Good luck on the surgery if you have it. True or not several doctors have told me it happens most often with shorter people.

I would be curious about how you control it if doing so would be something you are comfortable providing. I am aware it is different for everyone but I have been told it was the cause of major pain in my upper abdomen and spasms. Only suggestion I have been given is eat smaller pieces of food. The smaller pieces have done nothings so when it happens just direct my mind away from the pain until it stops. Other than that nothing, although through reading I know surgery is available to reduce the hole on the diaphragm.

I have what the gastro doctor considers a small hiatal hernia. i have heartburn type issues without reflux. Heartburn meds don't seem to help, and diet makes little difference. I feel much better standing rather than sitting.

I have had many tests, including a manometry.

Dr. says he could do surgery, but he can't guarantee it would help.

I'm average height. As average as a lady gets 😉

How I avoid it? I sit up very straight when I eat is my biggest thing. My worst episodes have happened when I was bending over to eat something? Looser than normal clothes. I do try to take smaller bites of hard pieces of meat such as chicken or steak. And if it feels like it's not going down I will stand up and take a deep breath, pushing my stomach out as I do so. Oddly for me, rice is one of my main triggers?! I can't figure that one out, because it is not a hard food, nor is it a large food. So I just avoid it. Which is hard to do when my adopted siblings are Asian. Last, if I have to carry something heavy, even though I can do it, I will get my child to do it for me. There are still times it will strike me when I just absolutely didn't expect it. And when I have one of those, I will take heartburn medication for 7 days straight, but only when that happens. That seems to quell it for a few months.

The last one was so horrific, I will do anything to get rid of it now. Including the surgery. My guess is it will be laparoscopic, so not too long of a recovery. 🤞🏻

I too do not have reflux, so I don't understand why the heartburn medication works, but it does.

I do not eat at a bar where one has to stoop forward. I sit up straight at a table. I take small bites of everything. If I get an attack while eating I get up and walk around, and push on my neck with 2 fingers. Most times it takes a short time to get relief, other times I almost panic. Three times I have had a procedure to stretch something. It helps for several months.

I have a feeling this is not a stretching surgery. Something more like this:

https://memorialhermann.org/services/treatments/laparoscopic-nissen-fundoplication

So I feel like it'll be worth it. I HOPE.

I appreciate the answers. I feel like I'm not alone.

maifleur03, your comment about hiatal hernia happening more to shorter people is interesting to me. I am only 4'9''. Maybe there's not much room in there!

Nothing I do seems to help much either, but sometimes the pain is better than other times. I also have burning mouth occasionally. I have even gone to the ER thinking it was a heart issue.

rob333, you are certainly not alone in this, I hope you find some answers.

(((patti))) I hope you find lasting relief.

Rob333,

I have read about the surgery for hiatal hernia and know someone with a very bad hiatal hernia who explored the surgical option.

❗️⚠️ I STRONGLY advise AGAINST it.

I or can discuss why if you want information. It is a complex sugery that has some very troubling downsides.

I'll discuss it at the consult.

I'm sorry for your person who had the bad result

Wishing you the best outcome.

Wanted to add that I have a HH and gastric reflux.

My understanding is that the medications such as proton pump inhibitors are to be taken daily, not just after you have an episode. But you should follow your docto’r recommendations nif you have confidence in him.

People often have reflux even if they are not aware of it. And I have read that even with the PPI, people can still have reflux.

By now, you probably know the measures to take to limit gastric reflux.

Small meals.

Don’t lie down after eating.

Avoid acid producing foods or those compunds that can relax the esophageal sphincter (chocolate, peppermint, fats…)

It may be helpful to sleep with your bed angled abot 12 degrees (head higher).

It may be helpful, if overweight, to lose weight and inches.

Others you have mentioned.

I hope you improve. Best wishes.

Thank you for your kind words. I wish everyone relief.

The group that I'm going to is very good about telling you every single possible outcome you can have. It's one of their hallmark features. I'll report back the type of surgery, and what they think are risks, in case it can help someone else too. I do know the stretching one is not a good one to do. I don't think it's lasting is what I've heard.

DH is a tall guy, over six feet. His hiatal hernia almost killed him. He had always known he had a small one. He has always had GERD. One evening he started to continuously vomit without prior warning or distress. I ended up taking him to the ER. He suffered for several hours until they finally called in a specialist. That doctor scheduled him for immediate surgery. Tests showed almost two thirds of his stomach had pushed through and was strangulated in his chest area. That means it also loses its blood supply. He would have died. Surgery took several hours. He no longer has to take medication for gastric distress. For us it was definitely a success.

Please don't give or take medical advice from an internet group. That's what your doctor is for. Sounds like you have a competent one, who is giving you all the options. I wish you well.

wild, I'm glad to hear he's ok.

sleeper, i think there's value in personal experiences. Which is all I was looking for. I'll only do what I'm informed about by the doctor. Doesn't mean i can't find out what to expect. 😉

What wildchild wrote is what can happen and something I was warned that if the pain did not subside to go to the emergency room.

I have more difficulty with soft foods than I do with anything hard.

Finding a competent doctor and not having them retire or die on you is the difficult problem. I am currently looking for my fourth after the last competent one retired because of ill health. Which presents a different problem because it looks like you are doctor hopping looking for drugs.

Well, now I'm beginning to form questions.

If one ignores this, do you get Barrett's esophagus? Will I have the same reaction wild's husband did? Just what are the risks of ignoring it?! I mean what are the risks of just trying to maintain, rather than solve, the issue? Hmm.. luckily, I know this physician will give me all of the answers I want. That is one thing they're really good at, answering every single question you ask, and questions you didn't ask. They leave no stone unturned before you do any procedure.

I had one (I'm 5'6") years ago. It would bulge out and I could carefully ease it back in, but it could be painful at times. I had the surgery and never looked back.

Had an endoscopy about seven weeks ago and hiatal hernia was one of the things they discovered. I have been on a proton pump inhibitor for about a five weeks; the doctor wants me to stay on it until the end of January. So far I can't say it's done much except making me worry about side effects. Sleeping with a high wedge pillow and not lying down for at least three hours after eating has been helpful. Three weeks ago I started acupuncture treatments and it has far and away been the most helpful. The pain is almost gone, the hiccups are very diminished and let's just say, food is moving through me in a regular fashion. This is all a huge improvement. Years ago, this same acupuncturist got me through extreme endometrial pain back when a doctor said he could only offer me painkillers or surgery. I guess I respond better to Eastern medicine. If you're looking to leave no stone unturned, consider trying the needles before undergoing the knife.

My mom had one. Suffered for years not knowing what was causing the bloated stomach. She had decided she has irritable bowel and that wasn't a diagnosis she wanted. One evening she found a BULDGE. At the ER she and dad were scared to death-worried it was cancer. An old geezer doc was on call that night. He knew the second he saw it it was HH. RELIEF!! She had the surgery and hasn't had one problem since. That was at least 15 years ago maybe longer--who can remember. She's 87 now.

This may be TMI! I have HH and acid reflux i take PPI twice a day. My triggers are peanut butter, caffiene, chocolate and spicey foods. oh yeah, greasy foods too. I don’t like taking PPI’s but have been on them for many years. In fact, many years ago I sat up in bed after sex had heartburn and told hubby, ”I’m pregnant”, instant heartburn And I had a baby 9 months later!

I too have gone to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack!

I have a dear friend whom I have been traveling with for years. In 2021 while on vacation with a group of friends, he started vomiting and couldn't stop. Took him three days to be able to eat something more than crackers and ice and then he could finally join the rest of the group for the remainder of the trip (with a very hoarse voice from the vomiting). Some months after he got home, he complained of being short of breath. Long story short, he was diagnosed with a haital hernia the size of a volleyball. His entire duodenum, stomach, and part of his intestines were in his chest cavity and pressing on his lungs. He had laproscopic surgery in which they put everything back in place and tacked it down. He is now just fine. His surgeon told him that he was lucky that he was alive; the vomiting episode was caused by his stomach twisting which could have killed him. Fortunately, it somehow untwisted itself and we'll never know why or how.

I'm even more convinced I need to ask questions, and they will offer me many answers. Though, after my worst attack, very recently, I think I would do anything to get rid of it. It has robbed me of so many things. I'd love to be normal, and I think all health issues cause us to have to make compromises, but this one is fixable. We'll see what the surgeon says about side effects, and lasting effects.

I'm so sorry for anyone that suffers from this stupid health effect. It's more irritating than so many other things. I'm not sure someone can understand, unless they suffer from it.

I want to add a few comments. The OP asked for feedback on hiatal hernias and or surgery for that condition. Let’s keep the context straight. No one here is offering anything mre than their experiences or opinions. No one is giving medical advice or psingnas a doctor.

Hiatal hernias — part of the stomach protrudes past the esophageal sphincter and into the esophagus or otherwise bulges above the diaphram. Pressure can cause the contents of the stomach to enter the esophasgus. This is not good. Aside from being uncomfortable, the esphageal lining (inside the esophagus) is made of very different tissue than the lining of the stomach. It is not healthy for stomach acid to enter the esphagus and when this happens chronically, it can cause scarring and changes to the tissue of the esophagus.

Sometimes people with chronic gastrointestinal reflux can develop strictures and narrowing. Other changes may be the development of “columnar tissue” which can be a precursor the Barrett’s esophagus. These tissue changes may result in esophageal cancer.

Esophageal stretching for strictures is not the same as the complex surgery forhiatal hernia (Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication — https://memorialhermann.org/services/treatments/laparoscopic-nissen-fundoplication)

Colleeen and arcy, I wonder if you might be referring to or have in mind another type of hernia (which often bulge through the opening in abdominal mussel. As far as I’m aware, hiatal hernias do not bulge out through abdominal muscle, nor can they be pushed back intoplace on the correct (internal) side of the abdominal wall (as some other hernias can).

The surgery done to address a hiatal hernia is much more complicated.

One consequence of the fundoplication surgery that would cause me to not ever have it, is that the patient will not ever be able to vomit. (That is what I have been told).

I have had horrible food poisoning twice that involved much vomiting. I can’t imagine how awful it would be not to be able to vomit when necessary.

Rob333, I wish you comfort and a productive and satisfying visit with your doctor.

If you are interested, you can type this into a search engine:

severe complications of nissen fundoplication

Here is a link that might be helpful:

https://www.medhelp.org/forums/GERD-Acid-Reflux/show/333

https://www.medhelp.org/posts/GERD-Acid-Reflux/Persistant-Diarrhea-after-Nissen-Fundaplication/show/1122099

I appreciate you looking out for me, but I promise you, this group is one of the best in the country, and they'll tell me all the nitty-gritty details. The upsides, complications, everything.