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Stress Induced GERD

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Posted 2/17/2014 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
Good afternoon all. I just joined this forum, thus I hope I am doing this correctly. A specialist told me some 20 years ago that my GERD is stress induced. Two years ago I retired from the service. I have now applied for a medical pension from Veteran Affairs (in Canada) for my GERD. This "pension" entails the government paying for my Nexium and the scope test every five years. Veteran Affairs has just refused me, saying there is no medical evidence of GERD being stress induced. Unfortunately, I was posted overseas when the specialist made his diagnosis, so I don't have access to him any longer. I had seen in the past where persons in this forum had talked about their doctors telling them they had stress induced GERD. Can anyone out there tell me about any literature out there that supports this that I can present to Veteran Affairs? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
Posted 2/18/2014 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Clemens,

Welcome to Healing Well! Sorry to hear you're struggling with symptoms. There is no doubt that GERD is made worse by stress. It's pretty commonly accepted as a trigger for GERD.

That said, it sounds as if you're trying to prove that GERD is actually a result of stress, and minus stress you wouldn't have developed the problem in the first place. I'm not sure how that is proven. I did a little looking around the internet, and here's one resource I found:
www.cns.med.ucla.edu/Articles/PatientArticleFl99GERD.htm

Perhaps somebody else will have knowledge of this connection. I'm just not sure. I wish you the very best of luck in finding answers and getting your medications covered!

Best wishes,
Denise
Posted 2/18/2014 10:25 AM (GMT 0)
Some people swear that reflux CAN be caused by stressed; for example:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/acid-reflux-gerd/718400-please-please-read-if-you-have-acid-reflux.html

Just don't pay much mind to anyone who says stress leads to "excess stomach acid," as that has almost nothing to do with contracting GERD/LPR according to all the journals I've ever read. Some people say stress wears down our natural protection against reflux, due to hormones like cortisol, but the evidence for this is still under debate. It would be a nice theory though.
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