Teddy Hansen took her medication like clockwork. If she didn’t, she suffered. “There would be burning all the way up my throat,” she says of the recourse from skipping either her morning or evening heartburn medication. “Sometimes I wouldn’t be able to eat or get out of bed. I had been to a lot of doctors and was on the best prescription medications. All the tests I took showed that I was still having reflux. I lost weight, but that didn’t help. I was still on multiple pills a day.”
Having dealt with painful and persistent heartburn for more than 10 years, Teddy tried to stay up-to-date on the latest treatments available – always looking for relief. When she noticed a newspaper ad for an upcoming seminar presented by the Tulsa Heartburn & Reflux Center at Hillcrest South on a new procedure to treat GERD (gastroesphogeal reflux disease), she knew she needed to attend. “I went to the seminar and scheduled an appointment to see Dr. Gregory Pittman,” Teddy adds. “He explained everything and said I might be a candidate for LINX.”
LINX Reflux Management System
The procedure Teddy was hopeful would relieve her symptoms, LINX, is a laparoscopic surgery in which a small flexible band of magnets is placed around a weak lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that does not close correctly. These magnets close the LES to help prevent acid reflux. Patients are still able to swallow, allowing food and drink to move through the passage way with the valve immediately closing due to the magnets. Most patients are able to eat after surgery and return home that day.
After testing revealed Teddy, then 78, was a good candidate for LINX, Dr. Pittman scheduled her for the outpatient procedure January 5, 2015. “Immediately I felt really good,” Teddy recalls. “It’s been a life-changer for me.”
Today, Teddy avoids triggers for reflux – coffee, wine and chocolate. She eats five to six smaller meals throughout the day instead of a few larger meals. The biggest change she’s experienced since having the LINX procedure is feeling free from a schedule of pills. “I don’t have to worry, ‘should I eat this or did I take my medication?’ It was certainly worth it!”
For more information about the LINX Reflux Management System, please click here or call 918-294-4373.