailand hospitals, oddly!

 

 

You did not previously mention this hernia which -- if you have one --  is likely unrelated to your gastric issues. A hiatal hernia, which can cause GERD, does not produce the sort of bulge you mention.

 

Where exactly is this bulge located?

 

Endoscopy (with testing for H. Pylori) is  standard approach for diagnosis and management of gastric ulcers/gastritis. And treatment is usually medicsl (medications) not surgery. Endoscopy can also confirm GERD and indicate  if it is damaging the esophageal lining which would then be a factor in treatment decisions. 

 

Fundiplication is done only for severe GERD that does not respond to other measures. It can be combined with hernia repair only in the case of hiatal hernia which does not seem to be what you describe having...though ebdoscopy woukd confurm. 

 

If you are comfortable with your GI specialist at Queen Sirkit I  would proceed with the endoscopy they recommended. No doctor is likely to commit to fundiplication or other treatment without endoscopy findings. 

 

Meanwhile please clarify re this "bulge" as if you hafe an inguinal or umbilical hernia would need to see a general surgeon for that. 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

a few years ago i thought i had an ulcer, it was just gastritis, needed to take PPIs and stay off ify Thai food for a while, plys reduce chillies and instant coffee, but i think a particular noodle soup i was having daily was the culprit