Barrett's Esophagus at 23yo. The doctor said no alcohol ever.

Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed yesterday with Barrett's Esophagus and the doctor said I can't have alcohol, chocolate or coffee. Has anyone else with this condition heard the same thing? I am only 23 and I would hate to have to go the rest of my life without these things but will obviously do it if needed. Any advice would be great!

Thanks!

Hi. Not a exactly what you want to hear at 23. But those are typically 3 of the many things the doctor will take off the table when someone is diagnosed with Barrett's, heartburn, GERD, reflux, etc. etc. The doctor should also have given you a whole new diet and recommended lifestyle changes. And he/she probably prescribed acid reducing drugs, which can be a Godsend for many, but need to be watched carefully for long term use.

Only a very tiny percentage of Barrett's turns into something more serious, but it's not something to take lightly. I received the same diagnosis 5 years ago, and it was quite a shock, as I had never had heartburn, and only experienced maybe a 1/2 dozen incidences of nighttime acid reflux in my life of 68 years. Yet there it was. A minor case, but enough to warrant an endoscopy every 3 years to keep track of it.

Since the reflux at night was the most likely cause, (and maybe I wasn't remembering each incident) I started to make some changes: no eating/drinking within 3 hours of bed, and I raised the head of my bed 5-6 inches to let gravity help prevent intrusion. I also gave up many acidic, acid forming, acid causing foods like the three you site above, and even took some of the PPI drugs for acid reduction for short time. The doctor had sent me out of his office with a prescription with one years worth of refills for omeprazole indicating that was the least amount of time he expected me to be on that drug.

After reading about those PPIs here and at other web sites I decided to use the H2 blockers instead of them as they reduce stomach acid by a lower amount. You need stomach acid to breakdown food. Without that proper breakdown, you miss getting many critical minerals and vitamins, particularly calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Which is why the main side effect of long term PPI use is osteoporosis, even among young people. I concentrated instead on efforts to keep the acid out of the place it didn't belong, my esophagus. My next endoscopy showed only minor improvement, but at least it was no worse.

Please do not use my example to make your own treatment plan. I have no idea what caused your Barrett's or how serious it is. Take your doctor's advise. But do educate yourself about the condition, it's causes and treatments, and maybe some of the non traditional alternatives. You can learn quite a bit just from searching here at Healing Well. But don't limit yourself to this forum. Find out as much as you can from other medical sites. You'll get through it, and maybe get to enjoy those three foods again sooner than you think.

Dear Barrettsgirl,

By feel a little better, I assume you mean psychologically. The problem with Barrett's is that you can't feel it. You don't know it's there. Depending on the severity of what your doctor found, he/she should have scheduled you for periodic checkups that will include an endoscopy to look at the status in your esophagus. That is the only way to see it. There are no other tests that can do it.

But I am glad you are feeling that it is not the end of the world. I did give up coffee for a long time before gradually resuming it. I became an expert at making green tea, which, by itself has to be the absolutely dullest drink in the world, palatable. Alcohol and chocolate I cut way back on, although I never gave up either completely. Cabernet and chocolate? Mmm....

But you have to make the sacrifice until you have a better understanding of what's going on on. If you don't have a gastroentoligist who is willing to explain it all to you in graphic detail (he should have taken photos while he was in there), then consider looking for another. In the end, you have to become as smart as your doctor on this one particular subject, because its your body.

Post Edited (rjdriver) : 8/22/2016 8:23:40 PM (GMT-6)

Hi girl23,

I wont address you as Barrettsgirl anymore. Too negative.

Now you have given us more of the story. Based on this definitely follow your doctor's advice. You might want to try varying the acid blockers, back and forth between PPI and H2 blockers (like Zantac), changing every two-three weeks. When you eventually come off these completely you mean need to wean yourself gradually. And as long as you are on them, you should take a supplement to get the nutrients that your body will have a hard time assimilating from food. Even pills and capsules may not get broken down completely so I suggest a powder like Living Fuel Superberry, made into a smoothie.

My Barrett's was also discovered after an endoscopy due to stomach pain. The pain was from gastritis due to too much aspirin, alleve, motrin, etc. Here's what I did to treat the gastritis:

1. Reduced or eliminated acidic and acid forming foods like tomato products, coffee, tea, most citrus fruits (lemon is OK), reduce alcohol, and spicy foods like onion and garlic and peppers. Yes, I know - life is not worth living without onion and garlic, but this is only temporary until your gastritis is healed. Check out Dr. Koufman's diet for GERD.

2. L-glutimine powder - 1 heaping teaspoon mixed with water or your favorite non citrus juice every day - heals and rebuilds damaged stomach lining.

3. Chewable DGL, a form of licorice. The chocolate flavor is nice. (and this form of chocolate is OK.). One 20 minutes before each meal. - healing and anti inflammatory.

4. Manuka honey - very expensive. Half a teaspoon every day. Healing, anti inflammatory, anti fungal and antibiotic.

5. Green tea, with honey if needed. Replaced first cup of coffee in the morning with this - healing, anti inflammatory, and the EGCG in it is known to cause cancer cell death (stops tumor growth).

6. Boswellia extract supplement- anti inflammatory

7. Inflamma-care. A supplement from Planetary Herbals. Contains turmeric, boswellia, ginger root, willow bark, Chinese skullcap, and a bunch of other anti-inflammatory herbs.

8. Aloe Vera juice - kills unfriendly gut bacteria, healing, alkaline forming, removes toxins form the body, aids digestion, boosts immune system.

9. Carrot juice a few ounces twice a day. Its surprisingly sweet. Trader Joes sells a nice organic one.

I would not recommend a caffeine pill (No Doze?) if that's what you are suggesting. Caffeine stimulates the production of stomach acid.

Once your body gets used to not having caffeine, it will adjust. Try green tea to help you wean off. It has some caffeine, but a lot less than coffee. Look for teas that mix green tea with other ingredients to make it taste better.

You might also want to try the Yogi brand tea called Stomach Ease. I don't think it has any stimulants in it, but at least it has some flavor.

Post Edited (rjdriver) : 9/2/2016 8:03:55 AM (GMT-6)

Girl23,

If your doctor recommended an annual endoscopy, please take it seriously. I know it will dramatically effect your social life, but you will need to make some sacrifices for a while to beat this. 5 hr energy contains caffeine. Not sure how its other ingredients will effect your condition. They seem relatively benign. Were you a really heavy coffee drinker before this happened?

Was a cause for your stomach pain determined?

Hey Girl23,

Its been a while. You are probably girl24 by now. Hope you are doing well in San Diego, have found a good GI doctor, and come up with a safe treatment plan that's working.