[COLOR="Green"]I am wondering whether anyone knows of this condition. My elderly mother, who has severe, fairly constant belching (doctor said not a medical condition) has a worrying condition now when she goes to bed. She keeps straining her throat, (making a retching sound) trying to bring something up - what appears are a few tiny hard pieces of what looks like coffee grits. It interferes with her sleep. Have not consulted GP on this yet. (She is on many medications - warfarin, lansaprazole, pravastatin, and bisoprolol). She is also on a calcium (adcal) tablet which I supplement with magnesium; I give her Vit C and B complex too.
I think the belching is due to producing low stomach acid - a common problem when ageing.
Any help/advice on the coffee grit situation?
The calcium in Adcal leads to belching due to the chemical reaction between Calcium carbonate and stomach acid.
Your subject line caught my eye because 'coffee ground' is a common description when people - often elderly ladies - are vomiting and have dome bleeding internally. It is often described as 'coffee ground vomit'.
However from what you say your mother is not vomiting - and Lansoprazole should reduce the risk of bleeding however she is on warfarin,
Because it happens only at night I wonder if it is the fact that she is lying down - and possibly having an extra pillow may help. However I do urge you to mention this to her doctor or pharmacist. I have NO doubt she is on a large number of medications and she may well benefit from a medicines use review to see if some of them could be stopped (it does happen)
It could be this problem is die to nothing more than the number of medications she is taking - but it does need to be checked
[COLOR="Green"]Thanks Tashanie for this info. Presumably the belching would occur with any calcium supplement though since they contain calcium carbonate? Is there a kind that doesn't, do you know...or perhaps I can look into this. She is prescribed Adcal to offset the risk of osteoporosis/brittle bones.
Thanks Tashanie for this info. Presumably the belching would occur with any calcium supplement though since they contain calcium carbonate? Is there a kind that doesn't, do you know...or perhaps I can look into this. She is prescribed Adcal to offset the risk of osteoporosis/brittle bones.
I just love it when they put elderly people on lots of meds - wonderful!!! :034: Coffee ground vomit is a warning of digested blood from the stomach/duodenum. Do see the GP and get a review, as Tashanie suggests. Certainly extra pillows can be helpful at night. How old is she? Statins have been shown to be unhelpful for women past 65, can't find the study right now but [url]see here[/url], and have lots of side-effects.
I agree that the calcium carbonate will make her belch. Lansoprazole (a very useful tool for helping in gastric problems) will reduce the stomach acid but will not do her digestion any good in the long term. People are supposed to be on it for just 4-8 weeks according to my pharmacopoeia, but people are left on it for years sometimes.
Other forms of calcium include , but there are other varieties. This one has the added vitamin D which is useful in so many ways, and includes magnesium.
Low stomach acid can cause belching and this can be alleviated somewhat by eating protein separately from carbohydrate foods. The theory being that low stomach acid means that protein foods are difficult to digest because the acid has to start the breakdown process before the enzymes can get to work. If you have eaten carbs at the same time, they break down to produce water and carbon dioxide (gas) which bubbles up to the top of the stomach and is released by belching. It often causes what is known as GERD in USA, gastric reflux, where the oesophagus is damaged by the stomach contents - it has no mucus-protective cells lining it. Low stomach acid can cause digestive problems down the line too.
May I suggest she sees a BANT registered [url]Nutritional Therapist [/url]- we specialise in helping people with gut problems - and you can ask for a Skype consultation if she is unable to travel.
Caroline N - thanks for your useful post. I will certainly look into the statins and lanzoprazole issue i.e. chase it up with GP. She is 92, alas, on her last legs. Will also check out the calcium situation. You have been very kind. Will see what transpires. 🙂
[COLOR="Green"]Thanks Tashanie for this info. Presumably the belching would occur with any calcium supplement though since they contain calcium carbonate? Is there a kind that doesn't, do you know...or perhaps I can look into this. She is prescribed Adcal to offset the risk of osteoporosis/brittle bones.
No they ALL contain calcium carbonate. It really could be worth getting her meds reviewed. You don't say how elderly she is but often elderly people don't need the same amount of meds they used to.
[COLOR="Green"]Thanks Tashanie. As mentioned, in my previous post, my mum is 92. She gets a 3 month medication review - this is standard practise/routine (here in London).
I had an elderly client a few years ago, who I started treating when she was 88. Just after her 90th birthday, she saw her doctor (who I know very well) and told him that she had decided to stop taking all the pills he had been prescribing (about 8 different products plus a nitro spray which was in her handbag, unused, since a mild heart attack when she was 60 - but on repeat prescription) as she wanted to see how she got on without them. He told her that she didn't have to take anything if she didn't want to, and that he wasn't sure the stuff she was taking was doing any good!!!!!!
About a month later she was back out walking every day (she had stopped going out due to painful feet, when she was 85) and admitted that she felt 55 again! She lived life to the full - out to lunch 3 days a week, and bridge night every Monday - until last year, aged 98. Amazing lady. I miss her. She didn't have a ghastly end thankfully - she just went to bed one night and didn't wake up. She was found by her carer, in bed, with her book open beside her.
[COLOR="Green"]Jabba - you don't say what ailments the medicines were for with this lady.
My mum is 92 and has had another stroke (plus 2 heart attacks before that) and has low stomach acidity. She takes warfarin (anti-clotting - to stave off a further stroke). You may know that once you have had a stroke, the risk of getting another one increases. So I'd be careful about implying that people should ditch their medicine - that strikes me as rash and irresponsible. It depends what their condition/illness is to begin with and overall constitution.
(I say this as someone who loathes taking conventional medicine. I am much more interested in healthy alternatives where possible).
She is very weak - chronic kidney disease (stage 4) is mostly to blame for this. I know a lot of the medicines make her dizzy (which she suffers from) and I get resentful about this.
No implication was intended and I'm sorry if you read my post that way.
The old lady, when I first met her, wanted some help with her feet, so her podiatrist recommended massage which is what I provided on a regular basis for years. She was on 2 diuretics, thyroxin, omeprazole and two heart drugs which I can't remember the name of plus paracetamol.
It was her decision alone to stop taking meds. I would never ever ever suggest it to anyone. I am not qualified.
No implication was intended and I'm sorry if you read my post that way.
The old lady, when I first met her, wanted some help with her feet, so her podiatrist recommended massage which is what I provided on a regular basis for years. She was on 2 diuretics, thyroxin, omeprazole and two heart drugs which I can't remember the name of plus paracetamol.
It was her decision alone to stop taking meds. I would never ever ever suggest it to anyone. I am not qualified.
[COLOR="Green"]Ah O.K Jabba - no offense taken. I was just concerned, since the post didn't have a rider (explaining your reservations) that some may read your post and think this might be a way to proceed.