Followup Endoscopies?

I had an upper endoscopy last year; the goal was to rule out celiac (which came back negative). Surprisingly, we found out I have severe reflux (I had the symptoms that match silent reflux, no real heartburn... I had no idea).

The findings:
- Z-line irregular
- Gastric mucosal abnormality characterized by erythema. Biopsied.
- Normal 2nd part of the duodenum. This was biopsied.
- The examination was otherwise normal.

Final results:
Celiac sprue negative.
Gastritis.
Severe reflux.


He had told me post-procedure he was concerned about the erythema being precancerous (I take it Barrett's) or due to bacterial infection - thankfully, it was neither. I am now on Zegerid, and am very happy with the results.

My question: I have no followups scheduled. He noted that I should come see him if I have complications. Since I had no idea I even had reflux, this seems kind of silly to me (although I know most people are aware). He was pretty adamant about making sure this heals the esophagus because of the damage. While I would be happy never having another tube down my throat, should I have any additional upper endoscopies? Or is this just a 'let's hope for the best and if it will, it will' type things?

Thanks for any experience/help :-) Like I said, I'm feeling much, much better - but I definitely don't want it to progress to Barrett's esophagus! (On another note, what the heck is a z-line, and why is it important?)

[Elliot R Goodman, MD]

I think you need repeat endoscopy to make sure GERD is better and to watch out for Barrett's