Do any of you have daily acid reflux?

hi Geo

for a long long time ive had daily acid reflux so i know something about the way you feel..im sorry you are hurting so much and at a young age

but your youth has an advantage, you can heal better and faster than old-timers such as myself!

let me address what might be the question that weighs heavily on your mind...barretts

do you have barretts? well there is no way i can say one way or the other, but i can tell you it takes time to develop barretts esophagus, and, that barretts esophagus is the exception rather than the rule AND we now know from research that the chances of contracting lower esophageal cancer even after being diagnosed with barretts is less than one percent in any one year

to rest your mind you may want to discuss getting your esophagus "scoped" (esophagoscopy) because thats the way i found most people iv talked to find out if they do or dont have barrets

back to your concerns about daily reflux...keep in mind that neither the PPIs (omeprazole as one example) nor the H2 meds (famotidine for example) stop reflux...these meds decrease and in some cases depending upon dose, can nearly eliminate acid produced in the stomach...but, these meds don not end reflux

with meds, when we reflux, there is less HCL (hydrochloric acid) produced by the stomach and so less acid is in what we reflux : note, bile is sometime present in reflux and can be part of the hurt

so to answer you question about what we do in response to daily reflux? i do several things

avoid trigger foods ( if you search here at HealingWell there are lists that members have posted...use the search function at top) or search on line type "trigger foods acid reflux" into any search engine , and you will get big lists)

but for me, tomatoes, onions, carbonated beverages and alcohol are high on the list...everybody has some differences to their list of trigger foods.. let me suggest that you keep a list of what you eat and see what works,,,change one menu item at a time

eat smaller meals...the more you put in your stomach the more likely it is that you will have more... and bigger... episode of reflux! i eat 5 meals a day and make each meal small...so small that the meal could fit into you two cupped hands held together

remember downing a lot of water or other liquids counts as part of the volume if ingested during or soon after the meal

avoiding spicy foods helps me but not everyone

i dont hesitate to take an OTC antacid if i have a flare-up

loosing weight has been shown to decrease reflux if one is overweight

and of course the biggie for me, i never eat within 3 hours of going to bed or lying down and almost always fall asleep in my upholstered chair, going to bed when ever i wake up after 1 or 2 am

and my bed is incline 6 inches at the head...to help keep acid in my stomach

i hope some of these tips are helpful and i suggest you discuss anything ive suggested here with your doctor as i am NOT a medical professional

i hope you get some answers with you barium swallow, although i must say i prefer endoscopy because it allows for taking a biopsy (sample) and answer the question about whether or not you have about barretts

hang in there...im sorry for you pain...we are "with you" at HealingWell and wish you the best as you deal with this ugly reflux situation

best wishes
mock turtle

Hey guys thanks for the responses! Will keep you guys updated with how the barium swallow goes. I also have daily reflux but I don't regurgitate. Lately I've been waking up with junk in my throat which my be a bad progression of my GERD. Anyway, have doctor's appointment on the 28th of Feb so I'll see how it goes.