Keith, I usually keep this part of my life quiet, as I am not much of a self-promoter. I am the lead vocalist for a band of some renown in NJ on the cover band circuit. It is an amazing east coast phenomenon. Cover bands in my area draw large crowds. Last Sat. during a performance, my throat locked up to the point where I could not continue singing. First time this has ever happened in 14 years of playing. Thus, my trip to the doctor. This Sat. won't come fast enough! I really want to drink some wine!

Wait, is this Bruce (The BOSS) or John Bon Jovi? Holy smokes...

JB,

Here's hoping for a complete and timely recovery. Rock and roll!

(Keith sighs, puts on concert tape of his college band, stares off into distance wistfully)

what band? soemwhat familiar with a number of jersey cover bands? If you don't want to share, that's fine, I understand.

OOOOOOHHHhhhh I ate dinner with a celebrity!!!! I feel so honored

I would not classify myself as a celebrity at all!

The name of the band is Hyperactive. We play a variety of musical styles. I've been doing it for a long time. I enjoy it and make a little $ to spend on wine.

jb

Hyperactive...Very Rock'N'Roll. Cool.

You are Not going to forget us little people in NJ when you hit it big, are you?

Very cool jbembry. Might have to sneak into a performance and throw flowers at you. If I throw wine it might break... be such a waste.

jb-

Hope you're brand new this weekend. Is your wife involved in the band?

DrT

My wife is not involved in the band at all. She has no musical abiliy, but she is an amazing clothing designer.

Rev, please throw wine instead of flowers. I played left field in high school and can shag line drives with the best of them.

This will be my last post until GATC has given his 1000th. As one of my favorite forumites, I won't to give him his time in the sun. I will still be lurking. Bye.

jb

jb - That's cooool!
Back on topic...a serious one it is.
I've had personal experience with someone who treated the symptoms without fixing the problem. Believe me ... listen to the good Dr. (T).

Better Red Than Not!

Taking it to the other end of the spectrum, I was the self medication King. From eating Zantax like they were M&M's to using Maalox in my coffee instead of cream (yeah, demented....and plain, not flavored for the curious...). Trust me, it's only slapping a mask on the problem. Motivated by a two day bout in the fetal position, I eventually came to my senses and addressed the issue, not the symptoms. What worked best for me was defining the triggers (for me) and adjusting my lifestyle accordingly. And its really not that difficult at all, its not like you have to go on a tofu & paste diet. Just get to know what really sets it off inside you and modify it. With today's lifestyles, the hardest part I think is the eating and drinking late at night issue, but you'd be surprised of the impact it makes just taking it down a notch, you can still do it....just reduce the extent, items and frequency a little and your on your way. Takes a little time, but remember, don't shoot for the quick fix, your modifying your lifestyle (however small a change, its still a change), take it slow and do it on multiple levels, it all adds up and your developing habits, and that's what will stick in the long run. Don't get me wrong, being one step away from crushing up Pepcid tablets and using it like grated parmesean cheese, I still eat plenty of cr*p, but I'm more willing to ease up a little on it than give it up completely. Not preaching here, just figured I'd give you a peek into the dark side of the force.....

My sincere hopes to a speedy recovery!

{insert Graemlin playing air guitar here}

Thankfully, I have not experienced acid reflux except for two times. I have a buddy where it's an on-again off again problem. It sucks. But one of the things to do that has been mentioned is to not eat or drink (particularly acidic things) within 3-4 hours of going to bed, have a higher pillow and so on.

Anyway, interesting thread and I thought worthy of a bump up a la my dumpster diving.

www.vinocellar.com -- Mm-Mm-good

I'll reiterate the posts that suggest caution before self-medicating. I've had acid reflux close to 20 years. Finally I had an upper Gi endoscopy and was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus which in a small percentage of cases can lead to cancer. Interestingly, when I asked my doctor if changes in diet would help he said na-a-a-ah. I take nexium or protonix and expect I'll have to for the rest of my life. I have had the symptoms well before becoming a wine drinker and at least in my case just about anything can trigger the acid reflux.

While there are side effects to every medication, the proton pump inhibitors (e.g. prilosec, protonix, prevacid, etc.) are extremely well tolerated. That's why they have been approved for over the counter use. They are the MOST effective treatment for gastroesophageal reflux.

Diet can make a difference, no matter what your doctor told you. The most common reflux inducers are: mint, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and positional factors. Changing your diet is the most important initial step, but if that doesn't work medication is very effective and safe.

While it's always best to see your doctor about these sorts of problems so they can screen for more serious issues (e.g. Barrett's esophagitis or confusion with chest pain related to heart conditions), the proton pump inhibtors are amongst the safest medicines to take. I wouldn't hesitate to take them, assuming there are no contraindications. Just read the packaging and warnings beforehand. They can make your life much more pleasant.

-Brettay

P.S. Just so you know, I have no affiliation with any drug companies, even though it may sound like it.

if i hadnt a blown out my singing voice like that im sure Simon would have picked me...

Flubis G. Twigg

(1) If you have persistent reflux, it really is a good idea to see your doctor.

(2) I have real difficulty with the idea of being permanently on medication. That being said, the improvement that Losec (proton pump inhibitor) has made in my quality of life is incredible. If the price of that is a pill a day, I'll pay it.

j bembry,

I suffer the same thing, and drank practically only water for half a year. Mind yuo, I had a particularly vile version of it and my physician was considering an operation. However, half a year of medicine and new diet combined with raising the bed worked wonders.

According to my physician you have to let the stomach rest everey once in a while, so I should avoid long periods of lots of coffee, tea, wine, carbonated drinks and fat or spicy food.

Put something under the feet of the upper side of your bed, so that you have a slight inlcination of the bed. The idea is preventing the acid from staying in your throat when sleeping.

Best of luck.

My thoughts haven't changed much.

Medical therapy is well tolerated by anyone with Grade 1,2 reflux.

For Grade 4, which I had, surgical therapy is preferred. Lapascopic modified Nissen and partial Nissens have very high success rates even in community surgeons. The failure rate is due to treatment in those with decreased peristalsis.I haven't had an ounce of gastroesophageal reflux since.

The Steida endoscopic burn is too new to currently recommend.

Remember medical therapy does not TREAT reflux. And some people believe biliary reflux is concomitant due to pylorus remaining opening in a low acid environment. No long term studies to prove chronic benefit as medical therapy was never designed for now till you die use. Frankly, an organ like the stomach designed to bathe in one environment put in another is not optimal. There is still risk for atrophic gastritis that can cause gastric cancer.

The risk of esophageal cancer is Barrett's is still low,1-5% or so though obviously dependent on degree, time, stricture, and other factors. Periodic endoscopy is the management. Find the best gastroenterologist; and make sure he uses a worthy pathologist. A miss is as good as a mile.

Dr. T:
Doesn't it seem like there are an awful lot of posters with gastric problems?
Here are a bunch of people with problems and we only have 100-125 active posters.

I wonder why?

Irwin

"Life is short....start with the dessert."

I guess you can add one more.
Lately I've noticed that on nights where I've drunk wine and eaten spicy food, I tend to get heartburn and/or acid reflux, but not on nights when I've done just one or the other.

"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women!" --Homer Simpson

Drinking wine or eating trigger foods too late at night do it for me I'm starting to realize.

See below.

[This message was edited by Brettay on Feb 18, 2004 at 08:59 AM.]

I agree with most of what Dr. T says, but there are a few points I think are important.

1. Not everone with reflux should see their MD. In fact, most probably should not. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country with GE reflux. If every one of those people saw an MD, the internists and gastroenterologists of the world would have no time to see anyone else. The people with severe symptoms or long standing symptoms are the ones who should visit an MD for this condition.

2. There are 3 ways in which an MD can help you.
a. Screening for other conditions which falsely simulate reflux-like symptoms (e.g. heart conditions).
b. Referral for surgical treatment of reflux (i.e. fundoplication).
c. Screening for Barrett's esophagus.

3. Avoid surgery if at all possible. While fundoplication is generally a safe procedure, it is still a surgical intervention with all of the associated possible complications.

4. Fundoplication is not as good as is reported. Dr. T has evidently had good results, but many people have major problems. The results in the literature likely under-report these issues. Remember it's the people performing the surgery who report this data. It is in their interest to convince everyone how effective it is. I have seen many patients who have suffered from severe dysphagia (wrap being too tight) or recurrent reflux (wrap being too loose or breaking down) after a fundoplication.

5. Medication is the best and safest treatment for GE reflux. It is highly effective and extremely safe. The long term concern is the development of gastric cancer, but there is no good data about this on either side. Cancer development does not occur because the acidic environment of the stomach is changed, it occurs because of chronic endocrine stimulation of the partietal cells by gastrin and other hormone. No one really knows the risks of long term treatment, but we do know the risks of Barrett's esophagus. Personally, I would much rather take my chances with medicine than with an invasive surgical procedure.

Just my humble opinion.

-Brettay

[This message was edited by Brettay on Feb 18, 2004 at 09:01 AM.]