Do you have reflux? or Barrett's?

This is for any of you that get continual reflux or heartburn.
If you are regularly using antacids or have a lot of heartburn etc., don't ignore it and see your doctor!

I almost died last week due to unknowingly having ignored same.
Basically I fainted and brought up a lot of blood, rushed to hospital & now back OK, except I now have Barrett's esophagus.
So don't ignore it!

I'm lucky(?) because my twin brother in UK also has it and he founded a charity to support sufferers & research it.

He has produced a book - now in 4th printing - which is free on the internet, or can be ordered as a hard copy here: https://sites.google.com/site/downwithacid2/home

Stay healthy everyone.

P.S. I have nothing but utmost praise for Dr Valenti & staff at Lo Malibu health centre and the treatment at Torrevieja hospital.

Glad you are ok

Hope you are now on the road to recovery.

Best wishes to you Martin from the T's

Get well soon Martin.

[quote="Martin the artist"]This is for any of you that get continual reflux or heartburn.
If you are regularly using antacids or have a lot of heartburn etc., don't ignore it and see your doctor!

In 2006 I occasionally had acidic sensation in my throat, especially if I crouched down, bent over or laid flat on my back. I read an article in weekly medical section of my daily newspaper describing someone with identical symptoms who had been diagnosed with Hiatus Hernia condition (I had never heard of it before but I was soon to learn a lot). I went to see doctor following day & took the paper with me & explained my acidic taste. He said that he was sure that I had Hiatus Hernia but referred me to hospital to have a Barium meal test to confirm his diagnosis. The test showed that my stomach had "squeezed" through my diaphragm, pushing my oesophagus upwards & making the one-way valve (sphincter) not working at the lowest point of the oesophagus. This allows stomach contents including the naturally produced Hydrochloric Acid, to pass upwards into the oesophagus. This action, whilst having some discomfort, is not too serious. BUT, the lining of the oesophagus (unlike the stomach lining) is not designed to cope with acid & over a period of time damage is done to the cells, similar to burning flesh. The damage condition is called Barret's Oesophagus and the cells are classed as being pre-cancerous, which may, & regularly do turn into full cancer of the oesophagus. A follow-up endoscopy (camera down throat) confirmed I have the Barret's condition.
Told you that I learnt a lot!
I was immediately prescribed with Omeprazole, a PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor) which suppresses the production of stomach acid, & later Gaviscon.
I have to be careful with diet re spicy or fatty foods etc & don't eat late evening to help prevent the reflux of stomach contents when I lay down.
Sorry to have gone into the gory details but I hope that I may have enlightened anyone who has an acidic feeling in their throat, or difficulty / painful swallowing, or vomiting, weight loss, or sensation of fullness during eating for no apparent reason. Go to a doctor ASAP.

Correct BrianQ...
I've been reading my brother's book on-line and there is a lot to it, but if kept under control should hopefully not turn to cancer.
There is a Barretts forum type group on FB where people can ask questions of each other, and usually Chris answers too.
There is more Barretts in UK than Spain, probably due to the famous mediterranean diet, but it is getting more prevalent over here and there is a Spanish website equivalent of the UK one too run by a group in Barcelona who are now translating Chris's book.
Each person has to find their trigger foods to avoid and spicy foods aren't necessarily bad for everyone = otherwise the Indians would have a lot, but they don't.
And many spices are good for you, especially turmeric.

Martin, forgot to mention I now have routine endoscopy procedure to get biopsies of the Barret's area in order to monitor if the cells have changed to cancerous. I used to have the procedure every 2 years but its now every 3 years which I am dubious about as the sooner any abnormality is found, its more likely to be treatable if in early stages.
We are back in Spain 28th May for 3 weeks so may pop up to the caves for a chat on a Sunday open day, if you can tell me which date & time for then.

I don't know all the answers on Barretts, having only just being diagnosed with it, but the 2/3 yr thing seems standard to do with size of hiatus which I believe can shrink, so reducing from 2 yearly to 3 seems to be good!
On the facebook group, 'Barrett's Esophagus Awareness', I've seen people say things like Barretts actually is a safeguard to save you from cancer! But I don't know what they mean.
You may want to join the FB group perhaps.

If you're over from 28th May, I guess the caves market would be 2nd June - i.e. 1st Sunday of June
Might see you then!

Good to hear you are on the mend.