GERD

[Pandemonium 515]

Yeah, I'm asking about that awful little four letter word, Or rather initialism.

So, I have never had any history of reflux. I can count on two fingers the number of times I've experienced heartburn in my life. This was part of the reason I decided on VSG for my revision. When I had my endoscopy prior to surgery, my doctor said there were some minor signs of inflammation that he attributed to a very minor hernia brought on by my band having slipped. The tissue sample analysis likewise supported that the inflammation and damage was very minor. My doctor didn't find it to be anything of concern and thus we went forward with VSG and fixing the minor hernia as part of the operation.

The past six weeks have been going well, if not a tad on the tedious side dealing with my doctor's very slow diet phase transitions.

Except in the past week, I've begun feeling what I can really only describe as a sensation in chest, right below the sternum. It only really occurs when I drink water/Crystal Light. It isn't a burning sensation or anything. It's more like an odd pressure that just lingers. I'd say that it's accompanied by an abundance of belching, making me suspect that it's just gas, but it doesn't really occur when I drink Protein Shakes. And well...post-op, burping and farting has seen a marked increase anyways. It's only in the past week that this has begun to crop up. And again, only when I drink water/Crystal Light. I've had no problems with when eating anything.

So...folks who have had to deal with the nasty GERD goblin...what kind of symptoms do you experience? Am I possibly just being overly paranoid?

[STLoser 1,086]

I had GERD before surgery, but it has been well controlled on ppi's for several years now. I had silent reflux and symptoms, especially severe heartburn that was pretty much every day, every time I ate. I'm 4 weeks post op, and I have not had any GERD symptoms, but I do get that sensation you describe if I drink too fast, and early on I had it with really cold liquids. Do you use a lot of ice in your Water and Crystal Light? If so, I wonder the cold is causing that.



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[Pandemonium 515]

I don't actually use ice, so it's as cold as the fridge gets it. I've been suspecting that I may be drinking too quickly since I've caught myself not quite gulping, but sipping quickly and repeatedly. I'm going to make a concerted effort to slow myself down on drinking to see how if it helps. I'm hoping that is the case!

[STLoser 1,086]

It could be! This is the hardest thing for me because I've always been a gulper, and I know when I take a sip that's too big or too fast I get that pressure. I hope that's what it is and you feel better!

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[futurefinemama 163]

I'm almost 8 weeks out. I experienced acid reflux in my first week, never had issues pre-op. It was a burning sensation in my chest and mainly in my throat. And I had an aftertaste of pan sausage. It was weird because I hadn't eaten sausage. My doc prescribed Sucralfate (liquid 3x day) and Pantorprazole (pill 1x day). I do not take either medicine on a regular anymore. However, I do take a dosage of Sucralfate after I eat Tomato sauce. I would run your issues by your team, it's better to get a head of it, just in case it is acid reflux/GERD.

[Pandemonium 515]

1 minute ago, futurefinemama said:

I'm almost 8 weeks out. I experienced acid reflux in my first week, never had issues pre-op. It was a burning sensation in my chest and mainly in my throat. And I had an aftertaste of pan sausage. It was weird because I hadn't eaten sausage. My doc prescribed Sucralfate (liquid 3x day) and Pantorprazole (pill 1x day). I do not take either medicine on a regular anymore. However, I do take a dosage of Sucralfate after I eat Tomato sauce. I would run your issues by your team, it's better to get a head of it, just in case it is acid reflux/GERD.

I actually am taking pantoprazole daily and have been since a week prior to surgery, Doctor wanted it in order to help reduce the inflammation. And I was taking sucralfate for the first 4 weeks (also to help the inflammation heal) and then I ran out. Asked my doctor if I needed a refill and he said no, since I wasn't having any vomiting, nausea, heartburn or reflux. Maybe I should get them to get me a refill just to be on the safe side.

[copado 5]

The sleeve gastrectomy is known to increase the intra-abdominal pressure or the natural pressure in the stomach. I also had this feeling, to think about it, I still do to one degree or another. Sometimes as you lose weight the layer of fat between the stomach and the diaphragm gets smaller and can make the reflux more likely, due to what in effect is a bigger opening in diaphragm due to less fat being there. My doctor told me to stay on the pantoprazole for good. I also read that not lying down after eating (3 hrs) is preferable. Cheers.