GERD with sleeve?

Anyone with history of reflux disease have the sleeve?  Has it made the reflux better or worse?
Thanks for any info,
Kathy

I had Gerd, but not severe.  I continue to have intermittant problems with it now, but nothing major.  I take zantac 150 mg. as needed and it works great.   I have never regretted the sleeve EVER...even with the GERD.

 I had GERD & reflux and it got better after surgery, eventually, I was able to wean off the PPI's.

Thanks to all for the info!
K.

 I'll report back on what I find out from my docs too, since I have GERD.  I take 40 mg of Nexium twice a day -- but I never had true heartburn.  Just nausea and other minor stuff, but I had it all the time. 

So in my mind, my reflux is minor.  Here's what my GI doc told me last week:
1. For overweight patients whose GERD is severe enough to need surgery for reflux, he always recommends bypass because that "cures" GERD.  
2. For others -- there is no data that clearly indicates whose GERD will get better with sleeve surgery and whose will get worse.
3. If you have a hernia that is repaired during surgery, that should help your GERD.
4. One of the bariatric surgeons told me, in general, if you have a lot of bile coming up as reflex, sleeve is not a good option -- you'd find that out by being scoped and through additional imaging if needed.
5. But overall -- some people's reflux gets better, some get worse, and some people who never had reflux get after surgery.
6. I have seen info online (but I haven't asked the doc about this yet, since my eval is not for a couple of weeks) -- that people with smaller (less than 32 bougie) sleeves had more reflux.  There was not enough room in the sleeve for the acid, so it went up the esophagus.  And that some surgeons now make the sleeves a little larger ( 34-40 bougie). 

If I find out anything different than this when I talk with the doc, I'll let you know!  I hate the idea of a bypass, and I probably would not have WLS if the doc says the sleeve is not a good choice for me -- so I am trying to find out everything I can to make an informed decision!

Hi!  Last week I thought I might have been experiencing GERD or something like it which made me quite nervous to continue on this path toward getting VSG.  However, it seems I must have had some sort of bug or bacteria from the lake or something....all of the symptoms I had are completely gone now.  So...ya.
What I read on one of the comparison websites for WLS, was that GERD can appear or become worse following VSG, but that it IMPROVED or disappeared about 3 years out....just what I read on one of the information sites....

Hi

I know this was posted 2 years ago but here is an article on this issue which was recently published.

http://www.acssurgerynews.com/single-view/sleeve-gastrectomy-often-worsens-gerd/beda0f91f1cd7424ac95b673479423a1.html

I would be thankful if you could tell me what your decision had been and if you went with a sleeve. I had a band 10 years ago and now am having it removed and was thinking of getting a sleeve but the GERD issue scares me.

Any information regarding this would be much appreciated . THANKS

Thanks for the info!  As for an update on me specifically, as it relates to the study:

1. Weight loss -- I came within 12 pounds of a normal BMI and am holding there.  I believe that if I did not have physical restrictions limiting my exercise and had been stricter after the first 8 months, I could have achieved 100% weight loss within the first year.  I am continuing to hold my own, and hope to make it to a normal BMI.

2. I NEVER stopped taking my Nexium.  I had been taking it (and Prilosec before), so I did not even consider stopping it.  My reflux has not worsened -- but much of the old info indicates that reflux can still worsen up to 5 years later.  

3. I had zero complications.  I had extreme nausea for the first couple of days, but I have that after any surgery.  I did have a little "real" reflux for the first two weeks after surgery.  But overall, I had no pain, have had no gall bladder stuff, etc. In fact, I have joked that if it wasn't for the scars, I would not have believed I had sugary.  I had no problems with food, etc.  So, I would be curious if the study considered factors such as the patients initial size (I needed to lose 100 pounds -- so I'm considered a lightweight), the surgeon and the patient's other health problems. I went on a trip a week after surgery, and ate every meal in a restaurant that week (following my surgeons rules, of course!).

4. I didn't have a hernia, so there was no hernia repair.

5. My surgeon expressly told me that if the VSG worsened by reflux, my only option at that point would be a revision to RNY.  I expect that will continue to be a possibility, and I continue to have regular check ups with my GI doc.

So overall, so far, for me, it has worked out.  But the study you cited is newer, and more information is available.  My suggestion is to talk to your surgeon about how many sleeves he's done on people with reflux, and what the outcomes have been.  Since my reflux wasn't considered to be severe (though it is chronic), my surgeon will willing to go with my preference -- but after he looked at my complete medical history and GI reports, and he told me upfront (as did my GI) that the RNY is the preferred surgery for reflux patients.  But I also had a history of anemia, which is a  reason to not have a RNY.  So for me it was a risk either way.

If your reflux is severe, I'd say you'd want to be very, very careful about selecting the VSG and be sure you have weighed the pros and cons, so you can make an informed decision!  Best of luck!

 

Thank you very much for your answer !

No better or worse, still on a small dose of generic Prilosec a day. I was hoping the loss would alleviate it, but it's still there. Totally controlled by once a day meds.