Antacids that are purchased over-the-counter may be aluminum, magnesium, or calcium based. While all of these GERD medications may be used for short-term relief from acid reflux and heartburn, each carry potential side effects. Calcium-based GERD medications are not recommended for long-term use because of the potential for acid rebounding. However, using calcium-based antacids like Tums and Rolaids on an occasional basis has not been linked to any significant health problems. Antacids that contain aluminum have been associated with an increased risk of constipation. Magnesium-based antacids, on the other hand, may cause diarrhea.

For best results, antacids should be taken about an hour after eating or immediately before acid reflux symptoms usually begin. An additional dose may also be taken two hours after eating if symptoms persist.

If you find that you need to take antacids or other over-the-counter GERD medications on a regular basis, you should talk to your doctor about other treatment options. Some treatments, such as surgery, may be able to provide permanent relief from heartburn and acid reflux.

Best Foods For GERD Diet

• Vegetable Juice: cabbage juice and wheatgrass help to neutralize stomach acid and are high in vitamin K, which can help repair damage to the digestive tract that has been caused by GERD.
• Papaya and Pineapple: the enzymes in these fruits encourage proper and efficient digestion, which reduces the risk for acid reflux. Add these fruits to your meals and you may be able to avoid an antacid afterward.
• Whole Grains: brown rice and other whole grains help push other foods more quickly through the digestive system, which means acid reflux is less likely. Some whole grains also help absorb excess stomach acid.
• Aloe Vera Juice: available at most healthfood stores, this juice is believed to reduce the production of acid in the stomach. It can also soothe an esophagus that’s been irritated by reflux.

Adding these foods to your diet in combination with other lifestyle changes, such as eating smaller meals, may help reduce the severity and frequency of your GERD symptoms.

7 Chronic Illnesses Related To Stress

1. Heart disease: doctors speculate that stress contributes to heart disease by affecting blood pressure and blood vessels, as well as increasing the likelihood of other heart disease risk factors like smoking and obesity. People who have known heart problems are advised to avoid serious stress in order to prevent a heart attack.
2. Asthma: stressed-out adults might worsen their own asthma symptoms and increase the risk of asthma in their children. One study showed that kids with stressed parents had even higher chances of developing asthma than children whose parents smoked during pregnancy.
3. Obesity: excess stress has been linked to excess belly fat, which has been specifically linked to type 2 diabetes and other metabolic problems. Cortisol, often called the stress hormone, seems to affect the storage of belly fat.
4. Diabetes: stress can affect diabetes patients by triggering overeating and poor food choices, as well as raising glucose levels. People who are obese—a potential side effect of stress—are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people of normal weight.
5. Depression: research has shown that people with high levels of work related stress were 80% more likely to develop depression than people who experienced less job stress.
6. Gastrointestinal problems: while stress doesn’t cause ulcers, it has been shown to increase the severity of ulcers and other digestive issues. Stress has been linked to GERD and IBS.
7. Alzheimer’s disease: based on animal studies that have shown that stresses causes brain lesions to grow more quickly, some researchers speculate that high levels of stress may speed up the progression of Alzheimer’s.

To help prevent chronic illness, learn to keep stress levels under control. Practice stress management techniques like deep breathing or guided meditation and get plenty of exercise.

What Medications Can Aggravate GERD?

Certain medications won’t affect the amount of acid in your stomach but can irritate the lining of your esophagus, which can make heartburn pain worse. Medications that can irritate your esophagus include:

• Antibiotics such as tetracycline
• Bisphosphonates, including Fosamax, Boniva and Actonel
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including aspirin and ibuprofen

Iron and potassium supplements may also cause additional inflammation of your esophagus.

Other medications can worsen GERD by increasing the production of stomach acid and making acid reflux occur more frequently. These medications that increase acid reflux include:

• Anticholinergics such as Ditropan
• Calcium channel blockers and nitrates
• Opiods such as codeine, Lortab and Vicodin
• Progesterone
• Quinidine
• Sedatives or tranquilizers, including Valium and temazepam
• Theophylline (Elixophyllin, Theochron)

If you suffer from GERD symptoms or your doctor has prescribed GERD medications, be sure to tell your doctor about any medications you’re taking. This should include prescription medications as well as over-the-counter medicines or dietary supplements you may be taking on your own. In addition to aggravating your GERD symptoms, some medications will be affected by the GERD medications your doctor may prescribe.

An esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth and stomach. The esophagus becomes narrow because of scar tissue that has become hard. This narrowing can make it difficult to eat or drink. An esophageal stricture may also contain cancerous cells, and therefore should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

How does GERD cause an esophageal stricture?

The lining of your esophagus is not designed to protect against erosive digestive acids. When acid reflux occurs, these stomach acids are flowing into your esophagus and damaging the soft tissues that line the tube. The more this occurs, the greater the chance of having scar tissue develop, harden, build up and cause a narrowing of the esophagus opening.

Can an esophageal stricture be treated?

In addition to controlling the underlying problems that caused the stricture to develop in the first place, a doctor will also want to widen the opening of the esophagus. This can be done with dilation, which uses a balloon or stent to widen the esophagus; ablation, which uses thermal energy or gas; cautery, which burns the excess abnormal cells in the esophagus; or laser therapy, which is also designed to get rid of abnormal cells.

Contact your doctor if you experience frequent heartburn, a bitter or acid taste in your mouth, black or tarry stools, chronic coughing, difficulty breathing, trouble swallowing, or vomiting blood. These may be signs of an esophageal stricture.

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a condition that many people struggle to treat on their own before contacting a doctor. If you have frequent heartburn, you may try avoiding certain foods or taking over-the-counter heartburn medications. However, when these and other lifestyle changes fail to stop heartburn from coming back, it’s time to call your doctor. GERD, if left untreated, can cause serious damage to your esophagus and may even increase your risk for certain types of cancer.

How can surgery prevent heartburn from coming back?

While your doctor may initially recommend prescription medications and lifestyle changes, surgery can offer a more permanent solution to GERD symptoms. During a procedure known as fundoplication surgery, your doctor will wrap the upper part of your stomach around the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscular valve that prevents acid from flowing into your esophagus. This surgery can be done using a laparoscopic method or open surgery. Your recovery period will vary depending on which method is used.

As with any surgery, there are risks associated with having fundoplication surgery to treat GERD. You should discuss these risks thoroughly with your physician beforehand and make sure to ask about all of your treatment options, including lifestyle changes you may not have made yet.

Symptoms of erosive esophagitis include:

• Heartburn (a burning sensation behind the breastbone)
• Vomiting blood (may resemble coffee grounds)
• Blood in the stool
• Sour taste in the mouth
• Difficulty swallowing or sensation of having something stuck in your throat
• Persistent cough
• Problems breathing

If you suffer from any of these symptoms, including heartburn that occurs two or more times per week, you may have erosive esophagitis or GERD. Your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes, over-the-counter medication, or prescription medication. Further testing may also be done to rule out other possibly underlying causes, especially if you are experiencing bleeding or respiratory problems.

Lifestyle changes that may resolve your symptoms include:

• Eating smaller meals
• Eating more slowly
• Avoiding alcohol and cigarettes
• Eating a high protein, high carbohydrate, low fat diet
• Losing weight
• Waiting 2 to 3 hours after eating before laying down

In rare cases, surgery may be recommended to repair or prevent further damage to the esophagus. Surgery can also be done to prevent acid reflux.

6 Ways Smoking Causes Heartburn

1. Reduces saliva production: In addition to making less saliva, which helps wash food down into your stomach, research has shown that the saliva of smokers contain lower levels of bicarbonates, chemicals that naturally help neutralize stomach acids.
2. Increases acid production: If you smoke, you may have more stomach acid in your body than a non-smoker, which makes it more likely that these digestive juices can flow back into your esophagus and cause heartburn.
3. Makes stomach acids more damaging: In addition to increasing the production of stomach acids, smoking also makes the acids in your stomach even more damaging by causing bile salts to move from the intestine into the stomach.
4. Weakens the LES: Your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is the muscular valve between your stomach and esophagus that is supposed to prevent reflux, but an LES weakened by smoking may not be able to perform this function as effectively.
5. Damages the esophagus: Smoking can cause damage to the esophageal tissues, which may not make you more likely to have acid reflux, but can make the reflux more painful and potentially dangerous to your health.
6. Slows digestion: Because smoking slows down the entire digestive process, your food sits in your stomach and small intestine for a longer period of time, giving it ample opportunity to reflux back into your esophagus and throat.

The bottom line is, quitting smoking has many potential health benefits, including reducing your risk for frequent heartburn.