So today is 2 weeks exactly since surgery (VSG) and yesterday afternoon I started to get serious heartburn. I’ve never had heartburn pre-op but this is pretty bad.

I read that Tums (Calcium Carbonate) May cause kidney stones so we should stay away from them; they may also interfere with the calcium (citrate) we take as a supplement. May this be true or not it’s completely freaked me out so now idk what I can and cannot take.

I called my surgeon this morning but Mo days are his surgery days (duh! Lol I had my surgery on a Monday) and his staff will get in touch with him tomorrow I regards to this issue and let me know what I can take for immediate relief. He does have my taking a form of Protonix, but that’s not immediate relief (like a Tums would be) like I’m looking for. I know it’s a very common side effect, but I slept sitting up last night and would really like to avoid that tonight.

Any thoughts or ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. Today was my first day back to work and will little sleep from having to be upright sucked big time ?

I would take the Tums, at least just temporarily if it will allow you to sleep, until you hear back

from your surgeon.

On 09/24/2018 at 19:42, JustKeepSwimming said:

I would take the Tums, at least just temporarily if it will allow you to sleep, until you hear back

from your surgeon.

That’s what I was thinking but idk if it will actually work or not

I have NOT had my surgery yet and I'm not a doctor, but I take a natural remedy that works like a charm when I have heartburn now. I would say it's worth a try and if you make it on the mild side it shouldn't hurt your stomach. This is what I take: About 1 quarter cup of warm water, and the juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp of baking soda. Maybe do less lemon juice and omit the baking soda. What I have learned in the last few years is that as we get older we do not produce enough stomach acid to digest our food. Are you having heartburn during the day or only in the evening? AGAIN MY DISCLAIMER: I haven't had my sleeve surgery yet (10/17/18), but I know it's miserable and wanted to offer you something that has worked for me. Good luck <3

I would take the Tums, at least just temporarily if it will allow you to sleep, until you hear back

from your surgeon.

On 09/24/2018 at 20:10, JustKeepSwimming said:

I have NOT had my surgery yet and I'm not a doctor, but I take a natural remedy that works like a charm when I have heartburn now. I would say it's worth a try and if you make it on the mild side it shouldn't hurt your stomach. This is what I take: About 1 quarter cup of warm Water, and the juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp of baking soda. Maybe do less lemon juice and omit the baking soda. What I have learned in the last few years is that as we get older we do not produce enough stomach acid to digest our food. Are you having heartburn during the day or only in the evening? AGAIN MY DISCLAIMER: I haven't had my sleeve surgery yet (10/17/18), but I know it's miserable and wanted to offer you something that has worked for me. Good luck <3

I would take the Tums, at least just temporarily if it will allow you to sleep, until you hear back

from your surgeon.

Thank you! If I was a bit further out I would totally try this but I’m not supposed to have any citrus for 3 months. I’m just so torn on what would be my best option; tums, Zantac, Pepcid, pepto, etc.

I’m going to have to get something because this is awful ?

There have been times that I ate Tums like candy. My husband thought I liked them so much that I was just eating them for fun! Never got kidney stones. I think the key is to make sure you're also getting enough fluids to flush the kidneys, but that's just my rationalization in my mind.

I also started getting heartburn around 3 weeks that developed into some pretty uncomfortable night time reflux. Nexium keeps the heartburn at bay, but the night time reflux remained. So, I did some research on natural ways to manage GERD and discovered that there are a lot of options. I never tried the lemon juice/baking soda above, BUT I do regularly drink hot water with lemon (like a tea) not only because it's good for health, but I genuinely like it. Aside from all of the supplements that have been shown rather effective, I'd say the thing that made the most difference for me was sleeping on an inclined bed. I'm not talking about sleeping sitting up or propped up, I mean put bricks under the feet of the head of your bed. I upped the head of my bed 5 or 6 inches and suffer no more! Seriously, can't advocate more for IBT https://inclinedbedtherapy.com/

Here's another link I used to help develop my GERD fighting regime http://doctorakil.com/heartburn/ I highly recommend DGL for effective rescue relief. I'd say it's better than TUMS.

I'd say that it's OK to take Tums as a rescue relief, but you'll want to look into long term treatment.

I also had heartburn for the first time in my life after VSG. I take Protonix, which is great, but I ran out and had a couple of days without pills before I could get my scrip filled. I took Tums for a couple of days and it did the job. Now I'm two months out and haven't had heartburn since, knock on wood!

On 09/25/2018 at 07:31, S@ssen@ch said:

There have been times that I ate Tums like candy. My husband thought I liked them so much that I was just eating them for fun! Never got kidney stones. I think the key is to make sure you're also getting enough fluids to flush the kidneys, but that's just my rationalization in my mind.

I also started getting heartburn around 3 weeks that developed into some pretty uncomfortable night time reflux. Nexium keeps the heartburn at bay, but the night time reflux remained. So, I did some research on natural ways to manage GERD and discovered that there are a lot of options. I never tried the lemon juice/baking soda above, BUT I do regularly drink hot Water with lemon (like a tea) not only because it's good for health, but I genuinely like it. Aside from all of the supplements that have been shown rather effective, I'd say the thing that made the most difference for me was sleeping on an inclined bed. I'm not talking about sleeping sitting up or propped up, I mean put bricks under the feet of the head of your bed. I upped the head of my bed 5 or 6 inches and suffer no more! Seriously, can't advocate more for IBT https://inclinedbedtherapy.com/

Here's another link I used to help develop my GERD fighting regime http://doctorakil.com/heartburn/ I highly recommend DGL for effective rescue relief. I'd say it's better than TUMS.

I'd say that it's OK to take Tums as a rescue relief, but you'll want to look into long term treatment.

Thank you! I appreciate your input as a fellow sleever and an RN. Last night I woke up twice because of this and it was awful so I think I am goin to have to get some Tums; it makes me feel better knowing others have tried it too in urgent situations.

I haven’t tried hot lemon water because my diet guidelines said no citrus for 2-3 mo but I could totally incorporate it once that time comes. I am about 3 weeks our now so it seems I am following in your footsteps with this. I will talk to my husband about lifting the head of the bed as well; my mother had suggested that too.

Thanks again!!!

On 09/25/2018 at 07:43, thatch said:

I also had heartburn for the first time in my life after VSG. I take Protonix, which is great, but I ran out and had a couple of days without pills before I could get my scrip filled. I took Tums for a couple of days and it did the job. Now I'm two months out and haven't had heartburn since, knock on wood!

Omg that’d be awesome if it’s like that for me too!?