Post RNY acid reflux

[Austingal 2]

I had severe GERD prior to surgery and was very hopeful that it would be gone after surgery. My doctor told me continue taking a proton pump inhibitor for 1 month after surgery. I followed her orders and had no reflux issues. However, when it came time to stop taking the reflux meds I discovered the reflux is still there, albeit much less so. For those that had reflux pre and post RNY, did it eventually go away with weight loss? Are you still taking reflux meds and how far out from surgery are you?

[AZhiker 2,251]

I took reflux meds for 6 months post op. I just stopped them a couple of weeks ago. I actually stopped the full 40 mg dose at 6 months and continued with 20 mg for another month. Now stopped altogether and things seem to be OK. I will be scoped again in a few months to check out my Barretts and make sure no more polyps.

[RickM 1,747]

Did you just stop, or taper off of it? The PPI's are well known to have a rebound reflux reaction to stopping them, so the usual advice is to taper off of them - as AZ did, cut the dose in half for a while and them eliminate it. Sometimes it may take a few steps of dosage reduction and/or substitution of H2I acid reducers (like Pepcid or Zantac) to get completely off of them.

[catwoman7 10,922]

my surgeon kept me on PPI's for a year - but that was before all the bad press came out about them. I assume he's having them do it for six months nowadays - that seems to be the standard.

that said, I had no reflux for at least two or three years after surgery. It started to come back during year three, but it's not nearly as bad as it was pre-surgery. In fact, I'm not sure you could even call it GERD - it's more a gassy, acidy, gurgly feeling after I eat sometimes. It's not like the burning-throat-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing.

[ARMoma45 353]

7 hours ago, Austingal said:

I had severe GERD prior to surgery and was very hopeful that it would be gone after surgery. My doctor told me continue taking a proton pump inhibitor for 1 month after surgery. I followed her orders and had no reflux issues. However, when it came time to stop taking the reflux meds I discovered the reflux is still there, albeit much less so. For those that had reflux pre and post RNY, did it eventually go away with weight loss? Are you still taking reflux meds and how far out from surgery are you?

I'm 2 months out and still take my Omeprazole daily. I also had severe GERD prior to surgery.

[Frustr8 7,886]

And it's almost time for my Dexilent refill, have been on it straight since December 2017 except for the attemptive 5 weeks. of Omeprazole post my RNY, yeah You All Remember What HAPPENED There, stomal stricture, ulcers in the pouch and multiple ulceration marching down my jejunem. I TOLD THEM, FOR ME, OMEPRAZOLE IS NOT GASTROPROTECTIVE ! Did they actually listen? Nope! Who ended up ulcerated and miserable? ME!
They Thought THEY were so smart with degrees and stated experience in Their Side- Ha Ha- a person also has knowledge of their own for your body has wisdom itself. I had lived in mine for over 70 years, I Was Not Stupid, I could tell there WAS SOMETHING VERY WRONG! Going on 13 months, am I right now? Nope, probably never will be, had an endoscopy from another doctor, a gastroenterologist this time, my jejunem is patent which means open, but there is visable and viewable scarring- This is a Game they never should have forced me to play! Is the GERD ALL GONE? Nope, anything containing coconut including CocoMilk, I'm" off to the races again"! So if I want dairy- free smoothies- it's almond or cashew for this gal. Funny I always thought Cashew would be my bugaboo- it's in the same family as some other allergens- but it turned out okay.
And I suspect I will be on Decilent, my PPI , until those "cows come home"- Just the way things went for ME. Would I go back to the Way I was before surgery? No No, a million times No- I just wish they had given my observations a little more credence- they did not miss a minute of sleep- they never had pain- they never ended up with a PICC line because of malnourishment and Protein anemia, they didn't have the still- frequent emesis I still suffer from- Nope just went on their Merry Way, Blithering and Babbling as They Go- can only hope someday Karma does to them what they did to me! And, honestly, I never had vindictive thoughts before All This Happened! If Anything I was a Mild- Mannered Meek Marshmallow of a person, put up with so much s**t in my life It Is A Blessed WONDER I don't still smell of it.
n

[Austingal 2]

Thank you for your comments. I didn't taper off my PPI but rather just stopped abruptly after taking for many years, so that may be part of the problem. I didn't realize there was a rebound reflux reaction- good to know! I'm glad to hear it has resolved for some. Hopefully the same will be true for me. Thanks again!

[berry girl 2]

For a couple of years now there have been reports of the danger of heartburn drugs/PPI blockers like zantac that are commonly used to help with the side effects of gastric surgery.

Today Canada officially recalled these drugs due to their link to cancer.

Personally, I am completely dependent on these drugs due to the acid reflux side effect of my gastric sleeve. If you use these prescriptions daily, I strongly urge you to contact your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible.

https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2019/70989a-eng.php?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=77363999&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8zLyVDfQD8I8hCu3-XeY7Fh97rFTkpD6v27F37TI29RzLKaNdKiDz_TiM1BKOzRo_NfiS6IqmuYpTuPc_HRfMUlmpaxA&_hsmi=77363999
image-0.00596046447753906.jpg

[KateBruin 344]

I was instantly cured of my sleeve induced GERD. I hiccup and burp and well, fart a lot but no real reflux!! I was on a PPI for a month just to protect my healing stomach. I did end up getting these horrible 8-12 hour bouts of horrible pain and I’m investigating further at my 6 month checkup on the 22nd. I had gastroparesis but now I seem to have too fast digestion or I’ve developed Crohns. I take medicine to reduce intestinal cramping and stomach pain. Takes pain from an 8 to 4.

[summerset 5,261]

On 9/17/2019 at 11:54 PM, Austingal said:

However, when it came time to stop taking the reflux meds I discovered the reflux is still there, albeit much less so.

My reflux got a lot better. However, it is not entirely gone. It gotten better when I stopped eating dairy but it's still not gone.

I take ranitidine when I need it (I have to look into another drug because of the recent issues with ranitidine though). I won't go near PPI anymore if I can help it.

[summerset 5,261]

On 9/27/2019 at 3:03 AM, berry girl said:

Today Canada officially recalled these drugs due to their link to cancer.

Though one has to say that not ranitidine itself is the culprit but the NDMA they found in some batches.