The FastDay Forum

Ok
I have a cardiac history
On Statins, Ramapril, Aspirin, previously a B Blocker and a very expensive proton pump inhibitor
I also have a sliding hiatus hernia
And a long standing history of belly ache

Now one could argue that what weight loss I have achieved 1st 8lbs (but static now despite 4/3)
Is because of reduced problems with the hiatus hernia
But I just wondered if anyone else had been able to stop PPI on the diet
And do people have any others theories as to why?

I can see my anti hypertensives being reduced soon as my BP is dropping, as for the PPI I'm not sure, depend why you were put on them, most Drs like to keep them going as a protective measure if it's for ulcers and stuff, if your hernia is improving because of your fantastic loss maybe your dyspepsia is better because of that?
Good luck x

You probably have the ppi because you are taking aspirin. My husband had a massive stomach bleed because he was not taking a ppi with his anti-inflamitory.
Please discuss it with your doctor

I used to take a PPI but stopped long before I started 5:2. I've always had stomach pain off and on due to anxiety. When I went on meds for that, I found I didn't need the PPI.

I have noticed that on 5:2 even my occasional stomach pain has eased even if I eat a lot or eat harder to digest foods. My theory is that the fast days give my digestive system a break and allows it to recover from my feed days.

Breadandwine posted this book http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=z4WQbUIDZpoC&q= and I downloaded it and read it. The author describes having similar symptoms and stomach aches as me when eating and he recommends skipping breakfast, i.e. not eating until noon, and fasting at times as a remedy.

I don't know that the same remedy would help with your hiatal hernia but it would be logical that it wouldn't have to work so hard on fast days and would get a rest and time to heal.

ETA: Weight loss, especially of belly fat, is usually recommended for hiatal hernias, isn't it? Less belly fat means less pressure on the stomach, and less work the rest of the system has to do to keep stomach contents where they belong.

Hi,
I was taking omeprazole (and drinking Gaviscon by the bottle) for what felt like fairly constant heartburn/chest discomfort prior to starting 5 2 (9 weeks ago) but noticed fairly quickly that the symptoms got better and then stopped so I haven't taken any PPI for around 8 weeks now and occasional heartburn but NOTHING like before. Not sure why - something to do with my eating smaller meals maybe? But not complaining!

Ooh! A question I can answer relatively expertly! I am a nurse in an outpatient unit that does literally dozens of GI (gastrointestinal) 'scope' procedures per day. Of our five GI physicians, four of them think that every adult would benefit from a PPI every day, even if it's just the over-the-counter Omeprazole that is relatively cheap here in the U.S.. It reduces stomach acidity and lowers risk of certain types of upper GI cancers.

Hiatal Hernias never 'go away' on their own. They do get better with weight loss, but they are caused by a weakening of the diaphragm from lots of problems like chronic over-eating (that "I'm so stuffed I could die" feeling), significant extra weight around the abdomen, family history predisposing to weakness, etc. Weight loss will help it feel much better, but the weakness is always there. The surgery to repair it is a relatively "big deal" though they can do it with a laparoscope now which makes it a little less challenging - but it is still a relatively high-risk surgery for a problem that is relatively not-life-threatening/quality-of-life damaging.

So.

Keep taking your PPI. Of all the meds you're on, your asprin and your PPI are the ones you will likely be recommended to take forever. I've been able to drop my blood pressure med since losing weight, and I had an irregular heartbeat that they wanted to put me on a betablocker for. I really didn't want to - I'm only 46! I was told that regular exercise "probably" wouldn't fix the arrhythmia - but it has. Or something has, maybe weightloss/better diet rather than the exercise - but my heart doesn't race or skip beats any more. I only take the occasional multivitamin and vitamin D and my PPI and asprin.

Hope that helps!

After years of stomach pain, GERD, etc. even a trip to the hosp. with chest pains (actually probably caused by stomach pains referred, according to cardiologist)I gave up daily aspirin therapy and have felt much better ever since.

Aspirin therapy was prescribed for me almost 20 years ago just because of my age (54 or so at the time) as a preventive measure against future heart attack and stroke. My cardiologist hasn't said anything, but I think my PCP would like me to continue with the aspirin. I refuse to put up with any more pain. There's no early heart disease or stroke in my family.

I started with beta blockers 30 years ago to prevent migraine. I'm lucky to be one of those for whom it works--it's been like a whole new life free of pain. This is a med I will continue with.

Good luck to those struggling to find their solutions to stomach pains. Weight loss seems to be a key and this forum is such a help to so many.

So there is at least some anecdote about a reduced need for PPIs when on the diet.

My theory, and Ann Elk's: "All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much MUCH thicker in the middle, and then thin again at the far end. That is the theory that I have and which is mine, and what it is too." Anyway please forgive the flight of thought MP reference.

My other theory: I just wonder if continuous eating stimulates continuous acid secretion not allowing healing, but fasting gives the stomach and small intestine at least some chance to heal.

So is our high calory grazing culture a contributor to the high incidence of ulcers and cancers. That and Helicobacter Pylori.

Interesting anecdote: I had occasional episodes of reflux before starting 5:2. After about 6 months of 5:2 I developed globus symptoms (sensation of a lump in the throat). I took a proton pump inhibitor and the symptoms disappeared (cause or coincidence, you decide!). No reflux or globus since then despite continuing with fasting.

But I like your theory! (and that's it is it?)