I never forget to take my PPI. My chest reminds me every single morning that it's time to take it. I'm more than 3 weeks out and only have a week's supply left. I'm pretty sure I'll need more when I run out next week, and my next dr. appt isn't until December 12.

What I'm wondering is if the heartburn gets better over time as your body adjusts to the sleeve, or if I'll need to take a PPI forever.

Do most people go off the PPIs eventually? Should I contact my doctor's office pronto about refilling the prescription?

I had the sleeve 8/20 and have never had heartburn. Before my sleeve I was diagnosed with gastritis and put on pantoprazole because of the heartburn. My surgeon requires all his patients to take it for 3 months after the surgery and he just took me off on Friday. So far I'm fine and am praying that I never need it again. And I pray yours is controllable too... ????

I suggest calling the doctor's office to see if you still need it. I am almost 2 months post-surgery. I was told I don't need it anymore. The whole idea is to minimize the stomach acid so the sleeve has a chance to heal better.

My surgeon had us on 40mg omeprazole for 2 months mandatory regardless of symptoms. it makes for a less acidic environment for our sleeve incision to heal. After two months I weaned down to the 20mg OTC version for a couple weeks and then stopped completely and luckily have had no long term GERD symptoms. I will, however (at the advice of my surgeon's office) take a coarse of Prilosec if I have to take any other medication that can be irritating to the stomach. For example, I am taking steroids for a compressed nerve in my neck right now and will be on Prilosec the whole time I'm taking the pred.

But it's different for everyone, some people do have to take PPI's for life.

Edited November 24, 201411 yr by Kindle

I only took mine for about a month after surgery. I've never had any problems with that. :-)

@@mnmlst Good question I was wondering the same thing. I have the same feeling in the morning and I'm 3 weeks out with a week of meds left. I'm going to ask for a refill For next month and then see what happens when I try to stop, maybe a week before I actually run out so I will know if I need more or not.

My doctor recommends taking it for 3 months post-op. I already bought a 3 month supply, so I intend to do it. I will be interested to see how I react when I stop. I never had an issue with acid reflux before surgery.

2-3 months post op.

Then I had some issues this spring and used dgl licorice and it worked great.

3 years out and not dependant on a PPI

I didn't start taking Omeprazole until a month per op. I didn't have any symptoms, I just asked my Bari doctor why everyone else was taking it. He wrote a 4 month script and told me to take it for ulcer prevention. My insurance didn't want to cover it since it is available over the counter. However, the strength was 40 mg., which I couldn't even find. My pharmacist finally got my insurance co. to pay for it since it was such a higher strength.

I say keep taking it. I didn't think I needed it and didn't take mine for long, now I have acid reflux and a hernia 21 months out.

I was never and have never been on a PPI. No heartburn medication was ever prescribed for me (and I expected one!). I've never had issues with it either.

My surgeon recommends taking it for 6 months and reevaluating after. I have a hard time remembering to take it. I've always taken meds etc before bed and I have to take it before breakfeast.

My doc does it for a month for everyone. I needed it for a couple more months, but stopped after three months and was just fine!