Newly diagnosed BARRETTS esophagus

I was diagnosed with Barretts. My doctor gave me omeprazole, which I took for 1 year, even though the instructions said to just take it 2 weeks! I had diarreah every day, but I did not figure out what was causing it until I had eliminated every other food I eat. I finally stopped the PPI, had another endoscopy and the Barretts was gone. I have not felt any reflux since then, but I will have another endoscopy soon to be sure it us not back. BTW I did all the lifesyle changes too- eat supper 6pm, sleep on incline, avoid food triggers.

I was diagnosed with Barretts a few years ago... The dr. prescribed a PPI which I took for a few months. But then when I was researching the drug and I have Osteoporosis in my hip - I mentioned this to my Dr. and she switched me to Famotidine AKA Pepcid AC. So I take that maybe every other night.. I have Silent Reflux, so I have never really felt like I had heartburn itself.. My throat was bothering me and I went to an ENT.. He said it looked like Acid Reflux. I have changed my diet as well and read Dr. Koufmans' books. I just pray I could get rid of the Barretts... I was told it will always be there.. Luckily is was without Dysplasia's so I am hopeful! Good luck to all with this..

WHEN DO YOU/DOCTOR decide to do the ablasian? I’ve heard a few people on here mention that they have done this procedure and I’m curious of why/when that is the recommendation.

Thank you sooo much for all of your feedback and sharing , everyone !☺️☺️☺️

The issue with coffee is that the caffeine causes the sphincter (LES) to loosen, thereby allowing the stomach acid to rise into the esophagus. Similarly, chocolate contains caffeine and should not be eaten 🙁

Thank you, this info is helpful!

I have been diagnosed with Barrett's 3 years ago and I'm coming up to my 3-yr gastroscopy next week. I have used PPI's only for short periods as I was concerned about side effects and they did not seem to help much with the throat clearing due to mucus build-up. I have tilted my bed so that the head-end is 6" higher than the foot end. I have also used magnesium after meals that gave me issues. Just recently everything seems to have balanced very well and I am symptom free without PPI's. I start the day with an enzyme supplement and this seems to have helped a lot. 8 am Breakfast is 2 slices of sourdough bread with a rich layer of guacamole on top and a large cup of decaf coffee. In Canada we have Tim Horton's decaf coffee which I have the best results with. 11 am I take Gut FX, mixed with filtered water. Lunch is rolled oats with yoghurt or kefir and a mid-afternoon snack of mixed nuts (not pre-packaged but I mix it myself). Dinner is s small meal of home cooked vegetables and some chicken. Sometimes eat smoked Pacific salmon also. I will soon find out if the measures I have takes were sufficient. I'm not without worry about all of this.

Is “the dysplasia stage” different than “the low-grade dysplasia stage”?

I was diagnosed with gastritis w hyperplasia, reflux acid and bile, and Barrett’s 5 months ago. I had the esophagus scope after an emergency Dr recommended the scope. I was looking for answers for my burning mouth, tongue, and tooth and finally after almost 4 years found the answer to my hot burning….reflux! My reflux was silent. I did not know I was having reflux. After diagnosis I was prescribed 40 mg ppi twice daily, sucralfate 10ml before meals and at bedtime and baclofen 5 mg 4 times daily. Have tried 3 different pppi’s , first pantapazole ( ankles and lower leg swelling and pain) , Prilosec started a nuisance cough and nasal drainage for 6 weeks so took steroid dose pack to relief cough. It was like I replaced burning mouth for a nuisance cough! Now I take Nexium OTC two 20mg twice daily. It took about 30 days of treatment for my mouth burning to start improving which was not fast! My biopsy showed small squamocolumnar mucosa with small focus of intestinal metaplasia. I told the specialist something like I realize it’s a small area. He told me it was serious, it was precancer! I too am doing everything that is recommended for reflux regarding elevation of upper body, eating as recommended as to what I eat, size of meals, and when I eat. I only drink bottled water. I also take vitamin D3 and Premier Research Labs Phyto methylate which contains activated B vitamins, folate(5-MTHF) and choline which is suppose to help with Barrett’s improvement. The baclofen I take is suppose to help with the spinster to have fewer reflux events. The pppi’s don’t do anything to help with bile reflux. Pppi’s help acid reflux by stopping the acid pumps in the stomach . The sucralfate liquid coats my stomach and esophagus to protect against bile acid damage to esophagus and stomach. I read everything I can find. I recently reread my esophagus and stomach biopsy report which described the stomach and Barrett’s and listed bile reflux as a cause of gastritis and the Barrett’s so just learning about the bile reflux after 4 months of treatment for acid reflux but thankfully was taking the sucralfate which does protect my stomach and esophagus against bile damage. My family Dr told me Barrett’s can’t be cured but can be improved so I am trying. My specialist retired in Dec. I have an appointment with new specialist In a week. Seems the actual specialist in my area stay busy doing procedures and have their PA deal with patients. I would rather be talking to the doctor specialist about treatments. I will be asking about the new treatments for Barrett’s. I did read where the esophagus scope should be performed 6 months after treatment started to actually see the stomach and Barrett’s tissues to see if improving with treatment. Prayers for all!

Low grade is the lowest stage of dysplasia- high grade dysplasia is making changes toward cancer

I have Barrett’s with high dysplasia, diagnosed in August 2024 via endoscopy. I since have had two endoscopies with ablation, a third next week. It looks like I will be on a three month program for the foreseeable future. Your level of dysplasia should determine how often you are monitored/treated. Once a year seems like the standard for low dysplasia. Three month treatments/monitoring for high dysplasia.