Gallbladder & Acid Reflux

[Beachcombers]

Hello. Can a malfunction of the gallbladder/liver cause the production of too much bile or an incorrectly formulated bile? If so, is it possible for this to result in too much stomach acid or in any way contribute to acid reflux? If so is there a treatment?

Thanks you.

[Beachcombers]

Hi. I understand. My acid reflux came to visit me suddenly last December and has pretty much been here since. I've tried several prescriptions and OTC med's and finally settled with Prilosec OTC 20mg 1 daily, though I'm not really happy with it. Thing is, when acid reflux first arrived it was a week prior to my scheduled physical.

Prior to December I had NEVER had symptoms of acid reflux. During my physical I was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus. My wife and I were stunned. I don't drink, don't smoke, not over weight, eat healthy, etc.. But there it was/is. Next week I fly to U.C. Irvine Med. Ctr for Radio Frequency Ablation of the Barrett's. UCI is the leader in this procedure (which has only been around since 2004).  No scalpel needed. Dr. Kenneth Chang http://www.gioncology.com/  developed the tools and procedure and will perform the procedure for me.

Barrett's Esophagus is something everyone with acid reflux should be highly aware of and be checked for via endoscopy (a relatively easy and routine procedure). However,  be sure color photos are taken during the process and those photos could prove value. Photos are not always taken.

Something few give any thought to: This may seem funny at first, but, it is highly important that the doctor performing your endoscopy is not colorblind, because the ability to distinguish slight changes in color can be very important when it comes to locating and identifying diseases such as Barrett's. 70% of men are colorblind to some degree. However, only 1 out of 1,000 women are colorblind.

Ali

[mungufuata]

Apparently, yes.  Gallbladder diseases can lead to acid reflux, but I'd be lying if I said I understood why.  I have just read too many stories of people with acid troubles that don't respond to medication who later were diagnosed with gallbladder issues to not believe there is a connection.  Unfortunately, you have to treat the gallbladder, not the acid, or nothing will work.  (I myself have been on all of the acid-reducing drugs, and I mean ALL of them, with no success and was just recently diagnosed with gallbladder problems, so I'm having my gallbladder out.)