Acid and decision for surgery

[oceangirlpc 68]

Hi i'm meeting surgeon next month and nearing the end of pre testing. My question is I suffer from Gerd bad. I know when I go for the GI testing I am concerned from the years of this problem and medication over years too. Problem is, I have been leaning towards sleeve and now i'm concerned. Anyone else have the sleeve with Gerd and are you better or worse off now? I'm confused and want this sleeve but not if I suffer in the long run. Any info will be appreciated.

[claddagh66 132]

Hi! I just had my last apt yesterday and had been leaning towards the sleeve this whole time. So excited. Then yesterday my surgeon said I have the starts of Barrett's esophagus and acid reflux. That ended that. He said the acids can come up and burn all the cells and can cause cancer. Also he said if there's s problem with it prior there is a guarantee it will become worse since it's now a straight shot up thru the esophagus with the sleeve.

I know I surely don't want esophageal cancer or throat cancer from all these acids but I am so beyond sad and now I have a very short time to educate myself on the RNY.

Good luck to you with your decision.

[oceangirlpc 68]

oh my I may be just like you to avoid this acid nightmare. I was wondering if anyone had the sleeve and has their acid continued to get worse or better?

[summerebanks 12]

I've created a closed Facebook group called Bariatric Surgeries 2016 if anyone would like to join! I still have to schedule a date for my surgery, but I'd to receive/share pre-op, post-op, and any advice others have!

I am going through the exact same issue! My doctor recommended the bypass as I have acid reflux as if is. After reading so many comments, hearing people's advice, it'd been a bit stressful!

I'm having a second opinion tomorrow but so far I'm leaning towards the bypass.

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[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I know there are people who's acid was solved with hernia repair. Mine went away with band removal. I am a big sleeve advocate, have had great results but if I had reflux.... I would seriously consider bypass instead

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[Bufflehead 6,358]

I had GERD prior to surgery, but I found out that it was likely caused by a hiatal hernia (your surgeon should have you do an upper GI series or endoscopy prior to surgery which will diagnose whether you have a hernia or not). Because my surgeon would be able to repair the hernia during my sleeve surgery, he felt like my GERD would not be problem -- and it hasn't, it's been gone since my hernia was repaired.

If I had not been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, I would have gone for a gastric bypass. No way would I have a sleeve surgery with GERD unrelated to a hernia. Gastric bypass is a great surgery and there is no reason to be afraid of it. If you haven't, you should meet (in person) some people who have had gastric bypass and discuss the surgery and their results with them.

[Amelie2016 116]

I had GERD prior to surgery, but I found out that it was likely caused by a hiatal hernia (your surgeon should have you do an upper GI series or endoscopy prior to surgery which will diagnose whether you have a hernia or not). Because my surgeon would be able to repair the hernia during my sleeve surgery, he felt like my GERD would not be problem -- and it hasn't, it's been gone since my hernia was repaired.

If I had not been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, I would have gone for a gastric bypass. No way would I have a sleeve surgery with GERD unrelated to a hernia. Gastric bypass is a great surgery and there is no reason to be afraid of it. If you haven't, you should meet (in person) some people who have had gastric bypass and discuss the surgery and their results with them.

I'm very pleased to hear that you've not had recurrence with GERD after having the VSG. Today I've been obsessing over the possible complication of developing uncontrollable GERD. So, it's good to hear about VSGers who have not.

Just a question. Do you limit some of the things that can cause acid reflux? You know the list ...

TY!

[Bufflehead 6,358]

@@Amelie2016 nope I do not, at least not on purpose. I don't drink more than a couple of glasses of wine during the year, but that's because I'm not a fan of alcohol, not because I'm trying to avoid reflux. I also don't eat a lot of citrus fruits because of the carbs. chocolate and other candies are out. So to some extent my diet is naturally controlled against reflux.

On the other hand . . .

Garlic, onions, peppers, extremely hot sauces and spicy foods, tomatoes, nuts, cheese, avocados and peppermint are all regular parts of my diet. And let's talk about coffee. I drink black coffee the way a lot of post-op people drink Water. My body seems to love it.

My doc says the most important thing in preventing reflux is to not eat too much. That's very important post-sleeve anyway -- you need to stop seeking the "full" sensation in your stomach and eat just enough to be satisfied, not like your stomach is "full." Good luck!

[claddagh66 132]

I've created a closed Facebook group called Bariatric Surgeries 2016 if anyone would like to join! I still have to schedule a date for my surgery, but I'd to receive/share pre-op, post-op, and any advice others have!

I am going through the exact same issue! My doctor recommended the bypass as I have acid reflux as if is. After reading so many comments, hearing people's advice, it'd been a bit stressful!

I'm having a second opinion tomorrow but so far I'm leaning towards the bypass.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi! I would love to also get a second opinion but not sure who to go to or how much time I have before getting in to see someone else. I have heard so often about how the sleeve can worsen already acid events and create acid issues. My doctor says it's a straight shot up into the esophagus with the sleeve stomach. The RNY offers a Detour so acids get stopped. I called the eng doctor I saw who did my scope and the nurse I spoke with told me she would advise me to follow what my doctor is suggesting and it all makes perfect sense. Also if acids get up there they can eat away all the good cells and can lead to cancer. Pretty scary! Idk. I just am not 100% now with either!????

[claddagh66 132]

oh my I may be just like you to avoid this acid nightmare. I was wondering if anyone had the sleeve and has their acid continued to get worse or better?

It's definitely something to find out for sure. I have a friend who recently had the sleeve and she now has reflux and didn't before and I know others that have no issues. Problem that scares me is I have reflux now and problems from it and I never knew I even had it! I never have indigestion or heartburn or anything. It's silent and doing its dirty work without me even knowing

[claddagh66 132]

My concern for me is I was diagnosed with having chronic reflux changes and findings to suggest Barrett's esophagus. I was scoped and that's how I found this out. I never even knew I was having any problems. Never uncomfortable never burning. But boy did they take out a bunch of nodules and burn spots. All from acid. I do have a hiatal hernia but that's caused by the esophagus opening up and allows the stomach to go up into that space. Both areas will need repaired for me but he also said there's a 20% chance of the hernia coming back too. It's so hard to make decisions that you can be 100% with. It's scary. To me it is. I want the sleeve. My gut says sleeve. My head says don't be stupid. Listen to your surgeon.

[CBT 450]

The possible saving grace, is that people who want to test run the sleeve, can revise to RNY. (I understand it would be a second surgery and all that that brings.) I do think I'd follow surgeon's advise. I do believe it's smart to preop investigate the cause.

[claddagh66 132]

The possible saving grace, is that people who want to test run the sleeve, can revise to RNY. (I understand it would be a second surgery and all that that brings.) I do think I'd follow surgeon's advise. I do believe it's smart to preop investigate the cause.

Thanks so much for your advice! I appreciate it. I think your right also. I will be doing the RNY ????

[justaboutme 42]

I have GERD and Barrett's Esphagus (?) and my surgeon says that he will look for hernia while in there but nothing showed on scope but he felt that loosing this weight will help with all the acid reflux.

[katanne 215]

I have GERD and I'm getting the sleeve. My surgeon said that in most cases if GERD is caused by the extra weight on your abdomen (which mine is - I've been a yo-yo dieter and I've never had GERD when I've been thin), it will most likely resolve after weight loss. If it's caused by something structural with your stomach/esophagus, it might get worse, hence the pre-surgery GI clearance. Of course all of this is Your Mileage May Vary because we're all different, but he said that's what the general trend in his patients has been.