GERD Symptoms - When to Seek Medical Help

By Ian R Kelly  |   Submitted On October 07, 2009

You need to know what the GERD symptoms are.
The fact that you're reading this article tells me that you're a little antsy. You think you may have the dreaded Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.
Here's the best piece of advice anyone can give you:

1. Turn the computer off.
2. Grab your things.
3. Head out the door.
4. See your doctor ... today!

But wait! It could be a loved one that you're worried about. A spouse, relative, friend, child, and yes, even a baby. Okay, scrub # 4 and do this: Get whomever you're worried about to the doctor ... today.Think I'm being too dramatic? Do a Google search and check out 'esophagitis' and 'Barrett's esophagus'.
Scary huh?
But seriously, you don't want to procrastinate or take any chances when it comes to your health or the health of a loved one. You need to know the difference between GERD and heartburn, as well as all the GERD Symptoms, and if you're concerned, you need to do something about it right away.
What are the GERD symptoms?
If you just happen to be a health conscious individual looking for information, fine. However, if you're a heartburn sufferer, start worrying of you have any of the following symptoms:

• Heartburn twice a week or more.
• Nighttime heartburn interferes with your lifestyle by lowering your daytime efficiency.
• Chest pain. This may be a dull, burning discomfort that spreads across the chest. This is probably heartburn, but it may be signs of a heart attack. To avoid confusion, look up the heart attack symptoms.
• Trouble swallowing.
• A feeling that you have something stuck in your throat.
• A persistent cough.
• Continuously having to swallow extra saliva (this is called water brash).
• Frequent Nausea.
• Sudden weight loss and/or diminished appetite.
• Frequent bouts of diarrhea.
• Your stools are black or bloody.
• Troublesome sore throat, hoarseness or laryngitis.

I know, I know... It's a long list, but an important one!Bottom line? If you cut through all the medical information you can find on the web, one single fact emerges:
Acid is escaping from your stomach and attacking your esophagus.
And there is only one thing that can cause GERD Symptoms, and that's a defective lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
The food pipe or esophagus is a muscular tube extending from the throat to the stomach. There is a ring of muscle surrounding the pipe where it joins the stomach. This is called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
Mother Nature designed the LES to keep digestive acids from backing up into the esophagus and injuring it. In a healthy person the acids are kept at bay by the sphincter opening and closing, allowing food to pass through without acid escaping upwards.
In a GERD patient, the LES is defective and this deficiency is often augmented by a Hiatal Hernia.
Other Causes and Treatment
A number of factors may cause GERD. Apart from lifestyle changes and adopting a sensible diet, there are a variety of medications and procedures that can ease GERD symptoms before lifestyle changes kick in.
For example, your digestive system may be producing too much acid. If this is the case, your doctor may recommend the temporary use of acid suppressants such as histamine-2 (H2) blockers or proton pump inhibitors (PPI's).
Once a balance has been restored, you should stop using PPI's or H2 blockers... they have some rather nasty side-effects. There are a number of natural remedies that will allow you to taper off and finally quit this dangerous medication altogether.
If you have GERD, the problem with the LES could be augmented by one of three conditions:

1. Sclerderma.
2. Mixed connective tissue disease.
3. Or as mentioned above, a hiatal hernia.

Of the three, hiatal hernia is the most likely culprit and the easiest to correct. Non-evasive treatment usually helps, and this allows your system time to recover via the natural healing process.In extreme cases, a surgical procedure called Nissen fundoplication, may be called for.

Ian R Kelly draws his ideas both from research and from life's experiences. He has traveled extensively and gained valuable insights through working his way around the world.
The subject of Natural Home Remedies fascinates him. Because of this, he gets a huge kick out of doing in-depth research, and then writing about his findings.
He is a prolific writer and webmaster, currently in the process of designing and developing his own information website: http://www.home-remedy-site.com/.
He also builds historic man-o-war tall ship models for fun and profit. You can view his latest project at: http://modelshipbuilder.blogspot.com/.

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