What Are The Symptoms Of Indigestion
Each persons symptoms may vary. Symptoms may include:
- Feeling full too soon while eating
- Feeling pain, burning, and discomfort in your upper belly or abdomen
- Feeling bloated
- Burping and loud stomach gurgling
- Having an upset stomach or vomiting
- Having diarrhea
- Having gas
The symptoms of indigestion may look like other health problems. Always see your healthcare provider to be sure.
Treating Heartburn And Acid Reflux
Your GP may prescribe a medicine called a proton pump inhibitor . This reduces how much acid your stomach makes. PPIs include omeprazole and lansoprazole.
You’ll usually need to take this type of medicine for 4 or 8 weeks, depending on how serious your acid reflux is.
Go back to the GP if your symptoms return after stopping your medicine. You may need a long-term prescription.
Frequent/constant Heartburn Or Heartburn Everyday
If you have frequent or constant heartburn , you may have gastroesophageal reflux disease . GERD is a digestive disorder that affects the lower esophageal sphincter , a muscle that connects the esophagus and the stomach. If you have constant heartburn, you should schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist.
When working properly, the LES serves as a barrier that prevents digestive acid from the stomach from leaking into the esophagus. However, if the LES is weakened or malfunctioning, stomach acid can reach the esophagus and cause repeated bouts of heartburn. Over time, GERD may damage your esophagus, or lead to a serious complication called Barrettâs esophagus. In Barrettâs esophagus, repeated exposure to stomach acid causes changes to esophageal cells. These damaged cells can transform into esophageal adenocarcinoma, a potentially fatal cancer.
If GERD is suspected, your doctor may perform an endoscopy, a procedure in which a lighted scope is inserted into the esophagus, to examine the digestive tract.
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Can Heartburn Cause Back Pain
This is a very interesting question.
In fact, we cant say that heartburn are able to directly cause back pain.
However, this painful manifestation and reflux disease can have a special relationship.
The most important premise is that, in most cases, people who report back pain are affected by real GERD, more than simple reflux, and even less from occasional episodes of heartburn.
This is important because it means that by working well on the root causes of the disease, theres a solid chance to get rid of this symptom.
The relationship between acid reflux and back pain can be quite complicated because of some reasons.
What we considered above is important, because it means that by working well on back pain and/or reflux we can potentially prevent the other condition.
What Do I Do If I Think I Have Gerd
With GERD when reflux and heartburn happen more than once in a while the tissue lining your esophagus is getting battered regularly with stomach acid. Eventually the tissue becomes damaged. If you have this chronic acid reflux and heartburn you can see its affecting your daily eating and sleeping habits.
When GERD makes your daily life uncomfortable in this way, call your healthcare provider. Although GERD isnt life-threatening in itself, its chronic inflammation of the esophagus can lead to something more serious. You may need stronger prescription medications or even surgery to ease your symptoms.
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Check If You Have Acid Reflux
The main symptoms of acid reflux are:
- heartburn a burning sensation in the middle of your chest
- an unpleasant sour taste in your mouth, caused by stomach acid
You may also have:
- a cough or hiccups that keep coming back
- a hoarse voice
Your symptoms will probably be worse after eating, when lying down and when bending over.
Reducing Pressure On Your Stomach
Putting pressure on your stomach may push stomach juices into your esophagus, causing heartburn. Some ways to reduce heartburn include the following:
- After you eat, wait 2 to 3 hours before you lie down. Late-night snacks arent a good idea. When you are lying down, the contents of your stomach can push against the valve between the esophagus and stomach . Sitting up allows gravity to help food and stomach juices from the esophagus drain back into your stomach.
- Avoid tight clothing over your stomach. Tight belts, waistbands, or panty hose may push against your stomach and make your heartburn worse.
- Use care when lifting and bending. Bending over tends to increase the amount of stomach acid that can get into your esophagus. When lifting, bend your knees to avoid bending over at the waist.
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How Do I Know Im Having Heartburn And Not A Heart Attack
Chest pain caused by heartburn may make you afraid youre having a heart attack. Heartburn has nothing to do with your heart, but since the discomfort is in your chest it may be hard to know the difference while its going on. But symptoms of a heart attack are different than heartburn.
Heartburn is that uncomfortable burning feeling or pain in your chest that can move up to your neck and throat. A heart attack can cause pain in the arms, neck and jaw, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, dizziness, extreme fatigue and anxiety, among other symptoms.
If your heartburn medication doesnt help and your chest pain is accompanied by these symptoms, call for medical attention right away.
Symptoms Of Acid Reflux
The main symptoms of acid reflux are:
- heartburn a burning sensation in the middle of your chest
- an unpleasant sour taste in your mouth, caused by stomach acid
You may also have:
- a cough or hiccups that keep coming back
- a hoarse voice
Symptoms are often worse after eating, when lying down and when bending over.
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Complications Of Untreated Gerd And Esophagitis
If GERD and esophagitis symptoms arent brought under control, your stomach acid may continue to further damage your esophagus. Over time, repeated damage might lead to the following complications:
- Narrowing of the esophagus: This is called esophageal stricture and may be caused by scar tissue resulting from GERD or tumors. You may experience difficulty swallowing or food getting caught in your throat.
- Esophageal rings: These are rings or folds of abnormal tissue that form in the lower lining of the esophagus. These bands of tissue may constrict the esophagus and cause trouble swallowing.
- Barretts esophagus: This is a condition in which the cells in the lining of the esophagus are damaged from stomach acid and change to become similar to the cells lining the small intestine. This is a rare condition and you may feel no symptoms, but it can increase your risk of developing esophageal cancer.
All three of these complications can be avoided with proper treatment for frequent heartburn or GERD.
What Are The Symptoms Of Acid Reflux And Oesophagitis
- Heartburn: this is the main symptom. This is a burning feeling which rises from the upper tummy or lower chest up towards the neck.
- Other common symptoms: these include pain in the upper abdomen and chest, feeling sick, an acid taste in the mouth, bloating, belching, indigestion and a burning pain when you swallow hot drinks. Like heartburn, these symptoms tend to come and go and tend to be worse after a meal.
- Some uncommon symptoms: these may occur and if they do, can make the diagnosis difficult, as these symptoms can mimic other conditions. For example:
- A persistent cough, particularly at night, sometimes occurs. This is due to the refluxed acid irritating the windpipe . Asthma symptoms of cough and wheeze can sometimes be due to acid leaking up .
- Other mouth and throat symptoms sometimes occur, such as gum problems, bad breath, sore throat, hoarseness and a feeling of a lump in the throat.
- Severe chest pain develops in some cases .
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Not Sure If What Youre Feeling Is A Heart Attack Or Heartburn
I tell my patients that if you belch and the symptoms go away, it probably isnt related to your heart but to your esophagus, Bauman said. But if you have shortness of breath or sweating, then its likely a heart-related issue.
However, everyone is different, and not all symptoms are caused by one or the other, so:
When In Doubt Check It Out
If youre not sure if its heartburn or your heart, seek medical attention right away. Its very easy to confuse the two issues so let a doctor rule out the most severe possibility. This is an especially important message for women.
Women are more likely to call help for someone else but not themselves, Bauman said. In fact, 81 percent of women said they would call 911 for someone else showing signs of a heart attack but only 65 percent would call for themselves, according to a special report in Circulation.
She added: I always tell people if youre concerned and not sure if its your heart, its better to err on the side of checking it out and having someone tell you its not a heart attack.
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How Is Heartburn Diagnosed
Often all that a healthcare professional requires is a thorough history and physical to make the preliminary diagnosis of heartburn.
To evaluate if there is any damage and how severe your heartburn is, the doctor may suggest some of the following tests:
- Endoscopy: A flexible scope is passed down the esophagus to examine the esophagus as well as the stomach. Biopsies can be taken if indicated. This lets the doctor see if there is any obvious damage, and also eliminates other reasons for the patient’s symptoms .
- Upper GI series : After drinking a liquid that coats the inside of the digestive tract, X-rays are taken. These X-rays will show the outline of the digestive system.
- Ambulatory pH testing: This test measures the acidity in the esophagus via a small tube that goes through the nose into the stomach.
Gallbladder Inflammation And Gallstones
The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that sits below the liver. It stores and releases bile, a fluid that helps the body to digest fats.
The gallbladder can become inflamed, especially if hard deposits known as gallstones are present. Eating fatty foods can trigger a gallbladder attack, in which the organ becomes inflamed and causes pain.
Typical symptoms of a gallbladder attack include nausea and severe pain in the upper abdomen. This pain may radiate to the back.
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How Is Gerd Diagnosed
Usually your provider can tell if you have simple acid reflux by talking with you about your symptoms and medical history. You and your provider can talk about controlling your symptoms through diet and medications.
If these strategies dont help, your provider may ask you to get tested for GERD. Tests for GERD include:
Is It Possible To Get Heartburn When You Havent Eaten
As noted earlier, yes, it is possible to get heartburn when you havent eaten.
While eating food is often a triggering factor for heartburn symptoms to begin manifesting, it is not always that direct of a relationship.
Remember that the systems in our body are always working even when we arent actively moving or eating something.
Since these systems are always in motion, the potential for negative symptoms, like heartburn, is possible at any time.
Still, there are some specific reasons why you might be experiencing heartburn even when you didnt just eat a meal or drank a certain beverage, and were going to go into some of them and how to address them in more detail.
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The Linx Reflux Management System
University Hospitals Digestive Health Institutes Esophageal & Swallowing Center offers the LINX Reflux Management System for patients whose weakened lower esophageal sphincter allows acid and bile to flow back from the stomach into the esophagus.
This device, a small flexible band of interlinked titanium beads with magnetic cores, is implanted during minimally invasive surgery and offers patients immediate relief from reflux by strengthening the lower esophageal sphincter, Dr. Khaitan says.
The procedure has fewer side effects compared to other GERD surgeries, and the outcomes have been outstanding,” she says. “We even offer some less invasive procedures for reflux as well that can be done without any incisions. The team can talk to you about your options.
Causes Of Heartburn And Acid Reflux
Lots of people get heartburn from time to time. There’s often no obvious reason why.
Sometimes it’s caused or made worse by:
- certain food and drink such as coffee, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate and fatty or spicy foods
- being overweight
- some medicines, such as anti-inflammatory painkillers
- a hiatus hernia when part of your stomach moves up into your chest
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Diagnosing H Pylori Infection
If your GP thinks that your symptoms may be due to an infection with H pylori bacteria, you may need to have a test for it, such as:
- a stool antigen test a pea-sized stool sample will be tested for H pylori bacteria
- a breath test
- a blood test a blood sample will be tested for antibodies to H pylori bacteria
Antibiotics and PPIs can affect the results of a urea breath test or a stool antigen test. Therefore, these tests may need to be delayed until two weeks after you last used a PPI, and four weeks after you last used an antibiotic.
Treatments For Acid Reflux
Your doctor may recommend treating milder forms of acid reflux through a combination of lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medications. If you are diagnosed with GERD, the doctor may write you a prescription to help with the symptoms.
If lifestyle changes and medication fail to provide relief, a physician might recommend that you have surgery for acid reflux. Available surgical options for treating the condition include:
- Fundoplication– A minimally invasive procedure that involves wrapping the area around your lower esophageal sphincter to tighten that muscle, preventing reflux.
- LINX device – Your surgeon wraps a ring of small magnetic beads around the place where your stomach and esophagus meet. The magnetized beads’ strength keeps that juncture closed but still allows food to pass to your stomach.
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How Long Does Heartburn Last
Heartburn can affect people differently. In general, heartburn symptoms begin shortly after eating and can last anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours, or even longer.
How long you experience symptoms depends on the underlying cause. It also depends on what you do at the first sign of symptoms. For example, sometimes heartburn symptoms last until your body digests the triggering food. Other times, it goes away if you stand up instead of lying down after eating.
If you take OTC antacids or prescription medications as part of a treatment plan, you may experience a shorter duration or fewer heartburn symptoms.
Heartburn typically occurs when contents from the stomach back up into the esophagus. The esophagus is a tube that carries food and fluids from the mouth into the stomach.
Your esophagus connects to your stomach at a juncture known as the lower esophageal sphincter. If the lower esophageal sphincter is functioning properly, it closes when food leaves the esophagus and enters the stomach.
In some people, the lower esophageal sphincter doesnt function properly or it becomes weakened. This leads to contents from the stomach leaking back into the esophagus. Stomach acids can irritate the esophagus and cause symptoms of heartburn. This condition is known as reflux.
Certain conditions and other factors may make it more likely for you to experience heartburn. Risk factors include:
What Causes Acid Reflux And Whom Does It Affect
The circular band of muscle at the bottom of the gullet normally prevents acid leaking up . Problems occur if the sphincter does not work very well. This is common but in most cases it is not known why it does not work so well. In some cases the pressure in the stomach rises higher than the sphincter can withstand – for example, during pregnancy, after a large meal, or when bending forward. If you have a hiatus hernia , you have an increased chance of developing reflux. See the separate leaflet called Hiatus Hernia for more details.
Most people have heartburn at some time, perhaps after a large meal. However, about 1 adult in 3 has some heartburn every few days, and nearly 1 adult in 10 has heartburn at least once a day. In many cases it is mild and soon passes. However, it is quite common for symptoms to be frequent or severe enough to affect quality of life. Regular heartburn is more common in smokers, pregnant women, heavy drinkers, those who are overweight and those aged between 35 and 64 years.
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Why Do I Get Heartburn When I Dont Eat
Sometimes its assumed that you get heartburn is because you have too much acid in your stomach but thats not always the case.
There are quite a few ways heartburn can happen in the first place. One of the more common ones is when the lower esophageal sphincter or LES for short opens when it shouldnt. If you didnt know the LES is the valve directly above the stomach designed to open when food and liquid is coming down and stay closed otherwise.
If the LES is open this can sometimes lead to heartburn. The important thing to note here is often when people get heartburn its when they have eaten or drank something that made it worse but sometimes this effect can linger on and continue to give you symptoms even when you havent eaten.