OT -Take GERD (acid reflux) seriously - a PSA

JethroVA

Folks - I'm sure many of you suffer from GERD (acid reflux) given our BGE related diets and lifestyle.  I have had GERD symptoms for probably 10+ years and would only treat it by chewing on Tums after the fact.  I recently had couple bouts of intense pain in my chest, the first of which resulted in an ER visit.  After the second one my PCP insisted on an upper endoscopy.  So glad she did. She probably saved my life.  I have Barrett's esophagus plus high grade dysplasia (extensive cellular changes) that quickly converts to very lethal adenocarcinoma. Only 15% survival after 5 years.   Hopefully we caught it in time. 

Morale of the story: if you have GERD symptoms, talk to your doctor. The acid reflux causes very harmful damage to your esophagus.  There are numerous OTC remedies available coupled with minor lifestyle changes to address it. 

p.s. For clarity I do not yet have cancer and the upcoming surgery/cauterization should destroy the bad stuff and keep it from turning into worse stuff. 

DoubleEgger

Wow. I'm glad they found it now and can take the appropriate actions. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers. 

Photo Egg

Scary stuff...Education is the key.
Great post. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

OhioEgger

FWIW, here's some good info on this:
WebMD
Mayo Clinic
Not something to be OVERLY worried about, but something to be aware of. Most people with Barrett's don't have any symptoms.
Fortunately, according to those sources, only a tiny percentage of those having it will develop cancer.

bgebrent

Great PSA!  Glad you caught it early my friend.  I look forward to sharing raw oysters again.  

DuckDogDr

I feel your pain. I have eosinophilic esophagititis ...in a similar boat.
I found diet change has helped mine tremendously.
Good luck amigo 

bud812

Yeah, I thought that I had heartburn 2 weeks ago. In the middle of the night I could no longer take the pain  called 911. Went to the ER with a heart beat of 140 & not able to breath. Found out I had congestive heart failure & A-Fib. Scared the she-hit outta me. I haven't had a cancer stick or drink since that day.

Smokin_Trout

I have taken pills for abou the last 8 years. 
At my annual check up this year my doctor said I should think about getting off of them. I told him I have missed a few and regretted it. A few months later my B-I-L said that he was off of his pills for about a year. He takes sauerkraut to keep it in check. I listened, but never acted. 
About a month later, watching tv, 53% increased chance of getting dementia as a side effect of taking GERD medications. My grandma had that, and I don’t want my family to have to go through that. 
I stopped the next day. Luckily for me my wife makes sauerkraut and had a small batch in the fridge. I have only taken two pills since April of this year. It takes about 10 minutes to relieve the symptoms. 
I am very mindful of how much I eat and try to limit fatty, spicy and fried foods. Make yourself a plate and scrape 1/3 of it off. The other 2/3 is plenty of food. 
Spend a few dollars on a jar and give it a try. 

bgebrent

bud812 said:

Yeah, I thought that I had heartburn 2 weeks ago. In the middle of the night I could no longer take the pain  called 911. Went to the ER with a heart beat of 140 & not able to breath. Found out I had congestive heart failure & A-Fib. Scared the she-hit outta me. I haven't had a cancer stick or drink since that day.

Damn brother.  Sorry to hear that!  The A-fib is very manageable once you know you have it.  Best wishes.  Egg on.

SSQUAL612

I also suffer from GERD and have noticed when I'm able to exercise consistently to keep the belly at a level where I don't have a DickyDo it helps with the GERD.  Sauerkraut is fermented and high in probiotics which are the good bacteria in your gut.  I picked up a few items and started fermenting some veggies...real simple to do and added to my diet as well.  Like my old man says...getting old aint for sissies.   

I picked up a copy of this book to get started with fermenting veggies.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612124259/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

bud812

bgebrent said:

bud812 said:

Yeah, I thought that I had heartburn 2 weeks ago. In the middle of the night I could no longer take the pain  called 911. Went to the ER with a heart beat of 140 & not able to breath. Found out I had congestive heart failure & A-Fib. Scared the she-hit outta me. I haven't had a cancer stick or drink since that day.

Damn brother.  Sorry to hear that!  The A-fib is very manageable once you know you have it.  Best wishes.  Egg on.

Yeah, they said it's manageable. It's the spots on my lung that I am concerned about. I guess that you can't smoke for 50+ years & live a long healthy life. But I had a blast doing it. I do miss my beer though.

Killit_and_Grillit

@JethroVA I hope everything works out for you, brother. 

I had had a very similar problem a few years ago. Nothing to mess around with...now I'm stuck taking meds every day but I'm not a miserable cuss all the time. 

Good luck!

bgebrent

bud812 said:

bgebrent said:

bud812 said:

Yeah, I thought that I had heartburn 2 weeks ago. In the middle of the night I could no longer take the pain  called 911. Went to the ER with a heart beat of 140 & not able to breath. Found out I had congestive heart failure & A-Fib. Scared the she-hit outta me. I haven't had a cancer stick or drink since that day.

Damn brother.  Sorry to hear that!  The A-fib is very manageable once you know you have it.  Best wishes.  Egg on.

Yeah, they said it's manageable. It's the spots on my lung that I am concerned about. I guess that you can't smoke for 50+ years & live a long healthy life. But I had a blast doing it. I do miss my beer though.

You are my brother.  Smoking is clearly not helpful.  Egg on and don't look back.  And raise a glass man.  Best wishes.

gdenby

If you are having repeated heartburn, say like any time you eat a pizza, buy some tumeric extract, called curcurmin. Some years ago, I was having really bad stomach acid problems. Started taking curcurmin on a daily basis, and it went away. I still need to eat some at least every 2 days out of 3, but acid indigestion and heartburn are held at bay.

JethroVA

Thanks brothers for the helpful suggestions. 

JRWhitee

I have eosinophilic esophagititis as well. Spent a week in the hospital in March as I had internal bleeding. Had another scope in September and it is all healed. Scary stuff. I am wishing the best for you. 

JethroVA

Dr. said after surgery, i need to cut down on foods that are spicy, fried and acid.  Plus reduce coffee and alcohol.  I wanted to say, if you tell me I also have to quit j@rking off, i'm outta here.  

Killit_and_Grillit

@JethroVA I had my surgery and right after the doc said 90 days of no:
* alcohol
* spice
* fried
* food with nitrates (basically bacon)
* chocolate
* tobacco

Im still pretty toasted from the anesthesia and I said, "Dr, I'm in my last semester at Tennessee. If you add p***y to that list that's my entire diet"

He cracked a smile. My mom did not. Made the car ride home real awkward. My dad still brings it up. 

JRWhitee

@Killit_and_Grillit now thats funny!

JethroVA

@Killit_and_Grillit unfortunately our #1 favorite edible (that your mentioned) is mildly acidic when healthy.  Maybe if I apply some yogurt...

SSQUAL612

My Dr. tokd me if I’d quit smoking, drinking, gambling and abstain from eatting fatty foods & having sex then he’d give me 10 more years...I asked him why the hell woukd I want to live that long. 

fishlessman

i stopped getting acid reflex when i started sleeping on my left side only. actually started doing this because i knew someone with shoulder pain in his right side, from sleeping on it, that was enough to make him unable to cast a fly rod.  google gerd and sleeping on left side, theres plenty on it

Plutonium

I have Barrett's esophagus also. The grad school stress, diet, and lifestyle followed by current work stress put me over the top. I eventually developed swallowing difficulties due to scar tissue formation on my esophagus causing narrowing.

During my endoscopy the docs basically crammed this carrot shaped thing down there and stretched it back out, which relieved the food swallowing issues. Been on daily PPIs ever since.

bluebird66

I also have GERD, no fun.

stompbox

Been having issues for the last 8 months or so.  Dramatically cut back on my egging as well as beers due solely to this.  On medicine the last 2 months to get it under control. 

chasgh

Two years ago developed a nagging cough that I was unable to control with various cough meds.  Went to several docs and was about to call it adult asthma.  Finally met a pulmonologist who diagnosed with acid reflux.  Been on prescription prilosec ever since and much improved.  Try not to take it daily but in front of when I know I'll eat food that aggravate the acid.  Turns out the cough is caused by the acid coming up from the stomach and irritating the esophogas.  Who would have thunk it.  

RedSkip

Surprised no one has mentioned Sleep Apnea.  Not that you have it, just something else to consider.  Folks with Apnea often experience reflux.

Stucci62

Glad to hear you caught it and are pursuing treatment.  My uncle had the same thing, however when they discovered it, he had already progressed to stage IV esophageal cancer.  He fought it for several years but sadly lost his battle in August of 2016.

Eggcelsior

RedSkip said:

Surprised no one has mentioned Sleep Apnea.  Not that you have it, just something else to consider.  Folks with Apnea often experience reflux.

OSA increases your risk for a lot of things, especially Cardiac. It behooves you to get it checked out if you have risk factors.

Salmonegg

Though popping proton pump inhibitors isn't necessarily the path to health, either, as research indicates this promotes chronic liver disease. I'm starting to believe the only safe course is to eat/drink less and exercise more, dangit.

JethroVA

Bump for an update.  Due to a variety of factors, I skipped a couple of my preventive endoscopic screenings to keep esophageal cancer away. (well, technically Barretts with high grade dysplasia was stage 0 cancer).  So, tomorrow I'm having an esophagectomy with gastric lift.  I'm having nearly all of my esophagus removed and my stomach will be reshaped into a pipe to replace the esophagus.  Yep, I'm at least stage T1b, maybe higher once lymph biopsies.  

I'll be intubated in ICU for 1st 24 hours then another ~6 days inpatient.  Feeding tube for a month. I'll never be able to eat a large meal again. 

Please take GERD very seriously.  Esophageal cancer occurs about 10x in men vs. women.  I have a decent chance of living a long life, but only because I was getting screened. 

Fair winds and following seas...

Jeff