Along with typical symptoms such as acid reflux, the less typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) — such as coughing, , wheezing, choking, snoring, sore throat, and chest pain — can cause people significant sleep problems, according to a new U.S. survey.
The poll of 701 GERD patients found that sleep impairment was much more common among those with GERD (41.9 percent) than among people without GERD (19.4 percent) and that about half of people with nighttime GERD reported sleeping poorly often or most of the time, compared to 36.7 percent of those with daytime GERD.
Among GERD patients, 74 percent reported at least one nighttime atypical symptom. For almost every atypical symptom in the study, more than 20 percent of GERD patients reported that the symptom occurred frequently — more than two nights a week.
The survey also found that GERD patients with atypical symptoms were more likely to suffer sleep problems than GERD patients with typical symptoms such as heartburn and acid regurgitation.
The percentage of GERD patients who reported sleeping problems was much higher for those reporting eight out of nine of the atypical symptoms included in the survey than for these without atypical symptoms.
The above information was copied from HealthDay News on Sunday, October 21, 2007
Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Supplements:
Acupuncture: Reduce stress, help sleep, improve digestion, increase circulation and stimulate metabolism so as to relieve reflux and discomfort.
Chinese Meridians Massage: Works on the meridians of small and large intestines, stomach, liver, gallbladder and adrenal gland to help digestion, bowel movements and well being.
Herbs: Focus on general health, rebalance digestive and metabolism systems, improve sleep and reduce reflux.
Supplements: Studies dating back over 100 years show that supplementing with hydrochloric acid quickly and safely restores your digestive health and support healthy gut function. Without optimum level of stomach acid and enough enzymes, food can’t be digested very well so as to trigger reflux and heartburn. Fresh lemon juice and papaya enzymes may solve this problem. Taking the friendly bacteria (probiotics) such as acidophilus also can avoid the usual problems of the digestive tract as well.
For more information please call Dr. Liyan Lu of Ping’s Acupuncture and Herbs Center at 661-513-9265.