What are GERD and Functional Dyspepsia?

GERD aka Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is when the content of your stomach comes back up into the esophagus. GERD is characterized by pain in the upper abdomen, heartburn, regurgitation and difficulty swallowing. Some may even experience chronic cough, asthma with their pain and recurrent pneumonia.

Functional dyspepsia aka FD presents as persistent pain in the upper abdomen or discomfort that is not exclusively relieved by a bowel movement or is not associated with the onset of a change in stool frequency or form and symptoms are often not explained.

What common meds are prescribed?

If you have had significant heartburn and you have been diagnosed with GERD or functional dyspepsia you likely have taken proton pump inhibitors (omeprazole, lansoprazole, etc) or histamne-2 receptor antagonists (cimetidine, famotidine, etc). Some patients I’ve seen have not ever truly addressed the root cause of their reflux and are on these medications for weeks to months and even years…Not good!

Constipation, diarrhea, headache, nausea and even higher incidence of pneumonia rare common in young children taking these medications. In adults low vitamin B12, calcium, low iron and increased in fall and fracture has been shown for those who use these meds for over 1 yr. After 2 months of consistent use it becomes even harder to get off of it…there it goes and you’re hooked!

“I got GERD, tell me what to do now!”

DIET

Avoiding fatty, spicy and acidic foods are first. Being mindful of caffeine and chocolate is also helpful.

BOTANICALS

• Ginger*
• Licorice/DGL*
• Iberogast
• Zinc Carnosine
• Glutamine
• Aloe vera

Are all herbs and supplements which have shown not only treat acid reflux symptoms but also help with bowel movement and soothing/healing the irritated lining of the esophagus to help decrease symptoms of pain, nausea. Of course, ask your doctor before taking any medications or supplements. Ginger helps thin the blood and that can be dangerous if you are on blood thinner or about to go into surgery. Licorice can cause high blood pressure and high potassium levels and sodium retention so using DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) and licorice extract without glycyrrhizin can help prevent these life-threatening symptoms.

ACUPUNCTURE

Have you tried acupuncture? I find acupuncture to be game changer in so many patients. From pain management, to anxiety, to blood pressure support and yes gut health; acupuncture can be supportive in the management of GERD and functional dyspepsia.

Key acupuncture points like Pericardium 6, Stomach 36, Stomach 43, Stomach 25, LI 4, Spleen 4 Liver 3, DU 12 were identified as key points to support patients with heartburn, nausea, vomiting and other pesky gut symptoms. Of course if you are pregnant, or have high bleeding risk talk to your doctor first, acupressure instead can be an alternative.

MIND BODY THERAPY

Keep an exercise routine. Consider yoga, daily walk and meditative practices as part of your routine to help support a healthy stress response. We all know how stress affects our gut. Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome aka IBS have benefited from hypnotherapy and guided-imagery to help reduce IBS symptoms.

LATEST INFO ON HEARTBURN

A small study in the early 2000s looked at supplementing B Vitamins (B6, B9, B12), methionine, l-tryptophan(an amino acid), betaine and melatonin (a hormone) to help patients with GERD. Melatonin can block our gut’s ability to make more gastric secretion and decreases nitric oxide. This is key to decreasing acid in our stomach from re-entering the lower esophagus and causing that awful burning in the chest. A study with 176 patients who took the supplements mentioned above saw a 100% improvement in their GERD symptoms a little after a month of taking the supplements compared to patients taking 20mg of omeprazole, a common acid reflux medication, who saw only 65.7% of improvement in that same time frame. Yes the study is small, but it should prompt us to look at dietary and supplemental approach to helping patients with GERD. Talk to your doctor and don’t hesitate to seek out our services to help address all your gut imbalances.

GET TESTED

An endoscopy which is a type of image study is required for patients who fail the meds mentioned above. In my practice we do stool testing and food testing to assess for food allergies like dairy, wheat, eggs, nuts and fish and look for low digestive enzymes on labs as well as bacteria which can mimic symptoms of heartburn, like H.Pylori.

REACH OUT!

Before making any changes in your health always reach out to your provider. So many take supplements they see online without reaching out to their doctors to see how what they take impact their health.

Make time to send us a message to connect if you want to get your gut concerns addressed!