daphnerst asked:


I started suffering from the symptoms of acid reflux the week after Thanksgiving. On December 21, I went to a doctor and he gave me Prevacid. I’ve been taking that since then. I started feeling much better about a week after I started taking the medication, but my symptoms are not all the way gone. Sometimes I still feel like I have a lump at the back of my throat and I have to burp a lot. Occasionally I’m slightly nauseous. How long does it typically take to recover from acid reflux, or do you recover at all? And when I run out of medication, should I be fine by then or will I need more? I have enough for about a month and a half. I do plan on going back for a check up at the end of this month as well, as my doctor asked me to.

Muffy asked:


How can you reduce the symptoms?

truth is… asked:


My daughter’s pediatrician thinks that my daughter has acid reflux, which I think she’s right on. She prescribed her infant Zantac. We started giving it to her yesterday, but I haven’t seen any significant change. How long does it take to fully take effect? And, eventually does it take care of the spit up all together or does it just make the spit up less acidic?

Acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is an unpleasant condition in and of itself, as you know. Now imagine being afflicted with that AND irritable bowel syndrome — being sick at both ends, as it were.

It seems too cruel even for a capricious being like Mother Nature, but it’s true. Many people find themselves suffering from both conditions at once, and there may be a link between them.

One theory is that when things are off-kilter in the stomach — too much acid, for example — the body tries to get rid of whatever’s in the stomach as fast as possible. This means sending half-digested food down south, and extra acid up north. Presto: IBS and acid reflux, all at once.

Another reason for the dual diagnosis could be obesity, at least indirectly. Obesity can cause acid reflux because the bloated stomach and gut area stretches the muscle that separates the stomach from the esophagus, thus allowing acid to bubble up. Furthermore, many obese people have a diet that puts them at risk of IBS through the nature of the foods they eat.

One theory holds that sometimes IBS manifests itself in a dilation of the transverse colon. The colon being stretched in this way could cause it to press against your stomach when it’s full of food, which could push acid up the other way.

A slightly weaker connection: Some researchers believe IBS can be brought on by stress, and while stress alone won’t cause GERD, it can cause people to drink, smoke and eat improperly, all of which can cause acid reflux.

However, some doctors believe that though some people do suffer from both IBS and GERT, the two are not necessarily linked. Someone may have hemorrhoids and tonsillitis, too, but that doesn’t mean they have the same cause.

Doctors point out that GERD’s cause is known — a change in the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach, causing stomach acid to bubble up — while the cause of IBS is a mystery. In fact, IBS may be caused by a variety of things, and effective treatment can differ from one patient to the next. Acid reflux, on the other hand, has fairly uniform treatments that work for most people.

The kicker is that some people’s methods of treating one make the other worse. For example, some people fear fiber-rich foods will exacerbate the acid reflux (which is true in some cases). But fiber will usually HELP with irritable bowel syndrome. For those unlucky patients, it may be a matter of choosing which disease is more tolerable and treating the other one.

Fortunately, this lesser-of-two-evils treatment isn’t usually necessary. In most cases, IBS and GERT can be treated without interfering with one another. And in some lucky instances, the same treatment will cure them both. For instance, many patients have reported that losing weight alleviated both conditions. Others have reported that an allergy to gluten turned out to be the reason for IBS and acid reflux, and eliminating it from the diet cleared everything up. If you find yourself with both ailments at once, trying an elimination diet may be the way forward.

By: Kathryn Whittaker

About the Author:

MPTeach asked:


My 9 month old son has been diagnosed by a GI specialist with acid reflux. However, the medication he gave my son, Prevacid, almost seems to be making him worse. He’s got so much gas and burps that he keeps waking himself up from naps after 30-40 minutes. Sometimes he’s crying, but he always has to burp or pass gas. Is there a possibility that it could be something else? Did anyone else have this problem?

psychetruth asked:

Be My Friend – www.myspace.com Truth about Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Austin Wellness Upset Stomach? Too Much Stomach Acid? The truth about drugs like Proton Pump Inhibitors (drugs prescribed for heart burn, upset stomach or acid reflux disorder). Common over the counter drugs include Tums and Rolaids. Can Nutrition help? Dr.Vincent Bellonzi is a chiropractor and a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. He has been in practice for over 12 years. He received his Doctorate from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1991. Since 1998, Dr. Bellonzi has practiced in the Austin area. He works with athletes at every level to provide sports conditioning and rehabilitation. Visit Dr. Bellonzi’s website at www.bewellrx.com http This video was produced by Psychetruth www.myspace.com www.youtube.com © Copyright 2008 Austin Wellness Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Acid reflux disease or GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) can be described as reflux of gastric acid into the lumen of our esophagus. It happens when there is increased acid secretion from the gastric mucosa. The muscular tone of the gastro-esophageal valve is also reduced in this situation. Stomach acid irritates the esophageal mucous membrane which is not capable to withstand the extreme pH of gastric acid. So we feel irritation and pain over the lower aspect of our throat.

Incidence of GERD -

GERD is very common throughout the world. It is estimated that one tenth of the American population will suffer from peptic ulcer disease at some point of their lifetime. More than 2 billion dollars are spent for treatment of this disease annually.

Symptoms -

There is extremely painful burning sensation over the lower end of throat and upper central part of stomach. Moreover, this pain is related to eating. Intake of food increases the intensity of pain. There is regurgitation of food as the tone of the gastro-esophageal valve is reduced.

Causes -

GERD is multifactorial in origin. The most common causes are -