Alexandra*

I know it is really tough and very depressing but so is thinking about living the way we were before surgery. We have to find happiness in other places rather than food. I am happy NOT have the fear of cancer in my esophagus in my the future. Every time I start to get down and depressed because of my problems with eating, nausea, belching and diarrhea. I thank god I didn't have to go through cancer of my esophagus. I too use to use food as something that would make me happy but the way I was living food did not make me happy. Count your blessings! Look around at your life and really look hard there are small blessings everywhere... Happiness starts in our own heart and head. We really are in control not food, things or someone else.... only us.

Oh sorry your question about nausea yes the Creon helps me to keep things down.

Yes the Creon 3600 units helps me a lot. I was at the point of not wanting to eat at all because I hurt so much after eating anything, sick of burping so much that I couldn't eat even I wanted to. My chest hurting so bad from burping every 3 seconds for 15 to 20 minutes after and every muscle in my torso screaming in pain. Most of the time after trying to eat I had to lay down and sleep so everything would relax so I could escape from the pain. One other tip that I just thought of SLOW DOWN small bites chew a lot and I mean a lot and take time in-between bites to let it get down before taking another bite. It has been just over 2 years and it get a little better each month but sometimes I still don't want to eat because it still hurts. But if I take the Creon and eat really slow (sometimes I put my plate down for over an hour before going back to it. I'm getting better slowly! And I have to say it is still worth it even with all the problems. Thanks for listening, Alexandra

Hi again, You are not alone.... It has been two years since my surgery and even with all the problems I am happy that I did it, and I no longer have any sign of GERDS or Barrett's Esophagus. Although I have lost too much weight and struggle to stay at 127 lbs. I am 5'7". My surgeon prescribed a drug named Creon 36000 it is pancreatic enzymes from a pig, yes the same pigs that we eat. I have been taking it for a few months and I take two before all meals and snacks.. It has helped quite a bit with my digestion. Thanks, Alexandra

Hi my name is Alexandra, I had Gastric Bypass Surgery on 11/18/2018 due to GIRDS which caused Barrett's Esophagus. I started this road back in 2017 after many years of having food becoming stuck in my damaged swollen esophagus. It would just stop moving down and with each bite would back up further and further up my throat until I was in so much pain and had to stop eating and wait for 20 - 30 minutes until the food at the bottom would finally slide into my stomach. The pain as that food sat there stretching my already swollen damaged and inflamed esophagus was intense. The GIRDS that had gone on undetected for years had caused my esophagus lining to wallpaper itself with intestinal cells as to protect itself from the stomach acid, this is called Barrett's Esophagus. They told me that if it continued to do so I would end up with cancer. So I went ahead and had the surgery, and at that time I weighed 222 and at 5'7" which was right on the borderline of being able to qualify for surgery under my health insurance guidelines. Today I struggle to keep my weight at 127 and belch constantly after eating, for 15 to 20 minutes, and I mean constantly like every 4 to 5 seconds. Food still gets stuck in my esophagus on occasion but it is usually due to eating too fast and not chewing my bites enough. Sugar is another thing that causes me a great deal of pain with the dreaded "dumping syndrome" and I constantly have diarrhea everyday but I have had that for over 10 years. That started with a bad case of giardia that sent me to the ER and even though I have been tested for giardia many times since then the diarrhea is a constant in my life and makes it very difficult to go to work. But I'm happy to be able to tell you that my esophagus has returned to normal cells that make up the lining so no more threat of cancer at this point. Three weeks after my Roux-en-Y surgery my gallbladder was functioning at 10% so back to surgery I went and with one surgery after another so close together the road to recovery was long. But that is my long story to answer your question about GIRDS