Conditions treated
Acid Reflux and GERD Treatment by Telehealth in Florida
Typical heartburn and reflux can usually be evaluated and treated by telehealth, because diagnosis rests on your symptom pattern rather than a physical exam. What a video visit must also do is check for the warning signs that mean you need a gastroenterologist and a scope rather than another prescription.
What reflux usually looks like
A burning feeling behind the breastbone, often after meals or when lying down, sometimes with a sour taste, a cough that will not settle, hoarseness, or the sense of a lump in the throat. Symptoms that follow that pattern and respond to treatment rarely need testing to confirm.
The warning signs that change the plan
These are the reason a reflux visit is a real evaluation and not just a prescription, and any of them means referral rather than a longer course of medication.
- Trouble swallowing, or food feeling like it sticks
- Painful swallowing
- Weight loss you did not intend
- Vomiting blood, or stools that are black and tarry
- Anemia found on bloodwork
- Persistent vomiting
- New symptoms starting after age 60, or a family history of esophageal or stomach cancer
Treatment, in the order it is usually tried
Changes that genuinely help some people: eating smaller meals, leaving three hours between the last meal and lying down, raising the head of the bed, and identifying the specific triggers that affect you rather than eliminating everything at once.
Medications range from antacids for occasional symptoms, to H2 blockers, to proton pump inhibitors for more persistent reflux. A proton pump inhibitor is often trialed for about eight weeks and then reassessed, because the goal is the lowest effective treatment rather than an indefinite prescription nobody revisits.
Chest pain deserves a direct word
Reflux and cardiac chest pain can feel similar, and assuming it is heartburn is a mistake people make. New, severe, or exertional chest pain, particularly with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, or pain spreading to the arm or jaw, is treated as cardiac until proven otherwise.
Chest pain is an emergency until proven otherwise
Call 911 for chest pain or pressure with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, or pain radiating to the arm, neck, or jaw. Do not assume it is heartburn and do not wait for a video visit.
Questions about acid reflux and gerd
Can reflux medication be prescribed over video?
Yes. Acid-reducing medications are commonly prescribed by telehealth once the warning signs above have been ruled out.
Do I need an endoscopy?
Most people with straightforward reflux that responds to treatment do not. It is recommended when there are warning signs, when symptoms do not improve with adequate treatment, or when there is a reason to look for complications.
Is it safe to stay on a proton pump inhibitor long term?
For some conditions long-term use is appropriate and well justified. For ordinary reflux the aim is the lowest dose that controls symptoms, reviewed periodically rather than refilled forever without discussion.
Could this be a hiatal hernia?
Possibly, and it is common. It does not usually change the initial treatment, and it is typically found on imaging or endoscopy done for another reason.
What should I track before my appointment?
When symptoms occur relative to meals and lying down, what you have already tried and whether it helped, and whether any of the warning signs above apply to you.
This page is general health information, not medical advice, and reading it does not create a provider-patient relationship. Decisions about your care should be made with a clinician who knows your history.
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Get acid reflux and gerd looked at
Request a video visit from anywhere in Florida. Same provider each time, in English or Spanish.