Stretta procedure

I had the stretta procedure performed on me today. Took about 1 hour.

I have a little pain in the back when I take some deep breathes and also some bloating (likely due to the air they put in your abdomen). Been belching a lot, which is expected. Minor sore throat from the catheter going down.

Basically I went into this procedure with an atypical complaint of gurgling in the chest, frequent belching. Occasional throat hoarseness. No typical heartburn, cough, asthma that can occur with gerd. After a few years of the belching, I became more and more tired and sick after eating. Prior to the stretta, PPI medications would help my symptoms, but never completely stopped them. Baclofen worked great, but I could not tolerate the side effects.

I knew it may not work, but really I have been dealing with this for 4 years and with the current meta-analysis that was published by SAGE, I thought it was an option worth trying for me. I was told I may feel better in the first few weeks, which will then be followed by a lag phase with worsening of symptoms before the muscular hypertrophy of the LES begins within a few months.

I will keep everyone updated on my progress as there isn't much feedback on the procedure.

Gopens. We are following you with much interest. Please let us know how you are feeling, any pain, on medicine of any kind, eating stuff okay! Thanks for continued updates . Hope the best for you. Pat

Back pain is essentially 99% gone at this point. I am pretty much back to baseline with my reflux symptoms. Still get the belching + feel really sick/nauseous most of the day (not really sure if the nausea is related to my reflux symptoms or not).


Will keep updating.

Gopens77, how are you doing? I've been really interested in STRETTA. Just wanting to know if you're feeling better now that its been 2 months. Also, who was your doctor?

Gopens67
Please update us on how you are feeling. We are anxious to know. Wonder if it can be done for someone who already has the Linx. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Regarding the linx, I think the only issue is whether or not the needles that poke into the wall of the esophagus will heat up the linx device that is already implanted....I think this would be the only issue. otherwise i dont see any other reason why the stretta could not be done in someone with a linx device.

An implant like Linx around the LES is a contraindication for Stretta. Not just because the metal may react to the heat but because the RF energy in Stretta could be interrupted if a metal object or the like is in or near contact. It would need to be removed prior to Stretta.

Does anyone think the long recovery (i.e, the 6+ months time needed to experience improvment) is actually nothing but I general improvment of the course of the desease (a remission period?)

I to me it sounds fishy why a procedure that is done in the office for 30 minutes needs several months to give good results. If it is true that LES muscle strengthening is the cause of symptom improvment in Stretta, does the medical literature confirm that muscle growth can happen months after a one time event of stressing the muscle?

Another question is, how is the muscle thickening objectively measured or observed in after Stretta patients? I don't think there is any objective data to back that claim up.

I have another theory that could explain Stretta improved symptoms: since most patients expect to be reducing the PPI after Stretta, they dare more to start tapering the PPI dosage. Some who are successful in doing it (i.e., experience limited rebound acid secretion) consider the Stretta a success but in actuality the success could have been simply due to them weaning off the PPI. In fact controlled trials have shown that healthy voluntieres tried PPIs for long periods of time and experienced heartburn after stopping them. I've always believed that PPIs in refractory GERD patients (patients with incomplete response to PPI therapy) are trapped in the PPI therapy: once they start on them, while acid suppression occurs, and classical heartburn symptoms are controlled, their non acidic reflux worsens and causes secondary symptoms (secondary but possibly significantly more annoying). The medical literature calls these NERD (non erosive reflux desease). Funny that they name a "PPI treated" group of sufferers with a new desease name! Anyways, some of those PPI refluxers are never able to taper off the PPIs, because I believe getting rid of PPIs after long periods of treatment is like balancing on a rope. If by trial and error you can't find the right balance of tolerable acid rebound and the right reduction of dosage, versus fully having to returning on them due to redamage from full rebound, you won't ever get off of them. For those who do get off of them, almost all symptoms will disappear after time anyway because normal acid levels in the stomach actually (in my opinion) help keep the LES doing it's job; you can compare it with sport activities versus muscle attrophy in maintaining muscle function.

Of course the above is my opinion based on my experience;, and, everyone's body is different. In my 5 year struggle with GERD, especially in the beginning, I couldn't hep but notice that the doubeling of PPIs, as ordered by my Dr, always gave me new bad symptoms while classical heartburn was abcent. Then, after long periods of being on double dose, it was more painful and difficult to go back to normal dose then before I had started on the double dose! I remember quite well the first year of my illness the was nothing but a struggle with the PPI. I even failed to stop the PPIs for the PH test. The second year I tried hard to reduce the PPI and was able to skip a day or two here and there. Then I thought about trying to repeat the PH test, this time staying off for a week. I was able with moderate discomfort, which was so surprisng to me. Unfortunately, my body has been on PPI for so long that even that one week of PPI cessation wasn't long enough to for the acid to be noticable in the PH test to count as a diagnosis for GERD! Sure enough after that one week the heartburn returned significantly, but I did not histerically return to full dose PPI; instead I took one and skipped three days or so, keeping the acid down with liquid antiacids. Then, I was able to be off PPIs for a whole month, only taken a pill as per needed. Then, I was able to be off for a complete year! I was drinking coffee and eating chocolate without issues!

Unfortunately a sad event in my life returned the heartburn, I had to get back on PPIs, and was trapped again. In the past two years I was able to stay on one PPI daily, skipping a day or two in a week. In the past month my GERD came back in full vengence, I'm now on doube dose and actually have LPR symptoms for the first time in my GERD carrier. Actually LPR two weeks ago when I changed from Protonix to Nexium, thinking Nexium is more potent and would give me more heartburn and reflux relief; well maybe it is more potent! And maybe that's why my LPR started! Needless to say I went back on Protonix, but I still get daily symptoms (sore thoat, acid taste in mouth, regurgitation, choking sensation, stabbing pain in the chest, strong spasm like constant pain, globus, etc...) I truley doubt that I will ever experience the remission I had, off the PPI, three years ago. But I will try!

Sorry for the long post...maybe somebody can relate to this experience. I haven't seen many stories of people progressing from GERD to LPR.

Hi. I've had the stretta procedure done a little over a month ago. Before the procedure, the only symptom I had was chronic cough. After the procedure, I still cough sometimes & now alot of belching & bloating. It's 10:15pm & I'm sitting in bed bc I feel so miserable bc I am so bloated. It feels like I can barely breathe when I lay down. They say it can take up to 8 months to a year before I get results from the stretta procedure. & you get long term results that can last up to 11 yrs. I can't wait bc I hate this feeling.