# Heartburn?



## hleeann

Do most people with Crohn's have heartburn as a symptom or it just an issue of where the Crohn's is in the digestive system and different from patient to patient?  I can have severe heartburn not having even eaten anything sometimes.

Has anyone had any luck with something that helps treat it other than the OTC meds?


----------



## Agent X20

I can go for weeks without heartburn, and then suddenly get it...it varies between really bad, and "quietly bubbling away". Sometimes I can definitely put it down to something I've eaten (probably too much chocolate, I'm afraid), but sometimes it happens when I haven't eaten anything. I think it's triggered by stress, personally.
Don't know of anything other than OTC meds to help it


----------



## kello82

i too have heartburn/acid reflux issues. but i think mine is from prolonged use of prednisone, as it started the last time i was on it which was for almost a year.
i take prevacid once (sometimes twice) a day and it doesnt bother me. but if i miss two days in a row....ho boy! not pretty.


----------



## ChefShazzy

i get nasty heartburn, from the prednisone, too.  i tried drinking extra milk to combat the burn but it wasn't enough...  i would get heartburn on an empty stomach/full stomach, no matter what.  so i went on the zantac and haven't had any major complaints since.  i didn't want to have to rely on the OTC meds but it's the only thing that worked for me.


----------



## ErinDF

Hey,

  I've had heartburn occassionally and use prilosec for it.  If your heartburn is a new thing that you've never had problems with before, you might want to check with your doc.  In college I had H. Pylori (the bacteria that causes ulcers) which apparently represents as heart burn initially.  In addition, it can be a symptom of either an ulcer or acid reflux disease, in which case there are perscription drugs that can help.

Basically, if its affecting your way of life, I'd check in with the doc.
Erin


----------



## Procyon

I take prescription strength pepcid twice a day. I really notice if I miss a dose, even when I'm not on the prednisone.

It could be that I just have issues separate from the Crohn's, but I tend to think that the Crohn's caused it, somehow.


----------



## Tina

I've got wicked heartburn/acid reflux. I take Nexium.... and if I forget to take it one day, I'm feeling it bad.


----------



## jooles6377

I also get no heartburn for ages and then all of a sudden I feel sicky and have terrible heartburn for a week or so.  It must be depending on something ive eaten that triggers it but takes a week or so to start the symptoms if that makes sense.


----------



## Bennie

I have been suffering with Heartburn rather a lot lately since my surgery. It seemed to start when I stopped taking Steriods for some odd reason. 

They want to do camera to see what is going on.


----------



## DonnaM383

Ahh I have really bad heartburn also, it's driving me crazy! I started prednisone about 2 weeks ago and seen other people post about that too! Could be a side effect!


----------



## If*

Another thing to ask about is the gallbladder ~ heartburn can happen when it starts to go wonky. 
Meds can def. cause it too as well as what you eat or don't eat. Dairy and fats can cause heartburn for sure.
Hope you feel better soon!


----------



## Traumanurse

Seems like a vicious cycle for me. I get more heartburn when I have less diarrhea, less heartburn when I have a lot of D.

Seems like my stomach and bowels just want to be relatively empty to be happy.


----------



## UnXmas

I get awful heartburn now. I didn't used to, even after I got ill, I went years without heartburn. I had an endoscopy way back in 2007. I that point I had no symptoms of reflux or heartburn, but they told me my stomach and oesophagus were inflamed from reflux. I didn't really start having symptoms of it until last year though, so I wonder if the inflammation precedes symptoms. I haven't had another scope since it started, and I wonder if I did now the inflammation would be worse.

I thought it might be due to prednisone, as it is a known side effect, but I've been of pred months now and it's still bad. None of the usual meds help much at all, and it doesn't matter what I eat. It's not so bad in the morning but gets worse through the day and by evening the pain's so bad it's hard to eat anything, it feels like all the food is getting stuck in my chest. I started adding extra pillows so my head's raised at night but I still wake up in the night with the pain. I have a feeling this is going to become a big problem fairly soon in the future, as it's steadily getting worse and seems so resistant to any of the regular treatments.


----------



## Alicebee101

@ Traumanurse - I seem to have the same situation as you. I had 10 x D yesterday but no heartburn. Today no running to the bathroom but the heartburn is killing me. 

I have got lots of gallstones but my GI recommended to leave them as he can't tell what's causing which symptoms. 

Sigh.....


----------



## gamerfanman

I have just started on the prednisone again and have been getting terrible heart burn, I just thought it was more sensitive to food during inflamation. but after reading this thread I see its probably the meds. Really affects me when I lay down much worse at night, I couldn't deal with it so am up at 4am searching threads lol.


----------



## Trish22

I am having a nightmare time at present with pain under my left rib and real burning pain,I am taking Lansoprazole 30mg and not working,also gaviscon,I had to visit A@E this morning as it was so bad,My bloods he said were all fairly normal CRP -1 ESR a little raised but nothing significant,magnesium still a little low at 0.68 but almost within normal range which is 0.7-1.00.had surgery 8 weeks ago and now left with1.4 metre of small Bowel,although I still have my large bowel,This acid thing if it is that seems to be resistant to the drugs my GP gave me a few days ago,It's making me really scared now,I think my stomach is not emptying quick enough and I have loads of acid trying to break food down,I don't know just a gas,Thing is I had an operation for acid reflux about 6years ago and not suffered with it since,Since I have had this surgery,I am having all sorts of problems looming,Dr at A@E wants me to try and get in Gastro clinic this Tuesday,although he did say he was not overly concerned as my bloods were quite re assuring,(yeah he has,nt got this god dam stinging and burning)that I am experiencing.I am having to take Paracetomol like sweets to help combat the pain, He said he does,nt think its my crohns,my god I hope not,or I will be in serious trouble with the small amount of bowel I have left.
I am finding that I am so stressed about this latest thing and also the fact of how much bowel I have lost,I am constantly crying, and it probably isn't doing this latest set back much good.Looking at all sorts of things on the Internet,the more you look the more it frightens you, but I am re assuring myself that if I had something dreadful like cancer,the surgeon would have picked it up and it would have shown up if something untowards on my bloods, I usually have done all the usual crohns inc CRP ESR SS UE FBC LFT MAGNESIUM,BONE HB ALB,Anyone else suffered with this, I am hoping they may give me some Metrocloperamide when I go back to the hospital as I think this makes the contents pass through your stomach quicker and cuts down the pain and stinging effect I am getting on my left hand side,under my ribs.Can someone please help here, I am getting myself in a really bad place,imagining all sorts of awful things.


----------



## gamerfanman

kello82 said:


> i too have heartburn/acid reflux issues. but i think mine is from prolonged use of prednisone, as it started the last time i was on it which was for almost a year.


Yea I am getting it bad at the moment. My Chemist said the prednisone can cause stomach ulcers after long term use, but have only been on it for probably a month and a half now. During my first flare I was hospitalized for almost two months and during that whole time I was on IV steroids so I didn't notice any heartburn during that time, then once I was released from hospital I was taking prednisone but that time around it seemed to only give me some mild heartburn. Now I think because my entire course of treatment this time around has been oral the heartburn is much worse. I take ratinidine everyday but yesterday ran out and it was terrible. Does anyone know if there is an injectable form of prednisone like a muscle shot or anything? and would that stop heatburn? I will ask my doctor but am just checking here first as most people would probably know..


----------



## Jison0612

I'm having HORRIBLE indigestion chest and back pains gas out of both ends hard to breath, bloating, upper abdoman pain it's almost to much to take. I had a upper gi series and they found a duodenal ulcer could this be causing all this trouble?!?!?! Help!!!


----------

