Aging and Disease

Acid reflux is an incredibly common disease. Also known as Gastroesophageal
Reflux Disease (GERD) it can often be difficult to diagnose properly. The main
symptoms of GERD are acid reflux and regurgitation. These are not the only
symptoms however and because of the wide variety of symptoms that can crop up
they can quite easily mask the true condition that the patient is enduring. This
makes a doctors job of finding out what’s wrong with you at least twice as hard.

Because doctors can have great difficulty diagnosing GERD they will often
prescribe over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication for the patient and
observe the results from that point forwards. Most patients find that the OTC
medications resolve their problem although there are some who will experience
GERD no matter what medication a doctor may prescribe.

What Tests Are Available?

So why do doctors rely on OTC or prescription
medication first? Why not just dive in and perform several examinations on the
esophagus? Simply because most of the tests used to diagnose acid reflux are
both invasive and quite expensive. What tests can be performed? The most common
are as follows:

* Barium x-ray
* Upper gastrointestinal x-ray series
* Upper endoscopy
* Esophageal manometry
* 24-hour pH Test

If any of the above tests do diagnose the presence of GERD then doctors normally
first suggest a change in lifestyle as many cases of acid reflux are caused by
poor diet, stress and poor eating habits. This change in lifestyle would be in
combination with either OTC or prescription medication. If the patient still
experiences serious acid reflux after this point then surgery may become an
option.

Is Surgery The Answer?

The next issue is whether or not your doctor thinks
surgery is the answer to your problem. There is a lot of debate surrounding this
topic with the focus being on the safety of the procedure itself and whether or
not it can really eliminate all the problems caused by acid reflux.

The Nissen Fundoplication

This is the surgical procedure used to “fix” the
problem of acid reflux. It takes place in the upper part of the stomach called
the fundus (hence the fundoplication part of the name) which is located near the
esophagus. In this procedure, the “fundus” is wrapped around the lower esophagus
to strengthen its barrier function of the lower esophagus. The idea is to
tighten the lower esophagus in order to prevent gastreosophageal reflux thereby
repairing the main physical irregularity that is often the cause of the symptoms
in people suffering from GERD. This is not major surgery however and can be
performed laparoscopically (also called keyhole surgery).

Is this surgery safe?

At the moment it’s considered totally safe and said to
have good results for patients. If in doubt then always seek a second opinion
from another doctor or consultant.

Lifestyle Versus Surgery

Many experts feel that people and some medical
consultants are far too quick to recommend surgery. There are many other natural
and alternative treatments that patients should try first. Again your lifestyle
is often the cause of acid reflux and this is the first area that needs to be
addressed for any further and future treatment to be successful.

Tags: Aging, Medical

Popularity: 1%