Not doing well

[figmo]

Warren and I were eating dinner. I've recently been diagnosed with gastric
reflux, and the treatment for it clashes with everything else about me:

1. No stress. Yeah, right. I'm a NEWS REPORTER. I do stress for a
living. This stupid recall election was stress-on-a-stick.

2. No eating for at LEAST 1.5-2 hours before bed (and preferably three).
I'm HYPOGLYCEMIC. Not eating right before bed makes it next to
impossible to wake up reasonably promptly (I've nearly slept through two
radio shifts and a Yom Kippur service), and it makes me moody as all
getout.

Warren kept INSISTING on telling me all about the effing election returns.
I'm horrified at the impending Governator and would love to see an impeachment trial when the gals he groped go after him -- assuming the
state Republican machine doesn't crush them, which I suspect they'll do if
they can't be paid off.

Now, combine moodiness with stress and you get Lynn Puking Over The Toilet.

Is there anything out there that'll suppress my insulin production?

Comments

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Oh sh**... [SYMPATHETIC HUG]

Thanks for reminding me that I could always try being *really* ill.

Paul B. =:o\
(Grateful, though still somewhat miserable.)

[spiritdancer]

From someone who's been there, done that (bleeding gastric ulcer 1993, recurrent gastritis/GERD since then - how they confirmed GERD as of about 8 years ago is not testing I ever want to repeat)...

Along with the "no eating before lying down" (you get more pressure on the sphincter between the somach and esophagus when you lay down - food makes it worse), some other things they might have mentioned that won't make you any happier (tho' they mostly go with gastric ulcers, I've been told the same apply to GERD):
no caffeine.
no chocolate.
sleep with your head/shoulders/torso elevated, if possible (when having problems, I use a wedge that goes from the waist up - another alternative is to raise the head of the bed 4 to 6 inches).
lose weight (hey, even 5 lbs off for me was enough to pretty well stop the GERD in it's tracks! *grin*)

If you are to the point of vomiting, then at a minimum, call the gastroenterologist's office back - seems that those with GERD are more likely to get ulcers, as well. (and my bleeding ulcer had no signs before I started puking up everything, including water, and I ended up in the ER. YMMV)

For ulcers, add acid supressing drugs (of the MD's choice, generally); PepcidAC, TagametHB, Zantac, and Prilosec have worked for many folks (tho' the doc might suggest a different/higher dose than the usual OTC products) (Personally, Prilosec is my friend during bad episodes).

You might also be told to add something like Mylanta (I was told if I didn't take it at any other time, to take it right before bedtime - acid production peaks at about 2am)

A common prescription med for ulcers that can help with GERD (but you don't hear much about) is carafate (sucralfate) - it acts like a band-aid for the ulcerated areas. Of course, to help the most with the esophagus, you'll need to dissolve the pill in a bit of water and take it that way (it dissolves really easily, and then can coat the esophagus on the way down).

[mdlbear]

Your mileage may vary, but I found out a couple of years ago that my own reflux was entirely attributable to post-nasal drip -- the mucus traps intestinal gas that would normally be eliminated by burping.

A combination of calcium carbonate and simethicone can control flare-ups for me, but the real solution turned out to be a corticosteroid nose spray (currently Flonase), with pseudoephedrine for flare-ups.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

My situation is the reverse -- my ENT says my GERD is causing my post-nasal drip. I've been using Flonase for years. Pseudoephedrine totally doesn't work on me, so I've had to use ephedra tea (while I can get it).

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

A friend found that reducing carbohydrates did a lot of good for her insulin woes.

If you can't eat right before bed, making your last food relatively high in protein/fat might keep your sugar stable through the night. (nuts and cheese, for example.)

Meditation, muscle stretching, pets, are all things that help *some* people reduce stress.

I hope things get better for you.

[firecat]

Don't they have a medicine for reflux these days? Are all these instructions in addition to taking the medicine?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you're feeling so rotten. For reducing stress, I find that 1) strictly controlling my caffeine intake (helped mightly by the discovery of caffeine free diet mountain dew :-), 2) exercise and 3) playing music sometimes help.

Love, Cat