Hi all, long time! Hope everyone is keeping well.
Just need some advice,
I had my gastric sleeve surgery about 8 weeks ago and I have been fine since. I also had my gallbladder removed not long after. But for the last week or so a lot of my meals are so painful to get down, they sit on my chest, I feel a pain going up and down my oesophagus for a long time after I eat and I can just about eat a few bites at a time. But before this week I was doing perfectly ok? Is this normal or could this be GERD? Has anyone experienced GERD? How did you deal with it and what do you think I should do! It feels like bubbles up and down my chest and throat I can hear and feel it ?
Sorry for the million questions any help is appreciated dearly!

Are you on a PPI like omeprazole? If not, you may need one... Many of us experience stomach acid issues post op, especially as we introduce solid food. Our tummies are still making acid for a normal sized stomach and that can cause a lot of discomfort. If you are already on omeprazole, you may need to take it twice a day or try a different PPI. I'd talk with your surgeon about that.

The pain you are describing could be from a number of things. I'd call your surgeon and discuss it. Strictures are unusual in sleeve patients, but on occasion they can happen and it is best to rule them out when experiencing pain with eating that suddenly appears weeks out from surgery. Good luck!!

I agree. A PPI will be your friend for a while. Your gall bladder used to manage stomach acids entering your stomach now it’s not there to do that job. Consequently, you are likely are getting more acid than you need at the moment giving you reflux like symptoms. I had a lot of diarrhoea for a couple of months until it settled because the excess acid was aggravating my bowel.

The struggling to eat could be a stricture like @ChunkCat suggested. It’s not really a gerd symptom nor related to your gall surgery. And yes, get in contact with your surgeon to find out what’s going on. Did the same surgeon who did your sleeve do your gall?

I had this. Get on a PPI, and if that doesn't help, tell your surgeon. I had to get my esophagus stretched not long after my original sleeve surgery, and the sleeve itself caused me to develop horrible GERD, which I had never had before.

On 2/4/2024 at 11:49 AM, SleeveToBypass2023 said:

I had this. Get on a PPI, and if that doesn't help, tell your surgeon. I had to get my esophagus stretched not long after my original sleeve surgery, and the sleeve itself caused me to develop horrible GERD, which I had never had before.

Did stretching the esophagus help the GERD? I am dealing with GERD now and I am 6 wks out from getting sleeved. I did not have it prior to surgery. Thank you ☺️

Edited February 18, 20242 yr by Tammy26

9 hours ago, Tammy26 said:

Did stretching the esophagus help the GERD? I am dealing with GERD now and I am 6 wks out from getting sleeved. I did not have it prior to surgery. Thank you ☺️

I'm not sure, since I had an incredible amount of polyps that had to be removed, as well. Those were caused as a result of being on 80mg of a PPI everyday for an extended amount of time. I had 4 endoscopies just to remove polyps. 8-10 were removed each time. The first time, my esophagus was stretched, as well. I ended up needing to get a revision to bypass because the GERD caused, not only the polyps, but also gastritis and esophagitis, as well. And even with the 80mg of Nexium daily, I was still getting break through GERD that required Pepcid, which didn't always help. I also never had any kind of GERD or reflux before the sleeve.

I am assuming the bypass has resolved the issue?