Does Taking A Heartburn Prescription Prevent Me From Military Service

This mail service will outline the basics of GERD and how service-connection VA inability benefits may be possible under the VA schedule of ratings, despite the lack of an exact disability rating schedule for this condition from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Among gastrointestinal disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a very common condition that can atomic number 82 to other secondary weather, like heartburn or dysphagia. In fact, according to the National Plant of Diabetes and Kidney Digestive Illness, approximately 60 million people feel heartburn at least once a month, and twenty-5 million experience the symptoms daily.

If yous experienced GERD post-obit war machine service, you may be able to seek VA benefits for your condition and get a VA disability rating for GERD. Typically speaking, a higher rating is reserved for more astringent symptoms and side effects from the master condition as they endeavour to recoup the veteran.

What Is Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease?

Gastroesophageal reflux affliction, or GERD, is a condition in which gastric acid and partially digested food menses up from the breadbasket into the esophagus. This results in the painful sensations that are associated with heartburn. Continuous irritation of the esophageal lining poses a risk for developing more severe complications such as esophageal cancer.

Common Symptoms of GERD:

Heartburn
Nausea and regurgitation
Pain in breast or abdominal pain
Anemia
Difficulty swallowing or painful swallowing
Respiratory problems
Vomiting
Ulcers

How Does GERD Occur?

The esophagus, commonly called the food pipe, is a narrow muscular tube that is near ix.v inches long. Information technology connects the back of the mouth with the stomach. When you lot swallow food, muscles in the esophagus move the food toward the tum. At the base of the esophagus is a band of muscle, called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which opens and closes to allow food and liquids to pass into the stomach. Except for belching, this is the but time that the LES is supposed to open up. Once food and liquids take passed safely into the stomach, the stomach acids and enzymes in the stomach begin to break downward the starch, protein and fat in the food. While the stomach has a lining tough enough to withstand the acid, the esophagus does not.

What happens in cases of GERD is the lower esophageal sphincter opens when it is not supposed to—namely afterward the enzymes and acids accept started working on the contents of the stomach. When this occurs, gastric acid and partially digested food flow back up into the esophagus. The lining in the esophagus, equally mentioned before, is not thick enough to withstand erosive acrid, and this causes the burning sensation in the chest and throat. This sensation is more commonly called heartburn, pyrosis, or acid reflux.

What Causes GERD?

Information technology is a well-established fact that sure medications, lifestyle choices, and non-related physical disorders can contribute to GERD. Non only do some medications weaken the LES, but some medications and exterior factors tin can aggravate the already-irritated esophageal lining.

Medicationsfor GERD

In that location are some medications that are known toweaken or relax the LES. Many of these deed as musculus relaxants, and can cause the wrong muscles to relax, such equally the LES. These medications include:

Calcium aqueduct blockers
Anticholinergics (used to care for urinary tract disorders, allergies, and glaucoma)
Beta adrenergic agonists (used to treat asthma and obstructive lung diseases)
Dopamine agonists (used to care for Parkinson's)
Antidepressants
Sedatives
Narcotics

There are also medications thatirritate the esophageal lining, such as:

NSAIDs, such every bit ibuprofen and naproxen (Aleve)
Potassium
Iron pills
Bisphosphonates (used to treat osteoporosis)
Antibiotics

Hazard Factors for GERD

In that location are many risk factors for heartburn and GERD. Many of them necessitate the regular consumption of medications listed above.

Eating pattern: People who consume heavy meals and then lie on their back or go to bed are at take chances for heartburn and acid reflux.
Pregnancy: Symptoms of GERD are often unavoidable during the tertiary trimester, then the growing uterus puts pressure level on the tum and forces acids and partially digested food back upwards through the LES.
Obesity
Respiratory Disorders: People with asthma and COPD take a high risk of GERD. This is due non only to the medications which they must take to control their symptoms, just too due to the chronic irritation that these disorders inflict on the esophagus..
Smoking: Studies have shown that smoking reduces LES muscle function, increases acid secretion, impairs muscle reflexes in the throat, and amercement protective mucus membranes. Smoking also reduces salivation, which helps neutralize acid.
Alcohol Use: There are mixed opinions on this item risk factor. Alcohol is known to relax the LES muscles and, in loftier amounts, may irritate the lining of the esophagus. Other studies, however, accept shown some types of alcohol, such as wine, to really protect the lining of the esophagus.

Certain health weather condition similar a hiatal hernia can also cause GERD. It's of import to always consult a doctor if you are experienced recurrent epigastric distress, discomfort in the digestive system, IBS, or other symptom combinations. Doing then is an important role in seeking VA disability GERD benefits.

VA Ratings for GERD

GERD is one of those interesting and rather inexplicable exceptions to the VA rules. For example, theVA's regulations on presumptive Western farsi Gulf War conditions (weather condition which are automatically considered service-continued if you see the qualifying criteria) include gastrointestinal disorders.

Yet, at that place is a caveat to this and VA Ratings for GERD.

These regulations simply use to functional gastrointestinal disorders , which involve aberrant functions of an organ in the gastrointestinal tract, without a structural alteration in the tissues (such as irritable bowel syndrome). GERD is not considered a functional gastrointestinal disorder; rather, it is considered a structural gastrointestinal disorder. On height of it all, in that location is non even a rating schedule for GERD in the VA rulebook. And then, the typical pct evaluation VA rating system and diagnostic code may not employ in your disability compensation case. You lot would also have to sentinel out for potential "pyramiding."

VA Diagnostic Codes for GERD

The VA uses the rating criteria and diagnostic codes from 7301 to 7329, 7331, 7342, 7345 to 7348 for the human digestive organisation. GERD specifically is typically rated under Diagnostic Code 7346, which is the rating used for hiatal hernia. While the VA ratings for GERD may non mimic that of other weather condition, that doesn't mean you can't obtain veterans benefits for your medical condition. One can argue that this does not make any sense. Just while this particular regulation does make it harder to obtain service-connectedness for GERD, in that location are ways to go around this. Since in that location is not a specific GERD VA Disability rating system, individuals may cull to obtain veterans inability bounty by proving directly or secondary service connexion in their VA disability claim.

Direct Service Connectionfor GERD

In society to show a direct service connection for GERD, you lot will need to gather medical prove and bear witness astringent harm of health in your medical records. If you were diagnosed with GERD while on Active Duty, and if a medical expert provides a favorable opinion that your GERD status began during and has continued since service, you tin can obtain service connection on a direct basis.

Secondary Service Connexionfor GERD

Service connectedness tin can be granted to a secondary disability on the basis if a medical skillful tin can provide a favorable stance that i condition was developed secondarily to a condition that has already been service-continued. In this item case, we mentioned respiratory conditions as being a risk factor for GERD. Say, for example, the VA has service-connected you for COPD. Over time, you developed GERD due to chronic irritation of the esophagus and due to the effects of the medications that help command your COPD. You can file a VA claim for GERD secondary to COPD. Even so, you will need a doctor or health care practitioner's opinion that your COPD status caused or aggravated GERD.