GERD?

From time to time I have a tickle in my throat that leads to coughing. This occurs especially sometimes after I have eaten? It's been 5 1/2 years since I had my VSG. I'm not sure but I'm assuming its symptoms are part of GERD? I never really thought I had it but a few workmates think that may be the case especially since I had bariatric surgery. I did a search on this forum regarding that and it appears to be the case. If so, what is it that helps? A revision? Endoscopy? What have you found to be the best over-the-counter medicine? Omeprazole, Zantac, Nexium Pepcid, Prevacid, Rolaids, etc..? As of now it is not too bad but it does seem to be progressing towards worse?

Talk to your surgeon and they'll probably do an upper GI scan to investigate.

PPI is usually the first start, omeprazole (Prilosec) seems to be the most commonly-prescribed one.

I developed very bad GERD a few years after VSG, I would wake up with my throat raw from acid. My surgeon said that a revision to RNY was the best chance to solve it, with 90% odds it would be fixed. The Lynx procedure is also an option, but only 75% odds of improvement.

Don't assume. Go see a doctor. Ideally - this far out, you can just have a good gastro doctor. Or if you have good relationship with your surgeon, making appointment and seeing him may be ideal. IMO- get EGD - to find out what is going on. The doc may have to find out if you developed hiatal hernia, and see what would be best action plan. Medication, OTC - there is a lot of different on the market, and a few Rx, diet, etc.

On top of that - if you journal your food, a very detailed journal, to see if there is connection between food you eat and GERD. I know that drinking too much coffee could cause severe burning. Regular coffee. I discovered that iced brewed coffee, that one I make myself, does not cause the burning. Strong tea is also fine (black or green) I make my own iced-brewed coffee concetrate, and add an additional acid tamer to reduce the rest of acid in coffee.

I had RNY but a few years ago when I started having severe pain and burning in my esophagus, my gastro did EGD and noticed irritation. What surprised him was that I already had Barrett's esophagus - pre-cancerous changes, on a small % area. Unfortunately OTC PPI did not work for me, and I even tried taking that 1-3 x a day, plus regular antacids. My only option was Dexilant, a very expensive Rx. I started taking that a few years ago, and I am currently trying to phase it out.

I agree with Julie. You doctor should do an endoscopy to see if there has been any damage done. You do not want this to lead to esophageal cancer. It is a horrible disease.

Hopefully you just need a PPI to help you deal with this.

Agreed with the above commenters... tests would be best to rule out any doubt of what potential issues are present

This can be a tricky thing, as it may be straddling a couple of different medical specialties. It may be just a local thing, in which case a visit to an ENT (ear, nose, throat) guy is in order. I have something similar going on now, but it is a hangover from the flu, so yours can be some kind of local infection (sinuses can do all kinds of weird things long term.

There is also something called silent reflux which can cause odd symptoms in the larnyx, sinuses or airway, but is caused by reflux that is not otherwise showing classic reflux symptoms such as heartburn. This can be trickier as an ENT or pumonologist may not be that inclined to be looking outside their specialty for a root cause and wind up just treating the symptom and not the cause. OTOH, if you go to a gastro assuming that it is reflux, he will likely treat you for reflux (you probably have something that relates to that,) but not get to your chief complaint.

So, I agree that you need to see some doctors here, though I wouldn't necessarily see my surgeon as my first stop (after all, they are inclined to treat things with surgery, as that is what they do.)

In the mean time, trying some OTC meds would not be a bad idea to see if that hits your problem - in the intermediate term, it is just more data to consider in solving the problem. While PPIs are usually prescribed out of the box after surgery, there is good reason for that, owing to the big change that had been done to your system at that time. Beyond that, the better practice is to start small and work your way up the scale, as the PPIs can have some undesirable long term side effects, and can take some time to wean off of (they tend to have some snap-back reflux if stopped all at once.) Start with the Rolaids or Tums and see if they have any effect. Then move up to an H2 inhibitor such as Pepcid or Zantac before moving up to a PPI such as Prilosec, Nexium or Protonix or their generic and OTC equivalents.

Good luck in finding an answer

You say from "Time to Time" once a month? more? I have several friends who hiccup, sneeze, runny nose when they are full or possibly have eaten too much. Does it stop you from living day to day life? if not, then surgical intervention may not be the solution. Ask your doctor if it'd be good to possibly try the simple Tums to start and if that does not work, make an appointment for further tests?

It seems to appear when I either: 1. Eat too quickly. 2. Eat too much. 3. Eat bread or something. Sometimes there is a 'tickle' in the back and top of my throat, and if I eat bread or something it may be accompanied by a fit of coughing. (I know-so WHY eat bread? I'm an idiot!) So I guess certain foods trigger it.

When I do low-carb and/or I.F. I do not experience it much. In other words when I am on program and following it-eating less, more protein, less carbs, I appear to be ok. So really I guess it's a way of letting me know when I am going way off the program.

Simple fix? You would think so! But I didn't get to over 350 lbs because of my self-discipline and impeccable self-control. But regardless, it'll be good to look into it and not try to self-diagnose. I've been given some really good suggestions that I am going to follow up on. Thank you all!

At least you can somewhat ascertain that it may not be an issue that needs SURGICAL intervention... Now, you may very well need to seek out a therapist who can work with you to get the HEAD WORK game strong... you has surgery for a reason.

Try to find healthier alternatives. I recently found Folios at Costco that really help with some of the bread-like aspects of what I think I am missing. See what you cad do in the kitchen to combat those cravings with cauliflower crusts... You can do this!

Jennifer Aniston recently made a comment about one of the most important aspects to your health being your voice. I was surprised to hear her comment but fully agree. I mention this because you left it out of your comments. As people age (and/or have wls), many experience some weakness or muting of their voice. It is often a result of untreated gerd.

I have acid reflux and take Omeprozol 20mg once a day. It restored my voice over a period of months back to normal and feels like it makes a big difference in my quality of life. I sometimes take it 2x a day when I feel higher levels of acid due to poor eating choices.