Is Your Antidepressant And Reflux Disease Linked

HealthyGal | July 24, 2010

There could be a link between antidepressant and reflux disease. Therefore, in the event you take antidepressants and are affected by frequent acid reflux/GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), your antidepressant medication could possibly be contributing to the symptoms you might be experiencing.

Researchers have discovered that a link between antidepressant and acid reflux does in fact exist. Of course, there are various kinds of antidepressants and never all of them cause or exacerbate acid reflux symptoms. The type of antidepressant that has been most commonly linked with GERD is known as Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). TCAs are a certain kind of antidepressant designed to provide relief from symptoms related to depression such as sadness and irritability.

Tricyclic antidepressants work to restore and stability chemicals inside the brain to assist treat and prevent depression. However, although effective, these antidepressants also have quite a lot of potential side effects including an increased risk of acid reflux. This hyperlink exists because the neurotransmitters the TCAs work on within the brain are the identical as those found within the stomach.

Thus, both the mind and abdomen are equally affected, which suggests when the TCAs slow down and calm down the muscles within the brain, they also decelerate and relax the muscles in the stomach. Hence, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) becomes relaxed, allowing the contents within the stomach to be refluxed back into the esophagus. In addition, the slowing down of stomach muscles can even cause delayed abdomen emptying allowing acid to stay longer, increasing the possibility of reflux.

The commonest acid reflux symptom to observe for if you think your antidepressant medication could also be affecting you is heartburn. Heartburn is characterized by a painful, burning sensation throughout the upper chest.

Though there are other antidepressant medications, tricyclic antidepressants are generally prescribed to treat a variety of depression disorders. If you might be on any of the TCAs which were approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for depression and also you suffer from GERD, or are noticing an increase in your acid reflux disorder symptoms (I.E. frequent heartburn), it’s worthwhile to bring this to your doctor’s attention.

Tricyclic antidepressants include: Amitriptyline, Amoxapine, Desipramine, Doxepin, Imipramine, Nortriptyline, Protriptyline, and Trimipramine.

Your doctor might be able to suggest or approve another type of treatment to treat depression to reduce the likelihood of reflux disease, however this try at switching medications could also be unsuccessful. The reason is as a result of there are numerous antidepressant drugs and everyone responds in another way to medications. Thus, what works effectively for someone, is probably not beneficial to another. Therefore, if TCAs are the only meds that give you the results you want in phrases of bringing depression under control, your only choice is to strive other methods to forestall or control acid reflux.

To assist limit and stop acid reflux symptoms try the following:

- Increase your consumption of water
- Limit or cease consuming alcoholic drinks
- Stop smoking
- Eat frequent and smaller parts of food.
- Avoid foods that can trigger acid reflux disease or make it worse (i.e. spicy, fatty foods, chocolate, mint, caffeine, citrus fruits and juices)
- Refrain from mendacity down or exercising at the least one hour after consuming
- Sleep with your head elevated 4 inches to prevent reflux from occurring while sleeping.
- Manage your stress. Stress can exacerbate GERD symptoms, discover ways to reduce your stress by finding ways to loosen up and release your tension.

Finally, make sure you talk to your physician about your antidepressant and reflux illness concerns. He or she might be able to help you find a method of acid reflux treatment that works effectively for you.

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