# Hiatal Hernia and IBS - A Connection?



## patrickd88 (May 10, 2001)

I looked throught the archives, but didn't find the right answer, so...Is there a connection between a hiatal hernia and IBS? Does anyone here have both? I'm curious because I suffer from both and wondered if the digestion problem with the hernia is somehow feeding the IBS. Any thoughts anyone?Patrick


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I believe that hiatal hernias can cause some GI symptoms, however I don't think there is any link between the two. I would expect that tha HH could be triggering things that set off the IBS and fixing the HH may help some people in some cases.Both are relatively common problems so one would expect to see some people with both.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Guest (May 18, 2001)

p_dalessandroDo you mind listing both your hiatal and ibs symtpoms? I'm just curious b/c my GI symptoms are so high in my abdomen I've often wondered if I had both too.


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## Guest (May 19, 2001)

Have IBS-D and was recently given an upper GI series that discovered a hiatal hernia. Doctor did not indicate a connection. Have diverticulosis and am taking antispasm meds for stomach and colon.42


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## TH3255 (May 21, 2001)

I just want to reccomend a wonderful book for Hiatal Hernia. I bought it through amazon.com. It's called Hiatal Hernia Syndrome by Dr. Theodore Baroody. It is a wonderful book and it explains about how HH is lined to so many other things, including fatigue, ear problems, hoarseness, etc etc etc. You'd be amazed! It also shows you how you can "adjust" the HH yourself i.e. the method chiropractors use for pulling it down.If you have a HH I would highly reccomend getting this book!!-TH


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## Guest (May 23, 2001)

This is just my opinion, but I think that HH and IBS are connected. I have both. I think that when I swell up with gas the pressure forces the hernia. Kind of like the cap on a soda bottle popping when the bottle has been shaken up. Jackiecprw


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## patrickd88 (May 10, 2001)

I'm sorry Joanofarc, I didn't list my symptoms. Here they are:Hiatal Hernia: only symptom is if I eat three hours before bed, I WILL be up vomitting about two hours after I lay down. Then I'm fine. Tomato seems to aggravate it more than other foods. Also, I was told by my doc to avoid caffeine.IBS: I'm a D-type with severe urgency issues. Urgency is my biggest problem. I'm in the bathroom 7-15 times a day (although the "factory" is not always producing).Hope this helps.


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## Nan (Jul 14, 1999)

I have both. IBS for over 20 years. Last year I was diagnosed with HH. Many people I know have HH's but don't have IBS.


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## cadia (Jan 5, 2001)

I have ibs and hiatel hernia and gastritis. Doctor confirmed this by doing an EGD a couple months ago. I never knew i had HH or Gastritis, so now i'm on meds for those, i have no idea what is working and what is not since i'm a walking medicine cabinet, i take like 9 pills a day and i feel like a circus act when swallowing them because i can swallow 10 pills at a time if i want <vitamins and meds>.Right now this GI doctor thing is not helping all he does is send me out for more and more damn tests, i had the important one Colonoscopy> now he wants another sonogram and a barium enema which i have not done yet and i doubt i will because my flare ups have gotten so bad i can't get out of the house.I really don't know if HH is connected but somehow i had/have it along with IBS, even though i was only aware of the ibs, <i guess the pain stuff with ibs is more apparent..lol>I think everything in the GI tract it connected somehow. Maybe the acid makes this happen and so on and so on.I was better for one full week when he first put me on some meds to control it, now it's back to being just ibs attacks so who knows.Pretty much i've decided that i have to be my own doctor and figure out what works best, so far what i'm on sucks.I plan to change that soon.-------------------CadiaIM name: MedianAngelYahoo name: MedianCadiahttp://www.cakesbynikki.com


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## Guest (May 29, 2001)

I suffer from both IBS and a Hiatal Hernia. I think I agree with Jackiecprw's post. If I have a day or two of bloating then my hernia tends to flare up. I have also noticed that anything spicy or acidic makes it flare up too. I have noticed more recently that I cannot eat large amounts of food or go without food for a time then fill my stomach because it irritates the hernia. After my Dr. found the hernia when I was a teen, he believed that I had it since I was born and the symptoms developed as I started getting older. When I experience hernia symptoms it often stimulates the IBS. So, I believe there is a digestive connection at some level.Lynne


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I believe that in people who have both conditions they can interact (one flares, the other flares), but there isn't any evidence to suggest some sort of causal connection (ie. having one makes you get the other).K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## Guest (May 29, 2001)

Well, I have Hiatal Hernia and D and also had my gallbladder removed many, many years ago. About a month ago found a Gastro Doc who seems to know his business. Told him about getting D after eating fatty & greasy foods and he gave me an RX for Cholestyramine. This has worked from the first day I started taking it - it soaks up bile and has stopped the D and also has made my hiatal hernia go down (felt like balloon under left ribs for so long). After eating fatty, I could feel the pressure coming from the hiatal hernia and then would get D - so I feel like they are related. I too have the book, Hiatal Hernia Syndrome and it is very informative - written by a chiropractor, Dr. Baroody. Found the exercises helpful. After taking Cholestyramine, yesterday I got up enough nerve to try pizza, which I hadn't eaten in several years. I only ate a small amount but it satisfied my craving and I had no problem. I call Cholestyramine my miracle drug and hope it continues to work. Don't give up.------------------


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## Guest (May 30, 2001)

Is it easy to diagnose a hiatal hernia? I have been told that with hiatal hernias there are no symtpoms beyond acid indigestion, but I have a terrible bubble feeling right under my diaphram that has always felt to me like some sort of hernia, like the muscle can't contain what's beneath it. In order to "keep things down" and not feel like my gut is entering my chest area, my body goes into spasms, or rather wavelike rolling of stomach and esp. diaghram wall. I don't always have this, but get it generally as the day wears on. When the bubble is high I feel like I am suffocating and my eyes get rid, get flushed, etc plus have other sensations one is that entire gut is floating too high in my body cavity. I've been told this is probably just air trapped in my colon(the part that lies under you ribs) and it does get somewhat better with bowel move., but also wonder if thats b/c pressure on possible hernia area is relieved after a bowel movement. When having the sigmoidoscopy done, the upward pressure it created on this area made my eyes feel like they would pop out of my head-i was actually scared and couldn't proceed. It just has never sounded like ibs to me-or ibs alone.Does anyone else with diagnosed hiatal hernia and ibs have symtpoms anything like this? Also, if I do have a hiatal hernia I can tell you the lower gastro stuff is definitely linked to it and vice versa.Thanks y'all and for letting me temporarily hijack this thread for my own selfish purposes.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

from www.merck.com


> quote:Etiology and Pathology Etiology is usually unknown, but a hiatus hernia may be a congenital abnormality or secondary to trauma. In a sliding hiatus hernia, the gastroesophageal junction and a portion of the stomach are above the diaphragm. One side of the herniated stomach is covered by peritoneum. In paraesophageal hiatus hernia, the gastroesophageal junction is in the normal location, but a portion of the stomach is adjacent to the esophagus.Symptoms and Signs A sliding hiatus hernia is common and may be seen by x-ray in > 40% of the population. Most patients are asymptomatic, but chest pain can occur. Although GERD occurs in a few patients, it is doubtful whether the hernia is the cause, because GERD may also be found in patients with no demonstrable hernia on x-ray. A paraesophageal hiatus hernia is generally asymptomatic but, unlike a sliding hiatus hernia, may incarcerate and strangulate. Occult or massive GI hemorrhage may occur with either type of hiatus hernia.


------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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