Medical Treatments for Acid Reflux - What's Standard?

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Making changes to your lifestyle habits isn’t always enough to take care of acid reflux problems. If you suffer from it more than once a week you have a chronic condition that needs to be identified. The severity of the problem can be unnoticed if you don’t take to your doctor about it. Based on your symptoms, severity of those symptoms, and frequency of heartburn then can help you to find a solution that works.

Over the Counter Products

Many people self treat acid reflux with over the counter medications. If you have a mild problem with heartburn then they may be enough to take care of it. However, you don’t want to be taking pills or chewing up antacids every day. If that is the case you have a more severe problem with acid reflux. You need to make an appointment to see a doctor.

Many of the over the counter products can offer you temporary relief from heartburn pain. Yet they only mask the real problem and that is what allows it to get worse. Then you will need to use more and more of these over the counter products to get relief. You may start to find that they no longer work, and that is due to damages in the esophagus occurring. Don’t let it get to that point as there are other options available.

Prescription Medications

Your doctor can assess your needs when it comes to acid reflux and offer prescription medications. PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) are the form of medication that is usually offered. They work by reducing the amount of acid that the body produces. They also work to ensure the acid that is produced is less likely to have a negative impact on the lining of the esophagus. This double benefit can also give your esophagus the chance to heal up from previous damages.

There are many such medications that fit into this category. They include Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium. There are various side effects associated with different prescription medications for acid reflux. Make sure you are aware of what they are with any given medication your doctor prescribes for you. If the side effects are severe or they don’t go away in time your doctor may need to change that medication.

If you have a mild case of heartburn the PPIs may be too powerful for you to take. In that instance your doctor may prescribe H2 Blockers. They include Pepcid and Zantac. You will find that there are over the counter versions of them as well. They are less expensive and have fewer side effects than PPIs though. That is why they may be tried first before your doctor prescribes something more powerful to take care of acid reflux.

Prokinetics can be offered along with H2 Blockers or PPIs in some instances. Prokinetics allow you to be able to digest your food faster. They are reserved for use in patients that aren’t getting relief from other medications alone. This is because their body has a problem with digesting food like it should. These medications include Reglan but they have to be closely monitored. The side effects from Prokinetics can be very harsh so working closely with the doctor is important.

Surgery

In extremely serious cases of acid reflux surgery may need to be considered. This is a last resort when a patient hasn’t been able to benefit from other methods that have been tried. This type of surgery is referred to as the Laparoscopic method. You will need to have a full assessment with a surgeon qualified in such a procedure to determine if you may be a good candidate for it or not.

This type of surgery involves reinforcing the valves to the stomach. That way they are less likely to allow too much acid to move back into the esophagus. The use of a camera inside of the abdominal cavity is used to help the surgeon perform the procedure. It can take about two weeks to fully recover from this type of surgery.

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