Acid Medication Reflux Treatment
Q: I have the kind of of Reflux that only affects the Upper Esophagus
(bad taste in mouth, sinus reactioj). Will putting the head of my bed up
6" help or does this only help for other kinds of reflux. I only ask
because it actually seems my reflux goes away when lying down
Can anyone give me any advice please?
A:Most doctors erroneously treat acid reflux with medicine (proton pump
inhibitors such as Prilosec) and call it good, but this only treats the
symptoms, not the disease itself, by reducing or stopping the
symptom-causing acid in the refluxate. The only way to cure GERD is to
address the cause of the reflux, which is the dysfunction of the lower
esophageal sphincter. This must be done surgically either by Stretta
procedure, or by a laparoscopic gastric fundoplication ("Nissen"
fundoplication). People who have documented GERD and are being treated only
symptomatically with anti-acid medication treatment should be monitored periodically
by upper GI endoscopy for the development of pre-cancerous Barrett's
esophagus even in the presence of successful symptom resolution.