Description

Hiatus hernia is a very common problem - surveys suggest that as many as one person in five who visits their doctor has a hiatus hernia. Many people who take indigestion remedies on a regular basis don't realize that hiatus hernia could be their problem. It's a troublesome condition, and it can destroy your enjoyment of everyday life by interfering with eating and sleeping.

If you have a hiatus hernia this book offers all the information you need to help you help yourself. There's a lot that you can do to reduce the symptoms and give your body the best possible chance to heal. If you need medication or surgery you need to be able to talk to your doctor and understand the options, and make the choice that's right for you, so Dr Smith explains all the tests and treatments to help you take charge of the problem and get the best help available.

Contents

• A few fellow-sufferers
• The normal oesophagus, diaphragm and stomach
• Hiatus hernia and related problems
• The doctor's diagnosis
• When there is something else
• Tests for hiatus hernia and reflux
• Managing your own hiatus hernia
• Medical treatment of hiatus hernia
• Surgery for hiatus hernia

About The Author

Dr Tom Smith has been writing full time since 1977, after spending six years in general practice and seven years in medical research. He writes regularly for medical journals and magazines and has often featured on BBC Radio Scotland.

Since September 2006 he has written the 'Doctor, Doctor' column in the Guardian Saturday magazine. He also has columns in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, the Lancaster Telegraph and the Galloway and Carrick Gazettes. His other books for  Sheldon Press include Heart Attacks: Prevent and Survive, Living with Alzheimer's Disease, Coping  Successfully with Prostate Cancer, Overcoming Back Pain, Coping with Bowel Cancer and Coping with Heartburn and Reflux. He has recently broken into medical humour with Doctor, Have You Got a minuet?, and his early years in practice were published in April 2007 under the title Doctor by the Shore (Short Books).

He still practices as a locum for his friends in general practice in south-west Scotland.