Acid reflux - who's got it?

[Phil Ayesho]

BTW
Nexium and Prilosec are identical except for non active molecule or two...

The patent for prilosec ran out, meaning any generic company can now make it. So the company that used to ONLY sell prilosec by prescription got it okayed for over the counter... but any generic equivalent that is cheaper will do.

They developed Nexium just to keep the prescription money rolling in... but it has the exact same effect and action as prilosec, targeting the same receptors.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

I don't think anyone else mentioned this, and it's important ... those foods you love can really make acid reflux worse. You don't have to cut that stuff out completely (that's my experience), you just have to up the ratio of less-fatty stuff you eat to the fatty stuff you eat.

Fatty food is not really the culprit as I understand it.

The single biggest cause of acid reflux is Wheat... which is really hard to NOT eat a lot of... everything from pasta to breakfast cereal has wheat in it.

Caffeine and alcohol are the 2nd and 3rd biggest contributors.

I discounted this advice until I spent time in Asia where you seldom see any wheat products at all... by heartburn disappeared within days.

 

[tal94]

I've got it, but despite my pleads with the doctors, nobody seems to care.
"Go get some Prilosec at the grocery store - thats all I can tell you"

I have taken Prilosec OTC, Zantac 150's etc etc.. and nothing touches it.
It's what partially doomed my father, and probably will doom me as well.

Know what you mean- my doc just fobbed me off with peptobismal (the pink stuff) and only seems like a temporary respite. Interesting what Jason said about random impact of diet but I do find white wine is my main trigger

 

[Dave NoCal]

What is critically important to understand is that GERD is a strcutural condition, weakness is the gastroesophogeal sphincter. Some foods will make the reflux more painful but do not increase it. So, if you have reflux "some of the time" or "when eating/drinking this that or the other" you actually have it all the time. The only ways to reduce/heal damage are PPIs or surgery and the only way to assess the cellular status of the esophagus is endoscopy.
Folks, please don't rationalize this away. Medically, it's a big deal.
Dave

 

[2322]

What is critically important to understand is that GERD is a strcutural condition, weakness is the gastroesophogeal sphincter. Some foods will make the reflux more painful but do not increase it. So, if you have reflux "some of the time" or "when eating/drinking this that or the other" you actually have it all the time. The only ways to reduce/heal damage are PPIs or surgery and the only way to assess the cellular status of the esophagus is endoscopy.
Folks, please don't rationalize this away. Medically, it's a big deal.
Dave

QFE, QFT.

You do not want to be lying in a hospital bed with a doctor looking down at you telling you that you have cancer. It is Hell on earth. If your doctor fobs you off then get another doctor and remind him that the youngest person with esophageal cancer due to GERD was 21.

This shit is serious. Demand the care you pay for or walk.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

I've got it, but despite my pleads with the doctors, nobody seems to care.
"Go get some Prilosec at the grocery store - thats all I can tell you"

I have taken Prilosec OTC, Zantac 150's etc etc.. and nothing touches it.
It's what partially doomed my father, and probably will doom me as well.

You may not be aware that, when you first start taking prilosec, it does not appear to have any effect.

You have to take it for several days to a week before it really kicks in as far as FEELING less heartburn.

Its not like Zantac, which is more like a half hour effectivensss window.

If you tried Prilosec, and did not feel immediate relief, you might have given up to soon.
ITs something you have to keep with.

Did you take it for the full 14 day initial course?

 

[B_bflr]

I have had acid reflux for over ten years. I have come to realize lately how serious this matter is. It's not just a matter of working through the pain. Damage is done to your esophagus, and this can cause serious health problems.

I think that too many people ignore their acid reflux, and don't realize how dangerous this is. I still eat out every day, but I'm being more selective about my diet. After taking IB for years for my hip problems, I have awful stomach issues. I think that bBucko has had the same experience with IB.

I am just hoping that people realize what the triggers are and how to deal with them.

I had reflux for a long time. Took Protonix, which didn't help much. Neither did Tums.

Then I met a doctor who told me to "eat food the way God made it" and get rid of all foods made with refined flour, refined sugar, etc. Within a week the reflux was gone and after a few months I had lost about 30 pounds! So, no bread, only oatmeal occasionally as cereal, rarely have any candy or icecream (used to have that every night). Used to drink sugary sodas, now I drink tea, or sometimes coffee with cream.

No kidding. Maybe a diet change will help? Good luck!

 

[AlextheRedhead]

This thread is over ten years old now but it's one of the only ones I have found that addresses this issue.

I recently found out I have Barrett's high grade dysplasia Which is precancerous.
Doctor said I had acid reflux and I didn't know it before it started to advance.

I was taking famotidine OTC. Early on I was taking ranitidine before it was pulled off the market for possible "unacceptable levels of a potential cancer-causing substance"

Famotidine worked fine for several years but the acid reflux got worse. I would gasp at night because the acid would come up into my mouth. It would burn my throat and I would have to get out of bed for it to calm down.

Everything changed when I had tarry stools and became anemic, my Doctor ordered a colonoscopy and a endoscopy to find the source of bleeding. The colonoscopy was fine but the endoscopy found Barrett's Esophagus.

I caught it in time

I've started taking Prilosec which is a proton pump inhibitor and it has stopped the acid reflux but now the damage has all-ready been done.

I just had the first treatment which is an out patient procedure. You are given anesthesia and the doctor preformed Circumferential radiofrequency ablation of Barrett's esophagus. In other words the upper lining of the esophagus is burned off leaving new skin.

In recovery I felt a burning sensation in my upper chest in the esophagus. Now three days later it has lessened and over time it will go away.

I will have to go back in three months and have it done again and possibly again in three months after that.

Doctor said I need to have surgery for a Hiatal hernia which was caused by years of acid reflux. That's another surgery to repair the damage. I'm looking at at least three more treatments.

So, I will have to endure more treatment but I believe I have dodged a cancer bullet.

Don't let this happen to you.

I will update as I progress.

 

[bigmanmikey444]

PLEASE take care of this.. and if it starts get it checked out a really good friend of mine its all kinds of spicy foods and never has problems.. then he started getting Acid Reflux and a pain between his shoulder blades.. yes he had a heart attack ended up with a triple bypass.. doing fine now.. but the dr was like the acid reflux was the warning..

 

[Val52]

Yeah, I've had reflux issues for the past ~10 years. I had my first endoscopy about ~5 or so years ago which showed some esophageal damage, thankfully nothing too extreme, so I was told to take Prilosec/Omeprazole daily. That worked for the better part of the last 5 years but it seemed to have stopped working as effectively as my main symptoms (severe heart burn & cough) started to come back. Had another endoscopy done earlier this year and was switched to pantoprazole, a similar PPI but it was a higher dosage.

 

[AlextheRedhead]

Yeah, I've had reflux issues for the past ~10 years. I had my first endoscopy about ~5 or so years ago which showed some esophageal damage, thankfully nothing too extreme, so I was told to take Prilosec/Omeprazole daily. That worked for the better part of the last 5 years but it seemed to have stopped working as effectively as my main symptoms (severe heart burn & cough) started to come back. Had another endoscopy done earlier this year and was switched to pantoprazole, a similar PPI but it was a higher dosage.

would you mind sharing that the dose of pantoprazole? I take 40mg of prilosic

 

[Val52]

would you mind sharing that the dose of pantoprazole? I take 40mg of prilosic

It's 40mg as well. Before my doctor had me just taking the standard over-the-counter dosages of Prilosec which was just 20mg.

 

[AlextheRedhead]

Having my second radiofrequency ablation next week. Will post progress on here after.

 

[AlextheRedhead]

Just had the procedure yesterday. It's working. Doctor said it was much better and only treated two small areas.
I will go back in three months for another to see if it has repaired itself.
Fingers crossed

 

[AlextheRedhead]

Had my third procedure yesterday and the surgeon said it's working.
Sore throat for a couple of days and haven't had acid reflux since taking 40m Prilosec.
I'll have a 4th in three months. At least I won't develop cancer.

 

[AlextheRedhead]

Had a final procedure in February and the Doctor found I was healed. Now to do the repair.

I had hiatal hernia repair called laparoscopic nissen fundoplication.
The surgery went well. Only had to eat soft foods for two weeks.

The day of surgery I stopped taking Prilosec.
I can eat what I want with no reflux what so ever.

 

[lapdog2001]

I had asymptomatic GERD without knowing about it but sometimes had trouble swallowing. An endoscopy showed the GERD and erosion so I was immediately prescribed Prilosec . After a few years I talked to my doctor and we went to an acid reducer (famotidine). A more recent endoscopy showed no erosion and everything looked good.

This advice, repeated a few times in this thread is a must read, and must take action!

Please let me restate that acid reflux can appear to be symptomless. You don't feel the reflux because the acid doesn't get high enough in the esophagus to cause pain but any reflux above the junction of the stomach and esophagus, even a few millimeters, is enough to cause erosion and worse. This also was happening with me and one of the reasons I only took Zantac when I felt symptoms. If you have a history of feeling it on occasion, then please get yourself checked because you may have chronic Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and not know it.

 

[Dave NoCal]

Jason els, who posted in this thread and has been quoted several times died of esophageal cancer secondary to GERD quite a few years ago. He posted a fair amount about it so I don't think I;m out of line here. Guys.thisis serious business. If your doctor doesn't agree. find a different one.