Diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus today!

Hi there!
I just joined this forum, as I was diagnosed with BE today.
Some background on me. I'm a 42 year old woman with 2 children. In 2009, I had an endoscopy due to some stomach aches. I was told I had a small hiatal hernia and silent reflux (negative for celiac's disease--although I eat gluten free since I have a wheat sensitivity--hives). I was put on Omeprazole 20 mg once a day. Shortly after, I began an intense exercise program and started experiencing reflux issues. I was put on Omeprazole 40 mg once a day.
Now...fast forward to 2015. I noticed that I've been having acid reflux issues even with my meds. I just moved to a new state, found a doc., and had an endoscopy last week. Today, 9 days later, I call the doctor to find out if my results were in from my biopsies. (Immediately after the endoscopy I was told I had some polyps in my stomach and some mild gastritis.) I was transferred to a nurse who told me that I had some gastritis, there was no issues with my polyps that most likely formed due to the PPI I have been taking, and that I had Barrett's Esophagus. So I asked her more questions, like what exactly does Barrett's Esophagus mean?? She said that I needed to keep taking my PPI to which I told her that I've been taking double strength and still developed BE! She said she would talk to the doc about this and get back to me. I asked her if there was anything else I had to do, and she said I would probably need to have another endoscopy in a year. So, of course, I've been reading up on the Internet and now am trying to figure out if I had dysplasia or not. And if I didn't, would I need to come back in a year? What is the general rule of thumb for follow up endoscopies with regard to the severity of the BE?
I have to be honest--her lack of information confused me. Perhaps I am having too much anxiety unnecessarily--I've read the statistics. She said BE was a precancer, and that she would mail me a brochure with information about it. I don't know how I'll sleep tonight. I'm freaking out a little!
Please give me your advice. Hopefully I will get some replies tonight! I know I can call back tomorrow for more information. I'm wondering why they didn't call me if the results were in, and if indeed, there isn't much for me to be losing sleep over.
Thank you!!!

Thanks for your reply and encouragement.
The nurse gave me no information at all about specifics. I need to call back today...
In the past I haven't been very good about restricting acidic foods from my diet, so I will make changes there too. I'm not overweight--5'6", 130 lbs.
I didn't know that Barrett's could reverse itself. From everything I've read it sounded like a lifelong issue.
Thanks for your response and congrats that it is gone!

That is good news ACmama.

I've learned that diet and what we drink plays a huge role on the health of our digestive system. Do you drink any alcohol, coffee, soda, teas with caffeine in it? And do you eat low acidic foods?

I'm only asking because what we eat and drink is critical to allowing our GI tract to heal.

Paul

I haven't tried Manuka honey yet; papaya enzymes have done wonders for me, especially when I was able to eat tougher things like chicken, beef, etc. I don't know what ACV is.

Now probiotics are something you have to be very careful with. I see too many people who tell others to drink Kefir or eat sauerkraut or take a probiotic supplement. In the research I've done over the past couple of years, probiotics should be introduced slowly.

Diary products, like Kefir, according to Dr. Daniel Twogood, can cause problems for some people. So I'm a big proponent on staying away from all dairy until you are completely healed up and not just symptom free. Or at the very least, stay away from dairy for at least 90 days and then slowly introduce it and see how your body reacts.

I have found natural probiotics extremely helpful with many of my symptoms, but the key is it took me awhile to do it the right way or at least, the right way for my body. My own personal preference is to buy organic fermented vegetables from Wholefoods as well as organic sauerkraut and I would drink 1-2 teaspoons a day for about a week. Then I would bump it up to 2-4 teaspoons a day for the next 2-3 weeks. Then I would take 1-2 tablespoons with each meal and then actually eat the fermented vegetables once my body could tolerate it.

Everything was based on how my digestive system reacted. Sometimes I would go overboard and then I ended up with a lot of gas and sometimes really loose stools. Some people ferment their own vegetables, which is probably the way to go, but I buy mine.

A lot of herbal teas have hidden caffeine in them, meaning it's not on the ingredient label, which is why I make my own ginger tea out of organic ginger root or chamomile tea. Always organic. A lot of teas that people drink have chemicals in them, including the bags they come in and these can possibly irritate your esophagus and/or your stomach lining.

Through painful trial and error over the years, I have decided that the best thing for me when it came to tea was to simply make my own out of the freshest, organic ingredients I could get my hands on. These days, though, I'm only drinking ginger tea and chamomile because my symptoms have returned with a vengeance (long story, but I have no one to blame but myself).

I have a new rule for myself now too: I make sure that no matter what time I eat at night, that I don't go to bed until 5 hours afterwards. So I normally go to bed around 11pm at night, so I make sure whatever I'm having for dinner is no later than 6pm. This has made a world of difference for me (along with everything else I'm doing while I'm waiting for my GI appointment).

No dysplasia is a good thing! Good for you! That's what they told me when they found my small BE. Proper healing of the esophagus will take some time and it can be done!

If it wasn't mentioned above, also try drinking all natural, organic aloe juice. I did this for a while whenever I felt something brewing. It helps cool and coat the esophagus and seemed to counter any acid issues I was having, plus it really seemed to just help stabilize my GI tract too. Give it a shot!

Quick question. Since I've been on omeprazole 40 mg for so many years, the doc prescribed pantoprazole instead, also 40 mg. Anyone prefer one over the other, or have any other information comparing them?
Thanks!

I was diagnosed with short segment Barrett's in 2012. MY doctor said it was so small that it wouldn't have qualified under the former rules for Barrett's classification. I think it was thought in the 80's that ultra-short Barrett's wouldn't develop into dysplasia so it wasn't classified then. As so often happens, "scientists now know that" it can and does.

I have been taking Nexium 40 mg since my DX. I did not change my diet which was vegetarian and continued to eat all the "forbidden" foods. I had annual EGD's even though the doctor recommended every 3 years. This was my 3rd since DX and I was shocked when he said the Barrett's was not found on the biopsies. I had located a new GI doctor in the area who does RFA on Barrett's, just in case this EGD was dysplasia. I'm delighted that no Barrett's was found this time, but have read that Barrett's does not resolve on it own, i.e., with medicines and diet changes. It takes some intervention such as RFA, or resection to eliminate it.

Nevertheless, I am happy it seems to be gone, even if temporarily. I will have another EGD in 12 months even though he said 36 months. If it's still gone, I may wait 24 months for the next one.

As a P.S. to my earlier post, I was with my GI doc yesterday discussing next steps for my gallstones recurrence and after that discussion I asked him about my recent negative test for Barrett's. Despite what I have read to the contrary, he said short segment Barrett's can revert back to normal tissue without surgery or ablation. He said it was impossible to say if PPI's, diet, losing weight, or other life style changes might account for the reversion. He reiterated that if the next set of biopsies comes back negative, he would recommend suspending future EGD's.