want2B150

Thanks crysta525 for the encouragement. I am so nervous about the placement of the stent this Friday. I am worried about the pressure that the Dr. indicated I will feel and the reflux that I will have during the time that the stent is in. Once it is out, the goal is no more reflux and hopefully I can keep food down, but I still have to start over with the liquids again and gradually move to soft foods and then to solids over another 6 week period.

Hi there, I am glad that you have your reflux somewhat under control. I am still on liquids again and the reflux is still a problem. I do take the meds 3 times a day, but not necessary 30 mins before food. I will be more conscious of that if that is something that can help. I take previcid, but it sounds like you are taking a liquid acid reflux medication, what it is? Perhaps I can ask my doctor to prescribe it for me. I am opening capsules and sprinkling their content over soft ice cups over juice swallow it down without chewing it. Did you have your band removed and sleeve done in two different surgeries or was it done in one?

I am a 5 week post op sleever that converted from a 6 year old band. My surgeon was Dr. Scott Cunneen at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. I lost 65 lbs with the band and then gained it all back after it slipped and had to be replaced. My sleeve recovery has been hard in my opinion as compared to the recovery from the band. I have had a hard time with gastric reflux. Initially reflux would happen after every morsel of food, and even when I didn't eat. It is worse at night when it comes up and chokes me and sometimes even gets in my sinuses. I am on anti-reflux meds twice a day and have been put back on liquids for 2 more weeks. I need to know if anyone else has had reflux this bad and if it will ever go away. I only recall a few occurrences of it with the band. Because I can barely keep food down without refluxing and vomiting, I have lost a total of 26 lbs in the first 4 weeks after surgery. That combined with the 10 lbs I lost before surgery to prepare for the surgery, I have lost a total of 36 lbs. I am no way eating enough food.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I too gained back all my weight loss (65 lbs) originally from the 2 bands that I had (the 1st one and then another 2nd one due to the 1st one slipping), but I had not reflux. Now I have to get a stent because in the area where the band was had so much scar tissue during my sleeve surgery, which was 12/14/13, that now that it is healing that area is closing up and has caused a strickture in the top of the sleeve. This has to be done next Friday and I am so scared. I asked my surgeon, if we should've done as your doctor did, remove the band 1st, let it heal then do the sleave in a separate procedure to avoid the possibility of this happening, and now based on your story it seems as if that would have been better for me. What do you mean by your doctor sews completely over the staple line? To my knowledge, my sleeve is not leaking, it only has this strickture due to the weakened area where the band was trying to heal and in doing so, it has narrowed, which causes all of my food to get stuck and reflux to occur. Because of that, I am basically losing so much weight, just like you described with your band, due to throwing up or just not eating because of the reflux.

Nice to meet you too. I am so glad to meet someone else from Dr. Cunneen. I need help. I am having a hard time with reflux and nutrition. Because of my reflux, I am not able to eat enough food. I am now in week six and can only get down 1/2 protein shake and soup most days. sometimes 1 whole shake and 2 cups of soup. Being 3 months out, how much do you eat daily?

Good to hear from you reshiapooh96. I was told by my doctor that Reflux is a common complication of the sleeve and the the Gastric Bypass is a "fix for reflux" because of the bypass part of the surgery, the patient will not have reflux. Had I known this upfront, I would have rethought the bypass. Even though I didn't want the entire rerouting of my large intestine, it would have been a relief not having the reflux that I am experiencing now.

No, I didn't really have a problem with gastric reflux with the Band. I can only remember it occuring only about maybe 3-4 times over the course of the 6 years that I had the band. Now with the sleeve, it is an everyday occurance, which wakes me up constantly through the night. I take prevacid 2-3 times a day, but still it is a problem.

I am a 5 week post op sleever that converted from a 6 year old band. My surgeon was Dr. Scott Cunneen at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. I lost 65 lbs with the band and then gained it all back after it slipped and had to be replaced. My sleeve recovery has been hard in my opinion as compared to the recovery from the band. I have had a hard time with gastric reflux. Initially reflux would happen after every morsel of food, and even when I didn't eat. It is worse at night when it comes up and chokes me and sometimes even gets in my sinuses. I am on anti-reflux meds twice a day and have been put back on liquids for 2 more weeks. I need to know if anyone else has had reflux this bad and if it will ever go away. I only recall a few occurrences of it with the band. Because I can barely keep food down without refluxing and vomiting, I have lost a total of 26 lbs in the first 4 weeks after surgery. That combined with the 10 lbs I lost before surgery to prepare for the surgery, I have lost a total of 36 lbs. I am no way eating enough food, which is typical of the sleeve, but the reflux is problematic and real.

I am 5 weeks post op and totally understand. I have had a hard time with gastric reflux. Initially reflux would happen after every morsel of food, and even when I didn't eat. It is worse at night when it comes up and chokes me and sometimes even gets in my sinuses. I am on anti-reflux meds twice a day and have been put back on liquids for 2 more weeks. I need to know if anyone else has had reflux this bad and if it will ever go away and what to do about it. I too feel like I can't eat either.