I am very ill. I've just been diagnosed with GERD - a gastroesophageal reflux disease.

What is GERD?

GERD, simply put, is a disease of the lower esophageal spinchter (LES). The LES is a flap that prevents food and hydrochloric acid from crawling up your windpipe whenever you lie down or perform a handstand.

Normally, the LES does its job well enough - it expands to let food into the stomach, then constricts. When it doesn't though, that's when the pain begins.

How does GRD feel?

You know you have GERD if you experience chronic heartburn.

GERD effects feel like an ulcer - too much acid in your stomach. Unlike an ulcer where bacteria produce acids and dump them into your stomach, the hyperacidic effects of GERD spring from reflex. Missing a meal then having a big snack to make up for it sends the stomach into overdrive, doubling its acid production. Also, this compensating binge tends to cause the esophagus to expand beyond the area of the LES.

This is where the pain comes in. Even while eating, your stomach will ache; after eating, the acid travels up. Normally, the LES will keep these gases down, but since the esophagus is now bigger than your LES, some of these will make it into your esophagus.

What do you do about GERD?

GERD is treated using proton pump inhibitors. These aren't Star Trek type weapons - these are drugs which reduce the acid content in the stomach juice, so if it ever does crawl up into the esophagus, it is less irritating.

You could also change your lifestyle and diet. Avoid smoking, sodas, acidic fruit drinks, chocolate, and spirits. Don't eat large meals before bedtime.

Lastly, don't ignore GERD! If left unchecked, the esophagus may start to bleed and narrow, resulting in difficulty in swallowing. Worse, it may give rise to Barett's esophagus, where the cells in the esophagus are replaced by those sinilar to the ones lining the stomach. This defensive mutation increases the chance of developing esophageal cancer.