From the category archives:

Treatment

Acid Reflux Treatment: There Are Only 3 Options

by Editor

So, you just figured out that at you have acid reflux. Treatment is the first thing you’re probably thinking about right now. Let’s keep it simple. You’ve really just got three options.

  1. Stop whatever you’re doing that’s causing your acid reflux.
  2. Take medicine to treat the acid reflux.
  3. Have surgery.

I realize that’s pretty basic, so let’s talk about each of these options in a little bit more detail. They’re already listed in order of increasing seriousness, so we’ll start at the top.

Let’s start with the first one - stop whatever you’re doing is causing your acid reflux. I know this sounds like a joke, but it’s really pretty straightforward. People get acid reflux or GERD as result of obesity, smoking and pregnancy. So if you’re overweight or you smoke, and you have acid reflux, you may want to think about losing weight or stopping smoking. And the pregnancy ought to take care of itself in about nine months.

Sometimes your diet can cause acid reflux symptoms. Citrus fruits, caffeine drinks, alcohol and fried foods are all common causes of acid reflux. Try keeping a food diary to see if there are certain things that cause your acid reflux to flare up.

What about the next one - take medicine to treat the acid reflux. Chances are, if you have acid reflux you’re already munching on antacids. If those are working for you, then you may need to talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for something a little stronger. The prescription acid reflux medications usually work by reducing acid production or by causing your stomach to empty faster.

And the final option - have surgery. This is usually the least desirable of all the acid reflux treatments. If changing your lifestyle doesn’t help and the medicine doesn’t work any longer, then your doctor may want to talk to you about surgery to treat your acid reflux symptoms. The standard surgical treatment for GERD or acid reflux is the Nissen fundoplication procedure. During this procedure, the upper part of the stomach is wrapped around the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) to strengthen the sphincter and prevent acid reflux. Acid reflux surgery has become a common procedure and now has high success rates.

Chronic GERD or acid reflux that is untreated can cause serious complications. Stomach acid can cause damage to the lining of your stopping us and cause bleeding or ulcers and swallowing can become difficult. There are plenty of acid reflux treatments available today, so don’t wait for your symptoms to become serious before finding the right one for you.

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Acid Reflux Treatment | New Beds Designed for Acid Reflux Sufferers

by Editor

HomePlace Group, Inc.’s SleepLab 600X adjustable electric bed has been joined by two new siblings — the SleepLab 500X and the SleepLab R/T beds. The SleepLab 500X provides a Wall-Proximity design which means that the headboard or wall remains at a constant distance from the wall as the bed articulates.

Weight management in an adjustable bed is an important consideration and the SleepLab 500X performs better than most. The Queen Size bed has a 500 lb. weight capacity and the Dual King has an 800 lb. rated capacity.

This bed is designed for people with severe acid reflux who have been advised by their doctors to sleep with the head of their bed raised; they want the bed flat, but the entire bed is slanted. The use of this bed in Sleep Labs assists in producing the desired results.

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Acid Reflux Treatment | New Procedure Offers GERD Relief Without Painful Incisions

October 18, 2006

In bad cases of severe gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, the valve between the esophagus and stomach is very weak or it doesn’t work at all. Drugs like Zantac and Nexium sometimes helped only a little.
The surgeon employs a scope and tools that go through the mouth and down the throat to perform a procedure [...]

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Nexium Treats GERD and Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome

October 16, 2006

NEXIUM already is indicated for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in adults and children ages 12 to 17, and to reduce the risk of NSAID-associated gastric ulcers in at-risk patients.
ZES is a rare but serious chronic condition characterized by the development of tumors that secrete excessive levels of gastrin, a hormone that stimulates [...]

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Stanford Researchers Find the Best Acid Reflux Remedies

October 14, 2006

Researchers at Stanford University recently reviewed 100 different studies looking for remedies for GERD or acid reflux. They found that weight loss was one of the best remedies. In one of the studies, participants lost 27 pounds on average. This weight loss reduced heartburn symptoms by 40 percent. Most likely, the weight reduction put [...]

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