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) My Hero
They found a very rare version of acid reflux. Once I was put on Flovant treatment, the swallowing problem went away. It came back the following year, and I went on the treatment again. Since then it has been chronic. My seizures became more frequent between 2003 and 2006. I started to experience hallucinations, visions, and double visions. Having the hallucinations was interesting, but also frightening. Often it was when I was relaxed that I would have them. I can remember looking to the wall on my right, and seeing images that looked like a 3-D movie. During this time, I also experienced severe jerking of my body, which often lasted an hour or more. Another symptom I experienced was when I was sleeping. I felt like I was running a marathon, but I wasn't. I didn't have an understanding of what was going on, and I didn't know what to think . More>> - (
) Health Briefs
17, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Kelley Library, 234 Main St. Digestive disorders include acid reflux, hiatal hernia, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis and Crohn's disease. The guest speaker is Dr. Heather Lescarbeau. For more information, contact Kay at 603-327-4125 or e-mail kaybarretto@comcast.net. Free Yoga class for cancer support SALEM, N.H. — Devi Dawn, healer and yoga teacher, is offering a free toga class for cancer patients, survivors and caretakers at the Self Awakening Yoga Studio, 352 S. Broadway. The classes will take place at 5:30 p.m. on the last Thursday of every month. According to Dawn, the discipline can help control insomnia, reduce stress, calm the mind, aid grief relief, and is particularly vital for people in cancer treatment. More>> - (
) Feeling the burn
Indeed, the uptick of diagnoses in kids and babies is “really scary," says Seattle physician Tom Vaughan, an expert on acid reflux and professor at the University of Washington. Two decades ago, it was almost unheard of. Now the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the strongest acid-blocking drugs, for infants like Cooper—who might once have been dismissed as “colicky"—has soared by 750 per cent in the U.S. in the past decade; a range of reflux drugs have been approved for use in kids under age 11. This year, a lime-flavoured, “kid's-strength" version of the GERD prescription drug Nexium will hit the market. “More and more kids are being treated with PPIs and getting anti-reflux surgery," says Dr. Douglas Corley of Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Oakland, Calif. “And no one has any idea what the long-term effects are."Unfortunately, ignoring the symptoms—which for kids can include coughing and tummy aches—has its perils too, notes Gail Attara, executive director of the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research. More>>
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) New Test for Chronic Cough
Pulmonologists like Dr. Hahn say the four main causes of chronic cough are post-nasal drip, acid reflux, asthma and a type of non-asthmatic bronchitis. With just a few breaths, the new test allows doctors to find out which patients suffer from two treatable conditions, asthma and bronchitis. "[By doing] this very simple, non-invasive test up front, we were able to find patients who were responsive to inhaled corticosteroids as a treatment for their cough," Dr. Hahn said. Rueggs sees firsthand how this test helps her patients. "They think it's wonderful there's another test that can really zero in on their diagnosis," Rueggs said.Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:
Lisa Lucier Public Affairs Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN (507) 284-5005 newsbureau@mayo.edu . More>> - (
) GORD treatment reduces daytime sleepiness in OSA
GORD is a chronic and uncomfortable condition involving heartburn and regurgitation of the acidic content in the stomach, called acid reflux. Acid reflux is theorised to be one cause of the physical block or obstruction of the airway causing a sleep apnoea. Dr Michael Pritchard Respiratory and Sleep Physician and Director of the Perth Sleep Clinic said "Gastro-oesophageal reflux is very common in association with obstructive sleep apnoea, perhaps as much as 2/3 of obstructive sleep apnoea patients have measurable nocturnal reflux, often high reflux."A previous study has shown that treatment for GORD with a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) (pantoprazole(Somac)) can reduce the number of awakenings due to acid reflux, which are estimated to account for half of the apnoeas experienced in OSDB. More>>