Thursday, November 18, 2010

In a word: GERD

I got the results from a recent endoscopy: I have GERD. That's Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. The usual symptom is heartburn, which I get once in a while but not so often that I expected it to show up on the examination. And I thought I was controlling it through diet, but apparently not that successfully.

It turns out that there other symptoms of GERD. Ones that I often had were chest pain and coughing.

The gastroenterologist gave me samples of Nexium. It seems to be working and I have had decaf coffee several times in restaurants without getting chest pain, and I even had a meatloaf lunch that usually causes heartburn without experiencing it. So I'm happy that the medication is effective.

A nurse told me that it can actually cure the condition so I won't be on the pills forever. This is great news, but for now I'm thrilled to be able to eat out without getting sick.

See: NIH page on GERD

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