Gastritis Symptoms can include abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and vomiting.
Belching and burning in the upper abdomen are other symptoms.

Blood in stools or vomit can indicate that there is bleeding in the stomach and immediate medical treatment is essential.

Diagnosis of gastritis is undertaken with an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the form of a camera on the end of a lighted rod.
Tissue and blood samples are also taken.

Antibiotics are part of the treatment plus medications to reduce stomach acid.

Alcahol and spicy foods shoud be avoided.

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The government has warned doctors not to use using Enteryx injections for acid reflux disease treatment, after it has been connected health problems and even death.

Problems with Enteryx have happened when it is injected and misses its intended target, and passes through the wall of the esophagus.

It can then enter the bloodstream and block blood vessels

Enteryx is injected as a liquid that transforms into a sponge like material that cannot be removed. When it is injected properly, it strengthens the lower esophagus, helping prevent stomach acid from entering it and causing pain.

It was also noted that problems have also developed when Enteryx was injected properly.

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A Perforated Esophagus should be treated as a surgical emergency as internal infections can follow resulting in death within days if untreated.

The problem becomes serious when bacteria from within the esophagus enter the body

Secondary infections can happen quickly, because of the bacteria, gastric juices and digestive enzymes.

Most perforations are caused by chicken bones although other instances are recorded from surgical accidents.

Acid reflux can also be a pre cursor to this perforation, as untreated reflux can cause ulcers to eat through the esophagus wall.

Cancer, trauma or severe vomiting are other causes.

If you think you, or a loved one may have this problem seek medical help immediately as surgery and antibiotics are needed.
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Acid reflux surgery appears to work

This report from Reuters indicates that Laparoscopic surgery- A type of surgery to cure acid reflux disease, the most severe form of heartburn, is showing a high degree of long-term success, according to a recent study.

The surgery involves strengthening that natural barrier by wrapping part of the stomach around the lower part of the esophagus.

Of 1,340 people who underwent a laparoscopic procedure, in which a small tube is inserted into the abdomen, 93 percent said they were satisfied with the long-term results.

Patients in the study conducted at University Hospital, Angers, France, were followed on average for more than seven years after the surgery.

Acid reflux disease occurs when stomach acid moves into the esophagus after a muscular valve designed to prevent such leakage opens up.

Laparoscopic surgery for acid reflux involves strengthening that natural barrier by wrapping part of the stomach around the lower part of the esophagus. Nearly 10 percent of the patients resumed taking heartburn medicine, but in most, no evidence of reflux recurrence could be found, said the study published in the October issue of the Archives of Surgery.

The results suggest that laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery is an effective long-term procedure, is well tolerated and can be properly used in the treatment of acid reflux disease, the report concluded.

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Achalasia is an uncommon esophagael complaint.

This is acitvated when the lower esophagael sphincter (L.E.S) fails to relax during the act of swallowing meaning that there is no peristalisis in more than half the esophagus.

This means that the food when swallowed, virtually drops down a chute and compacts at the end.

Achalasia is the result of a motor neuron defect with abnormal nerve cells in the bottom portion of the esophagus.
This results in uncordinated peristalitis and the L.E.S does not open.

Causes of Achalasia are unknown, with theories ranging from degenerative nerve disease in nerves that help the esophagus function, to a herpes type virus.

Symptoms of Achalasia include:

Difficulty swallowing
Chest pain
Poor digestion and vomiting
Night coughing

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Many readers are looking for natural ways to treat gastric disorders such as reflux, irritable bowel and other gastrointestinal disorders.

Jigsaw Health, the web’s leading resource for chronic conditions, recently announced it is selling a “Gastro Bundle” that includes probiotics, organic ground flax meal and JMX-2 to promote gastrointestinal health.

Those who suffer from candidiasis, constipation, diarrhea, leaky gut syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome can take the first step to feeling better by using this combination of products, along with other dietary modifications.

The Gastro Bundle could help sufferers of chronic health conditions improve regularity, foster healthy digestion, alleviate digestive disorders, enhance the body’s natural defenses, balance healthy intestinal flora, promote healthy immune function, and support healthy liver function.

By purchasing supplements and products in bundles, those with chronic conditions can save money and maximize health benefits, according to Jigsaw Health President, Patrick Sullivan Jr.

“Our gastro bundle is one of the first products we recommend to those looking to solve their chronic health puzzle,” says Sullivan Jr., who also co-founded Jigsaw Health. “Healing the gut is a critical first step for those looking to overcome chronic health conditions.”

The Jigsaw Health Gastro Bundle includes three critical products:

• Essential Blend Probiotics: Jigsaw Health’s proprietary probiotics contain 25 billion active, “gut friendly” bacteria in each capsule. One of these, the powerful patented DDS-1 lactobacillus acidophilus, passes easily through stomach acids to the intestines where it colonizes and multiplies up to 200 times, overcoming and killing off pathogenic organisms. Jigsaw Health’s probiotics contain no FOS, iron, or heavy metals.

• Organic Ground Flax Seed Meal: Ground Flax Seed Meal promotes healthy digestion and regularity and is an easy dietary addition. Jigsaw Health’s flax meal requires no grinding – the organic flax seeds have been milled to produce a soft, velvety texture with a mild flavor. The ground flax seed meal is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, contains healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils and offers more dietary fiber than other whole-grain ingredients. Additionally, it has a protein ratio equivalent to that of beef, chicken, pork, or fish, is low in carbohydrates and high in antioxidants. And the highly soluble fibers reduce the user’s glycemic index by slowing the absorption of sugars from the intestinal tract.

• JMX-2: A potent natural remedy and immune booster, JMX-2 features a unique garlic extract called Allimax™—a patented, stabilized form of allicin, the active ingredient in garlic—for long-lasting effectiveness in balancing intestinal flora. It also contains many powerful antimicrobial herbs and extracts including:
o Grapefruit seed extract to help balance organisms in the digestive tract;
o Neem, which is considered to be one of the most effective ingredients in dealing with a variety of micro-organisms;
o Turmeric extract, which promotes a healthy gastrointestinal system;
o Mint leaves to enhance the body’s natural defense system and promote regulation of the digestive system; and
o Coriander seeds, which help relieve flatus and improve the digestive process.

Chronic health sufferers are familiar with the trial and error process inherent in choosing each dietary supplement. The Jigsaw Health Gastro Bundle eases the process and puts several of the company’s popular gastrointestinal health products together in one convenient package.

The Jigsaw Health Gastro Bundle serves as a starting point in the quest for better digestive health while using proven products that help promote regularity, enhance your body’s natural defense system, and balance healthy intestinal flora.

Contacts:
Lindsay Sullivan Jigsaw Health (480) 212-9006
Brian Brodrick Jackson Spalding (404) 724-2513

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For the benefit of new readers, I often provide lists of foods that are beneficial to an acid reflux disease diet

Todays list is compliments of Dietitian Sharon Saka who shares her secrets of power snacking and how to avoid foods that will create even the slightest digestive or acid reflux problem.

She describes it as a list of superfoods to aid with indigestion and acid reflux and I hope you enjoy her informative advice.

If you experience frequent indigestion or heartburn, you have lots of company.
Millions of Americans have ongoing digestive health problems of some sort.
It can be a sign of overeating, choosing the wrong foods, or a more serious problem.

Registered dietitian Sharon Saka, of Suffern, New York, says that a few simple lifestyle changes can alleviate heartburn and indigestion.
She suggests eating smaller, more frequent meals.
This will decrease pressure on your abdomen and make it less likely for you to experience heartburn.

Other preventive tips: Eat in a relaxing atmosphere.
Wear clothing that isn’t too tight around your waist and abdomen.
Don’t lie down after eating, or do a lot of bending and lifting.

A number of foods can trigger heartburn or indigestion by relaxing the band of muscles at the end of your esophagus so it can’t keep out stomach acid.
Here are some common gastric irritants you might want to avoid: spicy foods with black pepper or chili powder; mint; garlic and raw onions; citrus foods like tomatoes, oranges, and grapefruit; fried or fatty foods that slow digestion; anything with caffeine such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate; and alcohol.

For overall healthy digestion and to minimize acid reflux, make sure you get plenty of fiber from a variety of vegetables, non-citrus fruits, and whole grains.
Drink enough fluids to help your body absorb important nutrients and lubricate food waste.
Use low-fat methods when cooking, for example, substituting broth for butter or oil when you saute, and replacing oil with applesauce (cup for cup) when you’re baking.

Herbal chamomile tea is said to have a calming effect on the stomach, so try some after you eat or before bed.

Thanks for reading this post on diet for acid reflux disease.
More news soon.

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This interesting article by Dr. Michael Kimbrell, For The Lancaster News
concerns testing to help determine if you have Barrett’s esophagus

If you have had chronic heartburn, indigestion, difficulty swallowing or have gastro-esophageal reflux disease, you may need evaluation for a pre-malignant condition known as Barrett’s esophagus.

Barrett’s esophagus is the most severe consequence of chronic gastro-esophageal reflux. The mechanism by which this happens is unclear, but the usual tissue covering the lower esophagus is replaced by tissue that is more like the tissue in the stomach. The esophagus is normally covered by squamous epithelium, but in Barrett’s esophagus, this is replaced by columnar epithelium. The columnar epithelium is more resistant to the effects of the reflux of stomach acid.

This might seem like a good thing to protect the esophagus from the acid reflux. However, this has been shown to be a pre-malignant condition. Numerous studies have established the association between Barrett’s columnar epithelium and adenocarcinoma (cancer) of the esophagus. Therefore, the development of Barrett’s esophagus is considered a pre-cancerous condition.

The change from normal to cancer develops over time and there is a progression from metaplasia to dysplasia to cancer. These terms refer to the tissue changes that develop in this condition. This provides an opportunity to detect pre-cancerous changes and provide treatment, hopefully before cancer develops.

Esophageal cancer has a poor prognosis if it is not detected early.

Studies show that the risk of developing esophageal cancer in Barrett’s esophagus is increased 30 to 50 times over the risk in the general population. Barrett’s epithelium has been observed in 8 to 20 percent of patients with reflux esophagitis and in 44 percent of patients with esophageal strictures. Since about 5 percent of people above age 55 have gastro-esophageal reflux disease, there are many people who likely have undiagnosed Barrett’s esophagus. Also, since Barrett’s esophagus occurs 10 times more frequently in men than in women, men with chronic reflux symptoms are at greater risk of esophageal cancer than women.

Barrett’s esophagus can only be definitely diagnosed by biopsies of the esophagus. These biopsies are done at the time of an endoscopic examination of the esophagus.

Does everyone with esophageal reflux require endoscopic evaluation? Not necessarily. Persons over age 55 with chronic reflux symptoms, worsening problems with reflux, difficulty swallowing, pain with swallowing, weight loss associated with reflux, food sticking or problems with aspiration should consider having an evaluation for Barrett’s esophagus.

There are three ways to evaluate the esophagus: X-ray, endoscopy and “pillcam.” Each has advantages and disadvantages.

X-ray, or barium swallow, allows a look at the esophagus and can suggest reflux disease, diagnose strictures and suggest other esophageal disorders. Biopsies cannot be done and Barrett’s esophagus cannot be definitely detected. The esophageal “pillcam” or capsule endoscopy allows photographs to be taken of the esophagus and can diagnose reflux and can indicate Barrett’s esophagus. This can be done to determine if endoscopy should be done. It doesn’t require sedation and takes only 20-30 minutes, so little time from work is required. Biopsies cannot be done, so Barrett’s cannot be definitely diagnosed.

Endoscopic evaluation of the esophagus is the gold standard and should be done if there is strong indication of Barrett’s esophagus. This requires sedation and time missed from work, but allows biopsies and photographing of the esophagus.

Once Barrett’s esophagus is diagnosed, surveillance for changes indicating a progression to a pre-cancerous or cancerous condition should be begun. Since there is a progression from benign to pre-malignant to malignant tissue, regular endoscopic evaluations with biopsies are done to determine if surgical treatment is required.

Unfortunately no treatment is known to reverse the changes of Barrett’s esophagus. Aggressive anti-reflux measures should be undertaken, but if pre-cancerous changes develop, esophageal surgery is indi- cated. If there are no changes to suggest pre-cancerous tissue, endoscopy should be done every one to two years.

If suspicious tissue is present endoscopy and biopsies may be required every six months.

If high-grade dysplasia develops and the person is a good surgical risk, esophageal surgery is indicated.

Since this condition is so common and since there is an association with a highly lethal malignancy, people should be aware of this disorder so that they can undergo an evaluation to determine if their reflux disease is or is not associated with Barrett’s esophagus.

Dr. Michael Kimbrell practices internal medicine at Palmetto TriCounty Internal Medicine. He has been an active member of the medical staff at Springs Memorial Hospital for 22 years.

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome is often associated with Acid Reflux Disease.

Just what is Irritable bowel syndrome?
Simply put, it is a lack of coordination between the colon, pelvis and sphincter.

Look at it like this.
After a meal, the stomach becomes extended and releases various gastrointestional hormones. Following this, the nerves in the colon become activated and stimulate the muscles in the wall of the colon.
This is known as a gastrocolic reflex.

This is part of normal digestion, but people with irritable bowel syndrome may experience cramps or diarrehea and an urgent need to go to the toilet even before a meal is finished.

Symptoms IBS can also occur on other occasions, not just during a meal.

As digestion takes place, food moves slowly back and forth with regular colon contractions heading towards the rectum.
These contractions happen several times a day and will sometimes result in a bowel movement.
Problems may occur if the action of the colon, pelvis and sphincter lack coordination and may result in constipation or diarrhea.

Approximately two thirds of sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome are women. Research has not been able to determine why women suffer more, although one school of thought is that reproductive hormones released during menstration may have some effect.

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Regular readers will recall recent posts about the increasing use of tiny pill cameras to diagnose gastrointestinal problems in the esophagus
and upper stomach.

This report from John Vargo, MD, MPH, member of the section of therapeutic endoscopy, department of gastroenterology and hepatology,
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland looks deeper into this new technology with a camera the size of a pill being used as an alternative to troublesome endoscopy.

Imagine a pill about a half-inch by an inch — with a
light and a digital camera packed into each end.
When you swallow the pill, each camera snaps seven high-quality color photos per second of the trip through your esophagus, stomach and into your intestines.

Then it transmits those images via radio signals to a
digital recorder that’s strapped to your waist (electrodes are
attached to your abdomen to help pick up the signal). In about 20
minutes, the esophageal part of the screening is done — no sedation,
no discomfort. Your doctor then views the digital photos, looking for
abnormalities that could signal a problem. The pill normally passes
through the entire digestive tract in 24 hours.

The technology itself is an update of a pill camera that was first
released four years ago as a way to snap photos of the small
intestine, which is a complicated part of the anatomy and difficult
to view with a traditional endoscope. That camera only snapped two
photos per second, from one end of the capsule. The new pill packs
twice the punch.

“My feeling is that we must be careful with new technology, and this
is a wonderful technology,” says John Vargo, MD, MPH, a member of
the section of therapeutic endoscopy, department of
gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
“The data we have on the esophageal capsule is preliminary, but it
does suggest great potential. In my opinion, there are going to be
some tremendous uses for this pill in the future.”

THE PROBLEM WITH PILLS

As exciting as the pill camera is, there are still a few issues
with it…

* It’s not for everyone. If you have swallowing difficulties, it
might be tough to take the pill, which isn’t small. Because of the
radio-wave transmissions, the high-tech pill isn’t recommended for
people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators. And, in some
cases where there’s been a narrowing of the GI tract (often seen in
sufferers of a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, such as
Crohn’s), the pill can cause an obstruction… and that means
surgery.

* Technology failure. Another (albeit rare) possibility that’s more
of an annoyance: No pictures. “[The camera is] quite reliable,” Dr.
Vargo says. “We only have approximately a 2% failure rate for
transmission, for whatever reason.”

Aside from those complications, the pill camera has two other
shortcomings, both of which relegate it to screening-tool-only
status. First, there’s no way to take a biopsy of suspect tissue —
a major benefit of traditional endoscopy. Second, “There are no mile
markers in the small intestine,” says Dr. Vargo, “so one small
drawback is not knowing exactly where the pathology is. We currently
use the overall transit time of the capsule, but that is somewhat
variable.” Still, as a screening tool, the pill capsule is hard to
beat. The camera images are very high resolution, with a 1:8
magnification — higher than that of traditional endoscopes. That
allows for very, very close-up views of problem areas. In fact, the
capsules allow physicians to view objects as small as 0.1 mm — about
the width of a piece of paper. Plus, during the five- to 10-minute
esophagus-imaging procedure, the camera takes about 2,600 images
with a field of view of 140 degrees, which means that the chances of
overlooking an important area are slim.

HIT WHERE IT COUNTS

According to Dr. Vargo, the pill capsule procedure has been priced at
about the same as a traditional endoscopy. As use of the technology
becomes more widespread, the price is likely to drop. However, it’s
the camera’s side benefits that allow it to offer real savings, both
to patients and insurance companies alike.

“With traditional endoscopy, there’s sedation and recovery time
and all the costs and complications associated with that,” says Dr.
Vargo. “But with the capsule, you can drive yourself in and there’s
no down time. If you have a small bowel capsule, you can
essentially put [the recorder] on, go about your normal routine, and
come back eight hours later.” You’re saving time, and your doctor
isn’t tied up with a complicated piece of equipment for a 30-minute
or longer procedure — he/she simply reads the photos when the test
is over. It’s a win-win situation.

THE SCREENING OF THE FUTURE

Dr. Vargo sees a day when the pill camera technology is so refined
that it can screen the entire GI tract for a broad range of ailments.
What’s more, you may not even need to visit a doctor’s office for a
screening. Instead, you could get a package at home, follow the
enclosed instructions, download the images to your own computer
and send them to your doctor.

For now, should your doctor suggest an endoscopic procedure, ask
if a pill version is an option for you. The technology is not yet
widespread, but it is becoming more widely used. You can learn
about where it is available by clicking on the physician locator
at givenimaging.com.

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