Acid Reflux....Bleh!

[Booko]

I ran across this today and thought it might be relevant:

Heartburn surgery
A whopping 60 million Americans experience heartburn at least once a month; 16 million deal with it daily. So it's no wonder that after suffering nasty symptoms (intense stomach-acid backup or near-instant burning in the throat and chest after just a few bites), patients badly want to believe surgery can provide a quick fix. And, for some, it does.


A procedure called nissen fundoplication can help control acid reflux and its painful symptoms by restoring the open-and-close valve function of the esophagus. But Jose Remes-Troche, M.D., of the Institute of Science, Medicine, and Nutrition in Mexico, reported in The American Journal of Surgery that symptoms don't always go away after the popular procedure, which involves wrapping a part of the stomach around the weak part of the esophagus.


"That may be because surgery doesn't directly affect healing capacity or dietary or lifestyle choices, which in turn can lead to recurrence in a hurry," he says.
The surgery can come undone, and side effects may include bloating and trouble swallowing. Remes-Troche believes it's best for very serious cases of long-standing gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, or for those at risk of Barrett's esophagus, a disease of the upper gastrointestinal tract that follows years of heartburn affliction and can be a precursor to esophageal cancer.

From:
5 operations you don't want to get -- and what to do instead

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27/healthmag.surgery/index.html

 

[Buttercup]

Thanks, Sharon. Good information indeed. From the "what to do instead" link, it sounds a lot easier to swallow a camera capsule than have a camera tube shoved down your throat (been there, done that).

I'll have to pass on this story to those I know who suffer from lower back probs.

 

[Valjean]

A camera capsule doesn't sound very effective.
The capsule's view is arbitrary -- if it's pointed left a tumor or lesion on the right, above or below will be completely missed. It can't be stopped and manipulated to do a complete exam of a suspicious region, and, for esophagitis, it sounds completely useless, as it will fly past the area of interest in less than a second when swallowed.

An endoscope, however unpleasant, can take the time to examine every square centimeter, can change angles, can zoom in for a close-up, can take a biopsy specimen of anything suspicious and can do certain surgical interventions.

 

[Nanda]

I don't want to be an alarmist or anything, but you should probably see a doctor. My father-in-law ignored his acid reflux for eight years, taking Tums and other OTC treatments to ease his symptoms, until he couldn't ignore it any longer - and by that point, he had esophageal cancer that had spread to his liver. He went through chemo and all the treatments he could, but we still lost him a year and a half later. It was one of the worst times of our lives, and it could have been avoided if he'd only seen his doctor regularly. My husband's sister had the same problem as her father, and it was corrected with a small procedure.

 

[Buttercup]

Thank you for the added comments Seyorni and Nanda. I'm sorry for the loss of your father in law, Nanda. It does seem like some men are procrastinators when it comes to going to the doctor, my dad is the same way and so is my husband.

Prilosec seems to be doing the job for me these days but I'll probably make an appointment anyway.

Thanks again!

 

[Hema]

Perhaps you can try yogurt, it's supposed to keep the stomach healthy. The good bacteria in it kills the bad bacteria in the stomach.

 

[porkchop]

Does anyone have trouble with horrible burning acid in your stomach?

I have for a couple of years and started out with Tums trying to alleviate the problem, went to generic acid reducers, the onto Nexium but it gave me headaches so now I'm using Prilosec but sometimes it still doesn't work.

Any suggestions?

Have these been perscribed? I havent heard of them but my doc. gave me omeprazole and it really helps, i got a hyetus ( i never spell it right!) hernia and I.B.S i take those tab.s and also aloe vera capsule, acidophilus capsules and charcoal capsules work great for acid reflux, i find them better than any antacid. Hope that helps, buttercup, i feel for you.