GERD (Heartburn) Treatment, Services & Surgery
GERD (Heartburn) treatment overview
Lifestyle changes
Medications
What if GERD symptoms persist?
Surgery
Schedule an appointment
GERD (Heartburn) treatment overview
See your health care provider if you have had symptoms of GERD and have been using antacids or other over-the-counter reflux medications for more than two weeks. Your health care provider may refer you to a gastroenterologist, a doctor who treats diseases of the stomach and intestines. Depending on the severity of your GERD, treatment may involve one or more of the following lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery.
TOP
Lifestyle changes
- If you smoke, stop.
- Avoid foods and beverages that worsen symptoms.
- Lose weight if needed.
- Eat small, frequent meals.
- Wear loose-fitting clothes.
- Avoid lying down for three hours after a meal.
- Raise the head of your bed six to eight inches by securing wood blocks under the bedposts. Just using extra pillows will not help.
TOP
Medications
Your health care provider may recommend over-the-counter antacids or medications that stop acid production or help the muscles that empty your stomach. You can buy many of these medications without a prescription. However, see your health care provider before starting or adding a medication.
- Antacids, such as Alka-Seltzer®, Maalox®, Mylanta®, Rolaids®, and Riopan®, are usually the first drugs recommended to relieve heartburn and other mild GERD symptoms. Many brands on the market use different combinations of three basic salts - magnesium, calcium, and aluminum - with hydroxide or bicarbonate ions to neutralize the acid in your stomach. Antacids, however, can have side effects. Magnesium salt can lead to diarrhea, and aluminum salt may cause constipation. Aluminum and magnesium salts are often combined in a single product to balance these effects.
- Calcium carbonate antacids, such as Tums®, Titralac®, and Alka-2®, can also be a supplemental source of calcium. They can cause constipation as well.
- Foaming agents, such as Gaviscon®, work by covering your stomach contents with foam to prevent reflux.
- H2 blockers, such as cimetidine (Tagamet HB®), famotidine (Pepcid AC®), nizatidine (Axid AR®), and ranitidine (Zantac 75®), decrease acid production. They are available in prescription strength and over-the-counter strength. These drugs provide short-term relief and are effective for about half of those who have GERD symptoms.
- Proton pump inhibitors include omeprazole (Prilosec®, Zegerid®), lansoprazole (Prevacid®), pantoprazole (Protonix®), rabeprazole (Aciphex®), and esomeprazole (Nexium®), which are available by prescription. Prilosec® is also available in over-the-counter strength. Proton pump inhibitors are more effective than H2 blockers and can relieve symptoms and heal the esophageal lining in almost everyone who has GERD.
- Prokinetics help strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and make the stomach empty faster. This group includes bethanechol (Urecholine®) and metoclopramide (Reglan®). Metoclopramide also improves muscle action in the digestive tract. Prokinetics have frequent side effects that limit their usefulness - fatigue, sleepiness, depression, anxiety, and problems with physical movement.
Because drugs work in different ways, combinations of medications may help control symptoms. People who get heartburn after eating may take both antacids and H2 blockers. The antacids work first to neutralize the acid in the stomach, and then the H2 blockers act on acid production. By the time the antacid stops working, the H2 blocker will have stopped acid production. Your health care provider is the best source of information about how to use medications for GERD.
TOP
What if GERD symptoms persist?
If your heartburn does not improve with lifestyle changes or drugs, you may need additional tests:
Barium swallow radiograph
Barium swallow radiograph uses X-rays to help spot abnormalities such as a hiatal hernia and other structural or anatomical problems of the esophagus. With this test, you drink a solution and then X-rays are taken. The test will not detect mild irritation, although strictures - narrowing of the esophagus - and ulcers can be observed.
Upper endoscopy
Upper endoscopy is more accurate than a barium swallow radiograph and may be performed in a hospital or a doctor’s office. The doctor may spray your throat to numb it and then, after lightly sedating you, will slide a thin, flexible plastic tube with a light and lens on the end called an endoscope down your throat. Acting as a tiny camera, the endoscope allows the doctor to see the surface of the esophagus and search for abnormalities. If you have had moderate to severe symptoms and this procedure reveals injury to the esophagus, usually no other tests are needed to confirm GERD.
The doctor also may perform a biopsy. Tiny tweezers, called forceps, are passed through the endoscope and allow the doctor to remove small pieces of tissue from your esophagus. The tissue is then viewed with a microscope to look for damage caused by acid reflux and to rule out other problems if infection or abnormal growths are not found.
pH monitoring examination
pH monitoring examination involves the doctor either inserting a small tube into the esophagus or clipping a tiny device to the esophagus that will stay there for 24 to 48 hours. While you go about your normal activities, the device measures when and how much acid comes up into your esophagus. This test can be useful if combined with a carefully completed diary - recording when, what, and amounts the person eats - which allows the doctor to see correlations between symptoms and reflux episodes. The procedure is sometimes helpful in detecting whether respiratory symptoms, including wheezing and coughing, are triggered by reflux.
A completely accurate diagnostic test for GERD does not exist, and tests have not consistently shown that acid exposure to the lower esophagus directly correlates with damage to the lining.
TOP
Surgery
Surgery is an option when medicine and lifestyle changes do not work. Surgery may also be a reasonable alternative to a lifetime of drugs and discomfort.
Fundoplication
Fundoplication is the standard surgical treatment for GERD. Usually a specific type of this procedure, called Nissen fundoplication, is performed. During the Nissen fundoplication, the upper part of the stomach is wrapped around the LES to strengthen the sphincter, prevent acid reflux, and repair a hiatal hernia.
The Nissen fundoplication may be performed using a laparoscope, an instrument that is inserted through tiny incisions in the abdomen. The doctor then uses small instruments that hold a camera to look at the abdomen and pelvis. When performed by experienced surgeons, laparoscopic fundoplication is safe and effective in people of all ages, including infants. The procedure is reported to have the same results as the standard fundoplication, and people can leave the hospital in one to three days and return to work in two to three weeks.
Endoscopic techniques
Endoscopic techniques used to treat chronic heartburn include the Bard EndoCinch® system, NDO Plicator®, and the Stretta® system. These techniques require the use of an endoscope to perform the anti-reflux operation. The EndoCinch® and NDO Plicator® systems involve putting stitches in the LES to create pleats that help strengthen the muscle. The Stretta® system uses electrodes to create tiny burns on the LES. When the burns heal, the scar tissue helps toughen the muscle. The long-term effects of these three procedures are unknown.
TOP
Schedule an appointment
To schedule an appointment with a Temple Digestive Disease Center Physician, click here or call 1-800-TEMPLE-MED [1-800-836-7536].
TOP
Sources:
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) - NIH Publication No. 07–0882, May 2007
TOP