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Where does GERD end and IBS begin??

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 4/2/2006 8:04 AM (GMT -8)
Hi all,

   I suppose it doesn't really matter, to figure out where GERD ends and IBS begins, but it might help me with the choices I make for it.

   I have GERD and IBS. (Makes sense, since it's the same organ).

  I have diarrhea, which is pretty well controlled with calcium....but it's still not "normal".  My GERD is pretty funky.  Rather than bad heartburn, I get incredible amounts of upper GI bloating, rumbling, burping, etc.  Is IBS considered more lower GI?  Do you ever find that you have upper GI symptoms too?   I would love to figure out what the heck is going on inside me.  Sometimes, I become sooooo bloated and distended that I feel like I can't breath.  I even feel my diaphragm contracting!  It's all so bizarre.

I guess I'm trying to find out if you all (with IBS), get alot of funky upper GI symptoms too?  Thanks.

P.S.  I seem to get alot of symptoms that seem to be in my transverse colon at times........pressure on my diaphragm and heart, and then I get irregular heartbeats.  How weird!

 Does anyone ever feel like their symptoms are in the small bowel??  Sorry for so many questions!

Posted 4/2/2006 9:49 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Cathy,
I get upper GI problems. I don't have GERD so I just attribute it to IBS. I get heartburn and nausea when I eat too much. I burp a lot and have rumblings all the time. And, I've had the fluttering a few times - usually when I'm having a D attack and I start to panic.
I don't know if all that is connected to IBS but it is so normal for me that I don't think twice about it.
Take care.
Posted 4/2/2006 4:22 PM (GMT -8)
CATHY , I just had gallbladder surgery & since then i've been told I have IBS,I also have Gerd. I know exactly what your talking about . The rumbling will start in your intestins &before you know it it's up in your throat.Sometimes there is even like a pressure (almost )I also am verry conserned about this . I have learned more on this sight than from any DR.
Posted 4/2/2006 5:02 PM (GMT -8)
It is all connected. If you have acid, it creates gas, which disturbs everything going on moving thru your system. Get rid of the acid and you will probably get rid of the gas unless it is caused by swallowing air and then you need to eat and chew more slowly and not gulp drinks,etc. The pressure that you feel in your throat can be pressure from gas. As for GERD you don't need to feel heartburn to have GERD. I never felt heartburn but my esophagous was a mess which showed in fact that I did have bad acid reflux. I thought it was just gas. I have been taking a Prevacid daily and a Pepcid before bed and it has helped tremendously with stomach and I think the IbS. still working on the constipation. I wish mine would rumble more cause then I know things are moving. I take either Maalox Max or simethicone 166mg for gas and they both work well but I do know since I got the gas under control I dont have any IBS symptoms except the C. Also think the IBS Digestive Advantage helped. Just a couple ideas
Posted 4/3/2006 7:59 AM (GMT -8)
You can have IBS and GERD. Not all people with GERD have IBS and not all people with IBS have GERD. Technically, theoretically, IBS is Irritable Bowel Syndrome and so anything above the intestines constitutes its own disease. I would think that if you have stomach problems occasionally, like when your IBS is acting up, then that's a side affect of the IBS. But if you have stomach problems all the time, especially if it happens when your bowels are okay, then you have two seperate things.

There are a lot of prescription antacids out there for the acid reflux and upset stomach; has no one put you on any?
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