# Is Barrett's Esophagitis the same as GERD?



## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

I'm confused between the two. I was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagitis a little over a year ago through Endoscopy with biopsy for Celiac Sprue. Came back negative for Celiac (thank goodness) buy Barrett's esophagitis was confirmed. It seems the treatment is the same Prevacid, or Prilosec or Nexium) and alot of the symptoms are the same; so.......are they really the same or not?If not, what's the difference?Thanks!Karen


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## lissylou73 (Feb 5, 2001)

Karen,If I am correct, I think GERD can lead to Barrett's Esophagitis. For example, if the GERD is left untreated, or has gone for a long time without a diagnosis.I think I read about this on www.iffgd.org.


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## GurgleGut (Dec 2, 2001)

Hi Feisty, What I have been told is that if you have GERD it can cause Barrett's Esophagus. Barrett's is a condition where the lining of the esophagus is scarred because of stomach acid in the esophagus. The stomach acid comes up from the reflux and that is why you are being treated with Prevacid. The Prevacid keeps your stomach acid neutralized or you don't make it (I can't remember which) so that if it does reflux up, it won't burn your esophagus and cause further damage. Barrett's is very serious because it can lead to esophageal cancer and that is why it is so dangerous to leave your GERD untreated too. I guess that the answer is yes, you have GERD too, as well as the Barrett's. I hope that you feel better!


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## Persistance (Jul 11, 1999)

Karen, ony 4% of people with Barretts go on to develop cancer. Also, there are new treatments using radiofrequencies to burn the Barretts part off (I believe they're called esophageal ablation). You just need to watch it and have endoscopies every two years. There's some explanation of Barretts on the www.heartburn-help.org site.


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Gosh, thanks everyone! I would have responded earlier, but I "forgot" to check the box notifying me of any replies to my post; so......So, in other words, I probably had GERD for all those years when my "stomach" would feel like something was eating away at it or I would have "sour burps", etc. and so Barrett's is a result of the GERD being untreated (or rather ignored--by my Docs, of course)all this time. Geez!! I just don't understand why it's ignored by the M.D.'s so often---do they think us females are hypochondriacs or something?!I've also dealt with Colitis, IBS, Fibromyalgia, and daily Migraines for the last 20 years. Yup, you read right---20 years!! Just can't seem to get any relief; except the IBS is now more to the C side than before---due to having had major surgery (sigmoid resection) 2 years ago along with major pelvic floor rebuilding (I call it "remodeling"). It's bought me approximately 5 to 8 good years---then I will need a Colostomy. Life----so exciting!!Thanks for answering my question. Karen


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## 16331 (Dec 14, 2005)

Thank you for explaining this to me. I also just got diagnosed thru a endoscopic biopsy that I have Barretts Esophagitis. No one ever told me I had Gerd, and I've been dealing with different GI docs for over 4 yrs, and had numerous tests.


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## 16181 (Aug 25, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by cvoor:Thank you for explaining this to me. I also just got diagnosed thru a endoscopic biopsy that I have Barretts Esophagitis. No one ever told me I had Gerd, and I've been dealing with different GI docs for over 4 yrs, and had numerous tests.


This disease bothers me. I have had GERD forever and a day now. Most of the time, it was under control but when it flared up, I was in for trouble that night / day.I have the camera down the throat in 3 weeks and all I can say is that my nerves are literally shot. I posted 2 posts in 2 other forums but no one has replied thus far.


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## 16331 (Dec 14, 2005)

The endoscopic procedure is a breeze, nothing to worry about. They will give you a sedative in your IV, and you won' t even remember it. Afterwards, your throat will be a little sore, and sometimes they take a biopsy of suspicious tissue. I was also worried about being scoped, but now that I've had it done, and the doc told me every yr I have to be scoped due to Barretts, it doesn't bother me as much.


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## 16181 (Aug 25, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by cvoor:The endoscopic procedure is a breeze, nothing to worry about. They will give you a sedative in your IV, and you won' t even remember it. Afterwards, your throat will be a little sore, and sometimes they take a biopsy of suspicious tissue. I was also worried about being scoped, but now that I've had it done, and the doc told me every yr I have to be scoped due to Barretts, it doesn't bother me as much.


Would a barium swallow detect this disease as well? The doc found a 'small pooling of barium' between the waves.


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## overitnow (Nov 25, 2001)

I am also curious about the hiatle hernia. Is that a stage that we go through if we leave this untreated or is it a seperate condition that results in reflux?Having had a slowly deteriorating digestive system from my 20s until my 50s, I am fortunate, indeed, to have stopped it when I did, seeing what might have been waiting for me.My best to you guys.Mark


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Separate issue, but causes some of the same symptoms in some people.Some peopl have the hernia but no symptoms, some get a lot of heartburn from it and need surgery to repair the hernia to treat that.But I believe you can have GERD without the hernia and GERD doen't cause you to get one.K.


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## 16331 (Dec 14, 2005)

The barium swallow should detect it, I also had this done, and they never detected it or mentioned it. The endoscopic procedure found it, but by that time, it had progressed to Barretts.


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## 20689 (Oct 13, 2006)

i too have been diagnosed with barretts. it was found after i suffered an esophogial bleed that put me in icu for a week and required a transfusion as well as laser surgery to stop the bleeding. i was told that the barretts is pre-cancerous and that is caused by burning of the esophogus due to severe acid reflux. several years later and many purple pills i discovered a man who has recently been awarded the nobel prize(2005). he is a co-discoverer of h. pylori, a bug that is easily treated. i took that treatment for 3 weeks and havent had acid reflux since. 2 years now! here is a link that you might find helpful.http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/extract/331/7520/795the test for h.pylori is not very accurate, so symptoms can be a good indicator. your doctor should be able to tell you more.


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## 15343 (Sep 25, 2006)

I feel so lost right now having just discovered that I have GERD. Can anyone tell em the implications? I want to learn other things aprat from what the doctors tell me..


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