Heartburn, its complications, and my story. (long)

I'd like to pass on some information that may be of help to anyone who suffers from frequent heartburn.  We've all seen the commercials talking about how frequent heartburn can lead to damage of the esophagus and a more serious condition.

I'm one of those more serious conditions.  Hopefully I can help some of you who think the commercials are just a scare tactic to sell medicine.  For as long as I can remember, I had heartburn regularly. I was seldom without Tums and just sort of got used to it being something I had to deal with.  In passing, during a physical exam in 1997, I mentioned to my doctor that my heartburn was an issue and maybe some of those new drugs I'd been hearing about on TV (Tagamet) might help.

She suggested that I have an endoscopy to see if there was damage. I'm not someone who puts off doctor visits. I've been having a yearly physical for as long as I can remember because I don't believe in taking chances. I was all over getting it looked at.

So that you're aware, the more serious condition the commercials hint at is a condition known as Barrett's Esophagus. It's a condition where the surface of your lower esophagus mutates to become Intestinal Metaplasia.  The surface cells become nearly identical to the cells of your small intestine.

That in itself isn't a huge cause for alarm.  If you treat the heartburn by taking medicine to stop the acid, the Barrett's stops growing.  However, it never goes away on its own.

The cause for alarm is when the Barrett's progresses to Dysplasia.  That's when the cells start to mutate to unhealthy cells - a precursor to cancer. There are three stages of Dysplasia - Indefinite (too few cells to be sure it's present, but it appears to be), Low Grade (less than 50% of the cells), and High Grade (over 50%).

I was diagnosed with Short Segment Barrett's, no dysplasia. That was 14 years ago. I was immediately a Surveillance patient, meaning I had to have an endoscopy\biopsy every year for the rest of my life. For the past 14 years my results every year have been no dysplasia.

Until November of 2010 (the month I always have the endoscopy\biopsy).  My results last November were Indefinite For Dysplasia. My doctor recommended a new type of treatment (5 years old) called Halo. It's where a wire mesh is lowered down to the Barrett's and, using radio frequency energy, the Barrett's is burned away.  The esophagus grows back a new, normal, healthy lining.

I literally made the appointment for my first Halo the very next morning.  Per my doctor's recommendation, I called one of the doctors who is preeminent in the field. It's good to be in Houston when you have a problem. My first Halo was scheduled for December.  It typically takes four Halos to eliminate the Barrett's & dysplasia. The first Halo is a Halo360.  It's just what it sounds like - the full 360 degree surface of your esophagus is burned. They go from just above to just below the area of Barrett's.  In my case it was about 2 inches. This removes nearly all of the Barrett's.  Subsequent Halos are Halo90s (a smaller wire mesh only burning 90 degrees of a circle).

I won't lie you, the Halo360 was the most severe pain I've ever experienced.  It hurts like hell for a few days and then gradually subsides as the new surface grows in.  It's liquids for a week and then mush foods for a week after that.

Full healing takes two months.  Because of that, the burns are about three months apart (endoscopies and biopsies are taken between burns). After my third burn, I had an endoscopy\biopsy to determine my condition.  The results were one small island of Barrett's left, but no dysplasia.

I had my fourth burn yesterday. My doctor feels there is no Barrett's or dysplasia left, but as usual, a biopsy is already scheduled in two months to confirm. I feel extremely fortunate to have been someone who kept up with my strict surveillance and to live in the city I do. When I had my Halo360, assisting my doctor was a doctor who worked for the company that pioneered the technology. I don't have to tell you, that is quite a relief when you're about to go under. You know you're in the best hands.

I thought I'd pass this along so that any of you who may be concerned will have someone to ask for any questions you may have.

Here are two links that have a ton of information.  One is the condition, the other is the treatment.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/barretts-esophagus/HQ00312

http://curebarretts.com/treatment-options/procedure-tutorial.php