It’s a TKI, yes, most frequently used in cancers, yes. However, lots of cancer medications are used in all kinds of immune/inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. Nob

It’s a TKI, yes, most frequently used in cancers, yes. However, lots of cancer medications are used in all kinds of immune/inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. Nobody in their right mind will write gleevec just for reflux, but steroids and xolair would be inappropriate for that too. On gleevec your kidney function would need to be monitored weekly at first, etc. Even if it’s appears safe for you and helps you - it’s just not worth the headache and risk just for reflux alone. Usually it would be used in a context of some form of systemic mast cell disease, mcas or mastocytosis etc, with multiple systemic issues and insufficient response to anti-mediator therapy, which are basically h1 or h2 blockers plus aspirin, plus/minus singlulair and possibly Xolair. in addition to allergic/inflammatory-like issues such patients have all kinde of other problems, bone density loss, neuropathies, etc etc. Some drs prefer low dose gleevec before giving chronic systemic steroids, but that seems to be a rather small minority (I only know of 2 in the US). The justification would be that instead of taking massive doses of mutilple drugs daily for life, instead you take a low dose of single agent that fixes all the problems. Seems to work for some people, and maybe in some carefully selected patients drugs like gleevec would eventually become first line agents. There are a couple of genetics groups that are working on elucidating exact pathways that seem to be disregulated, and once there is some clarity there, potentially cleaner, better targeted TKIs can be developed. If something gives significant reflux - I’d personally avoid the trigger, or if that’s not possible, then maybe 20-40-80mg famotidine. Allergy is funny like that. Millions walk around with undiagnosed milk allergy, and have a constantly congested or slightly runny nose, commonly attributed to anything but allergy. In reality it has often nothing to do with pollen or colds at all, and magically goes away as soon as anything milk/cheese/butter-related is eliminated. I just feel reflux seems to be under appreciated by most allergists, who tend to rely too much on skin prick tests, and discount symptoms “oh everyone has reflux etc”, and don’t investigate history well enough either. Basically a cookie cutter approach. It maybe indeed moot from the treatment perspective, of course, because either dx will result in “just take famotidine”, but chronic allergic inflammation significantly elevates risks of osteoporosis, arthritis, etc, which I would think an informed patient would like to be aware of. H1/H2 blockers are mostly symptomatic treatment, and probably don’t lower risks of long term complications by much. Allergy sadly remains a voodoo science.