Les question

Hi No Patience

I am sure everyone has a different opinion about this topic. I am not a doctor, but I will offer my opinion. There are millions of people who suffer from reflux, and I do NOT believe the Lower esophageal sphincter just quits working one morning. There is something that is causing the LES to relax and open. If you can find out what is triggering the LES to relax and open this could be the answer to your reflux issues. Unfortunately, Doctors who say the LES is broken will never get to the root of the problem.

I am not a doctor. But I have been to many gastroenterologist for reflux issues. and know the LES broken thing is usually the first thing some of them say.. I now have a new octor who got to the root of the problem and my GERD/LPR is now gone.

Hi - I'd say having a hiatus hernia won't help LES functions, neither will pregnancy as it puts the LES under extra pressure, and also as you get older you can lose muscle tone, just like any other part of your body - just a few I can think of, I'm not a doctor either - but a hiatus hernia really didn't help mine!

Too many GI doctors assume that if the patient is not vomiting then you do not have delayed gastric emptying... But GI doctors whose specialize in Gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying), know this is not true. There are many people suffering from gastroparesis who have severe GERD but NO vomiting.

Delayed gastric emptying can vary with each individual. In my situation the reflux was immediately after I ate something and could last until the stomach completely emptied out. By the time the stomach completely emptied out, it was usually time to eat again...which means the entire process started all over. Bloating would always happens after eating as well.

After going to many doctors, I finally found a GI doctor who diagnosed me with delayed gastric emptying after many test. At first I did not believe this, since I was not vomiting. But since my diagnosis I have met several people who have gastroparesis who do not vomit but have really bad reflux.

For delayed gastric emptying there are medications available to help empty the stomach quicker. Unfortunately there are some serious side effects from these medications such as heart arrhythmia. Most people who have delayed gastric emptying try to eat a low fiber/ low fat diet, since fiber and high fat stays in the stomach the longest. So the goal is to try to empty the stomach quicker so the reflux does not last as long. Some people are strictly on a liquid diet. It really depends with each individual.

In some cases, the delayed gastric emptying can reverse if it was cause by a virus or side effect from medication.

In the beginning, I was taking a PPI due to having reflux from eating spicy foods, caffeine, and citric acid. The GI doctors told me the medication was safe and I believed them. So I started taking a PPI, then my problem became much worse. I could not eat anything without having reflux. After the PPI, I could not even eat a cracker or carrot without having reflux issues.

With some people, taking a PPI can cause the acid level to drop "TOO Low", where food is now staying in the stomach too long causing delayed gastric emptying. People with delayed gastric emptying either have really bad GERD or they are vomiting.





You have probably heard of people using organic apple cider vinegar for GERD. It's basically the same concept.

I am off the PPI's now as they didn't seem to help, even though the docs think I didn't give them enough time. I am doing a strict diet and taking probiotics and digestive enzymes.. feeling a little better. I may have caused this by taking too much Advil after a back injury. I really overdid it, but it was a month later after stopping them that it hit, so I am not sure. Thanks for your input!!