Heartburn and Reflux For Dummies

Features the latest on medications and side effects Map out a plan to stop hurting, start healing, and enjoy food again! Had it with heartburn and reflux? This friendly guide helps you get an accurate diagnosis and work with your physician to receive the most effective treatment available. You’ll see how to time your meals and develop healthy habits to reduce your pain triggers, as well as explore home remedies and alternative medicine. The Dummies Way - Explanations in plain English - "Get in, get out" information - Icons and other navigational aids - Tear-out cheat sheet - Top ten lists - A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: - Get your symptoms under control - Find the right physician - Reduce stress and fine-tune your diet - Avoid medicines that trigger upset - Decide if surgery is right for you

Carol Ann Rinzler writes a nutrition column for the New York Daily News and has authored more than 20 books. Ken DeVault, MD, is coauthor of the American College of Gastroenterology's official guideline statements on the diagnosis and treatment of GERD.

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You're Not to Read 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book is Organized 3 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6 Part I: Naming Your Pain 7 Chapter 1: Picturing Heartburn and Reflux 9 Meeting Your Heartburn 9 Pinning the Tail on the Heartburn Donkey 11 Looking for Help in All the Right Places 13 Chapter 2: Tracking Your Digestive Tract 17 Defining Digestion 18 Testing the Protectors 24 Examining the LES 25 Chapter 3: Cataloging the Symptoms and Hazards of Heartburn, Reflux, and GERD 31 Tracking the Symptoms 32 Calculating Long-Term Consequences 37 Chapter 4: Rating Your Reflux Risk 41 Picturing People with Heartburn 41 Factoring in the Family 43 Rendering a Gender Bias 45 Mentioning Medical Risks 46 Weighing Weight's Weight on Reflux 48 Pinpointing Problem Eaters 51 Adding Up Your Own Reflux Risk 52 Part II: Eating Your Way to Relief 55 Chapter 5: Meeting Your Nutrition Needs 57 Measuring Nutrition 57 Beginning with the Big Guys 59 Investigating Vitamins 62 Mining the Minerals 66 Supplementing the Info 71 Chapter 6: Fine-Tuning Your Diet 81 Enjoying Food 81 Explaining How Food and Drink Can Cause Heartburn 82 Naming the Guilty Parties 85 Making Meals Safer 94 Choosing the Safest Cooking Technique 96 Chapter 7: Reviewing Home Remedies, Alternative Approaches, and Herbal Healers 99 Grading Granny's Goodies 99 Looking for Alternatives 103 Evaluating Herbal Medicine 105 Linking Other Alternative Approaches to Heartburn/Reflux 114 Part III: Treating Your Middle 115 Chapter 8: Finding the Right Doctor 117 Deciding When to See the Doctor 117 Sorting Through the Heartburn Specialists 118 Choosing a Doctor 119 Going to the Doctor with Your History in Hand 125 Chapter 9: Examining Your Esophagus and Testing Your Tummy 127 Picking Potential Patients 127 Assessing Your Acidity 128 Measuring Your Muscle Strength 131 Studying Your Stomach 133 Evaluating Your Esophagus 134 Chapter 10: Prescribing Relief 139 Noting the Cost of Heartburn Help 139 Aiming for Neutrality with Antacids 140 Blocking the Burn 147 Slowing the Pump 153 Interesting Interacting 158 Chapter 11: Avoiding Problem Pills 163 Pinpointing Potential Problems 163 Naming Medicines That Loosen the LES 164 Targeting Traffic Stoppers 169 Listing Irritating Drugs and Supplements 170 Naming Medical Conditions That May Make Meds Stick 173 Minimizing the Heartburn Effects of Essential Medicines 174 Chapter 12: Exploring Surgical Options 177 Nominating Candidates for Heartburn Surgery 178 Setting a Surgical Schedule 181 Cutting and Pasting: Fundoplication 183 Meeting the Morning After 187 Reaching Home Base 189 Balancing Risks and Benefits 190 Peering into the Reflux Crystal Ball 191 Part IV: Creating a Comfortable Lifestyle 193 Chapter 13: Building a Better Body 195 Answering Question Numero Uno: Who's Overweight? 195 Choosing a Healthful Weight Control Program 200 Working Off Your Reflux 209 Chapter 14: Healing Heartburn with Healthy Habits 217 Snuffing Out Heartburn 217 Toasting the Pain-Free Life 224 Getting a Good Night's Sleep 226 Chapter 15: Stressing Stress Relief 233 Stressing the Importance of Stress 233 Activating Your Adrenals 234 Linking Stress to Heartburn 237 Unlocking Your Stomach from Your Stress 239 Chapter 16: Fashioning (and Furnishing) a Comfortable Life 245 Burning Your Bra and Loosening Your Belt 245 Looking Good, Feeling Fine 247 Finding Furniture That Fights Heartburn 251 Part V: Meeting the Special Cases 255 Chapter 17: Handling the Heartburn of Pregnancy 257 Are All Pregnant Women at Risk for Reflux? 257 Avoiding Unnecessary Tests 261 Determining Safe Remedies 262 De-Linking Your Lifestyle from Your Reflux 267 Chapter 18: Finding Heartburn in Infants and Children 271 Naming What's Making Your Child Cry 271 Diagnosing Reflux in Children 275 Treating Children with Reflux 276 Chapter 19: Taking Aim at Senior Heartburn 283 Aging into Heartburn 283 Identifying the Risk Factors in Older Folk 285 Diagnosing Heartburn in Older Patients 289 Treating Senior Heartburn 290 Part VI: The Part of Tens 295 Chapter 20: Ten or So Heartburn and Reflux Myths 297 Heartburn is Common, So It's Nothing to Worry About 298 Heartburn and Reflux Inevitably Lead to Cancer 298 Only Overweight People, Drinkers, and Chiliheads Get Heartburn and Reflux 298 Smoking a Cigarette After Eating Prevents Heartburn 299 Heartburn is an Inevitable Part of Growing Older 299 OTC Antacids Aren't Real Medicine 299 Taking Prescription Heartburn and Reflux Drugs Makes Digesting Food More Difficult 300 Having Nighttime Heartburn Means You Should Sleep Sitting Up 300 Love Coffee? Got Heartburn? Switch to Decaf 301 To Avoid Heartburn After Eating, Relax 301 Having Heartburn during Pregnancy Means Giving Birth to a Hairy Baby 302 Heartburn is Connected to the Heart 302 Chapter 21: Ten Heartburn Web Sites 303 The National Heartburn Alliance 304 International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders 304 HelpHeartburn.com 305 GERD Information Center 305 The American Gastroenterological Association 305 The American College of Gastroenterology 306 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) 306 North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition 307 American Academy of Family Physicians 307 The American Dietetic Association 308 The Food and Drug Administration 308 Chapter 22: Ten Sometimes Painful, Often Annoying, but Almost Never Fatal Digestive Disorders 309 Appendicitis 310 Bezoar 310 Constipation and Diarrhea 311 Gas (Flatulence) 311 Globus Sensation 313 Hemorrhoids 313 Hiccups 314 Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) 314 Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) 315 Glossary 317 Index 323