Bile reflux disease can be a crippling and chronic medical condition where bile comes up from your small intestine to your stomach and esophagus. This disease may involve acid reflux.
Bile reflux disease can have serious consequences to one’s overall health including inflammation of the lining of your esophagus and inflammation of the stomach. Symptoms of bile reflux disease include pain in the upper abdominal region, frequent bouts of heartburn, nausea, vomiting bile, chronic cough or hoarseness, and weight loss.
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should schedule an appointment with your physician to get a proper diagnosis. Your doctor may recommend an endoscopy for verification of the disease. Medications can be prescribed to help treat the symptoms but they will not provide a cure. Surgery may be necessary. It will be important to adapt your diet and lifestyle in consideration of the disease but it is not enough to control the symptoms of the disease.
Living with bile reflux disease can be manageable if you incorporate few lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes include stopping smoking, eating smaller meals, sitting upright after eating, limiting fatty foods, avoiding problem foods and beverages, limiting or avoiding alcohol, losing excess weight, raising your bed for sleeping, and reducing stress. You will also need to have blood work done consistently to monitor the digestive levels in the pancreas.
The complications of bile reflux disease can lead to depression as sufferers’ battle through the symptoms. There are support groups that can help you deal with the disease and its life-changing symptoms.
