Question About Heartburn and Seeking a Dr. for It.

Hi M.-

I would suggest a gastroenterologist...

NOT to scare you, but there is a HUGE rising incidence of esophageal cancer (adenocarcinoma) that is a result of heartburn...and 'antacids' masking the heart burn...and essentially changing the lining of the esophagus and leading to cancer.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart...as 'my' peter was diagnosed in 2008.

Had he gotten a simple endoscopy years ago (instead of merely taking the myriad antacids prescribed by his docs over the years) it would have saved him much...

Good news is...he is still NED (no evidence of disease) as of last PET/CT in July...

Anyway, I am sure all will be well...but I'd recommend a gastro doc!

Best Luck!
Michele/cat

1 mom found this helpful

I don't know what kind of doctor, but I do know that I used a natural remedy that worked like a miracle. I did the "apple cider vinegar cure," which involved taking diluted apple cider vinegar several times a day. I also cut out heartburn causing foods (red wine, dark chocolate, fatty foods). It took a few weeks and my heartburn was completely cured. If it comes back I just repeat. I've had to do so a couple of times in the last 5 years or so.
Google for details on frequency and dilution.

I wouldn't do it for months, but it worked great, with none of the side effects that my friends have reported with the perscription drugs. So you might want to give it a try.

AN ENT is is an Eye, Ears, Nose and Throat doc, that won't help.

A regular MD can prescribe reflux meds plus order the testing for GERD. It doesn't have to be a specialist.

Here is a link to what kinds of docs treat what illnesses:

http://www.freemd.com/doctor/overview.htm

I know this is going to sound strange: I suffered from unrelenting heartburn for a month (Tums, Zantac, nothing worked). I went to the chiropractor for my lower back and mentioned it to him. He did an adjustment in the middle of my back and the heartburn was gone in a day.
While I agree that a visit to a gastro doctor is in your best interest, a 30 minute visit to a chiropractor isn't going to hurt anything and may even help. It's certainly cheaper!

Talk to your primary doctor about it. He will probably send you to a gastro-interologist. Check with your insurance to see if you need a referral from your primary. We previously had an insurance that required the primary give you a referral to a specialist. The paperwork got sent to the wrong doctor and we received a huge bill (a few thousand dollars) for the initial exam and test that were performed. When I called the insurance they told me that since we did not have a referral we were responsible for the whole entire bill. We got it straightened out but it took a lot of time to back track, figure it out and resubmit everything. Good Luck and praying for your healing and wisdom for the doctors to help you.

Have you tried OTC zegerid?
I had the most heinous heartburn for about a month, and I tried it out of desperation - within 2 days my H/b had gone.