Acid Reflux Treatment in Greenville, SC
Acid Reflux Treatment at IHP Greenville — TCM, in-house herbal pharmacy, functional medicine. Dr. Hendry, DAOM. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I was referred to Dr. Will Hendry after spending thousands of dollars for medical doctors and procedures regarding a digestive issue. I will never forget the amount of time he spent with me on my first visit — something that had never happened with conventional medicine."
— Stuart M. · April 2015 · Google Review
Most GERD patients don't have too much stomach acid. Many have too little — hypochlorhydria that allows bacterial overgrowth and fermentation to generate the intraabdominal pressure that pushes acidic contents upward. PPIs make that problem worse over time. I test for H. pylori, assess gastric emptying patterns, run food sensitivity panels for LES-relaxing triggers, and check magnesium levels — because long-term PPI use depletes the magnesium that smooth muscle needs to maintain LES tone. Acupuncture at ST-36 and CV-12 improves vagal tone and gastric motility through autonomic pathways that PPIs don't touch.
How Acid Reflux Treatment Works
Acid reflux treatment at IHP combines acupuncture (which reduces esophageal and gastric hypersensitivity, improves LES tone, and promotes gastric emptying), Chinese herbal medicine (particularly Zuo Jin Wan for Liver-invading-Stomach pattern; Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang for Stomach Disharmony), and functional medicine assessment including H. pylori testing, gastric acid level assessment, food sensitivity panel, and SIBO testing.
Conditions Treated with Acid Reflux Treatment
LES Dysfunction and Motility Restoration vs. Long-Term PPI Therapy
Proton pump inhibitors are among the most prescribed medications globally, and for acute esophagitis they represent evidence-based first-line care. The clinical problem emerges when short-term therapy becomes indefinite maintenance: a 58-year-old male reports that his omeprazole controls symptoms only while he takes it, and every attempt to discontinue results in rebound hypersecretion that is worse than his original complaint. This acid rebound phenomenon is well-documented, driven by gastrin-mediated parietal cell hyperplasia during suppression. Meanwhile, five years of PPI use has produced serum magnesium in the low-normal range and B12 below 300 pg/mL, both of which impair the smooth muscle contractility governing LES tone. Our workup adds H. pylori breath testing, a 96-food IgG panel to identify LES-relaxing food triggers, and micronutrient testing. A structured taper plan, combined with magnesium glycinate repletion, deglycyrrhizinated licorice for mucosal repair, and acupuncture to support gastric emptying, allows most patients to achieve durable reflux control without indefinite pharmacological acid suppression.
Research & Evidence
Gastroesophageal reflux is commonly framed as a problem of excess acid, yet the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure deficit, delayed gastric emptying, and intragastric microbial composition are mechanistically more central to GERD pathophysiology than acid volume alone. Fasano (Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2012) identified that H. pylori colonization and increased gastric permeability create conditions that alter gastrin secretion and LES tone independent of acid quantity. Long-term proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy suppresses acid effectively but simultaneously reduces gastric bactericidal capacity, altering the upper GI microbiome and impairing absorption of magnesium, B12, and iron, all of which are required for smooth muscle function including the LES. Benninger (Allergy Asthma Proc. 2004) noted that chronic upper airway and esophageal inflammation share common immune triggers, particularly Th2-skewed responses to food antigens. Our protocol identifies H. pylori status, assesses delayed gastric emptying through symptom timing and organic acid markers, evaluates food-sensitivity-driven LES relaxation, and applies acupuncture at ST-36 and CV-12 to enhance vagal tone and gastric motility regulation.
Your First Appointment
Bring a list of all reflux medications (PPIs, H2 blockers, antacids). Describe the pattern of your reflux: when it occurs, triggers (foods, positions, stress), presence of bloating, belching, or regurgitation, and any prior GI endoscopy findings.
Why Dr. Hendry for Acid Reflux Treatment
Dr. Hendry's understanding of GERD as a functional disorder with multiple treatable root causes — rather than a gastric acid excess problem — distinguishes his approach from conventional PPI management.