Acid Reflux

You've heard about the "Wheat Belly" diet, right? Well, technically, it doesn't exist. Dr. William Davis points out that the word "diet" does not appear on either the cover of his bestselling "Wheat Belly" book published in 2011 or on the follow-up, "Wheat Belly Cookbook," which was published last month and already tops bestseller lists. And that omission is intentional, Davis said. "Wheat Belly" is about stripping your plate of a substance that contributes to heart disease, causes joint pain, inflammation, foggy thinking, bloating and much more, Davis said.

Pillows. They're not just for nestling your noggin anymore. They're also for keeping your stiff neck from aching, your sinuses from congesting, your acids from refluxing, your snores from snorting, your tinnitus from tintinnabulating and -- yes! glory be! -- your face from turning into a prune. Or, so go some of the claims. Here's a heads-up on how well the hype holds up. -- Pressure points Laying your head on a bunch of pointy spikes may not sound especially therapeutic.

A welter of medications sold over the counter and by prescription can spell fast relief from the churning discomfort of acid reflux and heartburn, and the class of drugs known as proton-pump inhibitors has grown powerfully popular with Americans. But the watchdog group Public Citizen on Tuesday asked the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to warn Americans that these drugs can be habit-forming and carry a wide range of other dangers. Public Citizen complained that medications known by such commercial names as Nexium, Prilosec, Zegerid and Prevacid are widely overprescribed and used routinely by people who don't need them.

A welter of medications sold over the counter and by prescription can spell fast relief from the churning discomfort of acid reflux and heartburn, and the class of drugs known as proton-pump inhibitors has grown powerfully popular with Americans. But the watchdog group Public Citizen on Tuesday asked the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to warn Americans that these drugs can be habit-forming and carry a wide range of other dangers. Public Citizen complained that medications known by such commercial names as Nexium, Prilosec, Zegerid and Prevacid are widely overprescribed and used routinely by people who don't need them.

Heartburn, indigestion, ulcers and other gastric disorders affect 1 in every 20 people, and U.S. patients fork over more money for treatment -- about $13 billion every year for prescription drugs -- than for almost any other type of medication. But easing the symptoms can take time. The pills' thick coatings -- necessary so the medication isn't destroyed by the stomach's powerful acids -- delay the drugs' absorption until they get to the intestine. Now a low-tech discovery happened upon by a university pharmacologist has led to the reformulation of some of the gastric reflux drugs with baking soda.

My doctor just prescribed Prevacid for acid reflux. I am reluctant to take this medicine because I have heard it might lead to weakened bones. I already have severe osteoporosis because of a lengthy course of cortisone. This drug caused significant bone loss, so I am now taking Fosamax. I would hate to undo the benefits I have gotten on Fosamax, but the drug does cause bad heartburn. I feel caught in a dilemma. A surprising number of medicines have a negative effect on bone density.

You get home from work late with a pepperoni pizza in your arms. You sit down, shake some chili pepper flakes onto the pizza and begin to indulge, washing down the pizza with a beer or two. Perhaps you top it off with a cup of coffee. It's late, and so you head to bed. Bad move. You may pay for your late-night indulgence, waking up in the wee hours with heartburn, the hallmark of acid reflux, or what doctors call GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease. Your biggest mistake?

Heartburn. That deep, irritating sensation that creeps from your stomach toward your neck, creating pressure and leaving a nasty acid taste in the back of your throat. More than 60 million Americans report paying the price for overindulging in fatty or spicy food with heartburn symptoms at least once a month. Most don't give it much thought.

Thank you for your piece on the rise of acid reflux disease in America ["Gut Check for Reflux," Oct. 6]. Just a look around confirms what the study you cite says: Americans are becoming increasingly afflicted with acid reflux. I began to suffer from it at the age of 22, and several of my friends did shortly thereafter. What bothers me about all of the research on acid reflux (and other illnesses) is our national obsession with obesity. Virtually every medical study I see attributes another trend to fat people, and I think it's a cop-out.

A type of surgery to treat acid reflux disease, a chronic cause of heartburn, is showing a high degree of long-term success, according to a study published Monday. Of 1,340 people who underwent a laparoscopic procedure, in which a small tube is inserted into the abdomen, 93% said they were satisfied with the long-term results. Patients in the study, conducted at University Hospital in Angers, France, were followed on average for more than seven years after the surgery.

I suffered from cluster headaches for 14 years. Some doctors said the pain was psychosomatic. Others told me I was allergic to chocolate. Doctors prescribed Demerol for the pain, and I became dependent on this narcotic. I eventually kicked the habit. Then I quit smoking. Within a week my headaches stopped. They only return when I am in a room with a smoker. Cluster headaches are sometimes called suicide headaches because the pain can be so severe. It tends to occur on one side of the face, near the eye. The pain can last several hours and recurs in clusters for weeks or months at a time.

My doctor just prescribed Prevacid for acid reflux. I am reluctant to take this medicine because I have heard it might lead to weakened bones. I already have severe osteoporosis because of a lengthy course of cortisone. This drug caused significant bone loss, so I am now taking Fosamax. I would hate to undo the benefits I have gotten on Fosamax, but the drug does cause bad heartburn. I feel caught in a dilemma. A surprising number of medicines have a negative effect on bone density.

Thank you for your piece on the rise of acid reflux disease in America ["Gut Check for Reflux," Oct. 6]. Just a look around confirms what the study you cite says: Americans are becoming increasingly afflicted with acid reflux. I began to suffer from it at the age of 22, and several of my friends did shortly thereafter. What bothers me about all of the research on acid reflux (and other illnesses) is our national obsession with obesity. Virtually every medical study I see attributes another trend to fat people, and I think it's a cop-out.

It WAS 1972 when a visibly uncomfortable man leaned over the side of his bed bemoaning his indulgence with the phrase, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." This Alka-Seltzer commercial was an early and memorable marketing effort to show how a simple pill could ease the pain of gluttons everywhere. And it was just a hint of what was to come. More than 35 years of plop, plops and fizz, fizzes later, Americans have hardly learned their lesson.

Elderly African Americans who are chronic users of acidinhibiting medications in the family that includes Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet have 2 1/2 times the normal risk of developing dementia, Indiana researchers reported Friday. The drugs block production of stomach acid by inhibiting so-called histamine-2 receptors; a pump in the stomach releases hydrochloric acid when stimulated by histamines. But they also inhibit the brain's cholinergic system, which is involved in memory and cognition.

A type of surgery to treat acid reflux disease, a chronic cause of heartburn, is showing a high degree of long-term success, according to a study published Monday. Of 1,340 people who underwent a laparoscopic procedure, in which a small tube is inserted into the abdomen, 93% said they were satisfied with the long-term results. Patients in the study, conducted at University Hospital in Angers, France, were followed on average for more than seven years after the surgery.

Elderly African Americans who are chronic users of acidinhibiting medications in the family that includes Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet have 2 1/2 times the normal risk of developing dementia, Indiana researchers reported Friday. The drugs block production of stomach acid by inhibiting so-called histamine-2 receptors; a pump in the stomach releases hydrochloric acid when stimulated by histamines. But they also inhibit the brain's cholinergic system, which is involved in memory and cognition.

I suffered from cluster headaches for 14 years. Some doctors said the pain was psychosomatic. Others told me I was allergic to chocolate. Doctors prescribed Demerol for the pain, and I became dependent on this narcotic. I eventually kicked the habit. Then I quit smoking. Within a week my headaches stopped. They only return when I am in a room with a smoker. Cluster headaches are sometimes called suicide headaches because the pain can be so severe. It tends to occur on one side of the face, near the eye. The pain can last several hours and recurs in clusters for weeks or months at a time.

Boston Scientific Corp. has suspended sales of a treatment for acid reflux disease after more than two dozen reports of problems. The company said that it considered its Enteryx injection kit safe but that some patients had been harmed because doctors administered it incorrectly. About 3,800 patients have been treated with Enteryx, which was approved in 2003 by the Food and Drug Administration. The treatment is a liquid polymer injected directly into the walls of the esophagus.

Heartburn, indigestion, ulcers and other gastric disorders affect 1 in every 20 people, and U.S. patients fork over more money for treatment -- about $13 billion every year for prescription drugs -- than for almost any other type of medication. But easing the symptoms can take time. The pills' thick coatings -- necessary so the medication isn't destroyed by the stomach's powerful acids -- delay the drugs' absorption until they get to the intestine. Now a low-tech discovery happened upon by a university pharmacologist has led to the reformulation of some of the gastric reflux drugs with baking soda.