Acid Reflex???

I have been reading everyone's threads and posts and it seems like a lot of people have acid reflex or GERD after surgery, even if they never experienced it before. Is this a common problem for people that have had VSG? Is it something that is related to how far you are out from surgery or something you will have for life? Has me concerned. Surgery is next Monday.

My doctor said it was quite common and that I'd be on Prilosec for at least six months post-surgery.

I was sent home with a 60 Day supply of Omeprazole.....so yes it's common.

If you have GERD or acid reflux then most surgeons recommend RNY. If you do not have it then the sleeve may cause it and you may be on medicine or it after surgery. I have not heard of it going away. Some people get reversed to RNY to deal with the problem permanently. That usually works.

My understanding of it is that once you go from a big stomach that produces a certain amount of acid to a smaller stomach that is used to producing so much acid, you can get too much acid that comes back up into the esophagus. Its a high pressure system with the smaller stomach. I don't exactly understand why people with RNY don't usually experience the reflux.

I am 7 months out and still take prescription strength omeprazole, sleep with my head elevated, and don't eat within at least 2 hrs of bedtime. I hope it will subside over time...

RNY patients have a different shaped pouch, The sleeve is essentially a long skinny, banana shaped, normal functioning, stomach. The RNY pouch is made from the top part of the stomach and is egg shaped. RNY pouch has no pyloric valve to hold the acid in. The remnant stomach (that is cut away) is where the majority of stomach acid is produced. The remnant stomach still produces the acid, but it has nowhere to go but into the intestinal tract because the esophagus is no longer available, so no more reflux. The sleeve still has that area where stomach acid is produced still intact and functioning and it can still get up into the esophagus. In fact it becomes a "super tube" with pressure to push acid up your esophagus. With a pyloric valve closed on the bottom and a much smaller stomach, the acid has nowhere else to go.

RNY pouches may still retain a few areas where stomach acid is produced and we can still get reflux, but it's rare. RNY is used to cure chronic GERD. VSG can cause GERD in people who have never had a problem with it.

Super common post-VSG. At first, your body continues to make the same amount of acid as it did for a regular sized stomach. With your new tummy only being 1/4 to 1/5 that size, you can see where there would be issues. That's why most post-ops are required to take a meds for excess acid for at least a few months post-op until the body figures stuff out.

Some people - like me - continue to have acid issues. I take Protonix 20mg once a day and don't have any problems. Hoping I can even get off that amount some day soon.

The exact reverse happened to me. I had been taking 40mg prescription omezaprole since 1998 for GERD. I continued on it post-op for the first 5 months. The surgeon cut the dose in half then -- no problems. Two weeks ago, he told me to stop taking it completely -- no problems. The sleeve and the tiny portions of food that go into it apparently have healed up the GERD. Granted, it's not a typical response to sleeve surgery, but it holds out the possibility that the sleeve does not automatically condemn you to GERD for life.

psychoticparrot