Meeting My ND for the Heartburn Battle

          I had a great experience with my ND.  Honestly, he had me at hello when he told me that he was very happy to see I was eating a grain free diet.  Evidently that is one nutritional change he almost always recommends to patients.  For patients with digestive issues like me, he finds that it is often a critical step in solving the problem.  From that moment on, I knew I would like the guy.

          We went through the entire questionnaire point by point.  I'm happy to say that my small degree of medical training (as well as personal education on nutrition) came in handy here, because we had a pretty intelligent conversation about how many things could be related to each other.  I never thought about it, but I suppose my medical knowledge, at this point, lies mostly within the realms of naturopathy.  Not being able to prescribe or access medicine or surgeries, I have focused most of my attention on disease/injury treatment to what can be done through diet, exercise, and supplements.  Thus far it has been a matter of accessibility.  While that stuff is interesting, I'm still deeply excited to learn more about the, often more powerful, medical interventions over the next few years.

Off to See my ND... Wait... ND?

Redux

          I wrote in this article about my personal battle with GERD.  I wrote about how badly I wanted to get off the PPI drugs now that my esophagus is healed enough to give it a shot.  Well, I tried.  It was hard, and ultimately, I realized I didn't have all the information I needed, so I stopped.  Fortunately I made this decision in time to enjoy a little bit of Christmas time coffee/chocolate and a wild night out on New Years Eve.

          As a quick reminder, the basic assumption I'm making here is that low stomach acid is actually the cause of GERD, because the esophagus will not close if the stomach's environment lacks a certain amount of acid.  I have found many resources explaining that a "cure" for GERD is to take acid pills to rectify this problem.  I decided to pull off the drugs, although I didn't have any acid pills handy.

The Heartburn Battle

          GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), also known as acid reflux or heartburn, is the result of acid from your stomach washing up into your esophagus.  It is a chronic condition that can cause a burning sensation that is uncomfortable - heartburn - and it can actually erode the lining of your esophagus.  Unfortunately, the most serious complication that can result from this disease is the development of Barrett's esophagus, which is the precursor condition to esophageal cancer.  Cancer of the esophagus is an incredibly deadly form of cancer, with a mortality rate of 87%.  Christopher Hitchens, the writer, recently died of complications arising from this kind of cancer.

          I just painted a pretty bleak picture, and I did that because there can be serious consequences from this disease.  However, in most cases, cancer does not arise.  In fact, this condition can be treated pretty effectively by prescription drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) (prilosec, protonix, nexium, etc).  When taken, these can block the secretion of up to 90% of the acid in the stomach.  With the acidity reduced, the fluid that refluxes up into the esophagus is much less likely to burn the esophagus as much, reducing symptoms and the odds of developing more serious complications.