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Laryngopharyngeal reflux treatment
can really be broken down into three areas:
one is behavioral management,
two is medical management,
and three would be surgery.
Behavioral management is things
such as losing weight, watching what you eat,
staying away from refluxy foods
such as chocolates, carbonated sodas,
caffeinated beverages.
Medical management entails shutting down the acid reflux.
To do that, we have to treat with proton-pump inhibitors,
which are the most effective mode
of inhibiting acid production,
and so we do that twice a day,
and then very often we'll even add
an H2 blocker before bedtime
if people have symptoms while they're in bed
or very early in the morning.
And for those who have symptoms right after meals,
we'll even sometimes add a Gaviscon,
which helps decrease acid reflux
immediately after a meal.
These medicines should have effect,
within six to eight weeks,
you should see a significant improvement.
In severe cases of laryngopharyngeal reflux
that are not responsive to behavioral management
or medical therapy, patients may be a candidate
for surgery to actually put a barrier
between the stomach and the esophagus
by tightening up the top of the stomach.
This is called a "Nissen fundoplication."