We all know that awful feeling of eating too much or the wrong kinds of foods and the unpleasantness of an upset stomach. Gastroenterologist Dr. Dhanush Hoskere of GBMC returns to help settle Nestor’s stomach about treatments and procedures to help with GERD and acid reflux and some lifestyle choices to help eliminate the problem.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere from GBMC discussed GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and acid reflux with Nestor Aparicio. He explained that acid reflux occurs when stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, causing symptoms like heartburn and regurgitation. Lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, can exacerbate reflux. Dr. Hoskere emphasized the importance of addressing reflux early to prevent complications like esophageal inflammation and fibrosis. He also highlighted the role of medications like proton pump inhibitors in managing reflux and reducing the risk of Barrett’s esophagus. Nestor was reminded about the importance of colonoscopies for preventive health.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Nestor Aparicio to schedule a colonoscopy appointment at GBMC.
Introduction and Purpose of the Segment
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the segment, mentioning the football season and the end of the Orioles season.
- Nestor shares that GBMC has arranged doctor’s appointments for him and the audience to discuss health issues.
- Dr. Dhanush Hoskere, a gastroenterologist at GBMC, is introduced to discuss acid reflux and GERD.
- Nestor expresses his appreciation for Dr. Hoskere’s expertise and mentions his own experiences with acid reflux.
Understanding Acid Reflux and GERD
- Dr. Hoskere explains that people often take Tums to buffer stomach acid that comes up into the esophagus.
- He discusses the importance of lifestyle choices, such as diet and activities, in managing acid reflux.
- Nestor shares his personal habits of avoiding certain foods to prevent acid reflux.
- Dr. Hoskere emphasizes that lifestyle changes are crucial in managing acid reflux and preventing long-term complications.
Lifestyle Factors and Acid Reflux
- Dr. Hoskere explains how activities like biking and swimming can increase abdominal pressure and lead to acid reflux.
- He discusses the role of saliva in buffering stomach acid and preventing heartburn.
- Nestor shares his methods of managing acid reflux, such as drinking water and chewing gum.
- Dr. Hoskere highlights the importance of addressing lifestyle factors to prevent long-term complications.
Symptoms and Complications of GERD
- Dr. Hoskere explains that by the time people seek medical help, their acid reflux may have caused significant damage.
- He discusses the potential complications of long-term acid reflux, such as inflammation and fibrosis of the esophagus.
- Nestor expresses his surprise at the severity of acid reflux and its impact on daily life.
- Dr. Hoskere introduces the term GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and its symptoms, including heartburn and regurgitation.
Treatment Options for Acid Reflux
- Dr. Hoskere explains the role of medications like proton pump inhibitors in managing acid reflux.
- He discusses the potential side effects of these medications, such as increased risk of gastrointestinal infections.
- Nestor asks about the effectiveness of long-term medication in managing acid reflux.
- Dr. Hoskere emphasizes the importance of monitoring patients for complications and adjusting treatment accordingly.
Importance of Colonoscopies
- Nestor shares his reluctance to get a colonoscopy despite being overdue.
- Dr. Hoskere reassures Nestor about the ease of the procedure and its benefits in detecting and removing pre-cancerous polyps.
- He explains that colonoscopies are both diagnostic and therapeutic, reducing the risk of colon cancer.
- Nestor expresses his appreciation for the information and his intention to schedule a colonoscopy.
Final Thoughts and Personal Experiences
- Nestor shares his personal dietary habits to avoid acid reflux, such as avoiding spicy foods and certain fruits.
- Dr. Hoskere acknowledges that everyone has different triggers for acid reflux and emphasizes the importance of identifying them.
- Nestor humorously mentions his love for chocolate chip cookies and how it might contribute to his acid reflux.
- Dr. Hoskere advises moderation and avoiding fatty foods to prevent acid reflux.
Conclusion and Gratitude
- Nestor thanks Dr. Hoskere for his expertise and the valuable information shared during the segment.
- He reiterates the importance of seeking medical help for acid reflux and the benefits of long-term treatment.
- Nestor expresses his gratitude to GBMC for their support and the educational content they provide.
- The segment ends with Nestor promoting the Maryland Lottery and his upcoming tastiness tour.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
GERD, acid reflux, heartburn, esophagus, lifestyle choices, proton pump inhibitors, Barrett’s esophagus, colonoscopy, GBMC, health partners, medication side effects, dietary triggers, endoscopy, inflammation, gastroesophageal reflux disease.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Dr. Dhanush Hoskere
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T AM, 1570 towns of Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We’re positively into the football season around here. Luke’s out and Owings Mills, getting you ready for football action, and, of course, wrapping up the Orioles season around here. But I’ve been talking about other things off the playing field here, as we get into the fall season, my friends at GBMC, they’ve heard that I haven’t made a doctor’s appointment in a decade. They’ve heard that I’m a 50 something year old who needs to get his colonoscopy done, and they are making appointments for me and for you to educate all of us about the things they do over GBMC and the Health Partners, Dr denuse, scary is the gastroenterologist. I can’t even pronounce it. I don’t know how I would get that degree. He has been on the program prior to and talking about all things stomach and gastrointestinal and things that I can’t pronounce. Today, we’re going to learn about something that I haven’t had a problem with, but something that I know plenty of people that had a problem with. I see all the TV commercials acid reflux and stomach problems. Doc, welcome in. I know you’re busy with patients over at GBMC. I always appreciate you taking a little time and trying to educate me about the things that I have a hard time understanding.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 01:19
No, thank you again for having me, Nestor. It’s, it’s really, I really appreciate you having me on the show again.
Nestor Aparicio 01:25
All right, so recently, I saw someone that had not the little thing of Tums, but like the good medium, they more Tums than I’ve ever taken in my life in one container. You know, more time. I don’t know if that I’ve taken more than two or three Tums in any year in my life when I have a belly ache or I eat something that maybe has a little fire, a little flame. I’ve learned things that I’m all doc. When things don’t feel good in my tummy, it just tells me Don’t eat it. You know what I mean? It’s certain foods don’t agree with me, but other people like to enjoy things, and they will take a pill, a medicine. I see this on TV all the time, but I’m thinking, that’s probably not good for your belly long term, and at some point they wind up seeing someone like you. If this continues, right?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 02:12
Yeah, that’s Yeah, that’s true. So, I mean, you know, there, there are many reasons. So one, just from the the pain in the belly, they’ll definitely come to see me. But also from a heartburn or regurgitation standpoint, they will definitely come to see me as well. And you know, as you’re saying, a lot of people, when they have that sensation, they’ll be popping these Tums. And what that helps do is it buffers that acid that is trying to come up from your stomach up into your esophagus. That esophagus is the food pipe that connects your mouth to the stomach. So that is where a lot of this action happens over here. So that’s, that’s why people end up taking these medications. You know, there are some stronger medications, there are some better medications, you know, we can definitely, you know, talk about that as well, you know. But everything comes at a cost. So some of these medications have side effects and things like that as well. So we kind of have to balance, you know, what is making us feel good with what may end up not being so good, good for us later and as well. You know, it’s not always just about the medications, but it’s really also about some of these lifestyle choices, you know, that we’re making, including some of the food, some of the foods that we’re eating, some of the activities that we’re doing, things along those lines.
Nestor Aparicio 03:33
Well, when I hear acid reflux, I’m thinking, hey, knucklehead, don’t eat that. You know what? I mean? That’s what I I say that to myself, it’s sort of like, I will admit I’ve had a few hangovers. They’re self inflicted. You know what I mean? So for me, with acid reflux, my concern would be someone that comes to you that says, No, Doc, I’m not eating spicy, I’m not eating I’m not having tomatoes and things that would make this happened for me. What do we do for people that are suffering in this way where maybe it’s not lifestyle related, or is it always lifestyle related?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 04:11
I think there’s there. There’s a little bit of everything. So I think you know, really to go in into some of the factors that really go into it, one of the things we talk about is, what are some of these lifestyle choices that we’re doing? So even some of the general activities that may feel healthy to you. So you know, some of the things are, you know, people who go biking every day, or people who go swimming every day, people who do weight lifting every day, even these simple things that you know, even health conscious people are really, really doing, can actually increase the pressure in your abdomen, and actually, that puts a little bit more pressure on the stomach, and that can lead to more reflux that happen. As a result. You know, some of the other things. When you’re swimming, you’re, you know, you’re laying, you’re, you’re more horizontal, so you don’t have gravity to help make things go in the right direction. You know, when you’re biking, you get dehydrated. And actually, saliva is a big thing. When you swallow your saliva, you think it’s such a small thing. Okay, you you have the saliva in your mouth, you’re gonna, you’re gonna, you’re gonna swallow the saliva. But what that actually does is it buffers that acid that’s really coming up from your stomach into your esophagus, and actually really is one of the things that helps with then, that can help with heartburn and preventing further damage in the esophagus as well.
Nestor Aparicio 05:38
Is there any one thing you would say, maybe drink more water, right? Like, that’s what, when I’m having that issue, and I last week, I, you know, ate something, and I’m like, drink a lot of water. I tend to chew like a minty gum to sort of keep me from feeling, you know, that that taste in your mouth, or that feeling in your mouth, and then let it, let it pass, and watch what you’re eating. I’m always thinking about Rices and breads and just sort of, you know, things that potatoes, things that may tamp things down a little bit more than things with a lot of spice. I love food, man. I’m doing my tastiness tour. It’s my 27th anniversary. I’m eating all sorts of good things. But I do think that the choices that you make, and then what happens after that that could lead me to you. I I’ve been trying to avoid the doctors. You know this, everybody. GBMC knows I’m trying to avoid you, but just over here, come on, maybe I’m just living a clean enough lifestyle that I’ve managed to stay away from you guys for a while, but, but I do know that when people come this is a very, very serious thing, much more serious than I think, when you see these TV commercials and people have a little burp and they have a problem by the time they get to you, it’s really traumatically affecting their life, right?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 06:52
Yeah, usually by the time it gets to me, well, it’s one of two things. One, they may incidentally have come for something else, and then they remember, okay, I do have some heartburn, or some regurgitation or two, it’s so bad that it’s affecting their everyday life. They can’t eat anything, you know, they can’t concentrate well, because they’re having this like constant feeling. And you know, some of these things can even cause other complications down the line. So if you’re having this heartburn happen for a long enough time, sometimes what can happen is you have inflammation in the esophagus. When you get this inflammation over time that in it becomes so bad where you have the area in the esophagus be replaced with this collagenous tissue. It becomes fibrotic. So no matter what you do, no matter what medications you take, no matter it’s not going to really help you at the end of the day with healing that area. And sometimes you may need to come in get an endoscopy from from one of our and gastroenterologists over here, and potentially even have that dilated. So, you know, this, this whole so GERD can sometimes just be that sensation, but it can also cause a lot of these other problems down the line as well, which we definitely want to avoid, because some of them may become, you know, long term problems.
Nestor Aparicio 08:23
Yeah, you use the word GERD. This is a new term for me, G, E, R, D, G, GERD. By the way, we’re chatting with Dr Danish is scary. He is at GBMC. They are sponsoring not just our injury reports, but trying to get me on the up and up about all things medicine, letting people know that GBMC is here. There’s all sorts of ways to reach out and be healthier if you’re battling acid reflux. I’ve talked about my colonoscopy. We’re going to talk about different issues with with all sorts of medicine things. But GERD is a new term in my mind. I hear acid reflux the same thing
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 08:58
pretty it’s it’s like so GERD is. It’s gastroesophageal reflux disease. So it’s pretty much when you know you have that those contents from the stomach come up into your esophagus, but specifically when you have symptoms from that. So kind of what we’ve been talking about having that heartburn, that feeling of this burning sensation in your stomach that goes up into your chest. Some people even feel it in their back and their arms. Some, you know, some things like that as well, or that regurgitation feeling, which is, you know, you feel like you actively feel like there is some fluid coming up. So, you know, it’s kind of that, that range of things, those are the typical symptoms. You can even have atypical symptoms when you’re thinking of GERD as well. So some people have a sour taste in their mouth called called water brush. So that may be like a a key triggering thing. Or sometimes what can happen is you. Um, you start to have some belching, some burping. Some people even have it so severe that they have some nausea and vomiting. And then what, when it gets really interesting, is there’s some people who have these very atypical symptoms, you wouldn’t even think of as really being GERD or anything along those lines, but it may be related. So some people are constantly having this throat clearing, or they’re having this hoarseness of their voice. They’re having chest pain. And then, you know, so these are some of the things, or in some people even have worsening of their asthma. And then the question becomes, you know, Is this because of GERD or not? The main thing when it comes to some of you know, some of these other atypical symptoms is, you know, make sure you see your other doctors, make sure there’s nothing else going on. And then when you come to see us, we do some objective testing to make sure that there is a correlation between the two, and then we would treat you appropriately from that standpoint as well. So, you know, you know, Gerd can hit you from all different directions,
Nestor Aparicio 11:11
you know, Doc. The strange thing about this is, you go ahead, you eat like a big, rich meal. You eat something maybe you shouldn’t, or you’re treating you, treating yourself. You think I, you know I, you know I’m I eat something I shouldn’t eat. But you come home and you’re like, Okay, I got some Tums. And the first thing I think is, you don’t feel good. Lay down might be the worst thing, right? Like, right? I mean, and I hadn’t thought about that, that when you’re like, Ah, my stomach’s a little sour. I’m going to go lay down for a while. That’s, that’s the wrong thing to do, right?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 11:45
I mean, especially if you’re feeling that harp and regurgitation feeling, definitely, that’s probably not, and that’s
Nestor Aparicio 11:51
just literally about your body, not you know about gravity, right? Like, so that’d be the word. So what would you tell someone who is, is it okay to take a Tums or two without seeing you in, not in the big things, maybe in the little things that come, like the lifesavers to keep those around that if you do want to splurge, you go out. You got a special meal, Lord knows, on your birthday or a special occasion, last thing you want to do is go eat something’s gonna make you feel terrible. But if you do without coming to GBMC, without checking yourself in, but on a one by one basis, Tom’s okay in a general sense.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 12:28
Yeah, so tom toms are okay. And you know, they’re not as as, you know, as long acting, or anything along those lines, but they, they’ll give you that temporary relief, and they’ll help buffer that acid that is really coming up and give you a sense of some relief here. So it’s really a temporary measure, but at the end of the day, you know, it still is going to be important for them to come and see us over here, because, you know, one, figuring out what are these lifestyle things that may be causing them to have these symptoms. And then two, do they need to be on anything stronger? And three, do they have any complications from the GERD, you know? Do they need to have an endoscopy and see is there any inflammation there? And do they need to be on any long term medication? Or do they have any sometimes, if you have so much good you can actually have a pre cancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus. So these are all definitely things that we think about. And so it’s not as simple as, you know, we’re just going to take a few times and you know, we’re okay, we’re ready to go. But really, kind of, what is the overall picture of the person of the patient, because, do they have these risk factors for any of these potential complications that are down the line? And, you know, do they need to be more closely monitored, closely watched, and do they need some type of stronger medication over there to prevent them from having complications?
Nestor Aparicio 13:57
Well, Doc, I said the last thing is that if you have this problem, and it’s not the food you’re eating, and you’ve got a chronic issue, the medications have you seen? I mean, I know all of you go into medicine to help people and make them and give them some comfort, have the drugs made a difference? You say long term medication, taking a pill every day can alleviate this and live a happier life. You can prescribe something that’s good for them at this point, right? Without surgical procedure.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 14:28
Correct. Correct. Yeah. So there the one of the one of the better medications out there. They’re called proton pump inhibitor. So you will have seen them like over the counter. They’re going to be your your prior sex, your your prevacids,
Nestor Aparicio 14:46
everything I see an ad for during the football game on Sundays. Yeah. Okay, fair enough.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 14:50
So it’s so it’s so common. I mean, they’ll give you, like the lower dose over the counter and things along those lines. But, you know, these are medications that actually help. Help with healing the esophagus or preventing, you know, further significant reflux, to make sure that you know that Barrett’s esophagus, that pre cancerous condition that potentially may be there, doesn’t get any worse so and then also helps improve their lifestyle significantly. So you know that is definitely a medication that works very, very well. And you know, some people definitely do need to be on and especially if they have that inflammation of the esophagus that happens, then they may actually need to be on the medication long term. Again, with every medication, there are always side effects. So the big thing to worry about with this medication is an increased risk of gastrointestinal infections. So these type of things can happen. And then, you know, if you go on Google and you type in, what are the side effects of all these medications, you will see, you know, a million things out there. But the thing is, at the end of the day, there are, you know, a lot of these things are very speculative. So when you’re looking at the big studies and things along those lines, none of these other side effects are really fully, fully proven. But, you know, big and the thing is, a lot of people are on these medications. So they may have seen, okay, this person was on this medication, but he may have had all these other medical issues going on and ended up having so and so side effect happen. Whether or not the correlation is there of this medication actually causing these other side effects is kind of unknown, but we always, you know, keep it in our mind that this is something that we have to keep, keep, keep our eye on. So, you know, some of the just, just real quick, some of the basic things are, you know, sometimes the B 12 can be a little bit lower, your magnesium can be a little bit lower. You can get potentially osteoporosis. They say sometimes there’s an association with pneumonia. And, you know, even rarely they say heart attacks, strokes, or even dementia and kidney disease. So there are all these, you know, different things that they talk about, but whether or not that correlation is really there or not, it’s it’s very hard to tell. But the one thing that they can say is that increased risk of gastrointestinal infections.
Nestor Aparicio 17:20
Bottom line is, if you have GERD, you have acid reflux, the folks at GBMC doctors can help you. Dr denucci is here. He is a returning champion on the program, and this is the part where everybody GBMC and my wife will appreciate the fact that. Tell me why I need a colonoscopy. Come on. Shame me right now as a 56 year, I’ll be sad. I’ll be 57 by the time is a couple weeks. Tell me why I need to get in there and have this done as a man, and tell all the men who are listening behind me what you told me last month, which is, come on, dude, get this done. It’s not that bad. It’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s not as bad as it used to be. You walked me through it. So do it again. Some even a little less scared this month than I was last month.
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 18:01
Alright, so the preps are so much easier to drink these days. There’s so much less volume. You know, that’s going to be the worst part. You drinking. You know, you drinking the prep. You drinking all that liquid the day before, not being able to eat the day before, when everyone comes in the morning after that, you know, that sleep that you get when you get your anesthesia is one of the best sleeps in the world. And everyone comes out of it saying that they could have used just a little bit more sleep during the procedure. They have their procedure, and, you know, they go home the same day. They enjoy the rest of their day, and they, you know, they go about things, you know, as is. And the one great thing about the colonoscopy is it’s not only diagnostic, but it’s also therapeutic. So you go in, you can see if there any pre cancerous polyps or lesions. If there are, you go and you like, we will take them out, and that will reduce your risk of colon cancer overall. And that is always what our goal is, one stop.
Nestor Aparicio 19:01
One Stop is what you’re saying, right? Exactly I like it all right. You know you just you took 30 seconds to do that last time we took 20 minutes explaining why it’s important. You can find that out at Baltimore positive under our GBMC logo. My big appreciation to GBMC for stepping up as a local hospital, supporting us here at wnst and Baltimore, positive and more than that, supporting the community with information that sometimes can be a little uncomfortable, bringing the docs on and frightening me a little bit, but also scaring me straight to understand that there’s help. There’s help if you’re struggling, doctors around the corner of GBMC to give you some some wisdom, as well as some medicine and some treatment to get you back to where you need to be. And listen, I ate a lot of food last month, 27 days, 27th anniversary. None of it gave me gastro reflux that I’m aware of yet. Although I did have some delicious Indian food, I love Indian food with a little bit of spice, but it didn’t do me dirty this time. So I’m good. There’s certain things i. And eaten. I just, I know the foods I need to avoid, and if I avoid them, I’m good. I don’t do jalapenos, well, I don’t do cilantro, well, I don’t do certain spicy things, habaneros, well, I don’t do onions. As long as I avoid those things, I don’t need a Tums for me. Yeah?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 20:19
So I mean, that’s great. Yeah, everyone has their different triggers as well. It’s not always so like cut and dry. So you know, some people may notice it when they’re drinking coffee, or some people may notice it when they’re when they’re eating spicy food and citrus fruits. So you know, some people love eating oranges, or like these berries, things like that, and that can sometimes cause their heartburn as well, you know? So those are some of the big things to avoid. But yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 20:48
this is why I eat cookies when I drink my coffee, so I don’t have this problem, right?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 20:52
But that’s even worse, actually, they tell me the truth, because actually when you eat, like a lot of fatty food, that slows down your stomach, moving forward, and actually a lot of the contents can back up into your esophagus, and then you’re going to get worse.
Nestor Aparicio 21:08
Don’t be the doctor takes my cookies and coffee away in the morning. I’m fine. I’m doing okay, moderation every but if I came to you and was complaining, and you’re like, dude, put the cookies and coffee down. That’s your problem. That’s where we you know, that’s where you get pushback as a doc, right? Because that’s the lifestyle we talked beginning. Hey, this is, this is causing problems. Don’t eat it, right? Generally, right?
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 21:32
And, yeah, and especially, actually, chocolate chip cookies, those specifically, don’t take them
Nestor Aparicio 21:37
away from me. Come
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 21:38
on, sorry. I’m sorry, Nestor, but
Nestor Aparicio 21:40
All right, I’ll go to oatmeal raisin or some butterscotch or something like that. All right, listen, I appreciate you. Get back to treating people over GBMC. You’ve been a wealth of information and a good sport as always. Gerd is a condition. It’s an acid reflux condition where stomach acid flows back up into the esophagus, creating irritation to discomfort. We’ve all been familiar with Tums. If it’s worse than that, our friends like Dr scary can help us over GBMC, Doc, always pleasure to have you on. I’ll get you. You will see me soon. You’ll see me, and you’ll say, all right, there’s the crazy guy from the radio that I promised that colon asked me to and then I get to come on here afterwards and discuss it like a day at Disney World. Is what I’m going to
Dr. Dhanush Hoskere 22:19
do. There we go. Well, but we’ll be waiting. We’ll be waiting for when you come over and ask,
Nestor Aparicio 22:24
well, I will have the next night, I will have peace of mind to know that I’m as healthy as I think I am. So I think I’m healthy. Doc. Appreciate you our friends at GBMC also sponsoring our injury report for all things ravens related. Luke’s out knowing smells all weekend, ready for the game. And of course, we’ve always got you covered around here. Maryland crab cake tour out on the road. All of it brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I’ll have Raven scratch offs to give away as well the aforementioned tastiness, which will not give you acid reflux. My peach cake is delicious. Don’t worry about that. It’s all out at the tastiness and at Baltimore positive. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. I’m sort of like Tom’s after a Ravens loss around you’re a little bit we are W, N, S T in Baltimore, positive. Stay with us. You.
