Barrett’s esophagus

Glad to hear it’s not worse.

I’ve mentioned this before but want to say it again since I’m seeing new people on here. I was diagnosed about 20 years ago with Barrett’s esophagus. Have taken prevacid ever since with dosage gradually increasing — currently 30 mg twice a day.

For about 18 years my BE stayed the same. Then about 2 years ago my BE developed low grade dysplasia. I have had 4 RFA’s (radio frequency ablations) to remove the areas of dysplasia. My surgeon says I’ll need to have 4 or 5 more.

My advice to anyone diagnosed with Barretts is DONT BE LIKE ME! I started out with the restrictive diet. But then I realized that the prevacid eliminated my heartburn and that I could eat things without getting the heartburn pain. So I did. Is that why I have low grade dysplasia now? I think that’s very likely the reason why.

So don’t be like me. Be like @riflemanz64 who I think I should be the poster child for BE!

Now that's funny!

It can be really serious, my brother has/had it and he lost so much blood that he had to have four (4) pints transfusion he probably waited too long. Then you have to make sure the patient do not have cancer or development cancer

Yes @barb2025 you’re right! BE is a very serious thing. If I had treated it more seriously over the last 20 or so years, I probably wouldn’t have developed this low grade dysplasia and wouldn’t be having all of these ablations.

Fortunately only a very small percentage of people with Barrett’s develop cancer. I hope your brother is doing better.

Although I have never suffered from heartburn or indigestion, I was having problems swallowing. My Gastroenterologist performed an endoscopy and said I have Barrett's. He put me on omeprazole 20mgs for the rest of my life. Concerned about the side effects. I had my gall bladder removed over 30 years ago and wondering if my problem is bile reflux not acid reflux. There is some research suggesting PPI's are not effective in treating bile reflux and may actually make the damage it does to the esophagus worse by removing the acid. Anyone have any knowledge or experience with the use of PPI's for bile reflux? .

@eileenmaud What does your Dr. say about your research findings? It might just be me but he would be my choice before changing changing my meds. Also, what did your research find re an alternate treatment to Barretts if you stop the PPI's?

from what i have read the PPI's do not have any effect on bile reflux. when your GI doctor performed and endo on you if you had bile in the stomach he would have seen this and put you on questran ( orange flavored resin powder , which is just awful to taste) to help clear up the bile in the stomach. if he hasn't told you that there is bile then you probably don't have it. have you had an esophagael manometry test? this will measure the strength of your esophagus muscles. i too have probablems swallowing, after fundoplication and later gall bladder removal. my last esophagael manometry test showed a parameter that measured 378 ( range is 500 -5000). prior to fundo i had measured 517. I have very weak esopagus muscles that can't push the food more effectively thru the stomach. thus longer residence time of ffod in my stomach gives me the sensation of heartburn, which is really esophagus sensation like burn. i have no barrett's because of the fundoplication. i was on antacis for 18 years and had no signs of all these bad things the doctors say about the antacids. take your omeprazole as he says and live your life as normal as possible. avoid caffeine, chocolates, carbonation , and cigarettes......best wishes ... kozlo52

Thanks so much for the responses to my questions. I do have an appointment with my Dr. in a few weeks. Will discuss the information I have found, but am not optimistic since he insists that all patients with BE take omeprazole for the rest of their lives. It troubles me that he did not warn me about the dangers of heart problems that can occur from magnesium deficiency brought on by long term use of omeprazole. This resulted in an FDA alert warning doctors to test patent magnesium levels before putting them on this medication long term and perform ongoing monitoring. It was my cardiologist's PA who told me about this when I started experiencing problems. There is also increasing evidence that the incidence of cancer of the esophagus has increased dramatically since the widespread use of PPI's as treatment for BE and over the counter for heartburn. My ex-husband died of esophageal cancer two years ago. He had been taking OTC PPI's for years. I am hoping when I speak with the doctor, I can get some answers and feel comfortable with his recommended course of treatment.

Sorry to hear about your husband passing from cancer. I saw my GI Doc yesterday and everything was great. No issues. I take 40mg pantaprozole 1x a day before supper. I was told i'll get my next EGD Sept. 20 to check for dysplasia. I follow a strict diet with no cheating. May i ask if your husband was following a acid free diet? I hope your Dr. visit goes good!