A natural way of dealing with Barretts esophagus?

Malcolm ... Thank you so much for the kind words. It means a lot to me. Thank you. :-) I am 51 and have always been into sports. So this last two years has been very frustrating to go thru this ailment. I am used to eating very good foods , so this is frustrating .

But, I will always fight, no matter what. Despite feeling so terrible I will not stop taking moments in my day to enjoy the things and people I love and care for. No matter what! I'm gonna feel sick no matter what I do, so might as well be sick and keep living and doing!! Hehe

Poweronman, they have no clue as to why or what caused. Most clinics just put you thru the processing line and treat the symptoms. You know that gastro Dr didn't even review my file from my previous endoscopes. I told the attending nurse my throat was feeling much worse and I was regurgitating a lot. Like cattle thru a processing line! So ... More tests and more tests. Hopefully one will show the why and causation .

GrayThomas you experience is starting to sound familiar. If I might I would like to ask a few questions of you?

Have you ever been diagnosed with a hiatal hernai ? And you mention feeling sick all the time ? What daily symtoms do you exp I would like to compare sorry if your repeating answer I did not see these answers in the above comments

Thank you in advance for sharing

Hi Poweronman and all,

Firstly hope you are all having a better day,in answer to your question Poweronman I took my slippery elm powder with a little milk ,honey and hot water making it into a thin watery paste,quite palatable drank it in two gulps,no need for a full cup just a couple of inches up is enough.

I also took it before eating as apparently it does line,or try to reline damaged parts of the gut and throat,and I probably took three drinks per day,I believe it helped me when I was really bad,but may not work for everyone.

So that's how I did it,a combination of that plus DGL plus digestive enzyme did help,I now no longer take lansaraprozole on a regular basis and have been really good with reflux and acid since before Christmas.

But of course this disease does not go away,it hibernates,and i think my hiatus hernia is the trigger,and you know what some doctors do not take this condition seriously enough,I'd like to know how they would function after countless sleepless nights and days of discomfort,it's time that they started to find out just why so many people get this now,it's commonplace,my mum and dad both died of esophagus cancer and my dad's doctor said that it wasn't so much the smoking that caused dad's cancer,simply the acid that eats away the lining of the esophagus,there is much work to be done on this didease,and a greater understanding of the effects it has on people.

Be happy and carry on fighting mate.

Regards Malc

Poweronman,

I am glad you mentioned that, hiatal hernia. I made me mad in fact that no one was giving me answers. So, I went to each clinic and demanded copies of my test results so i could read them myself. When I read the results of the barium swallow there was something they never mentioned. "a hiatal hernia at the GE junction." and "tertiary waves indicative of esophageal dismotility."

How could they not mention this? So I took it to my GI Dr and stuck it in his hand! My symptoms are: difficulty swallowing, continual regurgitation even with liquids, severe pain behind the sternum area, like a severe asthma attack, and now it feels like fluid is in my lungs constantly, causing continual coughing.

Do these sound familiar to you at all?

Poweronman,

I found a term called "achalasia". It is an esophageal motility disorder and has all of those symptoms.

Thank you for both of your reply it is greatly appreciated.

Malcolm so it sounds as though you purchased a powder form of slippery elm rather than the capsule form have you tried other forms or would it just not be effective unless you drink it? Of course that would make sense of it thinking about it now.

Mr.GrayThomas my problems are as followed food regurgitation after meal almost alway even with small meal but my GI dr say this is directly due to my hiatal hernia. Also pain for what seem

Ike's just about any random spot between my chest from as low as my sternum to as high as my collar bone.

Of course when all this started years back my thoughts went to my heart with a family history of heart issues on my fathers side of the family I went to a cardiologist Just a few years ago to get a stress test and a echo cardio gram everything checked out fine not my heart of course that was great to hear but why the chest pain just from heartburn ?? I had been on medication for years PPI and such for acid reflux. Then finally 3 years ago I had my first endo only to find out that I had Barrets luckily no family history of this like yourself that would have thrown me into a panic I think if I had that what a dreadful thought to have with your mum and pop having passed from it I'm very sorry to hear that. My hiatal hernia was not found on my first endo so my Dr could not explain the chest pain away finally he ordered a upper chest MRI and it was found about 1.5 years ago

It was also reaffirmed just late last year when I received a second endo and of course the Barrets was still there I guess I was hoping it had left haha not likely my GI dr told me to expect a upper endo very 2 to 3 years he also said that he had a plan for if the Barrets seem to be progressing at all with ablation but he said it was not needed at this time. My GI dr although young 43 ish is very up on everything that I have going on and study under some very fine dr I am very pleased with him but even with all his help he cannot stop feeling unwell a lot of days but I digress. I luckily do not have a coughing problem but that seems a lot a more welcomed symptoms than the almost constant chest discomfort after eating but I'm sure it would not be a fair exchange. My GI dr has said this is all from the hiatal hernia and ask if I would like to get it fix but in my reading this is not a permanent fix with the fundilopy I believe is what it is called for now I will wait plus a colleague of mine has had the surgery and it failed after getting sick and vomiting frequently.

Fighting on everyday as you and Malcolm have mentioned

Good luck men and women good luck

Hi all, I like to thank you all for the information that I got from all the dialogues. I live in the US and has just been diagnosed with Barrett with hiatus hernia. I had no obvious symptoms before and found out about Barrett after a routine check up of colonoscopy and endoscopy. In US, one is encouraged to do a colonoscopy after 50 and during a pre op appointment, my GI doc suggested the endoscopy due to my childhood gastritis. Of course, I was shocked and cried when I got the news. I work out regularly and use organic food as much as possible.

Many of the symptoms that all of you talked about showed up after my procedure like the bitter taste at the back of my throat and stomach and lower abdomen pain. I do have mild chest pain when I do sit ups with weights before the procedures but now it just hurts any time and more consistently. Now I have this consistent cough (before the procedure, I would only have a cough after a cold maybe once or twice a year). All I can say is I feel horrible after procedures.....bloating, lower abdomen pain and worst of all, my gastritis is back and for the 1st 4 days after the endoscopy, I had to eat every hour and a half. I woke up every 2 hours with painful hunger pang and this lasted exactly for a week. What boggles me is that why are all these symptoms amplified after the procedures???

Since I was diagnosed, I have been researching online and have come across radiofrequency ablation for Barrett esophagus with dysplasia.

Thank you , Poweronman for the suggestions of natural remedies which I will try. Thank you everyone for sharing and GrayThomas, good luck with everything and hope to hear about the ablation if you are doing it.

RJDriver that you for sharing all the information you have learned from trial and error

Welcome to the forum you and julsw also this group forum is very knowable about Barrett's and Haital hernia now about the Ablation I spoke to my GI dr about this option just late last year he told me that I had to me a certain criteria and that my barrettes would have to further along to undergo it also he said that once a hiatal hernia reached a certain size that it would have to be fixed prior to havering it down he also told me I did not meet this criteria otherwise he said it would cause more harm that good I wish I would have ask him more about what this meant but at the time I was there to just follow up from my every two year endo he also told me if I ever wanted to get my hiatal hernai fixed to let him know but only as a last result he said his exp with the fundilopy procedure was it was a temporary fix in his opinion because it can fail.

Good luck

I recently was diagnosed with Barrett's. I am taking manuka honey. It is rather expensive. It comes from New Zealand. It has some type of rating factor. It must be 10 or higher to do any good. I also take licorice (not candy) but pill form I get at the health food store. I am also drinking camomille tea. I am on 40 mg of omeprazole.

Hello Alan, I was also prescribed omeprazole but I only took it for 5 days. It gave me awful headaches, so I stopped. Do you feel that it is helping you?

Hi Alan,

Yes natural remedies are good,they certainly helped me,never had Omeprazole,I was on Lansaprazole 40mg but seldom take them now,not good for long-term so I read.

Not tried Manuka but have heard good things about it,my natural remedies were Slippery Elm,DCL and a digestive enzyme,which were an immense help.

As for your headaches JulesW I can't help you with that one,but certainly cause for concern and a visit to your GP,PPI's can cause problems,hence my withdrawal(without the doctor's consent),I fely alright with them but no improvement really,of course I keep some handy just in case.

Here's hoping you both find some comfort by whatever means and that this doesn't get the better of you,I was there for over a year and it was awful,but although I feel a lot better I know it's still going to kick in some time,but for now I'll manage.

Best Wishes

Regards Malc

I have read of the treatments others are using for Barretts, Manuka honey, licorice,etc. Has anyone used and found that it cured Barretts?

Hi Alan

To the best of my knowledge I don't think there is a cure for Barretts as such although there has been some rare circumstances where it does seem to have disappeared in some people but that is quite rare from what I have read. It is where the cells have started to change a little.

It is a very slow thing and all the odds are in your favour that it will not develop any further along the line but it is important to keep the acid under good control. It is just a case of it being monitored and kept an eye on - chances are it will never go any further.

Hope this helps

Have any of you ever tried an Alkaline diet, it saved me, I can not eat foods that are acidic, that have to be alkaline, 7.0 or above.  I got all my info on line, Then I bought a book called the Alkaline Diet and that was a big help. I spent hours on the internet gathering information. The first year it seemed as if nothing helped but I kept at it and now I am pain free, but still have certain foods that I can not eat and may never be able to. But it does not matter because I feel so much better. I bought a juicer and in the beginning did a lot of juicing. I mainly can not eat foods with sugar, flour or pasta. These foods all turn to sugar. I eat 4 to 6 small meals a day. In the beginning I ate a lot of home made soups. I switched to almond milk and have figs or dates for desserts with a non-dairy cream cheese.

I also can eat strawberries with whipped cream, but no cake, but not to much.

Yes, there are sacrifices to make, but it is a healthier way to eat and I feel so much better. I hope this is helpful for some of you.