Question:
Are ulcers common post-op RNY? How do you get rid of them?

I am a little over 10 months post-op RNY. I have had ulcers since about 3 months post-op. I have never in my life had an ulcer pre-op. I know that because I did have a scope pre-op that showed no ulcers. Anyhow, I had my 5th scope this week & once again I have not one but now 2 ulcers!! Why is this? If I wasn't prone to them pre-op why am I now? I wouldn't really care about them if they weren't bothering me but they are making me sick & nauseated most of the time. When I went in for the scope the gastro Dr. looked at me like I'm nuts. Like why am I in here type thing. He said to me you do realize RNY surgery is suppose to make you sick. I realize that BUT sick all the time no matter what I eat? Even 10 months post-op? I don't know I have a hard time believing that! I have been on 4 different meds. for my ulcers & they have responded to none of them! Is this normal? The gastro's recommedation is to get off the ulcer meds!!??? How in the world is that going to help??? Should my ulcer just heal on its own? Will it ever go away? The only one that seems a little concerned about this is my PCP. He cacluclated out due to my weight loss I am only eating 600-700 calories a day. Due to the fact of me being nauseated all the time. But my blood work most always come back just fine. So I guess that is a good thing! Should I be concered about these ulcers? Or is this just normal as my surgeon & the gastro Dr. kind of indicated. How can I get rid of my ulcers if they haven't responded to previous treatments with meds?    — Allison T. (posted on February 20, 2003)

February 20, 2003
I developed ulcer about 15mos post opt, I didnt know what i had i thought it was bad gall bladder, I was due to have surgery for it, when I passed out at work,I had bleeding ulcer could of bleed to death, MY Rny Doctor felt I needed a operation called Vagotomy to cut the nerves of stomach to keep new ulcers from forming again. I was on Zantac interveniou for fews to heal and then had surgery, They are nothing fool around about, Bleeding Ulcers can kill you if you bleed like i did and eventually will be weak and pass out. It is very important to watch your stool for black tar look, that could be blood lose. please see your doctor for treatment right away.
   — gail01

February 20, 2003
I don't think they are that rare, but they're not exactly very common either. No everyone gets them, and you're not supposed to feel sick all the time after RNY as that doctor indicated. If everyone was supposed to feel sick and have ulcers after RNY, I highly doubt hundreds of thousands would get this surgery- i completely disagree with that doctor! I felt great for the 1st 6months, only threw up once, ate anything I wanted w/o nauseau, lost alot of weight, was the poster-child of LAP RNY for my surgeon! But then I woke up in excruciating pain and landed myself in the ER, and 3 hospitals later (after no one knew what was wrong) they discovered i had a perforation in my stomach and marginal ulcer, so I needed emergency surgery. It's now 2 months later, and i still get nauseaus alot and tumy hurts almost all the time, depsite medicine, like you. My surgeon said what happened to me (not sure if he meant the hole or the marginal ulcer, or both) has a less than 1% chance of happening. In about 700 patients, I am the only one this has happened to. I was under the impression once you had an ulcer, you have it for a long time, or atleast the symptoms come and go. My bloodwork is always fine, too, I guess that's why ulcers can be hard to diagnose or find sometimes! I plan to see more specialists about this, though, how can someone live their life in pain like this? You certainly shouldn't have to! I had to have surgery, but I think others can have surgery to remove the ulcers if conventional methods do not work. But, i'm no expert, so I would talk to your doctors more, or try another gastro, everyone has different opinions. Goodluck to you, I hope u feel better!!
   — Lezlie Y.

February 20, 2003
I developed an ulcer about 6 months out. It was misdiagnosed several times, when someone finally decided to do a scope the gastroenterologist said it was the biggest ulcer he had ever seen. It was treated for 4 months with prevacid and it did not heal. I had the ulcer removed last september and have been fine ever since. I do not think they are very common, but in my case, very painful and not to be messed around with. I wish you the best of luck with yours.
   — RebeccaP

February 20, 2003
Put me in with Rebecca. I developed an ulcer right on the staple line. Dr prescribed Prevacid. That made me hungry because I finally could eat. the latest ulcer is an inch long. Getting scoped monday. I did read somewhere that ulcers on the staple line are a common event with post op but that could just be an individual thing. I do know I do not have the bacteria so it has to be the surgery. Hopefully This next surgery will not have a recurrence. I don't like Prevacid because it makes me hungry. It also makes me feel better. Sorry for the long post
   — snicklefritz

February 20, 2003
I think I may have an ulcer but I hope there is another way to tell without scoping. I've had so many painful and scarey procedures throughout the years and scoping sounds painful. I don't know how you guys can get through it. Seems you'd puke with that going down your throat. Is there another way to check for an ulcer?
   — Danmark

February 20, 2003
I definitely had an ulcer, although it is now healed. I would like to add, though, that the endoscopy isn't really bad. They give you enough 'happy juice' that you really don't remember what went on. I know that after my second surgery, when I was still having trouble keeping anything down, my surgeon wanted me to have another upper GI. There was no way I was going to swallow that barium junk if I didn't have to. I asked him if they couldn't do the scope first and that's when the found the ulcer. I took Prevacid for several months, but when I saw him in January, he asked me if I thought I still needed it. I told him no and he said to discontinue it, so I did. I haven't had any problems since then.
   — garw