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Reflux is a common disorder and occurs in a large number of people. What is reflux? It is the backward or return flow of fluid of gastric or intestinal contents into the esophagus
This disease affects people of all ages and genders. It does, however, seem to be most common in adults over the age of sixty and small children. When found in children, it will most generally be diagnosed in infants.
Both of my children who are affected with reflux were diagnosed during their first year of life. Unless the cases are severe, they are most likely to be treated with medication. This is because there is a strong belief among the medical community that most children will out grow the condition by the age of eighteen months.
In my daughter’s case, this was true. She is now a four years of age and has only occasional/mild flair up.
My six-year-old has not been near as fortunate. His reflux was more severe and did not go away. In fact, over the years it became increasingly worse. His symptoms increased and the medications no longer worked.
What, you might ask, are some of the symptoms of reflux? Some of the more common ones are:
Burning in the throat
Acid taste in the mouth
Vomiting
Difficulty swallowing
Difficulty breathing when laying down
Increased episodes of asthma
These symptoms can increase when you are under stress, if you try to lay down right after you eat, if you have a poor diet, if you drink a lot of coffee, or if you can not chew properly.
If you are experiencing any of these problems, it is very important for you to seek the advice of your doctor.
When you arrive, your doctor will take a complete medical history in hopes of gaining some vital information. Of course, there will be more to it than that. Your doctor will most likely order a few tests. There will probably be some blood work done. An EKG will be done to rule out any chance of there being a problem with the heart. Then there is that wonderful test called the upper GI.
During this test you will be asked to drink some barium. As you are drinking, the radiologist will be taking pictures as he follows the barium through your system. It is really quite interesting to watch as you take a swallow and follow the barium into the stomach. When you have reflux, the barium will start downward and then start to move back upward to the esophagus.
Another test that can be used is a ph probe: When this is done, a tube is inserted through the nose to the stomach. There are tiny wires coming off the tube, which are connected to a small black box. You must carry this around with you for twenty-four hours as it monitors the number of times that you reflux. This must be done in the hospital setting.
When all this is done and the doctor makes his final diagnosis, a plan for treatment will be made. Many times this is treated with a simple change in diet and a regiment of anti-acids. Your doctor will most likely recommend that you give up spicy foods. They will ask that you eat small/frequent meals though out the day. Many times as many as six to seven will be required. It will also be very important that you do not eat before bed.
If this does not work the next step would be to prescribe medications to reduce acid. The ones that we have used and that I am familiar with are:
Propulsid: This drug is taken 15 minutes before each meal and at bedtime. This worked beautifully for my daughter who took it for approximately eight months. It did nothing for my son.
**Propulsid has now been taken off of the market because of some very serious long-term side effects.**
Reglan: This is to be given 30 minutes before each meal and again at bedtime. It is recommended that this drug not be used for more than twelve weeks. Reglan did not work for my son either. The only thing it managed to do was to increase his seizure activity.
**This particular medication can also cause the patient to have symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease. This is what happened in my son’s case.**
When diet change and medications fail, and if symptoms continue to become more severe; there may be no choice but to have surgery. The most commonly done is the nissen or the fundoplication. During this surgery a valve is created at the top of the stomach by wrapping a part of the stomach around the esophagus. This surgery is 90% successful in controlling reflux. However, it may not be successful in children with other digestive problems.
Reflux can be anything from a nuisance to a nightmare. For my daughter it meant a few changes in lifestyle. To my son it has been a nightmare that continues to this day.
We have changed his diet and his lifestyle. He has tried many medications and nothing seemed to work. About a year ago it was decided that my son would have a fundoplication done. Thus the nightmare begins. During the first surgery my son’s esophagus was damaged(torn). This caused a leak and poisons from the foods he was trying to eat began pouring into his little body. As the fevers continued and he became sicker each day, this was finally found. It was back into surgery to repair the tare. My once healthy looking child came out of the operating room unrecognizable. During the next year we learned more about central lines, feeding tubes, homecare nurses, therapists, ambulance rides, and special needs than we ever wanted to know.
What started out as a two-day hospital stay ended up being two months. It was a time of fear and uncertainly for us all. My six-year-old son was now thirty-five pounds of skin and bones. The formula that he needed to take often times made him sick. He spent months too weak to move from his bed. School, which had once been so much fun, was no longer possible. When he finally did get to return, instead of riding the bus with his friends, he was now on a special needs bus. Infections in the feeding tube were many. Often times it would fall out and he would have to be brought to the hospital to have them replaced.
After a year of struggle, fight, and hard work; we were within a stones throw of reaching our goal. We were talking about taking out the feeding tube. My son, now seven, was up to fifty pounds. Home care was going to end and there was talk about being able to cut back on therapy. Ah, life would start to return to normal. Today we went to the hospital only to learn that the wrap is coming undone.
The race nearly over/the battle almost won. Today it starts all over again!
REFLUX, DON’T IGNORE IT. IT CAN BE VERY SERIOUS!
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