Suggest Treatment For Acid Reflux And Bloating

Posted on Wed, 15 Jul 2015

Question: Hello Doctor,

I have been suffering from acid reflux and severe heartburning for 7 years.i checked with gastro doctor 4 years back. He instructed me to check H pylori Infection. That was positive and took treatment. But now for the last 2 years i have been suffering from same problem and also i checked with doctor . He instructed me to do food allergy test. In the result i came to know that i have allergy for some foods. Even i removed the allergy foods and i have facing same heart burning and acid reflux. If i take any PPI(Proton Pump Indicator) 20 mg then i will not be facing an problem for 3 days. Is there any problem with me? or shall i take PPI 3 days once? Is there any side effect in PPI?
Yesterday I took beet root and today morning my stool is appeared black. So i am confused. Please repl

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Lifestyle modification is very important

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

I have gone carefully through your query and understand your concerns. The first thing that I would insist you is not to panic. It so happens that our gastrointestinal tract that runs from our mouth to anus, has a movement that propels food forward. When this movement is affected due to some reason, we suffer from problems like hyperacidity, bloating etc. The first thing that I would like to ask is whether you take a reasonable amount of green leafy vegetables for diet. They contain a reasonable amount of dietary fibres which form the roughage to form our stool. Unless that is adequate, bowel movements may be irregular and it may result and lead to bloating and stasis of the stomach acids resulting in reflux.
* Anti H.pylori treatment will remove the organism but your problem is related to your lifestyle.
* Avoid long gaps between meals. Take small but frequent meals.
* Avoid chilli and spicy foods. They trigger excess gastric acid secretion and may also mess up with digestion.
* Regular morning walk and exercise is essential to maintain proper bowel movements.
* You need to take plenty of green leafy vegetables in your diet. It will provide adequate roughage and will lessen your problems.
* You need to avoid stress. Stress is a leading cause of hyperacidity.
* PPIs like omeprazole are very safe and you can take it once a day before breakfast daily. Take 20 mg once a day and not more. You need to take it for one and a half months. You need not worry about side effects.
* Get your stool tested for routine microscopy and occult blood. Unless blood is detected you need not worry. The stool colour can vary with the food that you take.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (29 minutes later)

Dear Doctor,

I have already taken omeprazole 20mg nearl 3 months. whether i can take omeprazole now for 1 month?

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Try the measures I have suggested and I hope that you would get relief.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back. You can take omeprazole for another month and that would be no big deal. But you need to understand your situation and need to take the measures I have suggested. You can follow up with me after a month or so and based on the existing situation at that point of time, I would be able to guide you further.

Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar