If you have heartburn, and you have been feeling this burning painful sensation regularly for over four weeks, then you need to have a doctor look at you immediately. Indigestion is not usually a problem to be ultra concerned with unless it starts to happen regularly. You might be a candidate for GERD.
GERD stands for Gastroesophageal reflux disease, and though this may be a common condition, found in about 20% of the U.S. population, it is by no means an insignificant situation. At worse, you could end up with cancer of the esophagus, but before we go to the extreme, you should know that there are ways to control GERD.
Before any treatment, there should be signs. One sign is heartburn but there are others. Regurgitation is another symptom, and it happens when your stomach acid gives you this bitter taste in your mouth, similar to the vomit taste. There are two other symptoms of GERD which are difficulty in swallowing also known as dysphagia; and water brash which is when you experience salty or sour liquid in your mouth.
On the other hand, even if you do not experience any of these symptoms, it is still possible that you have GERD but you just have a high tolerance for pain and you are not sensitive to the acid taste. In this case, if you have a chronic cough, chest pain, hoarseness, or asthma, it could also mean you have GERD.
Once you start feeling heartburn for a extended period of time, and you visit your doctor, the following tests could be done on you to confirm the presence of GERD. These tests are the gastric emptying test, 24 hour monitoring of your pH, an esophagoscopy, the Barium swallow test, and a esophageal manometry.
You will also have to have a physical exam and provide a detailed history of your and your family’s medical treatments.
When you start to feel heartburn, there are also quick relief methods you can take such as sitting up if you are lying down, but avoiding the bent position. You can also stop smoking if you do, take smaller meals instead of large meals, and avoid certain drinks and food that are known to be acidic like orange juice, coffee, tea, chocolate, and potatoes.
It will also help if you avoid overeating and gaining excess weight. This is because the extra weight can cause too much pressure inside the abdominal area and result in a tendency to have heartburns or poor digestion.
As a last ditch effort to treat the GERD problem, a doctor may recommend surgery, but only if medication and treatment do not work at all.