Hi there,

I went in for a second opinion this past week and the doctor said if I experienced reflux with the band then I will experience reflux with the sleeve. She said that most patients with the sleeve have reflux and will be on medication possibly for the rest of their lives. I'm starting to lean towards the bypass with that information.

So my question is, do you have reflux? And if so, is it as bad as when you had the band? Can you sleep at night or it is minor?

Any help would be great, thanks!

For me----My reflux is worse (10X) than with my band-- my band ended my reflux. I take axid 150mg twice a day and prilosec for break thru- usually daily to every other. I don't eat within an hour of lying down, alcohol and sugar make it worse.

Reflux has been my only negative-- I'm 130#-- I will trade reflux for 230# and heart disease any day !!

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your reply! I'm a little confused, you said the band ended your reflux but it sounds like it is worse now with the sleeve? Did you doctor say what the reason you are getting reflux?

For me----My reflux is worse (10X) than with my band-- my band ended my reflux. I take axid 150mg twice a day and prilosec for break thru- usually daily to every other. I don't eat within an hour of lying down, alcohol and sugar make it worse.

Reflux has been my only negative-- I'm 130#-- I will trade reflux for 230# and heart disease any day !!

Hope that helps.

It apparently is part of the sleeve for 60-75%. Pre band had horrible reflux-- "your fat- abd pressure" blah blah blah- , band curbed it, post sleeve I get reflux horrible if I dont eat regularily, don't drink enough watern drink any alcohol or if I eat and don't stay vertical. Others don't seem to experience it as bad-- I just accept it treat it and go on-- it was worth the trade!!

I didn't have a band, but had really bad reflux before s surgery. after surgery I had a little, but after the first three weeks it has minimized, and only get it occasionally maybe once every two weeks!

Hello I hope this will everybody on the acid reflux problem I too was banded years ago and converted over to sleeve I had acid reflux not as bad and my doctor introduced me to a AWSOME medication for reflux that works better than any over the counter it's dexliant 150 mg one tab a day in the am and it kicks in 2 times a day for acid reflux this drug has been a godsend I was eating tums and Prilosec everything several times a day it was awful until this new medication it's like I never had reflux and it works fast it's not cheap if you don't have insurance you can go to the website www.dexliant.com and get a coupon for 10/20 off it will cost 100 without insurance and I think 20 with but it's well worth the money good luck .

Thank you Hope floats. Did you doctor tell you that you will have reflux for the rest of your life or is this just a temporary thing? What is causing it?

Hello I hope this will everybody on the acid reflux problem I too was banded years ago and converted over to sleeve I had acid reflux not as bad and my doctor introduced me to a AWSOME medication for reflux that works better than any over the counter it's dexliant 150 mg one tab a day in the am and it kicks in 2 times a day for acid reflux this drug has been a godsend I was eating tums and Prilosec everything several times a day it was awful until this new medication it's like I never had reflux and it works fast it's not cheap if you don't have insurance you can go to the website www.dexliant.com and get a coupon for 10/20 off it will cost 100 without insurance and I think 20 with but it's well worth the money good luck .

He didn't tell me straight out that I would have it for the rest of my life but to me personally I think cause the stomach has been reduced so drastically and the lap band was chocking it and the the sleeve is the first step of the gastric bypass so honestly I don't know I know this medicine has worked and it was never out of the years offered to me until I meet my weightloss surgeon and now I can eat hot sauce if I want to its really neat go to the website and read about it and see if it could help you and ask your doctor if this could be a possibility for you and if you could have it with out any problems I just know I have spent a ton of money on acid reducers non like this ever I was unsure at first but I was so desperate to feel normal again I did not have reflux until I was banded and it did back off when I was sleeved for me cause I guess I had nothing choking my stomach it did come back not as bad and now with the new meds I feel AWSOME good luck .

I had reflux BEFORE the surgery but none since. I have been on zegerid for years to help with the reflux i had and even though I "forgot" to take it a few times post op I have not had issues (yet). Of course I am only on full liquids right now so things may change. When I had my EGD I had a gastric polyp that had to be removed that apparently can be caused by reflux meds! So I may try a different class of meds.

Reflux is the main long term complication of the sleeve. A significant minority of people have a problem with it. I don't experience it now, but some studies show it can increase after a few years out. I continue to emphasize small portions and the only times I have felt even a little acidy (after the first few months post op) was from too much coffee or too big of portions....

I had it horrible with the band - never had it preband. i don't have it now and I have been sleeved since Dec 2011.

I made the decision that I would rather take a ppi for the rest of my life then have the gastric bypass - you are wise to be thinking about all this right now though, pre-op!

I haven't experienced an reflux (revision done Jan. 23.) My physician indicated that I would probably be on Pepcid for a long while. However, he did advise to never go to bed with anything in my stomach. He encouraged me to stop ingesting fluids/food at least 1 hour before bedtime. This was advice given to me by my Lap-Band surgeon as well.

I never had reflux before the band then I had it horribly after being banded. I often would wake up from reflux that would make me vomit. I got the sleeve on 1/25/13 and have not had any reflux so far. My doctor didn't send me home with anything for reflux either and I remember him telling me that sleeve patients do not seem to have the reflux problem that band patients have. I pray that reflux is not a problem with the sleeve because it was brutal with the band. I got my sleeve in an emergency surgery and really had not researched it so this is new to me.

I'm just now finding out about this "long term complication" and it scares me too. I never had it pre-band, and I only had reflux when my band was overfilled. It was awful and no amount of tums or pepcid would curtail it. I needed an unfill. So now that I'm a few weeks from my sleeve revision, I'm realizing it could come back for good. Ugh. I had my class yesterday and was told I would be on prevacid for a while just to heal my tummy, but not because I would really need it for the rest of my life.

I'm with you...but I don't think I will switch to a bypass. Just sucks. Why can't it all just be simple?! *hugs*

I have been on Nexium for years. My surgeon told me that during my sleeve surgery he took care of a hiatal hernia that was causing my acid reflux and I should not have to take the Nexium any longer. However, I notice that I have a horrible acid taste in my mouth every morning which makes me nauseous. So, I am thinking about trying my Nexium again to see if that helps that. I see my doctor in a few weeks, so I will talk to him about it, too.

I didn't have reflux with my band, was sleeved 4 months ago, and have horrible reflux now. Heart attack feeling and acid off and on all day (don't have it worse at night, so that's odd). I'm scared of esophageal cancer and things....and i take both prilosec and zantac and still have breakthrough...I don't know if i would do this again, knowing how bad i'm affected by the reflux. I hope there is something that can help me more :-(. Other than that, love the sleeve.

I didn't have reflux with my band' date=' was sleeved 4 months ago, and have horrible reflux now. Heart attack feeling and acid off and on all day (don't have it worse at night, so that's odd). I'm scared of esophageal cancer and things....and i take both prilosec and zantac and still have breakthrough...I don't know if i would do this again, knowing how bad i'm affected by the reflux. I hope there is something that can help me more :-(. Other than that, love the sleeve.[/quote']

First, I just wanted to tell you that there area ton of things that can help you more than prilosec!! There are some really good PPI prescriptions that are really helpful. Protonix has been a huge help for me!!! Don't settle for Prilosec if its making you miserable! There are such better options out there!!!

I still have my band and have awful reflux. I take my protonix everyday to help control it but since my pouch has dilated my reflux has gotten even worse. I can not wait to get this devil contraption out of me! It's been 10 years now!

I had no reflux pre-band, and have had my ups and downs with it over my banded years. And as much as I hate reflux, if you work with your doctor, you can find a PPI that works for you. I would rather do that and be sleeved than opt for the bypass after seeing what it did to my father. He didn't have reflux, but he had a lot of complications until his pouch stretched out and he gained his weight back