Preview of the Acid Reflux & GERD Podcast

[00:00:00] I first started noticing it when I was in nursing school, but I would just feel this pressure

[00:00:05] in my chest. As time went on, I started noticing other symptoms. At one point, I even felt

[00:00:11] like I was allergic to food. Thanks for listening to this preview of the Acid Reflux and GERD

[00:00:16] Podcast, part of the Health Unmuted Audio Library by Mission-Based Media. There's still a lot

[00:00:22] we're learning about Reflux and a lot of misinformation about GERD or gastroesophageal

[00:00:26] Reflux disease. So in each episode of this mini series, we hear from medical experts, caregivers,

[00:00:32] and people who live with chronic reflex to engage, educate, and empower listeners. And we'd love

[00:00:37] your help getting the show out to the millions of people who need it. To learn more about how you can

[00:00:42] be involved, visit HealthUnmuted.com or drop us a line at infoathehealthunmuted.com. Enjoy the preview.

[00:00:49] Throughout the podcast, you'll hear a lot of different terms. Acid Reflux, heartburn,

[00:00:56] GERD, indigestion, sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. But they actually mean different

[00:01:03] things. Heartburn is a painful or burning sensation in the chest caused by acid reflex. That's

[00:01:11] natural if it happens once in a while, but if it happens persistently and continuously, then we

[00:01:16] start to call it GERD. In episode one, we talk about risk factors. My dad struggled with acid

[00:01:24] reflex for a long time and actually died of esophageal cancer in 1992, likely due to the fact that he

[00:01:32] had acid in his esophagus for so long. He also was overweight and he smoked any drink. He also had

[00:01:40] a hadyl hernia, which I had a small hadyl hernia as well. Not only do lifestyle factors increase

[00:01:46] the risk of developing acid reflux, but several studies suggest there might also be a genetic link.

[00:01:51] There are also certain triggers that don't necessarily cause acid reflux in GERD,

[00:01:55] but can certainly make symptoms like heartburn worse. When we get under this chronic stress,

[00:02:01] our body kind of stays in this sympathetic fight or flight response and the disconnect between

[00:02:08] our brain and our gut also becomes chronic. Of course, food is another big trigger.

[00:02:14] There's a ton of things that actually trigger the reflux and make things worse. Tomatoes, onions,

[00:02:20] garlic, you name it. Coffee was the biggest trigger for me. Flavored salsa waters, carbonated drinks.

[00:02:27] Orange juice, lemonade, and marinara sauce. Chocolate, mint, needs a problem. Dairy's a big one.

[00:02:36] So, what can you do about acid reflux? We go into this in episodes two and three.

[00:02:44] I think the one common misconception is it's just something you have to live with that everybody has

[00:02:48] and you just have to deal with it and that it can't be controlled by those lifestyle changes.

[00:02:54] If they stop smoking, they should notice an improvement in their reflux symptoms within a few weeks.

[00:03:00] Weight loss obviously takes some time, but for every pound you lose, for every 10 pounds you lose,

[00:03:06] your girded symptoms are going to be better and better and better over time.

[00:03:10] Beyond weight loss and smoking cessation, simply changing the way you eat and sleep can also

[00:03:15] reduce reflux symptoms. In these episodes, we also talk about medication.

[00:03:21] There are various different types of anti-acid medications. Histamine blockers, which are somewhat

[00:03:26] weak, but much older medications. There are some algae-based medications that are also available.

[00:03:33] There are proton pump inhibitors, also called PTIs. Proton pump inhibitors are one of the most

[00:03:39] commonly used medications in the world. We'll also hear about surgery in a later episode,

[00:03:45] which is an option for people who don't respond to other treatments.

[00:03:48] The surgical treatment of reflux goes back to the 1950s and traditionally it was quite large

[00:03:54] operations, but that has changed enormously in the last 20 years or so. And most surgery now is

[00:04:01] performed using miniminvasive techniques, laposcopic operations. The surgery made a big difference for

[00:04:07] me. I wouldn't say that it completely took everything away, but it made a huge difference.

[00:04:14] Gird can be a challenging, frustrating condition, but it is manageable and people who live with it

[00:04:19] can still enjoy a full and happy life. Throughout the series, we'll hear how.

[00:04:25] It's really hard at first, so when you first find out you kind of grieve what you were able to eat,

[00:04:31] what you were able to do. Restructuring and reframing the words that we use and the beliefs we have

[00:04:38] about this Gird can significantly change our experiences of acid reflux. The vast majority of

[00:04:47] patients with Gird will live a normal, healthy life. A rarely experienced sometimes now, which is

[00:04:54] really nice.