GERD

4 months post op... does GERD go away? I am taking oemprazole and now sometimes twice daily per my surgeon because the GERD is nonstop. I hear all kinds of bad things about PPI use and side effects, very worrying. I can't wait to be off of these mess but my body has other ideas. I never had any acid issues before surgery.

It is especially bad in bed. I don't eat or drink at night after 7 and sleep propped on pillows. But it is still an issue.

imwould love to hear that it improves after five months... also, any natural remedies? And do TUMS help?

I had surgery in August 2014 and have been taking 20mg of Omeprazole daily since surgery. I never had any issues with GURD before surgery but sure do now. My issue is not nearly as bad as yours but if I skip a day without Omeprazole I have issues. I have tried other medications and over the counter stuff and it doesn't work for me. I also worry about taking Omeprazole long term.

Have you talked with your surgeon or other medical provider about this? If so, what do they say? Have you had an endoscopy?

My surgeon said, oh, just take oemprazole twice a day if acid bothers you and I will see you in three months. He was very nonchalant about it. I would really like to not take this medication as am afraid of side effects long term.

It might get better, but it could get worse. Gerd after VSG is a common side effect. Take your meds, watch your diet, and hope for the best.

I'm sitting up awake at 1:30am because I woke up choking on acid and can't be horizontal again for a few hours. I've cut dairy and artificial sweeteners from my diet partially to see if that would help the GERD and it has not. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat or how early I stop eating. I've started taking nexium everyday again and I can tell that I have intense rebound acid when I skip a dose. I think one of the issues for me is that I can't use a pillow when I sleep. I'm sorry, this doesn't answer your question, but I am also scared of both the GERD and the PPI. I had surgery In Mexico and have horrible health insurance so I haven't seen anyone even though I think I really need an endoscopy. I don't know what to do.

As as far as herbal remedies, I was having a lot of luck with DGL but was finding that I was eating them like candy and they triggered my hunger and carb cravings. I was going over my carb and calorie goals everyday because I was chewing too many DGLs. I'm less than 20lb to goal and plan to reintroduce DGL once in maintenance.

I also like to drink licorice and marshmallow tea but it doesn't replace the PPI. I haven't tried papaya enzyme or digestive enzymes but those are chewable alternatives to TUMs. I have a bottle of mastic gum pills but I feel weirdly unsafe taking massive pills of something that is supposed to be super gummy even though I would freak out if I swallowed actual gum so I've only ever taken one pill so far.

I do find that TUMs helps with acid during the day (which I don't usually have a lot of) but it doesn't prevent acid regurgitation at night.

Im still hoping that I can find some sort of dietary trigger for my GERD. At this point the only thing I can think of to try to cut out is coffee :(

Hey there

I am nearly a year out from VSG and still habing to use 20mg Omeprazole twice a day. I never had any issues at all before surgery so I can totally relate and it got to the point where I would cry terrified that I had opted into a life of feeling so bad.

I find mine flares up if i eat too much sugar or certain foods. Dense protein like chicken tenderloins are my go to when it starts playing up and keeping things very plain. I also find taking the omezaparole seems to lessen the effectiveness of nutritional supplements i take. It does however seem to stay under control by using the PPI, taking probiotics, drinking kefir or kombucha daily, and propping myself up with a tri pillow when things get especially bad. Smoking is definitely something that makes it worse.

Someone posted an interesting set of questions a while back including the first question around heartburn/gerd. I posted the link below as there were some good responses and I'm hoping these might help you too.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/6013337/Give-me-10-tru ths-about-VSG/

It's totally horrible suffering thru GERD, I'm sorry you have to go thru this. I really hope you gain long term relief soon. I fear i will be on omeprazole for a very long time and it really bums me out.

Take care.

It might not go away and you might need to consider revision to RNY.

I'd like to tell you it gets better, but it may not. I developed out of control GERD about 8 months post VSG (I didn't have it prior to surgery). My surgeon had me on a PPI for the 1st 3 months post op to promote healing. At first we thought it was my gallbladder, but once that was removed, my GERD continued to get worse. It didn't matter what I ate or drank. At its worst, I had to sleep sitting up, because going horizontal was a recipe for disaster. I also didn't want to be on PPIs long term, but in my case, that wasn't even an option as I have a gene mutation that affects the way I metabolize PPIs. Because of the mutation, the only PPI that offers me any relief is Dexilant (it utilizes a different channel in the liver). However, my insurance would not approve Dexilant and I was forced to revise to RNY July, 2016.

There were no natural remedies that offered me any relief. Zantac helped and it is not a PPI, so no worries about the long term effects. As Gwen said, if it continues, you may have to consider revising to RNY to get an any relief.

I was hoping Zantac would work but it does absolutely nothing for me.

Aargh.