Getting Help for Your Acid Reflux
If you suffer from acid reflux disease, you are far from being alone. It is estimated that fully one third of people in the United States are afflicted with gastroesophageal reflux disease also known as GERD. Acid reflux is painful, annoying and can lead to serious health problems if not managed properly and can do serious damage to the lining of the stomach and esophagus.
Although there is no cure for this condition, most people try to find a regimen that works for them to keep the symptoms under control. Since everyone is unique, it may take some time and experimentation for you to find what works best.
What causes Acid Reflux?
Generally speaking, a weakening of the valve that lets food into your stomach is the main cause of acid reflux disease. When this muscle or LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) weakens, it allows the contents of your stomach to flow back up and into your esophagus causing you all that pain and discomfort. There can be other contributing factors but this is the main cause.
Acid Reflux Symptoms
There are many symptoms associated with acid reflux disease, such as severe heartburn, hoarseness, severe chest pain, trouble swallowing and in severe situations nausea and vomiting, just to name a few.
If acid reflux is left for any length of time without treatment, the stomach acid that is contained in this backflow can cause serious injury to the lining of your esophagus. In some circumstances you can even develop lesions not only on the lining of the esophagus but also the in the lining of your stomach. If this is the case it may be necessary to take a prescription medicine such as Nexium to reduce the amount of acid in the stomach and therefore reducing the amount of damage done by the reflux.
If you suffer from these symptoms for more than 3 days a week you should see your doctor right away. From there he may or may not immediately refer you to a gastroenterologist. A gastroenterologist is a specialist that works with the digestive tract. But your doctor may only refer you after he has tried to relieve your symptoms himself which is common practice.
To start the process of diagnosing acid reflux disease they will most likely start by getting a patient history from you. They’ll ask you a series of questions about your acid reflux symptoms to help pinpoint the heart of the problem. Then they may prescribe a medication to get you started to see if it helps.
If your gerd symptoms persist then the next step may be to test you further. This is where the gastroenterologist may be called in. Some of these tests include endoscopy where they introduce a small optical system to view the inside of your esophagus and stomach. Another test that used to be used quite often is a barium x-ray. This test entails the patient drinking barium while an x-ray is performed. The barium highlights any lesions that may be present on the x-ray.
Once your primary care physician or GI doctor has determined a diagnosis of acid reflux he’ll more than likely prescribe one of the many medications used to treat acid reflux, like Nexium or a generic equivalent.
But what, if anything, can you do yourself to help your situation?
There are many lifestyle changes that you can make to help you manage the symptoms of acid reflux. For example, if you are overweight, going on a diet and losing some weight can make a large impact on your acid reflux symptoms.
If you smoke, cutting down or even better, quitting, can have dramatic effect on the amount of stomach acid your body produces thus reducing the affect that acid has on your stomach and esophagus. And, don’t overeat. Stuffing your stomach puts too much stress on the valve at the top of your stomach allowing seepage of stomach contents up into your esophagus and causing you the burn.
Acid Reflux Diet anyone?
You can start yourself on a diet for acid reflux. It’s not as bad as it sounds. An acid reflux diet is nothing more than eating smaller portions, eating the right foods, staying away from foods that are known triggers of acid reflux and determining your triggers.
Additionally, don’t lie down right after eating. If you happen to eat right before bed or tend to like to lie down after eating, don’t! Remain upright for at least 45 minutes prior to lying down or going to bed.
If you find that you suffer from attacks of acid reflux while you are sleeping regardless of how long it’s been since you ate you can raise the head of your bed a few inches to take the negative effect that gravity has on the contents of your stomach. While you are lying down gravity allows the contents of your stomach to shift and come into contact with the valve at the top of your stomach.
If you have any doubts about the effectiveness of any of these holistic suggestions I can tell you personally that I used to suffer from severe acid reflux disease and I was on Nexium. I was told that I would be on medication for the rest of my life. Since I hate taking any medications and forget to take them anyway I wanted to see if there was something that I could do about it.
So, over time, I made a number of lifestyle choices. One of which was to quit smoking, which I did and that helped. Next, I lost a few pounds. Mind you, I wasn’t technically overweight. But for my frame a loss of 10 pounds made a huge difference in my acid reflux. I also stopped overindulging when I ate. Now, this was harder than quitting smoking! I love food.
Today, I’m free of the medication. Do I get occasional heartburn? You bet! But it’s not a chronic condition like it used to be. I even enjoy Thai food, chili, Buffalo wings and the like. In other words, I pretty much eat whatever I like and the hotter the food the better. Which kind of dispels the myth about hot foods causing acid reflux doesn’t it. There are triggers that you should be aware of but once you know them you can still enjoy your favorite foods even if they are spicy.
That being said, if you have honestly tried everything and nothing is working then you may need to be on a medication to control your acid reflux. My situation may not be the same as your situation and I don’t want anyone to unnecessarily suffer. Everyone is different and their bodies respond differently, that’s why one medication may work for some and not others and some home remedies for acid reflux may work you and not work for me. For example, I’ve tried apple cider vinegar and it didn’t work for me. But, I think that’s because I didn’t give it a chance. I couldn’t get past the taste! You may fair better than I. The point is that you have to try different things until you find one that works and do what your doctor tells you to do.
Acid Reflux Topics Of Interest
Education is everything when it comes to your health. You have to be your own advocate. That’s why on this website you will learn about what reflux disease is and the symptoms signaling when treatment is necessary, what you can do about it yourself and when you should seek the advice of a doctor.
All the information you need to help you manage your disease and the treatments are available under the following helpful categories:
Acid Reflux Disease: These articles explore the definition of gastroesophageal reflux disease, what causes it and why it is important to recognize the symptoms and treat them promptly.
Acid Reflux Symptoms: What causes the symptoms of acid reflux disease and what are they? Within these pages are explanations of the different ways acid reflux symptoms can manifest themselves and what they mean.
In these articles is information concerning mild to severe symptoms and when it is okay to attempt treatment on your own and when you need to see the doctor. We also explore how acid reflux symptoms are diagnosed and the tests you may have to undergo. I’ll even post some pictures of my very own EGD to show you what lesions look like.
Acid Reflux Treatments: Although this is not necessarily a condition that can be cured, there are treatments available that can make it much easier to manage. From antacids and medication to surgery and everything in between, these pages contain information about the many different treatments both medical, including acid reflux surgery and alternative available for people with acid reflux. Often it is a combination of factors that can help manage your reflux, and you will find advice regarding the different GERD treatment options from which you can choose.
Acid Reflux Remedies: There is no one answer or remedy to managing acidic reflux, and these pages are full of remedies from hundreds of years old to the latest available. You will find herbal remedies, nutritional information, natural remedies and information about the latest drugs. Like I said before there is no “one size fits all” approach to treating this disease. You may find things that work and others that don’t. Don’t get discouraged. The nice thing is that there are a lot of different acid reflux remedies to try.
Acid Reflux Diet: There are as many different GERD diets as there are people who have gastro reflux. What are your options? Do you have to give up all your favorite foods? What if one diet doesn’t work for you? We answer all these questions and more in the section containing diets for acid reflux.
Acidic reflux is much easier to manage if you have all the information available in order to make the right choices for your individual treatment plan. Some options may work better for you than others, and it may take some experimentation for you to find the right combination of treatments to relieve the agonizing symptoms of acid reflux.
On this website we will try to provide the information that you will need to know in order to manage your acid reflux disease effectively and find relief from this common condition and improve the quality of your life.
