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new barretts dx

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Posted 2/19/2013 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
hi all,

just had a few questions. i am a 28 year old female just diagnosed with barretts esophagus last week. im now on protonix and carafate which doesnt really seem to be helping that much. in fact its made my bowel habits slow considerably and i feel so much more bloated now.

I was wondering if anybody here has had the BARRX RFA treatment and how they are doing. Also, i work in a large surgical group, and most of the docs think I should get a Nissen ASAP. I know a lot of you have had the Nissen, how are you doing now?

Because of where i work, I see first hand what happens to people who let thier GERD/Barretts go untreated and it scares the hell out of me. I feel kind of depressed since I am so young and now have this Barretts diagnosis looming over my head.

thanks in advance for your information!
Posted 2/19/2013 11:02 AM (GMT 0)
junglist002

Welcome to Healing Well.

Since you said you have seen what happens when you let Barretts go unchecked I am assuming you also know that the % of advancing is very low. When mine was first found about 8 or 9 years ago I had 2 scopes the first year to check it and then 1 every year to check it.
I now only have it checked every 3 years since I have a functioning wrap and I have also had an esophageal tear from a scope.
If you are able to control the reflux there really isn't a necessity to do much with it unless a scope shows it is advancing to dysplasia. But you said yours isn't currently under control.
Now for the hard part, To wrap or not to wrap.....I personally will not go without one. I had went through all options and surgery of some sort was necessary. I decided on the nissen as it was the tried and true method at the time('06). My first wasn't done correct, so I had a redo almost 3 years after the 1st. That one was great...until the tear. I had to have another redo after that was fixed and have been doing great since.
Here is a couple links from the forum's resource thread. The first is my story of my nissens and the 2nd is another Mod's, Denise, journey with her nissen recovery.

www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2337138

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2183443


Take care,
Bill turn

Livened up the link... 

Post Edited By Moderator (dencha) : 3/2/2013 5:14:06 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/19/2013 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
Have a read of the Barretts thread I started - I'll bump it up for you. The thread got somewhat hijacked further down and needs a revamp, but the take home points remain the same. The risk of progression is very low, and when you look at the study reporting deaths from ALL causes, the highest cause of death in those with Barretts is heart disease, and not any kind of cancer!

I have Barretts too, very small area and it's stayed the same over 3 years. I try to think that at least we are the ones who will get checked up on - there are plenty of folk out there who don't know they've even got it and so won't get scoped. And there are cases of adenocarcinoma without Barretts, so much is not yet understood.

I work in a department supporting people with cancer (just admin myself) and I agree it is hard not to get scared when you see the reality of it all the time but you have to focus on ways of keeping perspective. For me, I ask myself, aside from the forum, how many people do I know who have Barretts, or who even have GERD? In answer, I know one or two people on PPIs, who are VERY well, and I know a lot of people with OTHER cancers! That, helps me keep a balanced view, of sorts: I'm far more worried about breast cancer than I am about the Barretts!!

MMM
Posted 2/19/2013 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Junglist002.

I have Barretts and received my diagnosis August 2012. I was told I needed a scope every 1 1/2 to 2 years. Had I not had the scope for other reasons, I wouldn't even know. I'm on Protonix and follow the diet. My Gastro doctor told me not to have any procdures yet. Especially a new one where they burn a layer off of the esophagus. He said it was too new and the older procedure was not very effective. He said for me to wait. I don't remember the name of the procedure. I am proactive with my meds and diet so I feel as if I'm doing what I can. I try not to dwell on it. I do know of 2 people that have it/had it. One is young and the other did not get a diagnosis until it was stage IV and too late. Consider yourself lucky that you know and are being treated.
Posted 3/1/2013 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
I was just diagnosed with Gerd recently so this this all new to me. You're so young, how long did you suffer from acid reflux before you developed Barrett's??
Posted 3/1/2013 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
I might be a broken record on this, but do you have sources of the cáncer cases without previous Barrett's? Thx!
Posted 3/1/2013 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Nevermind, found the old thread :)
Posted 3/2/2013 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
It seems some of the new studies coming out that have been posted it appears ppis make things worst. Stomach acid is bad but pepsin and bile do more damage, so when you lower the stomach acid the ratio of pepsin and bile increase causing even more damage. Ever since ppi's were introduced the cancer rates just keep going up and up, so you can't help but point to the ppi's as the potental cause.
Posted 3/2/2013 11:18 PM (GMT 0)
In my recent Googling, I was surprised to learn that the average age for esophageal cancer is 67, I thought it was older than that. Maybe that age has come down with the recent increase in cases.
Posted 3/3/2013 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
My dr told me to stay away from RFA for now, he didn't seem to comfortable with it.
Posted 3/4/2013 10:36 PM (GMT 0)
natitc

There is no set time for barretts to start. Some people get it quicker than others and some people never get it.

Take care,
Bill
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