Please Help! Burning Stomach Pain

[hannah grace 9]

Hi all,

Per my last post, I have been having really bad nausea and vomiting 6 weeks out (dr says I'm part of the "lucky" 10-15% who experience this).

I attempted to take my stomach acid pill along with Zoloft prescribed by my psychiatrist. About 30 minutes later, I threw this up. I am now having SEVERE burning pain in my stomach and I don't know what to do. I used to have GERD before the surgery and this doesn't feel like that.. The burning is *mainly* in my stomach, not my chest or esophagus like how it was for GERD (in my experience). I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to combat this? I am afraid to take TUMS or any other anti acids as I usually throw those up as well and I am afraid more vomiting will make it even worse. SOS, I am in so much pain.

[Arabesque 7,597]

I used to over produce acid (didn’t help I was a meal skipper so nothing in my tummy to absorb the acid) & when that occurred I experienced very strong cutting pains across my stomach. If this is what you’re experiencing, your meds may not be strong enough. What are you taking out of curiosity?

[SmolGojira 20]

Might be worth going and seeing another dr. This could be anything from GERD to an ulcer and now that you've had the surgery you want to get on top of that ASAP. It sounds like they haven't taken it as seriously as they should be. If the pain is really bad, might be worth even going to emergency, they'll at least try to figure out exactly what's causing the pain.

I had GERD before my Sleeve and my surgeon said I should still get a sleeve and not a bypass, but I was really keen on the bypass having spent years reading up on the difference. Now that i look back on this I think it's because I self funded and he would not do a bypass on anyone that has self funded without insurance, meaning he'd lose me as a client. The few people i've spoken to have said many surgeons will choose bypass over sleeve if the patient has a history of GERD and yep, now my GERD is worse than ever and my surgeon keeps saying it's clearly just my fault, I must be eating wrong or sleeping after eating. I even fasted at one point and did just liquids to prove him wrong. It's gotten to the point, I've stopped talking to the surgeon and starting seeking help elsewhere and they've put me on anti acid medication (which the surgeon refused to). Life has been much better having stopped talking to the surgeon and talking to other health care providers. Might be time for you to switch to if they don't take this pain seriously.

I hope you're feeling much better asap, but don't be afraid to get another opinion. Pain should not be happening. Please take care

Edited August 6, 2023 by SmolGojira

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,680]

I had this. Turns out, after my sleeve, I developed polyps all through my entire stomach. The GERD (which I had never had pre sleeve) became so bad it turned into gastritis and esophagitis. I had to take 80mg of Nexium daily and Pepcid for breakthrough GERD (and sometimes that didn't even help). The pain and burning were excruciating. Sent me to the ER more than once. 4 endoscopies and 1 revision to bypass later, and I'm doing great. Stay on top of this. Cut out anything Tomato based, avoid any kind of fruit juice, spices (even the ones that aren't hot). Hummus helped a lot, Keto bread also helped, and drinking Protein Shakes literally saved me on days when I couldn't keep anything down at all. The bariatric diet went out the window until this was under control. I had to stop working out because it would set things off. In the ER the first time, I had a barium swallow to confirm there were no leaks. Then I was referred to a GI specialist, who did an endoscopy and found I had A TON of polyps in various sizes. Once they were all removed, I had my revision to bypass and have had to stay on Nexium. But it was lowered to 40mg for 5 weeks, then 20mg for weeks 6-8, then I'll go off them completely. Definitely stay on top of this. It won't resolve on it's own, and if left untreated, it will absolutely get worse.

[Smanky 757]

The burning you're describing sounds like an ulcer. I'm prone to them and will develop one quickly if I stop taking Pantoprazole. So it could be that, but with the vomiting complication and severity of the burning sensation you're having I'd be going to the ER. This needs checking out!

[Melissa89 11]

On 8/6/2023 at 1:36 PM, hannah grace said:

Hi all,

Per my last post, I have been having really bad nausea and vomiting 6 weeks out (dr says I'm part of the "lucky" 10-15% who experience this).

I attempted to take my stomach acid pill along with Zoloft prescribed by my psychiatrist. About 30 minutes later, I threw this up. I am now having SEVERE burning pain in my stomach and I don't know what to do. I used to have GERD before the surgery and this doesn't feel like that.. The burning is *mainly* in my stomach, not my chest or esophagus like how it was for GERD (in my experience). I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to combat this? I am afraid to take TUMS or any other anti acids as I usually throw those up as well and I am afraid more vomiting will make it even worse. SOS, I am in so much pain.

I’m sorry to hear this. If the burning is in the stomach region (not the oesophagus) this sounds like exactly what I had. Here is my long story:

I was sleeved June 19 and I had this!! I had 2 ER visits and was re admitted to hospital. I referred myself to a gastroenterologist in the end. That is what you need. My pain was only at night too! Here is my long story and I hope it helps you. Please know I am feeling better now. You’ve had complications but there is hope. Here is what I posted last night in another thread.

Hi everyone! I was sleeved on 19/6 (Australian date format lol). My experience was no smooth sailing and I developed severe complications despite seeing the best surgeon at the best hospital. I’ve felt really scared, alone and isolated so I am delighted to find this forum.
my weight was only 92 pre op and I guess I was considered a healthy young woman.
5 days post op I developed a severe burning pain deep inside my stomach. After numerous emergency visits and tests, it was determine I did not have a gastric leak. I had to be re admitted to hospital to manage the most severe pain of my life, for another 5 days and they still didn’t know what was wrong. Long story short, I had to self refer myself to a gastroenterologist who immediately knew what was wrong. I had developed bile reflux from my bowel into my freshly cut stomach which was causing the searing pain, severe inflammatory gastritis of my stomach lining, which then caused pancreatitis and severe spasms of my actual stomach. Because of all of this I could not even get Water down and my throat was burning and mouth dried up from bile damage. He put me on a bunch of new intense meds and nearly 8 weeks post op now I am starting to feel normal. It’s been a really scary rough ride and emotional and I haven’t known if I’ve made the right decision. I can eat about 1/4 cup soft foods now which I am grateful for.

I also ended up seeing a second surgeon who has done thousands of sleeves and said bile reflux and severe gastritis which causes severe sharp pain / burning pain is possible and he has seen it. Basically everything is inflamed and unhappy and this can also cause pancreatitis pain.

How my new gastroenterologist helped me and I finally started getting better 2 weeks after surgery was medication to stop the bile called cholestyramine, as well as upping the PPis to twice a day plus adding on a drug called famotidine at night with physically reduced the volume of stomach acid you produce (ppis just neutralise it). Plus I had to take metaclopramide as it pushes things down instead of up, including bile, 3 times a day. I am finally better now nearly 8 weeks out. I was desperate and hopeless and felt like my original surgeon could not help me / did not believe it. Generally for me my severe pain was only at night time when I was meant to sleep! You need to see a gastroenterologist stat. Good luck.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Melissa89

[Melissa89 11]

On 8/6/2023 at 1:36 PM, hannah grace said:

Hi all,

Per my last post, I have been having really bad nausea and vomiting 6 weeks out (dr says I'm part of the "lucky" 10-15% who experience this).

I attempted to take my stomach acid pill along with Zoloft prescribed by my psychiatrist. About 30 minutes later, I threw this up. I am now having SEVERE burning pain in my stomach and I don't know what to do. I used to have GERD before the surgery and this doesn't feel like that.. The burning is *mainly* in my stomach, not my chest or esophagus like how it was for GERD (in my experience). I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to combat this? I am afraid to take TUMS or any other anti acids as I usually throw those up as well and I am afraid more vomiting will make it even worse. SOS, I am in so much pain.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Melissa89

[Melissa89 11]

On 8/6/2023 at 1:36 PM, hannah grace said:

Hi all,

Per my last post, I have been having really bad nausea and vomiting 6 weeks out (dr says I'm part of the "lucky" 10-15% who experience this).

I attempted to take my stomach acid pill along with Zoloft prescribed by my psychiatrist. About 30 minutes later, I threw this up. I am now having SEVERE burning pain in my stomach and I don't know what to do. I used to have GERD before the surgery and this doesn't feel like that.. The burning is *mainly* in my stomach, not my chest or esophagus like how it was for GERD (in my experience). I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to combat this? I am afraid to take TUMS or any other anti acids as I usually throw those up as well and I am afraid more vomiting will make it even worse. SOS, I am in so much pain.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Melissa89

[Melissa89 11]

On 8/6/2023 at 1:36 PM, hannah grace said:

Hi all,

Per my last post, I have been having really bad nausea and vomiting 6 weeks out (dr says I'm part of the "lucky" 10-15% who experience this).

I attempted to take my stomach acid pill along with Zoloft prescribed by my psychiatrist. About 30 minutes later, I threw this up. I am now having SEVERE burning pain in my stomach and I don't know what to do. I used to have GERD before the surgery and this doesn't feel like that.. The burning is *mainly* in my stomach, not my chest or esophagus like how it was for GERD (in my experience). I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to combat this? I am afraid to take TUMS or any other anti acids as I usually throw those up as well and I am afraid more vomiting will make it even worse. SOS, I am in so much pain.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Melissa89