Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, are a class of drug commonly used to treat acid-related conditions such as stomach ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). They work by decreasing the amount of acid in the stomach by blocking a chemical system known as the “proton pump” in cells of the stomach lining that make stomach acid. Continue Reading Article >
5 Signs It May Be Time For Anti-Reflux Surgery
Acid reflux isn’t pleasant. Symptoms of acid reflux include heartburn (a painful burning sensation in your abdomen, chest, or throat), regurgitation (acid backing up into your throat or mouth), and dyspepsia (burping, nausea, bloating, and abdominal pain/discomfort). If acid reflux occurs frequently and chronically, you may be diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, which is a chronic digestive disease.
He Drank His Way To A Nobel Prize
Dr Barry Marshall an internist and Dr Robin Warren a pathologist at Royal Perth Hospital both suffered from seeing patients with severe acid reflux disease. Some patients had their stomachs removed or bled until they died. In 1981 they began working together to find a cure for GERD and ulcers. Dr Warren had discovered that the patients gut were filled with bacteria shaped like cork screws.
Surviving A Liquid Diet: 6 Tips To Keep You From Cheating Post Surgery
Often after reflux or GERD surgery you will be put on a liquid diet. This is often done to heal reflux disease, repair a hiatal hernia, or the esophagus. This diet helps control excessive gas, pain, difficulty swallowing, and problems with surgery after the operation is performed .The clear liquid diet has fruit juices, chicken broth, beef broth, flavored gelatin, coffee or tea, popsicles, and Italian ice. A clear liquid diet should only be for a few days.
How Can I Tell If My Baby Has Acid Reflux?
e’re all familiar with the following scenario: you’re holding a baby, cooing over how cute she is, when suddenly the shoulder of your favorite shirt is covered with spit-up. If she’s someone else’s baby—great. You wrinkle your nose, hand her back, and start dabbing the undigested milk or formula off your clothing. If she’s your baby, well…this is probably the third time you’ve been spit-up on this morning, so chances are you don’t even bat an eyelash.
Acid Reflux: The Not So Beautiful Side of Pregnancy
There are many beautiful things about pregnancy: that wonderful pregnancy glow, the increased voluptuousness of your curves, and of course the fact that you are nurturing a brand new life inside of you. Unfortunately, there are some not-so-beautiful things about pregnancy as well: constantly having to pee, morning sickness, pregnancy cost, and acid reflux, to name a few. Continue reading article>
7 Tips for Dealing With Baby Reflux
No parent likes to see their baby uncomfortable or in pain, and baby reflux can be a frustrating and tearful experience for mother and baby alike. Just like in adults, acid reflex in babies occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter, which controls the flow of food between the stomach and the esophagus, doesn’t work correctly. This allows stomach content and acid to back up into the esophagus. Baby reflux symptoms include frequent “spitting up,” difficulty eating, and heartburn and gas during or shortly after eating. Continue reading here>
5 Ways Reflux Is Ruining Your Life
If you suffer from acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease, you may frequently encounter people who don’t understand just how much the symptoms of acid reflux affect your daily life. Many people think that reflux is “just” heartburn. They don’t understand the wide variety of other symptoms reflux produces and the serious impact these can have on everyday activities that most people don’t think twice about. Continue Reading Article >
5 Pokemon Who Definitely Have Acid Reflux
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably at least heard of the Pokémon Go craze that is sweeping the nation. So I thought we’d spice up the topic of acid reflux (see what I did there?) by looking at some Pokémon who appear to be suffering some of the many symptoms of acid reflux.
Charizard
Ok, this one is pretty self-explanatory. He’s a dragon, and he’s literally breathing fire! Takes the term “heartburn”, one of the most common symptoms of acid reflux, to a whole new level. This Pokémon is going to need more than few antacids to put out that fire.
Gloom
Another uncomfortable symptom of acid reflux is regurgitation, “a sour or bitter tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth.” Poor Gloom looks like he has it bad!
Poliwhirl
See that swirling maelstrom in this Pokémon’s gut? He looks like he may be experiencing dyspepsia, an unpleasant symptom of acid reflux that includes belly pain, bloating, and nausea.
Magmar
So I’m pretty sure this Pokémon is a male (don’t ask me why, just gut intuition I suppose), but it was the closest one I could find that looks like it might be pregnant, so bear with me. I wanted to illustrate the fact that acid reflux is very common during pregnancy, in fact more than half of pregnant women experience acid reflux. Yeah, you’d look grumpy too!
Snorlax
One of the common risk factors for acid reflux is being overweight or obese…but the extra padding makes him so cute and cuddly! Unfortunately, if you suffer from acid reflux, you may find yourself wanting to sleep sitting up, just like this guy.
All joking aside, acid reflux is something that affects over 60% of the American population on a monthly basis, and over 20% of the American population weekly. The symptoms and risk factors these Pokemon exhibit are representative of the struggles many Americans with reflux face on a daily basis, and definitely merit awareness. If you’ve been suffering from acid reflux on a regular basis, it may be time to talk to a specialist. There are several treatment options for acid reflux, many of them as simple as lifestyle changes, so don’t let something as simple as reflux take over your life.
Written by: Margaret Durkovic
The Pros, Cons, & Costs of the Linx Procedure
Over 20 million people suffer from GERD in the United States. Surgeons treat many patients with medications or surgery. Linx is a new surgery that has just been developed in the last several years. Many patients do not even know that surgery is an option for more severe cases of GERD or acid reflux. This is just one of the many type available for patients. Continue Reading Article >
The 10 Funniest Tweets About Reflux
For those of you who don’t know, acid reflux affects millions of people around the world every day. There is no single demographic to sum up this group because reflux can affect all age groups. Reflux occurs when the valve called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter functions improperly. Continue Reading Article >
7 Things People With Reflux Are Tired Of Hearing
Heartburn symptoms can be a huge pain. An even bigger pain can be the constant unsolicited advice from friends and family about foods that cause heartburn, body posture that increase indigestion, and over-the-counter medications to quench the symptoms of acid reflux. We get it! Enough already! Continue Reading Article >
The Pros & Cons and Costs of TIF Procedures
Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication surgery for GERD has been around about 10 years or more. It is less invasive than traditional surgery and involves wrapping part of the the stomach around the esophagus to strengthen the muscle. Symptoms of GERD include heart burn, upset stomach, regurgitation, vomiting, and bloating. Continue Reading Article >
The 10 Funniest Tweets About Heartburn
As you are downing your tenth antacid post dinner? Take a a minute to step back and find some humor in the heartburn situation you have found yourself in (or perhaps created for yourself.) Meet this week’s top ten Twitter posts about the miserable, often self-inflicted symptoms of heartburn. Continue Reading Article >
Managing Night-Time Reflux with Your Sleeping Position
Night time reflux and heartburn are painful for those that suffer from it. It causes many sleepless nights with frustrating symptoms that feel like they won't ever go away. Many people don't realize that lying flat on your back often worsens the condition. Unfortunately, patients often wake up with heartburn, a sour taste in the throat, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. It often takes at least an hour for symptoms to subside. Continue Reading Article >
Understanding How Heartburn Meds Work
Millions of people are living with heartburn each and every day, but what most people don’t know is that its possible to get your heartburn under control enough to be able to eat the foods you want (within reason). In this blog, I’ll take you through a few home remedies as well as medical solutions for heartburn. Continue Reading Article >
6 Summer Foods That Can Cause Heartburn
For those of you who do experience heartburn on a pretty regular basis, I’m sure you already have an idea of the basic heartburn triggers. Heartburn occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter functions improperly allowing acid to travel from the stomach back into the esophagus and then to the throat. Continue Reading Article >
5 Things Acid Reflux Stole From Me Last Year
Acid reflux affects nearly sixty percent of the adult population in the U.S. every year, and nearly every adult in the U.S. will experience reflux symptoms at least once in their life. Living with reflux can cause a strain on people’s social lives, work, and relationships because of the constant nausea and pain following each meal. Keep reading to find out how acid reflux affects your daily life. Continue Reading Article >
How Can I Diagnose GERD?
GERD is not a pretty name in my opinion, and it also can be a pain-in-the-chest—literally. That’s two negatives facing this precocious pest that often occurs to us when our stomach acid or stomach content shoots its way back into our food pipe (AKA the esophagus). The backwash (reflux) can and usually does agitate the lining of our esophagus and cause GERD. Continue Reading Article >
The Difference Between Acid Reflux and Silent Reflux
Symptoms of acid reflux or silent reflux can make daily life hard to manage. The symptoms ruin the enjoyment of eating and make every day living miserable. Getting through the day with these symptoms is never easy. Unfortunately, men, women and children suffer from both of these types of reflux. Acid reflux is caused by stomach acid backing up into the esophagus. Continue Reading Article >