Hiatal hernia: Symptoms and treatment

Oh, the pain

From the time I was a teenager I began to experience acid reflux, little knowing the grief it would cause down the road. And I never understood the cause of the reflux until much later in life. But the reason for the reflux was because I had a hiatal hernia. Each year the problems would get more and more difficult until I lived on antacid tablets. I didn’t realize what my problem was but finally knew I had to do something about it. I had an endoscope test that showed the source of my paid and acid reflux, the hiatal hernia.

At the time of diagnosis the doctor said nothing about surgery to repair the problem. The treatment was antacid tablets as needed, and instructions to not eat late in the evening and to sleep on an incline.

Later I developed gall bladder issues and the doctor who was to perform that surgery told me they would repair the hiatal hernia at the same time. He was concerned though that my esophagus was very weak so a “spasm” test was done. I had a tube threaded through my nostril and down into my stomach and then the tube was withdrawn while excreting water at certain points. This was done to measure the spasms of the esophagus as the water was released. It was determined that my esophagus was too weak to push food past a repaired hiatal hernia so that part of the surgery was never done. There was too much scarring and damage to the esophagus.

The rest of my life I will be taking some kind of acid reducer. Right now I take a Prilosec tablet each morning. As long as I do that, I seem to be fine, but I have to live with the misery of having food get “stuck” because of the weakened esophagus and have to be very careful how much I eat, when I eat, and whether or not I drink enough liquid to help the food move into the stomach.

There are three main types of hiatal hernias; sliding, paraesophageal, and mixed. The most common is the sliding hernia. This is when part of the stomach pushes upward through the hiatus into the esophagus. GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease can occur and stomach acid and juices “flux” into the esophagus. Left untreated this acid reflux can damage the esophagus. That is the place where I am now.

Some people develop a hiatal hernia after an injury to the area. Others are born with an inherent weakness or an unusually large hiatal opening. But anything that puts intense pressure on your abdomen including persistent or severe coughing or vomiting, pregnancy, straining while going to the bathroom,

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