[SamuraiDL]

it burns...it burns...

[SamuraiDL]

seriously my throat friggen burns.

[Cody Dawg]

You need Nexium. See a doctor. You may have h. pylori bacterium in your stomach which causes acid reflux, ulcers, and even stomach cancer.

Nexium is available with a prescription. Take it for a couple of weeks and you're done.

Other than that there is Zantac available over the counter. Consider taking some of that along with Tums to kill the immediate pain and don't eat spicy foods or drink alcohol. See a gastrointestinal doctor.

Good luck.

[spiky_dog]

Cody Dawg, h. pylori is responsible for many but not all stomach ulcers. gastro-intestinal reflux disease (gerd) is a different beast, and h. pylori may actually help to prevent gerd. this is unclear at the moment.

http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patient...stive/hpylori/
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?cha...8583414B7F0000

oh, and fwiw i take protonix, a proton pump inhibitor, for gerd myself. it seems to work, is available by prescription (so go see your doctor!) and is cheap ($13/month, well under my copay so i just pay it out of pocket).

[malvolio]

New Haven, CT? If he's a Yalie, it's probably alcoholic gastritis.
For quick relief, dissolve a spoonful of baking soda in a glass of water and chug it down.

[Ganesha]

Originally posted by SamuraiDL:
seriously my throat friggen burns.

Take an acid reducer, they are nonprescription now. Then see a doctor.

[xi_hyperon]

If you get acid reflux on a regular basis, don't put off seeing a doctor about it like I did (I'm notoriously lazy about going to the doctor). After a couple of years of Zantac and Tums, I'm scheduled to have a camera shoved down my throat next month to assess the damage - all because I was too busy to make an appointment. For the short term, he gave me Aciphex which is 100 times better than anything you can get over the counter.

[powerbook867]

I've had reflux since I was a child. Prilosec works well, prevacid is great if you have good insurance. Please trust me on this, do not take Tagamet.

I was about 30 at the time my doc recomended it and all was well. About a year and a half into taking it, I developed painful lumps on my chest for what I thought was no apparent reason. After getting a workup at the docs office, my nurse practitioner figured out that the lumps were a rare side affect of tagamet. Needless to say, I stopped taking it and the lumps went away...

[Xeo]

I get symptoms when my stomach is empty. If I eat at regular intervals, I never get the burning. However, I do have a medicine which helps, I just don't take it very often. I don't remember the name of it off hand.

[cjrivera]

Prevacid, Protonix, Nexium, Aciphex all work very well and are in the same class (PPI's) - all are available by Rx, but Prilosec (omeprazole)- made by the same company as Nexium- in the lower dose is available over the counter, but they can take up to a few days to start working.

High fat foods, alcohol, chocolate, aspirin or ibuprofen, and spicy foods can all worsen reflux.

If it persists, see your primary care doctor. You shouldn't need to see a GI specialist first.

[BoomStick]

I am on Protonix, but have changed to Prilosec OTC because it's much cheaper than my deductable.

Works fine.

If you need immediate relief, chug a mini bottle of mint Maalox, it's what I do.

[selowitch]

Another great product: Acid Defense by Garden of Life. It's an all-natural, alkalyzing food supplement in powdered form. Works great, but I must warn you --- it tastes horrible, and it's expensive. There are always trade-offs.

[Eug Wanker]

Until you get to see the doc, you can just get an antacid over the counter, or even just drink a glass of milk.

[cjrivera]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Until you get to see the doc, you can just get an antacid over the counter, or even just drink a glass of milk.

Actually milk (especially whole milk) can worsen the acid because of the fat content which stimulates acid production. Caffeine also worsens the acid production.

Acid is made in response to the amount and type of food ingested, so several small bland meals a day would make less acid than 3 regular/big meals a day.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by cjrivera:
Actually milk (especially whole milk) can worsen the acid because of the fat content which stimulates acid production.

Low fat milk.

[effgee]

Grandma's remedy - a slice of dry bread. The "real" thing - no toast or Wonderbread shit. Today's remedy - Tums.

And what is up with this cancer crap? Pretty much any symptom, from a headache to a burning sensation between your toes could be a sign of cancer. As long as your see you doc on a somewhat regular basis for a checkup - a hearburn will most likely be just that - a heartburn.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by effgee:
Grandma's remedy - a slice of dry bread. The "real" thing - no toast or Wonderbread shit. Today's remedy - Tums.

And what is up with this cancer crap? Pretty much any symptom, from a headache to a burning sensation between your toes could be a sign of cancer. As long as your see you doc on a somewhat regular basis for a checkup - a hearburn will most likely be just that - a heartburn.

Acid reflux is a predisposing condition for cancer of the lower esophagus.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Low fat milk.

I drink skim milk and it has often exacerbated the reflux.

[BoomStick]

Originally posted by effgee:

And what is up with this cancer crap? Pretty much any symptom, from a headache to a burning sensation between your toes could be a sign of cancer. As long as your see you doc on a somewhat regular basis for a checkup - a hearburn will most likely be just that - a heartburn.

Barret's esophagus is a pre cancerous condition from constant acid erosion. The continued injury can and often does cause cancer.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by effgee:
Grandma's remedy - a slice of dry bread. The "real" thing - no toast or Wonderbread shit. Today's remedy - Tums.

Tums is most certainly *not* a long-term solution to acid reflux. That's exactly the mistake I made. And believe me, it's not worth it - I have to forgo my favorite sushi for awhile.

[effgee]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Acid reflux is a predisposing condition for cancer of the lower esophagus.

And that's why everybody who's ever had a heartburn will inevitably die from cancer of the lower esophagus.

Right?


You guys spend way too much time watching TV "news". If you look out your window - see any killer bees?

What's the latest scare?

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by xi_hyperon:
I drink skim milk and it has often exacerbated the reflux.

Yeah, it doesn't work for everyone, but for most it would work, as a quick and dirty way to alleviate the symptoms. eg. 2 am when the local stores are closed or whatever.

Originally posted by effgee:
And that's why everybody who's ever had a heartburn will inevitably die from cancer of the lower esophagus.

Right?


You guys spend way too much time watching TV "news". If you look out your window - see any killer bees?

What's the latest scare?

Not a "scare". It's well documented and not uncommon. While only a very small proportion of acid reflux sufferers will get esophageal cancer, given the number of people with acid reflux and the well documented link between it and esophageal cancer, it's not something to be ignored like cell phone brain tumour scares or something.

[BoomStick]

Efgee, do you have acid reflux?

Do you vomit acid and blood nightly?

Can you not eat hardly anything anymore without becoming ill?

Been there, seen it , done it.

I don't want to do it again.

[SamuraiDL]

thanx guys. oh and dont drink orange juice e at 4 in the morning. that did not help.

[BoomStick]

Holy crap sonic!

Maalox will do the trick.
If you can get some paragoric, put a teaspoon in the Maalox.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally posted by SamuraiDL:
thanx guys. oh and dont drink orange juice e at 4 in the morning. that did not help.

Heh. No it won't. Orange juice is an acid.

[cjrivera]

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:

Not a "scare". It's well documented and not uncommon. While only a very small proportion of acid reflux sufferers will get esophageal cancer, given the number of people with acid reflux and the well documented link between it and esophageal cancer, it's not something to be ignored like cell phone brain tumour scares or something.

well said.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by effgee:
And that's why everybody who's ever had a heartburn will inevitably die from cancer of the lower esophagus.

Instead of ridiculing something factual with bizarre absolutes, why not read up on it?

You can read more here:
Link
Link
Link

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by SamuraiDL:
thanx guys. oh and dont drink orange juice e at 4 in the morning. that did not help.

Hmm... why not go all out and have a teaspoon of wasabi before bed? *stomach cringes*

[wdlove]

If this problem has been persistent for a while then as mention by other, you should visit you primary physician.

[Cody Dawg]

I have a very weak stomach. I have had h.pylori infection and it's not fun. Was on my way skiing and driving all night to meet with friends and just before I got to the skiing destination I pulled over to throw up...and threw up blood everywhere. Turns out it was ulcers and the culprit was h.pylori. I remember the acid reflux for weeks before it got that bad and I ignored it. Had an IV drip of antibiotics for a couple of days then went on a regimen of antibiotics for the next three weeks.

The second time I got it I took Nexium. It was amazing - the pain and reflux were gone in only about 3 days.

Of course, I had to go in and get the camera in the stomach and then I had to go in and have a colonoscopy to check the other end.

I'm happy that I did because now it's all under control.

It's better to treat problems before they become worse, especially if there's a question of cancer. Colon cancer, for instance, is 95% preventable with colonoscopy screening. Breast cancer cure rate is 95% if caught early. Malignant melanoma is curable when caught early, and so on.

Good luck!

[effgee]

OK guys, I'll bite (for a post or two). Convince me - what percentage of people suffering from acid reflux disease get cancer of the lower esophagus?

How far right of the decimal point are we talking? CDC links or similarly reliable sources will do fine.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by effgee:
OK guys, I'll bite (for a post or two). Convince me - what percentage of people suffering from acid reflux disease get cancer of the lower esophagus?

How far right of the decimal point are we talking? CDC links or similarly reliable sources will do fine.

I did your first google for you already. I think you're good to go on the next one.

[SamuraiDL]

No I have the worst case of the shits... its like dumb and dumber over here lol!!!

[effgee]

Originally posted by xi_hyperon:
I did your first google for you already. I think you're good to go on the next one.

LOL, no thank you.

I got more gripping stuff planned for the remainder of the day than to read up about cancer of the lower espohagus. And that in a thread where a 20-something year-old complained about a heartburn caused by drinking a glass of OJ at 4am.

Not that tempting.

[spiky_dog]

Originally posted by effgee:
I got[sic] more gripping stuff planned for the remainder of the day than to read up about cancer of the lower espohagus.

apparently you don't mind showing off your ignorance. you also should rephrase your question in terms of relative risk: not many people get cancer, period. if GERD increases that risk significantly, and the cost and effort to treat it are minimal then the implication clearly is that it should be treated.

[effgee]

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
apparently **smooch** you don't mind showing off your ignorance.

Nope. Not ever.

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
you **smooch** also should rephrase your question in terms of relative risk: not many people get cancer, period. ...

Tah-daaa!! Ten quatloos for the winner of the grand prize!!

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
apparently you don't mind showing off your ignorance. you also should rephrase your question in terms of relative risk: not many people get cancer, period. if GERD increases that risk significantly, and the cost and effort to treat it are minimal then the implication clearly is that it should be treated.

Don't bother. Just. Don't.

[cjrivera]

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/co...2.asp?rnav=cri

There's your numbers on esophageal CA.

... as for the comment that few people get cancer....

"Over one million people get cancer each year. Approximately one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime. Anyone can get cancer at any age; however, about 77% of all cancers are diagnosed in people age of 55 and older. Although cancer occurs in Americans of all racial and ethnic groups, the rate of cancer occurrence (called the incidence rate) varies from group to group. "

Source: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/co....asp?sitearea=

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by effgee:
LOL, no thank you.

I got more gripping stuff planned for the remainder of the day than to read up about cancer of the lower espohagus. And that in a thread where a 20-something year-old complained about a heartburn caused by drinking a glass of OJ at 4am.

Not that tempting.

If you're not interested, why ask people to research it for you? Just baiting?

[olePigeon]

I've had Acid Reflux since I was 12. I inherited it from my dad.

This is what helps me:

If you're new to Acid Reflux, Cimetidine (aka Tagament) is the best there is. I've found that Walgreens has it cheapest and it comes in a bottle instead of those packages where you have to tear each tablet out.

After a while, though, your body gets used to dealing with Cimetidine. At first it's great cuz it reduces the amount of acid you make, but after a year or so of using it now it completely turns off my acid and feels like the food just rots in my stomach.

Since then I've moved to Ranitidine (Zantac.) It's a little different and my stomach doesn't act the same way. Only problem with Ranitidine is that it doesn't get rid of the nausea I sometimes get with the acid reflux (when it gets in your esophagus and starts to tickle your gag reflex.)

You can get surgery where they put a one-way valve in your throat. Stuff can go down, but not out, so you have to be really careful about drinking too much or when you're sick. It increased your chance of blood poisoning and heart attack.

[Cody Dawg]

Okay, I've had about enough of this thread.

Next!

[SamuraiDL]

finally gone... thank God...

[cjrivera]

Originally posted by SamuraiDL:
finally gone... thank God...

what did you end up doing?