Concerns

Risk is small for those diagnosed, taking medication and having regular surveillance.

See this page.

Diet won't affect your Barrett's but some foods may irritate any oesophagitis you may still have. See this chapter on heartburn from the Down With Acid encyclopaedia.

You can reduce reflux by following the lifestyle modifications described in this chapter.

You should have been prescribed a PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor). Although they have had a bad press, they are among the safest of drugs and help protect against cancer. See the evidence here.

Many general practitioner doctors in primary care, may have insufficient knowledge and consultant specialist gastroenterologists may have insufficient time. When newly diagnosed, you may not think immediately of the questions you would like answered.

The Down With Acid encyclopaedia and this website hope to fill that gap.

Barrett's can be eradicated with ablation therapy. However, since no treatment is without risk, the risk of Barrett's mutating is very low and the risk of new Barrett's forming is significant, the treatment is usually only offered to those whose Barrett's shows signs of early mutation (dysplasia). See this chapter of the Down With Acid encyclopaedia.

Depending on the size of the Barrett's lesion, your familial history, age, sex, body build etc, scoping intervals are usually between 2 and 5 yearly. Since the majority of scopes will show nothing new, it may be regarded as a time wasting exercise - except, of course, for the reassurance the scopes can provide. New diagnostic techniques are being developed.