GERD occurs when stomach acid and digestive enzymes travel up your esophagus into your throat. While the stomach lining is adapted to withstand digestive enzymes and acid, the tissues of your throat and larynx (voice box) are not so blessed. Damage to these tissues results in the symptoms of GERD: hoarseness, chronic cough, chronic sore throat, a sensation of mucus or a tickle in the back of the throat, or difficulty swallowing. If you have any of these symptoms, you may have GERD. You may also experience classic heartburn, but many GERD patients do not have heartburn.
Although medication can help control GERD, you will need to make several changes in your daily habits in order to best address this condition. (These can be summarized briefly as: join a monastery or nunnery!)
1. Allow at least 3 hours to pass between your last meal and bedtime. You may drink water before bedtime, but you should not eat or drink anything else.
2. Make your midday meal your "big meal of the day." That way, you should be satisfied with a lighter-than-usual evening meal. Try to make your evening meal as low in fat as possible, and try to reduce the fat in your diet over all.
3. Certain foods and drugs encourage the development of GERD. These should be avoided altogether, or at the very least, you should avoid them in the evening. You should avoid:
Caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, caffeinated soft drinks)
Chocolate and mints
Alcohol and tobacco
4. If you are overweight, losing weight will reduce or eliminate your problems with GERD.
5. Elevate the head of your bed 4 to 6 inches by placing blocks under the headboard. The idea is to place your head above your stomach (make gravity work for you!) Do not try to do this by sleeping on multiple pillows; this will only flex your neck and will not help your GERD one bit.
6. Take the medicines that you have been prescribed. Do not increase or reduce the dose without discussing this change with your doctor.
7. BE PATIENT. Your problems have developed over weeks, months, perhaps even years. There are no quick fixes for chronic problems. It may take at least two to three months of medication and lifestyle changes to eliminate your symptoms. No one ever said this would be easy.
Disclaimer: This information is meant to improve the interaction between you and your doctor. It is NOT meant to replace this interaction! There is no substitute for a history and physical examination administered by a competent physician. If you inappropriately use this information to treat yourself, you may be endangering your health.
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More information available on other diseases of the ears, nose and throat. |
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