What Are the Symptoms of GERD in Adults?

What is GERD?

GERD symptoms start with acid reflux and then can progress to include chest pain, nausea and vomiting, sore throat, hoarseness, coughing or wheezing, excess saliva, inflamed gum tissue, and even acid erosion of your teeth.

If you've ever enjoyed a spicy dish or eaten a large meal at your favorite restaurant, you've probably experienced a form of gastroesophageal reflux, or GER.

Typically called acid reflux or acid indigestion, GER occurs when the food and fluids in your stomach leak backward into your esophagus, causing irritation. The most common symptom is heartburn, a fiery sensation that builds up in your chest and throat.

Most of us experience occasional acid reflux. The problem occurs when GER becomes gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. GERD has more severe symptoms and can last much longer. Researchers estimate that around 20% of people in the United States have GERD.

Signs and symptoms of GERD

GERD typically starts as repeated episodes of acid reflux. As the disease progresses, symptoms become more painful and interfere more with your daily life. Sometimes, severe heartburn can cause sharp chest pains that can be mistaken for angina, which is chest pain that's caused by a lack of blood flow to the heart.

Other GERD symptoms include:

Acid regurgitation (you can taste your food after you eat)
Noncardiac chest pain (if you're unsure, see a doctor immediately)
Nausea and vomiting
Chronic sore throat
A "full" feeling in the back of the throat
Hoarseness
Coughing or wheezing
Excess saliva
Inflamed gum tissue
Bad breath
Acid erosion of your teeth

Causes of GERD

There isn't one single factor that causes GERD. When you eat, food travels past your throat and down the esophagus and ends up in your stomach. At the base of the esophagus, there's a ring of muscle fibers called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that prevents swallowed food from moving back up. If the LES doesn't close properly, the contents of your stomach can leak.

The severity of GERD depends on the individual. If you constantly have reflux and it damages the esophagus, you may experience more intense symptoms.

Factors that may increase the likelihood of getting GERD include:

Being obese
Being pregnant
Smoking

Some medications can also cause GERD, including:

Benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety drugs
Calcium channel blockers, or drugs used to treat high blood pressure
Some asthma medicines
Anti-inflammatory drugs

Diagnosing GERD

When you visit your doctor, be prepared to spend time talking about your medical history and symptoms. There are plenty of over-the-counter (OTC) medications designed to relieve acid reflux symptoms, but if there's damage to your digestive tract, your doctor may suggest diagnostic testing, including:

Upper GI endoscopy

Your doctor will sedate you, then use a thin, flexible tube called an endoscope to examine your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. He or she will check your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine, and take a biopsy if necessary.

Ambulatory pH/impedance monitoring

A thin probe is placed into your nose and threaded through the esophagus. It's connected to a data recorder that measures both acid and non-acidic reflux that travels into your esophagus.

Catheterless pH capsule

A pH sensor is attached to the wall of your esophagus during an endoscopy. The data is transmitted to an external recorder via radio waves, providing information on acid reflux.

QUESTION

GERD is the back up of stomach acid into the esophagus.
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Treatments for GERD

Treatment options for GERD include:

Lifestyle and dietary changes
OTC and prescription medication
Endoscopic therapy (treatments performed with an endoscope)
Surgery

Lifestyle and dietary changes that may alleviate your symptoms include:

Losing weight if you are obese
Avoiding foods that increase acid in your stomach, like citrus fruits
Avoiding high-fat foods, alcohol, and peppermint, which lower the pressure in your esophagus
Not eating large meals
Quitting smoking
Not lying down immediately after eating
Elevating your head when lying down

If these measures don't help, the next step is medication, including:

Antacids

OTC antacids can work if you don't have reflux often. They don't stay very long in the stomach, however, and they don't heal inflammation.

Histamine blockers

Medications called histamine 2 (H2) blockers help lower stomach acid levels. H2 blockers can heal erosions in your esophagus.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)

These drugs block acid production and suppress it more effectively than H2 blockers. PPIs heal more severe conditions like esophagitis, which is an inflammation of the esophagus.

Prokinetic agents

Prokinetics are medications that enhance the muscles of your gastrointestinal tract, but they typically aren't as effective as PPIs. Your doctor may prescribe them in addition to an H2 blocker or other acid-suppressing medication.