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 ref! lux.
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.
Jill Seimer offers health tips at RefluxLife.com She discussed recently Natural Healing of Heartburn from her experience using natural cures for acid reflux.
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