Hello,

As I get closer to my surgery date, I'm starting to think about a statement my doctor made, which was that GERD actually worsens for some people who have the sleeve. Is there anyone here who has had surgery already and has GERD? I am not actually certain of how bad my GERD is, but 3 recent experiences concerned me. In one case, it seemed as if I was choking, actually gasping for air, when something I ate came back up & felt stuck in my throat. People in the restaurant were staring, my husband got behind me and put his arms around my waist to try to do a maneuver to get the food un-stuck. The workers brought me a big paper bag, thinking that I was about to throw up. All I could do was gasp for air and turns out, a few birps made me feel better. But last week, right after I ate, some food felt as if it was stuck in my throat. I just wonder will surgery make this type of feeling occur more frequently, and if so, should I scrap the idea of surgery altogether? Like my doctor said, the surgery is not worth it if it's not going to improve my quality of life. I don't want to lose weight but walk around constantly feeling sick after I do eat.

Would love to hear from anybody with GERD who has had the sleeve.. how are you doing?

Thanks!

I actually lived with pre-op GERD (silent reflux) mis-diagnosed as asthma for 10 years prior to surgery. Mine presents as chronic coughing rather than heartburn and is worse at night. They started me on Omeprazole right after my EGD and it made a big difference. For the first month post-op, it was worse. Bad enough that I had to raise the head of my bed with a couple of 6" lifts and double my Omeprazole to twice per day. However, once my stomach healed and the weight began to come off things got MUCH better. I was able to flatten my bed again and now, at 9 months out, only have a single night time does of Omeprazole. I'm hoping to be off of it all together in time.

Same with me - pre-op I had GERD that presented as a chronic cough but never as heartburn. I had a cough for about 10 years. I was told many times it was allergies. My surgeon informed me I'd had acid for years and had built up scar tissue which he removed. Now I have full on heartburn but the cough is gone. I keep it in check with omeprazole 2X per day. If I miss a dose or 2 I can tell because I get heartburn that wakes me up at night and I don't want to eat.

I am six months out of surgery. I had an upper GI recently and a biopsy to check for Barretts. I don't have Barretts but still have acid, on the mild end of the scale (it does not feel mild to me!) and a bit of gastritis. I also have gallstones, I would almost bet I had some gallstones presurgery. Otherwise - clean bill of health. I had my surgery in Mexico.

Hello,

As I get closer to my surgery date, I'm starting to think about a statement my doctor made, which was that GERD actually worsens for some people who have the sleeve.......Would love to hear from anybody with GERD who has had the sleeve.. how are you doing?

Thanks!

I am also really interested in this topic. I'd like to know how many people didn't have GERD or heartburn before surgery and then developed it later after they had surgery.