Swallowing problems with Barrett's

About 3 months ago I was having trouble swallowing (it got to the point I couldn't swallow any solid food).  An endoscopy diagnosed the problem as Barrett's and I was put on 30mg daily of prevacid.  The swallowing is better, but still not great.  I still get food stuck and have to be very careful when I eat.  A few weeks ago the dosage was doubled; I now take 30mg twice a day. My doctor said the increased dosage should eliminate the rest of the swallowing issue but it hasn't made any difference yet.  I have 3 questions; 1., is there such a thing as taking too much prevacid, 2., if this does work will I have to stay on prevacid for life to keep the swallowing problem at bay, 3., if this doesn't help, is there another treatment to eliminate difficulty swallowing?

[Ratnakar Kini, MD]

Hi,
If a stricture has developed due to reflux it can also cause difficulty in swallowing which has to be treated.
You have to be on maintenance therapy with Prevacid or any other PPI since you have developed Barrett's esophagus.
If Prevacid does not work you can switch to another PPI.