General Chit-Chat thread

[minnesotacubsfan]

The one thing I've eaten or drank every day for the last 30 years is coffee. If that was the cause of my AR, I think I'd die

I gave up caffeine for a few months to see if it would help. That was way more difficult than giving up alcohol.

Now there are some low-acid coffees out there, if you brew your own from home. You could always give those a shot, if you think coffee is causing your problems.

I'm not sure it is my issue, I just happened to read that it can cause issues. I already buy lower acid coffees because I hate high acid coffee. But what you say about quitting caffeine is definitely my concern. I've gone maybe 2 days w/o coffee, and I need lots of Excedrin to cut the headache. getting old is fun!

[minnesotacubsfan]

Apparently the only remedy for a hernia is surgery, so I have that going for me.

true, but its almost instant relief

[Derwood]

Apparently the only remedy for a hernia is surgery, so I have that going for me.

true, but its almost instant relief

I just don't have time in my life (at the moment) to get surgery. The ideal time would be the end of February, but living with it for 6 weeks probably isn't recommended

[Banedon]

So, major changes where I work, and because I was through an external vendor (for the last 18 years, mind you)...I'm out Feb 28th. My vendor is gonna look for something else for me, which is great but....ugh. I've had better days.

[minnesotacubsfan]

So, major changes where I work, and because I was through an external vendor (for the last 18 years, mind you)...I'm out Feb 28th. My vendor is gonna look for something else for me, which is great but....ugh. I've had better days.

best of luck!

[minnesotacubsfan]

so, I'm working with a mechanical engineer whose name is Niels. Every time I call him I great him as "Niles" but in fact his name is pronounced "Neels". Try as I might, I always read it as Niles.

stupid Scandinavian names

[WrigleyField 22]

So, major changes where I work, and because I was through an external vendor (for the last 18 years, mind you)...I'm out Feb 28th. My vendor is gonna look for something else for me, which is great but....ugh. I've had better days.

Hoping for the best for you

[jersey cubs fan]

so, I'm working with a mechanical engineer whose name is Niels. Every time I call him I great him as "Niles" but in fact his name is pronounced "Neels". Try as I might, I always read it as Niles.

stupid Scandinavian names

And Brandon is the one out of work. Life ain’t fair.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Sure ain't

[NOLA]

[squally1313]

Guess I'll wade into the gastro discussion with my experiences to see if it rings a bell for anyone. I'm probably especially uninformed and negligent in terms of dealing with it, but starting to go down the road now.

For probably the last 7-10 years (35 years old now) I've had maybe....weekly? issues where the first couple bites of a meal would feel like they would essentially get stuck somewhere in the middle of my esophagus. The pain/pressure would kinda come in waves and I would feel it like, radiate out to my rib cage. Worst case scenario would be like 15 minutes of this, and a handful of times the ultimate ending was me 'throwing up' those few bites. Typically after like 5 minutes I would literally feel things (food, acid, etc?) drop down and the pressure would go away, and then it wouldn't be an issue the rest of the meal. I'd trained myself to ease into meals, start with small bites, go slow at the beginning, etc., but was still slipping up enough to eventually bring it up with the doctor. Her best guess was that there was too much acid and it was coming up, so they put me on pantoprazole, which to my understanding is just a PPI. She also told me to cut down on drinking, which hasn't really stuck, but here we are. The issue in question has basically gone away, though I'm still, out of habit, approaching eating the same way, but oddly in the two months I've been on it I've dealt with two bouts of like, real short term food poisoning symptoms where for like 6 hours I'd be pretty much out of commission (with one ending in me legitimately throwing up). My dumb brain is like 'well I have less acid now, so maybe I'm not breaking down things as much as I used to?' But I figure that's probably wrong. I'm supposed to go back in to see the doctor because the PPI is a short term solution and (I think) I need to be weaned off. Not sure if those symptoms sound familiar to anyone, or if there's any insight into the future there. But yeah, getting old sucks huh.

[grassbass]

For probably the last 7-10 years (35 years old now) I've had maybe....weekly? issues where the first couple bites of a meal would feel like they would essentially get stuck somewhere in the middle of my esophagus. The pain/pressure would kinda come in waves and I would feel it like, radiate out to my rib cage. Worst case scenario would be like 15 minutes of this, and a handful of times the ultimate ending was me 'throwing up' those few bites. Typically after like 5 minutes I would literally feel things (food, acid, etc?) drop down and the pressure would go away, and then it wouldn't be an issue the rest of the meal.

I've had this issue a few times (the last one happening last summer), and it's typically happened when I've been overly hungry and started eating way too fast. I didn't get any kind of pain in my rib cage from it, but it did feel like food was simply backing up in my throat and wouldn't go down. It feels like I'm choking but I'm able to breathe without issue, if that makes sense. So now, I make a conscious effort to eat much more slowly.

[Sammy Sofa]

Has anyone ever done an endoscopy on you (squally)? Sounds like it could be a hiatal hernia.

[squally1313]

Choking while breathing without issue sounds about right. Mine also seems to be based in the center of my chest, so while I've never had a heart attack, it is in the same location and your mind can't help but going down that route. Get a ton of saliva, weirdly. Agreed on eating slow, if the symptoms start to happen I have to like, stand up, walk around, almost bounce up and down to try and help.

Have not had any scopes and had never heard of that before, Sofa, will look into it.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Choking while breathing without issue sounds about right. Mine also seems to be based in the center of my chest, so while I've never had a heart attack, it is in the same location and your mind can't help but going down that route. Get a ton of saliva, weirdly. Agreed on eating slow, if the symptoms start to happen I have to like, stand up, walk around, almost bounce up and down to try and help.

Have not had any scopes and had never heard of that before, Sofa, will look into it.

what you are describing is exactly what I experience, the choking but still being able to breath, food stuck about sternum (or slightly higher), sometimes pain. you might notice that if you take a preventative antacid before you eat that it helps as well. I usually start my day with a glass of water to flush horsefeathers. I was diagnosed with a narrowed esophagus, not a hiatal hernia, I dont know if there is a difference.

also, squally if you are going through what I am the issue IS gerd, acid reflex, purging up into the esophagus and frying your throat. I'd bring this idea to your doc and get a referral for a GI asap if I were you, not just so you can swallow but so that it also doesn't get worse. I'm 49, your 14 years behind me in age but it sounds like you are right behind me in your experience.

eta: one last thing, my doc says this is common, he sees it a lot and the procedure to correct it is outpatient and straight forward; in his words "life changing".

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This is the middle-agiest conversation I've ever seen on this forum. God we're horsefeathering old.

[TomtheBombadil]

Update: This horsefeathersing guy came back. What an animal, skipped his own funeral

[Sammy Sofa]

Update: This horsefeathersing guy came back. What an animal, skipped his own funeral

[Banedon]

Has anyone ever done an endoscopy on you (squally)? Sounds like it could be a hiatal hernia.

This doesn't sound like the type of symptoms I experience with a hiatal hernia. Narrowing of the esophagus seems more likely, but I would agree that seeing a GI doc, and getting an endoscopy done sounds pretty warranted. The drugs you get for that are pretty fun too, so there's that...

[Sammy Sofa]

Best nap you'll ever take.

[17 Seconds]

this might be my favorite video ever

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RgvOVd8kQsE

[Banedon]

Tough telling where to put this. First...M&M's what are you doing honey...

But then A&W(!) comes along to point out the absurdity...

[Sammy Sofa]

It's a lock this is all just a build up to some stupid Super Bowl ad.

Also: shut up, brands (but not Brandon).

[Derwood]

It's a lock this is all just a build up to some stupid Super Bowl ad.

Also: shut up, brands (but not Brandon).

Yeah, I think this is all a big publicity stunt for Mars/M&M

[cl smooth]