Getting relief from heartburn symptoms: home remedies, medicine, or surgery?
Your treatment of heartburn symptoms may only be covering up the real problem. Acid reflux disease, also called gastro-reflux or GERD, causes indigestion symptoms and stomach ulcer symptoms of abdominal pain and chest pain, burning sensation (after meals), and regurgitation of a sour liquid or acidic liquid into the mouth (especially when lying down).
For many years, people would take baking soda or milk when they had indigestion symptoms. It was felt that the acid in their stomach was high and so anything to neutralize it would help. This is how tums and other carbonates help. For the occasional person with indigestion symptoms, this is enough to feel a little better and move on. For many others however, it is not just a matter of high acid levels in the stomach, and they will find that over time, this home remedies just don’t cut it anymore.
Finally, they will see a doctor about their symptoms. Life style changes, which can be nearly impossible to live by, are the first line of treatment offered by the physician. Usually, an antacid medication is prescribed. Over the counter medications such as Zantac and Pepcid are acid blockers, but some acid is still produced. So when the symptoms get bad enough, the doctor will prescribe a proton pump inhibitor, aka PPI. These medication changed the way we treated ulcer disease and reflux. They are so effective at treating acid reflux symptoms that they were and still are massively prescribed for the smallest complaints of symptoms. However, these medications are not without their own side effects, and that’s a blog for another day.
Finally, they will see a doctor about their symptoms. Life style changes, which can be nearly impossible to live by, are the first line of treatment offered by the physician. Usually, an antacid medication is prescribed. Over the counter medications such as Zantac and Pepcid are acid blockers, but some acid is still produced. So when the symptoms get bad enough, the doctor will prescribe a proton pump inhibitor, aka PPI. These medication changed the way we treated ulcer disease and reflux. They are so effective at treating acid reflux symptoms that they were and still are massively prescribed for the smallest complaints of symptoms. However, these medications are not without their own side effects, and that’s a blog for another day.
This left a gap for those patients suffering on medications, but not suffering enough to have a surgery with its own set of complications and problems. Then came along the TIF procedure. The TIF, or transoral fundoplication, is a down the mouth device that can created a tight valve at the bottom of the esophagus without a surgery through the abdomen, and that means no scars. Also, the wrap is not all the way around, but partial, and this decrease the incidence of bloating, flatulence, and trouble swallowing. While it is not as robots as the other surgery, it is very successful with a 75% success rate at 3 years follow up. With this device, there is finally a safe and effective way to provide treatment for reflux and heartburn symptoms early on in the disease process and get patients off medications for good.
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