Gene1970

I had a hiatal hernia which they fixed during surgery and I have not had acid reflux since my surgery. I always needed to sleep with 3 pillows before the surgery and I still had reflux after I fell asleep and would wake up choking. All of that is a thing of the past . AS far as Barrett's, I was mis-diagnosed a few years back but I think (and I could be wrong here) that once you have Barrett's you will always have it.

It's never too late for a career change

Very happy to hear that they didn't find anything serious wrong with you!!!!

Any updates from your PCP?

I am from St. Louis, but had my surgery in Kansas City. I am self pay and the prices were so much better there!!!

I didn't have to have a sleep study for WLS, but I did have a sleep study several years ago, I can't imagine it has changed much. Basically you go in late in the evening, they hook about a million wires to your scalp and body along with a couple of other sensors that make you immedialy think... "Oh, this will help me go to sleep"...LOL. Then they tell you to go to sleep. They have a window to observe you and monitor everything from outside your room. In the morning after a HORRIBLE nights sleep you go home. That pretty much sums it up. Amazing enough even with the little bit of sleep that you do get they can get some really good statistics from the study about how many times you wake up an hour and how many times you actually stop breathing. I ended up being diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and had a major sinus surgery and that is probably the only reason I didn't need to do a sleep study.

As you make your pudding add a scoop or two of protien powder...you not only get a delicious treat but you get the bonus of getting in more protien. Win Win!!!

My guess is that it wasn't the bread... I would check with your Dr... maybe some reaction from taking the PPI, Miralax, and Iron so close together is my only guess... Good luck, I'll be curious to see if anyone else has had this or if the Dr has any ideas.

I guarantee that it is the cause of the acid reflux. Make sure they fix it when they do your sleeve. My surgeon fixed mine for free and I think that is the case with a lot of Dr's.

Congrats!!!!

I had horrible GERD/Acid Reflux before surgery. I had an endoscopy a couple years before surgery and they said I had a small hiatal hernia. I was on two prilosec a day and still had acid... that should tell you how bad it was. My surgeon fixed the hiatal hernia (which he said was pretty large) at the same time he did my sleeve and I have had no issues with acid reflux since.

The first two weeks are the worst... it WILL get better. Remember why you did this in the first place. It's not the easy choice, but it's a good choice. Yep, recovery SUCKS. Getting used to eating less is not easy... but give it a month, give it two months... you will be AMAZED at how much better you feel. There will days that you forget you were sleeved.. until you have a meal and get full with just a small amount of food. But then you will be satisfied. You will have had just a few bites of that corned beef sandwich that you so desire... you will have enjoyed it... and you will be full and happy. Hang in there!!!!

Thanks I am sure you will. Keep your protien your primary focus, drink all of your water and avoid sugary drinks and you'll do fine.

I agree with everyone else... Both juices are very acidic and packed full of sugar. I would avoid them at all cost.. even in the long run. At 3 months out I drink the Light 50 Cran Grape juice on occassion but still have to be careful because those calories add up quick. Remember the sleeve is a tool... if used properly it will serve you well but it will let you drink all of the calories that you want... and then it does you no good at all.

Yep, that's perfectly normal. Your stomach is still pretty swolen from the surgery. You will be able to eat more soon.. and it will keep getting better as you continue to heal.

Yes, they did a biopsy and the results came back from the lab as Barretts. A year later they said the tissue looked completely normal. How often to you have acid reflux? For me it was horrible pre-surgery. Even with taking two prilosec doses a day I still had issues. During the surgery they fixed my hiatal hernia and I have not had acid reflux since. I would think having the VSG would only benefit you. Weight loss and the repair of any Hiatal Hernia that you may have can only reduce any problems with acid reflux which is likely why you have the Barretts in the first place.

I'm shocked that the Surgeon said you can't get the VSG with Barretts... You might want to get a second opinon on that. Are you currently taking anything like Prilosec for the acid (even if it's minor)? You might want to see about getting on that and re-testing for the Barretts in a year. I was diagnosed 3 years ago with Barretts and did another endoscopy a year later and found out that I was mis-diagnosed. Good Luck, I'm sure everything will work out.

My guess is that since Kowalski is in the same practice as Hoehn that he uses the same method as Hoehn. I bet you had a leak test and didn't even know it... which is a good thing... Dr Hoehn takes a different approach on checking for leaks than any other Dr. I have heard of. Most Dr's finish the surgery and then the next day the make you drink barium under x-ray so they can watch for a leak. Dr Hoehns approach is two fold... first right before he finished the surgery he submerges your new pouch in liquid and pumps air into your stomach and then looks for air bubbles... much like looking for a leak in an innertube or tire. Then he puts a scope down your throat and into your new sleeve and inspects the seam. He said he's done well over 700 of these surgeries and NEVER had a leak.

I absolutly agree with Lissa... take their advice. If they say it's ok to eat then I wouldn't worry about it. All Dr's are different. I was actually allowed to eat a stripped down version of the adkins diet as my pre-op diet and did just fine.

Welcome back everyone!!! I too come out to the site quite a bit less than I used to and don't post near as much as I have in the past. Congrats on your new business Lissa... what type of business did you start?

Congrats to you both!!!! I was noticing this last weekend that I can pull my wedding ring off really easily now and fear that one of these days it's going to just fall off.... Soon I'll need to get it resized but hope to hold off until I lose a bit more.

It really depends on the Dr. My Dr normally wants to see patients at 1 week, 2 months, 6 months and 1 year. After that he just wants them to get their Vit. levels checked with their primary care Dr. every year. I live about 3.5 hours from my surgeon so for me he allowed me to see him at 1 week and 2 months and from here on out unitl the 1 year mark he said my Dr could just fax over my lab results. He wants labs for the 2 months, 6 months and 1 year markers.

Dr Hoehn is awesome. He did my sleeve in June and I was so happy that he was my Dr. Just the way he checks for leaks sets him apart from any other Dr. out there. Good luck to all of you having surgery with him!!!!

Hang in there... ONLY 3 days... Drink lots of water to help you keep a full feeling. It will be totally worth it. Just keep reminding yourself that your new life starts in just 3 days!!!!!

my two month post op labs are MUCH better than pre-op. It looks like by the time I have my 6 month labs that my cholesterol should be within normal ranges again.