Reflux disease (gastro-esophageal reflux) is one of the diseases I see frequently in my patients. Therefore, this will be our topic today in line with your wishes.
We call GERD the disease caused by stomach acid or stomach contents escaping into the esophagus.
How Do I Know If I Have GERD?
- Burning sensation in the chest
- Mouth of your food
- Bitter water (stomach acid) coming into the mouth
Untypical of GERD What are the Complaints?
- Cough
- Asthma
- Hoarseness
- Chest pain
- Aphthae (intraoral sores)
- Hiccups
- Tooth decay
When Should I Have Endoscopy-Gastroscopy?
- If there is difficulty in swallowing
- If there is pain when swallowing
- If there is a feeling of early satiety
- If there is bleeding
- Typical GERD if there are no complaints
What is the Treatment of Reflux?
Lifestyle Change
- Small amount of food
- Not lying down for at least 2-3 hours after a meal
- Raising the head of the bed by 15 cm
- Avoiding fatty foods, chocolate, coffee, cola, alcohol, hot and sour foods (stay away from whatever increases reflux)
- Most importantly, stay away from smoking
Medicines
- H2 receptor antagonists (famotidine, ranitidine): Reduces complaints in 60% of patients, endoscopic improvement is detected in 50%
- PPI (proton pump inhibitors-omeprazole, lansoprazole etc.): It has been shown to be superior to placebo and H2receptor antagonists
Surgical
- It can be performed in patients using long-term and increasing doses of drug therapy. It is reported that while the success rate with the open method is 50%, the success rate is up to 90% with closed (laparoscopic) surgeries.
