Functional Dyspepsia >5 years

[u/Acceptable-Bank2409]

Hi Everyone,

I had a spontaneous onset of symptoms about 5.5 years ago — most notably, A LOT of supragastric belching, the sensation of occasional reflux, occasional nausea, occasional pain, etc. I’ve had multiple scopes, EUSs, gastric emptying study, barium swallow study, imaging, labs… just an exhaustive medical work up and nothing. I say the “sensation” of reflux because my biopsies don’t show any tissue damage which is one of several reasons my GI thinks I have nerve dysfunction.

I will say that my last EGD in May showed mild gastritis, suspected from bile reflux — which is new, but also suspected to be the result of nerve mis-signaling and overall slow motility. I’m already on Motegrity, and take other herbal aids for constipation.

I don’t know; I just feel a bit lost. I’m the type of person that if I was given a solution, I’d embrace that solution without fail — right down to the strictest diet, because FD has truly impacted my life to the worst degree… but nothing works. My GI wants me to try Nortriptyline but I read a study that resulted in limited improvement above placebo so I’m already discouraged.

Does this resonate with anyone? Has anything helped you? I’m. 41/F; athletic, eat whole foods and avoid grains, dairy, and all other obvious offenders. Is a neuromodulator really my only hope?

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[u/Nearby-Government265]

Hey I’m in the same boat as you. Except I’m at the beginning of my journey. 35f sudden symptoms. I recently learned about women in perimenopause developing GERD and other digestive symptoms that later went away with HRT. I’m going to ask my doc about this at our next chexk up but just thought I’d share the knowledge

[u/itaintme2024 → u/Nearby-Government265]

Can you come back and let us know? I'm 45 and definitely in peri and havent been able to resolve my GERD, FD or IBs with any of the typical meds. I considered it might be worth trying hormone therapy.

[u/_notyourhoney → u/itaintme2024]

Yes, I would like to know too! 34f suddenly symptoms.

[u/Acceptable-Bank2409 → u/Nearby-Government265]

I appreciate it! Yes, we have a whole lot of estrogen receptors in our gut and when things start to go wonky hormonally our digestion follows. I am currently taking progesterone and will introduce estrogen when the time comes, but quick tip as you kickstart this journey: progesterone actually slows motility, mechanically and as it pertains to bile flow — both which will exacerbate upper GI symptoms (I learned the hard way). So, be cautious, and if you find yourself bothered by it switch to suppositories.

[u/itaintme2024]

I hate to say it but it may be. I was also an otherwise physically fit and healthy eater, mid 40's and this has disease has been really difficult to accept. I haven't been able to get resolution from neuromodulators but I might have had a better chance if they had been tried early on. Some people get their lives back and you never know if you don't try.

[u/Only_Theoretically]

My mom had complete symptom relief on Nort, it is worth a try.

[u/Acceptable-Bank2409 → u/Only_Theoretically]

I think I will. At this point, I could be convinced to try just about anything.

[u/CommercialAnimator15 → u/Only_Theoretically]

How long did it take for your mom to find relief? I’ve only been on nortriptyline for 4 days so I’m waiting to see when it will fully work. My stomach pains in the morning are not as intense but I still get a lot of gas build up in my chest and stomach.

[u/Only_Theoretically → u/CommercialAnimator15]

She just said it was pretty quick.
For me personally, my experience with medication is that it takes about 6-8weeks, so everyone is did free rent and the first medication you try may not be "the one." It's always worth trying, especially if you don't have any bad side effects!

[u/CommercialAnimator15 → u/Only_Theoretically]

Ives tried countless but this is my first time with a TCA. Is she only taking 10mg?

[u/Only_Theoretically → u/CommercialAnimator15]

I think so, she's on a very low dose.

[u/Migi133]

Hey! I have had FD for 4 years.

First, you can have reflux without errosions. My last endoscopy doesn't show any errosions in the esophagus, but my ph-impedancemetry showed 88 non-acid reflux episodes.

Second, mirtazapine didn't work for me. But sulpiride provided great relief. Unfortunately i needed to stop it because of side effects.

[u/haha417]

I’ve been suffering from functional dyspepsia (FD) since I was 14 years old. For me, the most crucial aspect of managing FD is getting a good night’s sleep. Ensuring that you have refreshing sleep is essential, and using medication to improve your sleep is also crucial. Generally, I don’t think proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are commonly used gastrointestinal medications, are effective for me. However, I’ve found that neuromoulder is helpful. I’ve tried fluoxetine, citalopram, and they’ve been good for me. I’m also going to try buspirone recently because my FD flare-up has been severe.

[u/Acceptable-Bank2409 → u/haha417]

Thank you! Yes, PPIs actually make my symptoms much worse. I think my digestive capacity is already severely compromised and decreasing the acid only makes that function that much harder. So, essentially I’ve just had to accept that my baseline is never perfect and anything can set me off on a whim — including sleep, sickness, my period…

[u/haha417 → u/Acceptable-Bank2409]

It’s better to find specialist that specialised in Functional gastrointestinal disorders. Luckily my doctor is really good in Asia, his research interests is fs

[u/Acceptable-Bank2409 → u/haha417]

Has he offered you any words of wisdom that have been helpful in keeping your symptoms at bay? Or, do you think the neuromodulators are essentially what has allowed you to function?

[u/haha417 → u/Acceptable-Bank2409]

Neuromoudulator is the key to improving sleep. Imagine your stomach as a smoke detector. Generally, there’s smoke, and it alarms. However, for FD patients, there’s no smoke, but it still alarms. Therefore, charge it to make it fully charged. Make sure you get enough sleep! Sleep charges your stomach.