Hey Gang,

Here is my follow up to a thread that was running a week or so ago about the dangers of ppi's, long term consequences, etc., that gave me enough initiative to try and get off; afterall, the entire reason I had a VSG in the first place was to get and stay healthy, not cause more problems for myself.

So, I had my VSG on Jan 25 and took Nexium as prescribed, once a day, for three months. If I didn't take it, I paid dearly. Needless to say, I took it religiously in the morning and on the rare occasion I had to take a half tab in the evening. Ran out, bought Prilosec OTC which worked just fine. Enter the thread as mentioned above.

Last Tuesday was my first day since surgery (except for forgotten days or the couple of days at the very beginning when I thought I didn't need it - ha!) that I didn't take my PPI but did take a Zantac 150. No problem. Next day, no problem and so on. Thrilled so far! A couple of times I did take a half Zantac in the evening to kill any burning that was coming up. Worked like a charm. I think I'm on the road to being acid pill free! Not sure how long I'll have to take the Zantac but I'm taking that one day at a time now. I hope it's not as bad for us as the PPI's seem to be... Anyone know?

I know it's only been a week but the only real hiccup so far was last night; I decided to have a small Starbucks regular coffee... what a mistake; burning, "hunger", pain, churning, burping, noise, the overwhelming urge to get something in my gut - not carbs or anything, really wanted some cheese actually so got some. It helped. Lesson learned and I KNEW from past experience that coffee in the evening has been a no-no since surgery. Not sure why - I do just fine with it in the morning but just can't do it at night anymore. This was the case too with coffee with the PPI's.

So, there you have it. If you're thinking about getting off, maybe give Zantac a shot and see what happens.

Good Luck!

Carol

I am having more heartburn today.I took some gavescon, as Dr. Aceves recommended. I hope this only goes on another week. That is what he thought.

My stomach makes tons of noise all the time, it is not growling more of a gurgle. Maybe I should take Prilosec, and see if it will make me feel full. My worst problem is that I can eat too much, which means that sometimes I do. I don't think there is a cure for that!

Edited May 20, 201016 yr by FabBy50

How many of you took an acid reducer or PPI prior to the sleeve? I am curious because I take a prevacid once a day now (pre-sleeve) and I am wondering if I am going to need to take it twice a day after. Should I try and wean myself off prior to surgery?

How many of you took an acid reducer or PPI prior to the sleeve? I am curious because I take a prevacid once a day now (pre-sleeve) and I am wondering if I am going to need to take it twice a day after. Should I try and wean myself off prior to surgery?

I took neither beforehand. I would occasionally eat a Tums, but pretty rarely. Only when I ate those heartburn foods. :thumbup:

Hello again,

So, here it is day 13 of the PPI withdrawal saga. So far, so good. Had a couple of pretty rough days - around days 8 and 9 where I had two Zantacs - only two cuz I didn't want to take more than that - and 6 or 8 Gaviscon cherry chewables (thank God they are carb free!) I made it ok and things were just very uncomfortable as opposed to painful. food helped but not much and not for long. I CANNOT drink coffee at any other time than the morning or I pay dearly, at least for now, and I am grateful that my stomach allows me my half-caff in the morning! I think one of those two brutal days was attributed to Starbucks... The last few days I have taken one Zantac and only a couple of the Gaviscon tabs. So far, really and truly so good, I think I'm almost past the worst of it. I do believe that the PPI's aren't totally out of our systems for a couple of weeks or so, so I may not be totally out of the woods just yet. FWIW, cheese sticks, or any hunk of mild cheese, is the one food item that soothes my stomach like nothing else when it starts acting up.

So, next will go the Zantac; I plan to start cutting back the dosage but not for another couple of weeks. I want to get off all of it sooner than later.

Tiff, you can do it; compared to what you've been through, this really will be nothing. A couple of weeks of not-so-bad discomfort should be a breeze for you, tough lady!

By the way, I'll be four months out on Tuesday! Where did the time go?? I've been fluttering around 70 pounds lost for the last few days but not stressing really at all. My body thinks it's cute to go into baby stall mode at every 10 pounds! Hahahahaha, very funny body!!!! :thumbup: Happened at 50, 60 and now 70. Might have happened earlier but I hadn't really noticed till these last three "decades".

So, that's where I'm at. You guys all rock, I love reading your posts and wish I had more time to write!

C

Congrats on kicking the PPI and on the 70 lb weight loss in 4 months, Keys!!! That is SO exciting.

I have a $4.00 coupon for Prevacid that expires 6/26/2010. If someone wants it just respond on here so everyone knows it is gone and send me your address in a private message and I will put it in the mail the next day.

I have been off about 10 days now. I am excited that the heartburn is so much better. I haven't had to take any gavescon

or prilosec. Prilosec is what Dr. Aceves told me to take every other day. I don't think I am going to need to do that. I seem to be adjusting just fine.

Edited May 24, 201016 yr by Oregondaisy

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is a ppi? Thanks!

Well I am heading into my 5th day and it is getting somewhat rougher. Each day I notice the small burning/ sloshing at the top of my stomach that I am trying to ignore. It is worse in the late evening when I go to bed so will take Zantac at bedtime, mostly o.k. during the day. Nothing I can't handle now, will see as time goes on. I am drinking small glass of soy milk which helps. I don't want to start an issue with reflux that will hurt my esophagus so must do this right.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what is a ppi? Thanks!

PPI is a proton pump inhibitor. It prevents acid from being produced in the stomach, and is used to treat and prevent acid reflux. Nexium, Protonix, Prevacid, Prilosec are the most common it seems.

I'm not going to even taper off from 40 mg to 20 mg until 6 months or so. After a year, I may try removing it entirely, but if I have to take 20 mg omeprazole for life, that's a tiny, tiny price to pay to not have to worry about esophageal erosion, Barrett's esophagus, gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, and the overall misery of reflux.

Yes, I know there can be some problems with Calcium and long-term PPI use. My doctor advised me about that. That's why I take a calcium supplement. Yes, I know that there's a drastic reduction in intrinsic factor post-surgery, limiting B12 absorption -- that's why I take a sublingual B12 every day.

But to me, in my book, reflux and the associated dangers of acid overproduction are worse than simply having to take one tiny acid blocker every day. I may try switching to an as-needed antacid in a year or more if my reflux gets under control. But honestly? The risks are small, and I don't want to mess with success. The acid blocker doesn't make me "unhealthy" because I need to take it, any more than the Multivitamins I take do. It's just one of the changes that are necessary after the sleeve. On the grand scale of things, obesity and constant reflux are still FAR more dangerous than a slight chance of bone loss, and it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

I guess I should wrap this up. I would like to encourage people, before they go tampering with meds that their doctors have prescribed all willy-nilly, to talk to their doctors about the risks and benefits, and get their doctors' recommendation about what to do.

I don't think Prilosec is a PPI. I just looked at the box. It's an acid reducer, not an acid blocker like Protonix.

I don't know about anyone else but my doctor is aware of this issue and I am well aware of the pros and cons, not any willy nilly here.

Okay... I just worry about people taking medical advice off the internet. If the doctor's blessing it then -- I'll shut up :cursing: