So last week I had a swallow test done where I had to drink barium.....This was done as part of my pre-op testing. Anyway, during the test they discovered I have a hiatal hernia. Before this test I had no idea I had a hernia. But.................now I have all sorts of symptoms...hahaha I have heartburn/indigestion, excessive burping.....I know I'm not imagining all this! Could it be I just never payed attention? I haven't told anyone about these symptoms yet because I just feel like everyone will think I'm making it up.....

It sounds like you just might be paying attention.

I had a hiatal hernia diagnosed, too. I had no idea, but once I knew and learned more some of my symptoms made more sense.

For me, the whole pre-op process was a voyage of discovery about my body. I also learned I had a heart murmur that I never knew about.

@@Inner Surfer Girl thanks for the reply. It means a lot to know I'm not the only one.

WOW! I just noticed the amount of weight you've lost and it's only been a year since your surgery! You are a ROCK STAR for sure!!!! Way to go!!

I also had a hiatal hernia I knew nothing about, lol. My surgeon fixed it during sleeve surgery and had he not told me, I'd have never known. To be fair, in hindsight I had started getting heartburn, which holy CRAP, was horrible. I thought I had had gastric reflux before, oh no, that must have just been burping, lol. About a month or two before surgery I had several really nasty heartburn issues, that at the time I just figured, well guess I'm getting old, but in hindsight, was probably caused by the hiatal hernia. I haven't had a single episode since surgery and it's been 2.5 years, so yay for getting that fixed as part of a package deal.

@@AvaFern Thanks for your reply.....and it's great to know you haven't had any issues since surgery as I've been worried that I may end up with reflux after surgery. I haven't talked with my surgeon since they found the hernia but you give me hope. They actually found the hernia and also narrowing of my esophagus.....the narrowing I think was caused by neck surgery I had several years ago because since that surgery sometimes food gets stuck in my throat....So I think during my sleeve surgery I'll end up with 3 for one....

I'm in the exact same boat - recently learned about my hernia and have started feeling/imagining feelings of indigestion, abdominal discomfort, etc. I've long known I've had GERD, but not the reason why other than obesity in general.

@kmorri 3-for-1 sounds like a good deal to me! Some people have gastric reflux issues and I believe the standard prescription after surgery is for a PPI (like Prilosec, but potentially a prescription version) for a few weeks. I took a PPI a few times right after surgery because when I swallowed Water it felt like I was drinking rocks...I could feel it rip its way all the way down my esophagus. The PPI didn't help, but drinking with a straw solved that problem entirely. After that I haven't had any type of need for a gastric reflux drug- I don't think I even have any in the house.