| Gastrointestinal Involvement (Main Menu) |
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| Esophagus: Reflux (Heartburn) and GERD |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer |
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| Reflux (Heartburn) and GERD Prevention and Treatments |
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| Overview |
| Heartburn (reflux) is very common in the general population. It can often be managed well with lifestyle changes, such as changing eating habits, sleeping differently, and increasing your activities. When lifestyle changes alone don't work, more agreesive preventive measures such as medications or even surgery (in severe cases) may be required. |
| Heartburn (reflux) is quite common in people with systemic scleroderma; therefore, preventing reflux, or at least, reducing its severity is very important in preventing esophegeal damage. |
| What is a reasonable approach to the management of GERD? There are several ways to approach the evaluation and management of GERD. The approach depends primarily on the frequency and severity of symptoms, the adequacy of the response to treatment, and the presence of complications. MedicineNet. |
| Lifestyle Changes |
| 10 Lifestyle Changes That Can Prevent Heartburn About.com (Heartburn/GERD) |
| Hold the Heartburn: Heartburn Log. Tracking your triggers can help manage heartburn effectively and naturally. WebMD. |
| 10 Steps to Lesson Nighttime Heartburn. If staying up all night isn't the option you are prepared to take for handling your nighttime heartburn, the following suggestions should help you. About.com |
| Heartburn: To relieve nighttime reflux, sleep on your left side. reported MSNBC on 5/22/98: "If all reflux sufferers followed this advice, we'd see a lot less nighttime reflux," says Dr. Don Castell of the American Gastroenterological Association. |
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Why does sleeping on your left side reduce night reflux? Check out the position of the stomach and the opening into the esophagus. When you sleep on your left side, gravity helps to keep the contents in the stomach. Roll over on your right side and those contents could flow into the esophagus, especially if you have problems with your esophageal sphincter (valve between stomach and esophagus) or a hiatal hernia. |
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| Investigators Uncover Intriguing Clues To Why Persistent Acid Reflux Sometimes Turns Into Cancer. "The research supports why it is important to prevent reflux, because the more reflux you have and the longer you have it, the more it might predispose you to getting Barrett's esophagus. So you want to suppress that reflux," said Dr. Rhonda Souza. Medical News Today. 08/13/07. (Also see: Barrett's Esophagus) |
| Body-Mass Index (BMI) and Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux in Women. BMI is associated with symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease in both normal-weight and overweight women. Even moderate weight gain among persons of normal weight may cause or exacerbate symptoms of reflux. The New England Journal of Medicine. Vol 354:2340-2348. 06/01/06. |
| Soda, Sleeping Pills May Cause Heartburn. Carbonated soft drinks and one of the most commonly prescribed types of sleeping pills, benzodiazepines, may be some underappreciated causes of nighttime heartburn—so severe that it disturbs a person's sleep. WebMD. 05/09/05. |
| Eradication of Helicobacter pylori Confers no Significant Benefit for Patients with Heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux. Helicobacter pylori infection appears associated with a small increased prevalence of heartburn but not with gastroesophageal reflux, however, eradication of H pylori does not offer a significant benefit for patients with either condition, according to findings from the Bristol helicobacter project. Doctor's Guide. BMJournal 05/06/04. |
| Reflux and Diet |
| Good Foods, Bad Foods, Recipes, Menus. Charts to show you what you can eat and what you shouldn't. Heartburn-free recipes. There are also links to menus with heartburn-friendly foods. About.com. |
| Diet for Heartburn. Relief of mild heartburn is typically achieved through diet and lifestyle changes, although medication (eg. antacids) is usually necessary if the heartburn is caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Buzzle.com. |
| The Acid Reflux Disease Diet. An acid reflux disease diet is an easy way to reduce or eliminate the painful symptoms alone or with any medication. Ezine Articles. |
| Use Beano before eating foods that are troublesome. |
| Survey Reveals Heartburn Sufferers Experience More Heartburn During The Holidays. By incorporating lifestyle changes into their diets, heartburn sufferers can learn to alleviate symptoms so they can enjoy the holidays. Medical News Today. 11/14/07. |
| Reflux and GERD Treatments |
| Acid Reflux Drugs May Up Fractures. Using acid reflux drugs called proton pump inhibitors for at least seven years may be linked to increased risk of osteoporosis-related fractures. WebMD. 08/11/08. (Also see: Osteoporosis) |
| Acidic and Non-Acidic Reflux During Sleep Under Conditions of Powerful Acid Suppression. PPI treatment reduced overall reflux events, but non-acidic reflux events were relatively more likely to occur with PPI treatment. Chest. 2007; 131:460-465. (Also see: GERD) |
| Study finds unexpected results in acid suppression between two OTC heartburn treatments. This study showed the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) had more profound effects on stomach acid over time. EurekAlert! 01/10/07. |
| Acid suppression medication linked with increased risk of hip fracture. We observed that proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) therapy is associated with a significantly increased risk of hip fractures, with the highest risk seen among those receiving high-dose PPI therapy. E urekAlert! 12/26/06. |
| GERD: endoscopic antireflux therapies. Radiofrequency (Stretta) has proved only a very modest effect, while implantation techniques have been abandoned due to lack of long-term efficacy (Gatekeeper) or serious side effects (Enteryx). PubMed. Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2006 Aug 2;95(31-32):1185-7. |
| GERD Information Resource Center by Astra Merck Inc. |
| Metoclopramide response in patients with early diffuse systemic sclerosis. Effects on esophageal motility abnormalities. The results of our study show that metoclopramide may improve LES (lower esophageal sphincter) pressures in patients with early and late dSS. Because metoclopramide can be used orally, it may mitigate both dysphagia and heartburn. PubMed. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2005 Sep-Oct;23(5):685-8. (Also see: Esophagus Involvement and Dysphagia) |
| Endoscopic antireflux therapy: the Stretta procedure. The Stretta procedure is safe and effective for the treatment of GERD. PubMed. Thorac Surg Clin. 2005 Aug;15(3):395-403. |
| Management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: medications, surgery, or endoscopic therapy? (Current status and trends). Because of its symptomatic diversity, physicians may select from a variety of therapeutic approaches. PubMed.J Long Term Eff Med Implants. 2005;15(4):375-88. |
| G.I. Cocktail. Ask your doctor about this! It's a mixture of Maalox, Donnatol, and Xylocaine which can quell severe heartburn/reflux right away. Many SD patients give it rave reviews. |
| GERD is a chronic, severe form of heartburn that has the potential to erode the inner lining of the lower esophagus over time. Acrobat Reader required to view. NMT Brief from Center Watch. |
| Propulsid (cisapride) Physicians who are treating patients with severely debilitating conditions for whom they believe the benefits of the cisapride may still outweigh its risks are encouraged to contact Janssen at 1-800-JANSSEN. |
| Surgery |
| In severe cases of heartburn, where medication does not help or there are complications, surgery may be done. |
| Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication is a surgery which wraps the stomach tighter around the base of the esophagus to lessen the likelihood of reflux. Laparscopy.com |
| Heartburn Surgery Done Through Patient's Mouth. Physicians used a remote control instruments to repair the valve between the esophagus and stomach without using a scalpel. Medical News Today. 01/11/08. |
| Comparison of surgical approaches to recalcitrant gastroesophageal reflux disease in the patient with scleroderma. This finding suggests that laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) may be an option for the primary management of scleroderma-associated gastroesophageal reflux. PubMed. Ann Thorac Surg. 2007 Nov;84(5):1710-5. |
| Endoscopic GERD Surgery Gives Long-Term Relief. An endoscopic surgical procedure to treat symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was safe and effective over a three-year follow-up, found researchers here and at four other centers. Medpage Today. 01/07/07. |
| Surgery Unlikely to Douse Fires That Fuel Heartburn Over Time, Medicine a Better Option for Reflux Disease For the millions of Americans suffering from GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, a surgical fix may be no better than treatment with medications called proton pump inhibitors. In fact, surgery may increase the risk of death over time. WebMD 5-8-2001 |
| Nissen Fundoplication Surgery Personal Stories |
| Jon F: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) I believe my vagus nerve was damaged in some way during the Nissen fundoplication surgery or as a result of it... |
| Moomary: Diffuse Scleroderma The endoscopy showed that my esophagus does not close at all when I swallow. The surgeon suggested that he could do a Nissen Fundoplication... |
| Rosie: Limited Systemic Sclerosis (Australia) Some of my symptoms may not be due to limited scleroderma, however most of these symptoms have appeared since my diagnosis... |
| Prevention Forum Discussions |
| Has anyone noticed reflux intensifying at night and making sleep difficult? I have become nocturnal... |
| For those with reflux issues, a recommendation. About 1 1/2 months ago, my wife scheduled an appointment with a Nutritionist... |
| Toupet Fundoplication, Surgery to relieve acid reflux. I went through a surgical procedure, Toupet Fundoplication to relieve my acid reflux problems.. This is a partial wrap... |
