Please advise!! Having a problem 4 years post op. Severe hiatal hernia.

Been experiencing pain/discomfort while/after eating over a year now. I chalked it up to just having a sleeve & maybe I was eating too fast or drinking a little while eating. But pain became more prominent in recent months. Feels like im having heart attack, dry heave, sometimes throw up. Finally went back to my bariatric surgeon to check this out. He ordered upper GI, went yesterday for results. Apparently I have a severe hiatal hernia & its allowing my stomach to be pushed up into my esophagus/media steinum area. They say I have a tourturous esophagus too. They're surprised I'm not in more pain & say I have bad reflux. Never knew because I only feel reflux once in a while, but don't even take meds for it. Doctor suggests conversion surgery to RNY surgery along with hernia repair. WHY is my question?? Why can't he just do hernia repair & be done with it??? He claims hernia will probably reoccur in 2-3 years. Please help. Anyone else experience this? Apparently, I'm only 1 of 2 of his patients in his practice that's had this. My luck!

Get a second opinion. Sounds like this guy is biased in favor of the RNY. Much of the time repairing a hiatal hernia cures reflux, and if that's what YOU want to try, find a surgeon who'll do what YOU want. BUT---hiatal hernias do sometimes recur.

Im up in Canada, so I cant speak for your health insurance options. I went through what you are describing 5 years after a VSG. For the next 20 years I continually got worse. I had the upper GI and found hiatal hernia, acid reflux and vomiting when I slept in a horizontal position. At that time my surgeon said he would not reverse. Thinking there had to be another answer, I lived with my problem for the next 20 years. Then finally the damage was so bad that I was unable to eat any foods, only drink fluids from Jan 2014 until July 2015. In and out of hospital ERs for IV nutrition, lost 50 lbs, until one specialist told me to drink 6 ensures a day. Count the calories, believe me I was just keeping myself alive and not worried about the weight gain. Searching more and not even knowing about this site. I finally found a surgeon offering his expertise in revising to RNY. Obviously I cannot tell you what my future has to hold. But I can tell you, since July 10th 2015, I not longer vomit, experience acid reflux, have to deal with any hiatal hernia, GERD or damaged distal valve. The scar tissue from my VSG surgery and stomach attached to my liver and pancreas. This damage pulled these two organs out of place and the surgeon spent 3 hrs separating this scar tissue from these organs. You have time to search for other opinions but keep track of your symptoms, the worse it gets for you the more damage is being done. This forum has allowed me to find others that had these same symptoms in North America. I was told for years that I was the lucky one in 1,000 having developed this problem. Not true. Since April this year I found and keep in touch with 20 people. Only one has the DS and all the rest opted for RNY. There are more of us out there, keep searching. Get help and don't walk completely away from this surgeon just yet, know your options. Keep well.