Severe Gerd has caused ulcers

[Lonna 1]

Hello. I'm almost 1 year post op. I love that I've had the surgery and that I lost 90 lbs. but I'm still suffering from Severe Gerd. I went to a Gastroenterologist and had a endoscopy done and it showed that I had 4 ulcers in my esophagus and gastritis due to the acid. I'll admit, I wasn't taking my PPI's like I was suppose to so maybe that's why it became so severe. I definitely want to get it in check because I don't want the worse to happen. I'm taking my omeprazole 2x a day now and I haven't felt any acid pains...I go for another endoscopy in a few weeks...hope it's good news. By the way,..I did have acid reflux before surgery now it has turned to Gerd.

[Strwberriekissesrbetter 2]

I get severe acid reflux 2! I am almost a year out & I am taking up to 5 prilosecs a day! When u say u werent taking your ppi as directed where u taking too many? .not enough? I am just curious cause I have the fear of developing an ulcer! by any chance did they tell u how to prevent further damage?

[Hopeful Spirit 7]

Hi: Hope you are "holding up" okay. Even though I haven't had surgery yet (due 10/17), I have a particular concern about GERD. I evern posted a question about it on this forum, but only received one response from someone who didn't have it before surgery and had it after. The research that I have done (and what they tell me at the hospital -- Mass General in Boston) is that some people develop much worse cases of GERD after Sleeve Surgery and Some don't. It seems to be a toss-up as to what result you have, and it looks like you are on the "got worse" side. I am taking Prilosec now and have been for several years. I will definitely continue taking it. I think if you stick with that and follow up with your endoscopies, you will be okay. So sorry to hear of yoiur distress. But it looks like you are doing soooo great weight wise! You are a real inspiration to me!

Hang in there.

[Lonna 1]

Well I didn't even know I had acid reflux at first and I don't know how long I had it. When they did all the tests before scheduling a surgery date, that is when I found out I had it. I never had heartburn or anything to let me know I had it but the barium swallow showed that I did. I was fine after surgery I didn't take any PPI's like I was instructed to do. About 2 weeks after, I started feeling very bad burning in my throat so I started taking Prevacid. I only took it every now and then (only when the burning got unbearable) because I honestly hate taking medicine. After months and months of "off and on" burning I decided to go see the Gastroenterologist. That is when I found out I had the ulcers. I take a med called sulcrafate to help with the ulcers and i take prilosec to stop the acid to let the ulcers heal. They're scheduling endoscopies every 6 weeks to keep an eye on things. I wasn't taking enough of the PPI's so that may have caused it. Thank you for the compliments and I hope I answered some of your questions. Good luck with your surgery!

Hi: Hope you are "holding up" okay. Even though I haven't had surgery yet (due 10/17), I have a particular concern about GERD. I evern posted a question about it on this forum, but only received one response from someone who didn't have it before surgery and had it after. The research that I have done (and what they tell me at the hospital -- Mass General in Boston) is that some people develop much worse cases of GERD after Sleeve Surgery and Some don't. It seems to be a toss-up as to what result you have, and it looks like you are on the "got worse" side. I am taking Prilosec now and have been for several years. I will definitely continue taking it. I think if you stick with that and follow up with your endoscopies, you will be okay. So sorry to hear of yoiur distress. But it looks like you are doing soooo great weight wise! You are a real inspiration to me!

Hang in there.

[Lonna 1]

Wow, 5 a day!!! I didn't even know you could take that many in a day. Even with the ulcers they tell me to only take a 40mg Prilosec 2x a day. I am taking a med called sulcrafate to protect the ulcers from further damage and I take the prilosec to stop the acid from damaging them. If you want to be safe and make sure things are ok, maybe u can schedule for an endoscopy as well. Gerd is the pits! Hope it gets better for you.

I get severe acid reflux 2! I am almost a year out & I am taking up to 5 prilosecs a day! When u say u werent taking your ppi as directed where u taking too many? .not enough? I am just curious cause I have the fear of developing an ulcer! by any chance did they tell u how to prevent further damage?

[KellyL 173]

Hello and congrats on the 90 lbs, that is fabulous! I'm so sorry to hear about the GERD. Have you ever been diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia? I was on a PPI but just stopped taking it, because I don't have an acid problems it seems but I wanted to take it during the initial healing period to help protect the staple line. I didn't want the PPI to affect absorption of Vitamins for me. Some Drs suggest only taking for 1 month and some up to 6 months but I know some people never stop taking them at all. So far everything seems to be fine without the PPI, but I do wonder sometimes if I shouldn't go ahead and continue with them. I wish you luck with getting the problem resolved.

[swizzly 901]

I had to take 40 mg protonix twice a day for the first two months post-op, after that it switched to 20 mg once a day. I haven't had any acid problems at all (and only had very occasional mild heartburn pre-op as well), but I am not ready to stop the protonix entirely and see if I'd do fine without it. I think I will go up to a year before I try that just to be conservative about it. PPIs are a very safe class of drugs with hardly any side-effects, so their benefits (which are considerable) definitely outweigh any risks (minimal).

Good luck conquering the GERD!

[Lonna 1]

Hello and thank you You all are so lucky to not have any acid problems. It's all new to me because I've never had any problems before. I pray that it will pass and that I don't have to take meds forever. I'm looking at natural ways to help it too. I heard that Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar is good for helping gerd. I didn't have any issues for the first 2 weeks after surgery, then all of sudden it came. You may be just fine without a PPI..unfortunately I didn't get that lucky. But nevertheless, good luck with your weight loss!

Hello and congrats on the 90 lbs, that is fabulous! I'm so sorry to hear about the GERD. Have you ever been diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia? I was on a PPI but just stopped taking it, because I don't have an acid problems it seems but I wanted to take it during the initial healing period to help protect the staple line. I didn't want the PPI to affect absorption of Vitamins for me. Some Drs suggest only taking for 1 month and some up to 6 months but I know some people never stop taking them at all. So far everything seems to be fine without the PPI, but I do wonder sometimes if I shouldn't go ahead and continue with them. I wish you luck with getting the problem resolved.

[weho 103]

So sorry that you are suffering from this! Did you have to go on a special diet due to the ulcers? I get concerned when I read stuff like this. I have not taken any type of antacid since my surgery (or before). My doctor did not recommend taking one. Which is weird. I guess my concern is that I will find out when it is too late that I needed to take one. But I haven't had any problems that I am aware of. Good luck to you!! Sending positive thoughts your way!

[Lonna 1]

I wouldn't worry too much. I noticed that most people who didn't have an issue with ulcers before, usually don't have issues later. The thing is, is that I had acid reflux before surgery..I just didn't know I had it because it never bothered me. I'm pretty sure and hoping that you do just fine . Thank you so much for the positive thoughts!

So sorry that you are suffering from this! Did you have to go on a special diet due to the ulcers? I get concerned when I read stuff like this. I have not taken any type of antacid since my surgery (or before). My doctor did not recommend taking one. Which is weird. I guess my concern is that I will find out when it is too late that I needed to take one. But I haven't had any problems that I am aware of. Good luck to you!! Sending positive thoughts your way!

[Beth323 13]

I am Pre op yet (10/7/11) I have mod Gerd. Through the day not bad but I really have to watch my night time intake or I really suffer when I go to bed. My surgeon says he looks around when he does the sleeve and may throw in some type of stitch at the top of the stomach where the esophagus attaches that helps. He did say some poeple will have to take medicatin the rest of their life. I hope all goes well with your tests

[hadouni 301]

The group I'm with requires an endoscopy prior to surgery. I'm really nervous about it because I was a barfer in my late teens and early 20s and have a pretty strong gag reflex. I'm told they give you a strong sedative before they do it but I'm more afraid of this than I am of the surgery! I've had trouble with heartburn since I hit about 200lbs. I took prilosec in the late 90s for a short time and took something Rx for the last two months of my pregnancy in 2008. I manage now with pepcid AC (chewable) 4-5 days per week. I'd love to get rid of the heartburn but I want the fat gone more!