When Acid Reflux Is Chronic: What Is GERD?
GERD is acid reflux that occurs regularly. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of the U.S. population has GERD.
A primary care doctor or gastroenterologist can usually diagnose the condition by evaluating symptom frequency and severity.
“We may also put a probe into a patient’s esophagus for a day to measure how frequently reflux happens,” says Dr. Cohen. Knowing how often reflux occurs is another way to confirm a diagnosis, beyond evaluating the symptoms.
Treatment for GERD starts with lifestyle modifications, says Hagan: “We’ll ask patients to try these steps before we offer medication, although we understand that it can be hard to do some things, such as quitting smoking.”
One class of medication used to treat GERD is proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are available over the counter and by prescription. This class includes:
- lansoprazole (Prevacid)
- esomeprazole (Nexium)
- omeprazole (Prilosec)
- omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate (Zegerid)
- dexlansoprazole (Dexilant)
- pantoprazole (Protonix)
- rabeprazole (AcipHex)
Other drugs called H2 blockers, which inhibit histamine 2 receptors in the stomach, such as famotidine (Pepcid), cimetidine (Tagamet), and nizatidine, may also be effective, says Hagan. H2 blockers lower stomach acid production, though they’re not considered to be as strong as PPIs and are available over the counter and by prescription.
But sometimes people have GERD symptoms that aren’t caused by reflux. “If we determine that GERD symptoms are caused by hypersensitivity in the esophagus or excessive relaxation of the lower esophagus, we might prescribe tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,” says Cohen.
For people who do not respond well to medication or cannot tolerate it, surgery may be an option. A number of surgical procedures to treat GERD are available to strengthen the barrier between the stomach and the esophagus. If this is an option, your gastroenterologist will help you decide which procedure is best for you.
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