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Extreme Indigestion 1 year on



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Hi all,

I am almost a year on from my Gastric Sleeve (April 22 2018). Surgery went perfectly and very few immediate symptoms.

I had a lot of trouble getting food down at first with hot flushes and nausea if I ate too much or too quick. It took a while to start seeing any weight loss. But it's a lot easier now. I've lost 40kg (about 90 pounds I think). With another 20kg to go for my ideal weight.

About 6 months ago I started getting REALLY bad indigestion. I had never had indigestion before the surgery so it took me a while to figure out what was going on. It would keep me awake and I couldn't sit still for hours. But it would pass.

Then a few months ago it started getting so bad that I was throwing up and crying etc. Last night, for example, it started at 6:30 pm and didn't stop... I was pacing when I could move, and in the shower for hours (for some reason a warm shower seems to make the pain more bearable). I hadn't slept the night before because indigestion was bad then too, though not AS bad, so I was falling asleep while walking! Sometime around 4am I was so tired I fell asleep despite the pain still being very very bad. When I woke it had subsided, though I'm achy and stiff. I had to take the day off work today, which can't be maintained.

It's not all the time... maybe once every few weeks... often a couple of times in one week then nothing for a few weeks.

I have tried antacids and they did NOTHING. I then did some reading that suggested it could be LACK of acid instead of too much acid so I am now taking HCL (Hydrochloric Acid) with Pepsin 650mg every time I eat. This did seem to help for 8 weeks or so, but now its back as bad as ever. I don't know if I need MORE of the HCL or if I should avoid it, cos maybe too much was the problem... I just don't know.

I have a doctors appointment booked, but I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar condition and gotten to the bottom of it. Were there particular foods that triggered it? Did you work out if it was too much acid or too little and what did you take, etc?

I haven't worked out a particular pattern with food. Often seems to happen when I've had dairy or salt... but then other times that I have either of those, nothing... so I'm not sure.

Thank you for any advice!!!

My

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This does not sound good, my guess and I'm only a Co-traveler on this road is gastritis, and perhaps some ulcerations, but this is one time I hope I'm wrong, I have had, and still not over the latter, not what I would wish for someone else. Please let us know what happens with your Medical Consult please.

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Reflux is a very common side effect. The usual advice is avoid fatty foods, spicy foods, too much Protein , caffeine etc. Don’t eat within a couple of hours of going to bed.Dont drink and eat together, wait at least 20 - 30 minutes.

If none of that helps then maybe your Dr will prescribe something that does and if the meds don’t work a revision may be required

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Also are you sure it’s indigestion, it could be your heart, you should get that checked out too

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Thanks elcee

I don't THINK it's my heart. Very much back and stomach pain... not around the heart. That said when I had a blood clot near my heart (years ago) I didn't feel it around my heart at all!

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5 hours ago, MyBo said:

Hi all,

I am almost a year on from my Gastric Sleeve (April 22 2018). Surgery went perfectly and very few immediate symptoms.

I had a lot of trouble getting food down at first with hot flushes and nausea if I ate too much or too quick. It took a while to start seeing any weight loss. But it's a lot easier now. I've lost 40kg (about 90 pounds I think). With another 20kg to go for my ideal weight.

About 6 months ago I started getting REALLY bad indigestion. I had never had indigestion before the surgery so it took me a while to figure out what was going on. It would keep me awake and I couldn't sit still for hours. But it would pass.

Then a few months ago it started getting so bad that I was throwing up and crying etc. Last night, for example, it started at 6:30 pm and didn't stop... I was pacing when I could move, and in the shower for hours (for some reason a warm shower seems to make the pain more bearable). I hadn't slept the night before because indigestion was bad then too, though not AS bad, so I was falling asleep while walking! Sometime around 4am I was so tired I fell asleep despite the pain still being very very bad. When I woke it had subsided, though I'm achy and stiff. I had to take the day off work today, which can't be maintained.

It's not all the time... maybe once every few weeks... often a couple of times in one week then nothing for a few weeks.

I have tried antacids and they did NOTHING. I then did some reading that suggested it could be LACK of acid instead of too much acid so I am now taking HCL (Hydrochloric Acid) with Pepsin 650mg every time I eat. This did seem to help for 8 weeks or so, but now its back as bad as ever. I don't know if I need MORE of the HCL or if I should avoid it, cos maybe too much was the problem... I just don't know.

I have a doctors appointment booked, but I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar condition and gotten to the bottom of it. Were there particular foods that triggered it? Did you work out if it was too much acid or too little and what did you take, etc?

I haven't worked out a particular pattern with food. Often seems to happen when I've had dairy or salt... but then other times that I have either of those, nothing... so I'm not sure.

Thank you for any advice!!!

My

Ask your Team first ...but

https://www.lifehack.org/759858/acid-reflux-remedies-natural

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Your symptoms are also similar to gal bladder issues. I experience some of the same symptoms and found out that I had gal stones. I eventually had my gal bladder removed 8 yrs ago.

Good luck with your doctors appointment.

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Let us know what your Dr says

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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