Reflux (Heartburn) Prevention and Treatments
| Overview Lifestyle Changes Reflux and Diet |
Reflux and GERD Treatments Surgery Reflux Prevention Forum Discussions |
Overview of GERD Prevention and Treatments
Heartburn (reflux) is very common in the general population. It can often be managed well with lifestyle changes, such as changing eating habits, sleeping differently, and increasing your activities. When lifestyle changes alone don't work, more agreesive preventive measures such as medications or even surgery (in severe cases) may be required.
Heartburn (reflux) is quite common in people with systemic scleroderma; therefore, preventing reflux, or at least, reducing its severity is very important in preventing esophegeal damage. (Also see Scleroderma Gastrointestinal Involvement, What is Scleroderma?, Types of Scleroderma, and Systemic Sclerosis)
What is a reasonable approach to the management of GERD? There are several ways to approach the evaluation and management of GERD. The approach depends primarily on the frequency and severity of symptoms, the adequacy of the response to treatment, and the presence of complications. MedicineNet.
Lifestyle Changes
10 Lifestyle Changes That Can Prevent Heartburn. VeryWell.
Hold the Heartburn: Heartburn Log. Tracking your triggers can help manage heartburn effectively and naturally. WebMD.
10 Steps to Lessening Nighttime Heartburn. If staying up all night isn't the option you are prepared to take for handling your nighttime heartburn, the following suggestions should help you. VeryWell.
Heartburn: To relieve nighttime reflux, sleep on your left side. "If all reflux sufferers followed this advice, we'd see a lot less nighttime reflux," says Dr. Don Castell of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Why does sleeping on your left side reduce night reflux? Check out the position of the stomach and the opening into the esophagus. When you sleep on your left side, gravity helps to keep the contents in the stomach. Roll over on your right side and those contents could flow into the esophagus, especially if you have problems with your esophageal sphincter (valve between stomach and esophagus) or a hiatal hernia.
Reflux and Diet
Good Foods, Bad Foods, Recipes, Menus. Charts to show you what you can eat and what you shouldn't. Heartburn-free recipes. There are also links to menus with heartburn-friendly foods. VeryWell.
Use Beano before eating foods that are troublesome.
Treatments for Reflux and GERD
Your heartburn drug has been recalled. Now what? There are alternatives to heartburn relief – including a doctor-approved bedtime trick. NBC Health News, 01/20/2020.
G.I. Cocktail. Ask your doctor about this! It's a mixture of Maalox, Donnatol, and Xylocaine which can quell severe heartburn/reflux right away. Many SD patients give it rave reviews.
Surgery
In severe cases of heartburn, where medication does not help or there are complications, surgery may be done.
Case Report: Total gastrectomy in systemic scleroderma when anti-reflux surgery is not viable. We suggest an open gastrectomy with roux-en-Y anastomosis as an alternative to the Nissen fundoplication for patients with connective tissue disease. PubMed, Int J Surg Case Rep.
GERD Surgery: Nissen Fundoplication. In this procedure, the surgeon wraps the top of the stomach around the lower esophagus. This reinforces the lower esophageal sphincter, making it less likely that acid will back up in the esophagus. Mayo Clinic.
Surgical management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in patients with systemic sclerosis. Laparoscopic Roux–en–Y gastric bypasses as an anti–reflux procedure is safe and may provide an alternative to fundoplication in the treatment of GERD for systemic sclerosis patients with esophageal dysmotility. PubMed, Surg Endosc, 02/12/2018.
Nissen Fundoplication Surgery Personal Stories
Jon F: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) I believe my vagus nerve was damaged in some way during the Nissen fundoplication surgery or as a result of it…
Moomary: Diffuse Scleroderma The endoscopy showed that my esophagus does not close at all when I swallow. The surgeon suggested that he could do a Nissen Fundoplication…
Rosie: Limited Systemic Sclerosis (Australia) Some of my symptoms may not be due to limited scleroderma, however most of these symptoms have appeared since my diagnosis…
Sclero Forum Discussions
Has anyone noticed reflux intensifying at night and making sleep difficult? I have become nocturnal…
For those with reflux issues, a recommendation. About 1 1/2 months ago, my wife scheduled an appointment with a Nutritionist…
Toupet Fundoplication, Surgery to relieve acid reflux. I went through a surgical procedure, Toupet Fundoplication to relieve my acid reflux problems.. This is a partial wrap…
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