Acid Reflux

I had the slightest version of Gerd. I was at the very beginning stages of it, but my Gerd was due to a hiatal hernia the was fixed at surgery. So far I'm ok, but I think it's a crapshoot as to who will get Gerd.

Since you already have what sounds like a pretty bad version of it, you really shouldn't get the vsg. Try not to think of it as it's only Gerd & you'll take a prescription for it. It can get worse, even with scripts & your throat can get damaged in the meantime, not to mention the dependence on drugs for life.

I'd also question the Drs who want to go ahead with the vsg, knowing that you have Gerd, it sounds a bit negligent on their part. Make sure you have quite a bit of money set aside, in case you have to do a revision.

Trust me the Reflux can get very worse. I had very mild reflux prior to my VSG. About 6 months after my VSG surgery the reflux worsened. My throat hurt all the time and my esophagus was so swollen from the irritation that eating was almost painful. I was on two very strong acid reflux meds a day, along with Carafate liquid ( 6 times a day) to coat the esophagus, eating tums like candy and having to keep to a very bland diet. Nothing worked. I had to sleep elevated in bed or in a recliner because laying flat would cause the acid to sit in my throat and make me cough all night. I can not express how miserable the reflux made me feel and my only option was to have revision to the full bypass.

I highly suggest you rethink the sleeve. The likelihood of having to have a second surgery is high due to the reflux.

Go ahead and get the sleeve if you want to sleep sitting straight up, wake up from a dead sleep vomiting reflux, develop damage to your teeth because of acid reflux, regurgitate everything you eat and drink, have chest pain so severe you think you're having a heart attack. Do I need to go on?

At the very least you need to have your reflux tested with bravo testing or a ph impedance study. However, I wouldn't even do this, I would go straight to bypass. I agree the doctor is being negligent if he does a sleeve on you knowing you already have reflux.

Hi, I'm glad you're asking this very important question. I had VSG 5 1/2 years ago and my acid reflux is awful. It's a daily battle to manage. I didn't have acid reflux before the surgery and was told I "might" experience some after the surgery. That was the understatement of the year. Of course there are drugs available to manage it (PPI's such as Nexium), which my doctor puts all his patients on post op. What I didn't know is the long term affects of using these drugs. It's a serious situation and I hope you are able to take the information you've been offered and perhaps make a different plan. Best of luck to you on this journey.