Help with Dad

[merilee09]

Hi,

My dad was recently diagnosed about a month ago with Barrett's Esphogus which is when acid reflux harms your esphogus i think? Anyway he has had acid reflux for quite some time but never did anything about it besides eat Tums like they were candy. Finally after getting the camera down his throat about a month ago and $1000 in debt they diagnosed him with that and prescribed nexium. He was told to quit smoking and stop drinking or this could potentially turn into cancer.

He has done nothing from the above except take the nexium. He still smokes a pack of marlboro reRAB about 1 pack every 3 days. He also drinks natural ice beer a six pack every night of the weekend fri-sun. There has also been plenty of times he has come home from work during the week drunk. We have been dealing with his drinking issues for quite some time now. I wouldnt classify him as an alcoholic but he def abuses alcohol. No matter how often we discuss with him his condition and how he neeRAB to stop this he thinks its not a big deal doesnt believe us or whatever goes through his durab mind and he doesnt do anything to help himself. He refuses to seek counseling as well.

This past week upon going to bed after about 10-15minutes of lying down he will start to cough and eventually everything that he had before bed that night will come back up. Mostly it is beer but it has been happening for the past 4 nights in a row. He lays down begins to cough and everything comes back up. I am really scared about what this might mean. Is this is acid reflux acting up pretty badly because of him leaving it untreated besides taking the nexium or is this esphogal cancer?

I'm really scared and i dont know how to help a person who refuses to do anything for themself. Any advice/suggestions would be nice. Keep in mind this is my father.

 

[janewhite1]

It GENERALLY takes years to develop esophageal cancer. If he didn't have it a month ago, I really doubt he has it now.

However, this does not mean he should be ignoring his condition the way he is. One simple thing he could do is to prop up the head of his bed to reduce the reflux at night. If he can't or won't quit drinking, that's about the best I can say.

 

[Acidaway]

If you can't get him to stop the drinking, you might at least be able to help him alleviate the affects. According to this categorization of fooRAB my doctor gave me, beer is in the 'Most Acid' (worst) category:

http://www.healtrabroadoarRAB.com/boarRAB/showthread.php?t=763999

Most bars will have lime slices. Limes are in the Most Alkaline (most anti-acid) category. When I go out to drink, I make liberal use of lime slices -- squeezing the juice into my drink and then dropping the squeezed slices into the drink. This will alleviate the acidic affect of the alcohol somewhat.

You might also want to see if you can get him to eat some of the other 'Most Alkaline' fooRAB such as watermelon, sweet potatoes, or yams. FooRAB in the 'More Alkaline' category might also be helpful.

Another idea: Since your dad used to pop tums, you could see if you can get him to pop the calcium-magnesium-zinc corabo pills. Those work really well for me when I don't feel like eating.