# Frequency of Endoscopies for people with GERD?



## MyOwnSavior (Dec 21, 2006)

I've always heard that after age 50 people are supposed to get a colonoscopy every 5 years (in some cases more often based on family history, etc.). However, I've never heard how often (if ever) an endoscopy is supposed to be done - nor, if such standards have been set at all - at what age this is supposed to start.Now, I'm wondering this more in relation to what individuals such as myself (with GERD) are supposed to do in this regard. I have not seen a GI doctor in over a year, and he and I never really got onto this subject in any event (I basically only went to him to get a second opinion regarding symptoms I was having). In fact, through all the things I read, I really get the impression that (unlike colonscopies) there is not a set amount of time that individuals should be getting an endoscopy done. Yet this doesn't make any sense to me. GERD can turn into Barrett's - and from there into cancer - just like polyps in the colon can. So, by that logic, wouldn't it make sense that individuals with GERD would have to have an endoscopy done every so often, just to make sure they're still doing ok? Or is this an issue that doctors simply haven't explored and thus don't even talk about with their patients (whether they currently have GERD or not)? Thanks to anyone who can clue me in on this topic...


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I'm not sure if there is some specific schedule as I think some of it depends on how bad your symptoms are, if you can control them adequately with lifestyle or medication, and how long you have had symptoms.It took awhile before I got an endoscopy because I was mostly an on again off again type so it took awhile before I'd had been on medication for enough time to really be worth taking a look see.I'll see if there are some guidelineshttp://www.asge.org/PatientInfoIndex.aspx?id=402Basically at 50 it sounds like if you've had GERD and not been screened for Barrett's you should be screened.If it is negative they usually don't have to repeat that on a regular basis.If you have Barrett's then get checked every three years.Barrett's is fairly uncommon complication of GERD from what that article says so they don't seem to feel they need to screen everyone with GERD on a regular basis to see if you have it. Just make sure you get the high risk ones by the age you expect it to show up (50 year old males with GERD for a long time, especially if they got GERD at a young age) and keep checking the ones that have it to make sure they aren't one of the unlucky ones that get cancer.Colon polyps are something that is pretty common in all people, so that is probably why you hear the screening stuff in the media on a regular basis. Barrett's is not that common even in the subset of people with GERD, so they aren't going to be making regular everyone get screened announcements.Now there are some other complications from GERD. I have a http://www.medicinenet.com/schatzki_ring/article.htm.I don't need to have that screened for again, but if it starts causing swallowing problems (mostly with things like steak) then they can go in and stretch it out with a balloon. So there can be other reasons and other symptoms that may need an endoscopy that are not cancer.


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## MyOwnSavior (Dec 21, 2006)

Kathleen,Thank you very much for your reply. I wish I had your ability to effectively perform searches for various medically related concerns/subjects. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed as having severe GERD at age 20 - though evidently I had had it long enough before that as to cause severe damage to my esophagus by that point. My GI doctor told me that had I not be put on a PPI as early as I was, then I would have inevitably developed Barrett's. However, after about a year and a half of being on Nexium I got a second opinion from another GI doctor, because at the time I was having some problems with blood appearing in my saliva - mainly after I would eat something, so I naturally assumed that it was irritation of the esophagus. That GI doctor, however, said that everything was fine, and that my esophagus looked great thanks to the Nexium. Since I do not actually have Barrett's, however, I will make a point to get to my GI doctor from time to time, but to not worry too much about any of these complications until much later in life. Also, thanks for the info on a Schatzki Ring -- I was not even aware such a condition existed. All I heard was "cancer, cancer, cancer" when reading about problems with the esophagus, so it's nice to know there are other explanations out there.


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