GERD

[DK 39]

Hi everyone. Today my doctor called me with the results from my upper GI test and reported my GERD is severe. He told me the sleeve may make my GERD worse and talked with me about possibly getting the bypass instead or taking the risk and going forward with the sleeve.

Any thoughts or experiences would be helpful.

Thank you

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[sleevedshereen 524]

I had GERD prior to surgery. Literally, heartburn all the time. When I did my endoscopy, they told me I had ulcers and a hiatal hernia. I had it repaired during surgery and even though I'm only 3 weeks post op....I have not had ANY heart burn or nausea (from the heartburn and stuff) like I did prior to surgery. So it may affect people differently...all I know is...I feel like i'm cured of GERD. lol

[DK 39]

Thank you thats really helpful and encouraging.

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[ProudGrammy 8,322]

18 hours ago, DK said:

doctor reported my GERD is severe.

@DK
common phrase said here in WLS land.....

"we're all different"

many OP are aware that having

heartburn already, the sleeve is NOT the

best option. if you already have Gerd

there is a strong chance you will develop it.

@sleevedshereen said "feel like i'm cured of GERD"

that's great, but not everyone gets that relief.

@DK -talk with your surgeon again about the

heartburn/your concerns. good luck with your

important "life changing" decision.

kathy

[JT2002TJ 170]

I would seriously listen to your surgeon and consider switching to the bypass. Your surgeon sees tons of patients that he/she operates on, and continues to see these same patients for a lifetime (10+ years). So they have seen it all before, if they say you are likely to have issues from their experience, it is wise to listen to them.

[summerset 5,265]

If there is already severe GERD I'd go for the bypass, especially if your surgeon recommends it.

[Mhy12784 423]

I'm in the same boat as you OP, and after discussing with my surgeon we came up with a reasonable plan. My GERD is severe, as in heartburn all the time while on medication and occasional regurgitating. I'm going to have my preoperative endoscopy like all his patients do. If they see a large hiatal hernia (3 cm +) then it would be a reasonable assumption that having a sleeve with a Hiatal hernia repair would likely improve my reflux from repairing the large defect coupled with weight loss.

If my preoperative Hiatal hernia is small or non existent however, I will likely go the conservative route and stick with a bypass. Truthfully I don't think it's that big of a deal getting the bypass anyway as dumping syndrome is a mostly good thing. But I'll let the endoscopy be my ultimate determinate

[summerset 5,265]

8 hours ago, Mhy12784 said:

Truthfully I don't think it's that big of a deal getting the bypass anyway as dumping syndrome is a mostly good thing.

Ummm, no. Ask people with severe dumping syndrome - they wouldn't say it's a good thing to have.

[Mhy12784 423]

9 minutes ago, summerset said:

Ummm, no. Ask people with severe dumping syndrome - they wouldn't say it's a good thing to have.

Severe anything Is bad. But dumping syndrome helps reinforce diet changes

[summerset 5,265]

Severe anything is bad, that's right. Unfortunately patients are not asked "Do you want mild or severe dumpings or no dumpings at all? Do you want to dump on dairy as well?"

As for mild dumping syndromes: by far not every gastric bypass patient gets it so I wouldn't rely on it to reinforce dietary changes.

Edited August 6, 2017 by summerset

[Subaru 66]

Just starting this process myself (surgeon visit in October). I have GERD which is quite well controlled with rabeprazole with limited break through episodes which are typically triggered by specific food or drink/late eating/weight gain. I don' know about hiatal hernia, except that at my last endo in 2010 I did not have one. I formerly had an esophageal ulcer which has healed. I'd prefer to do the sleeve but will, of course, consult with my surgeon and ultimately go with what he suggests.

Has anyone with well controlled GERD noticed an increase in symptoms after VSG? Decrease? I've read a lot from people with GERD who, it seems, did not have it well controlled prior to surgery. Just wondering if that might make a difference. (I know we are all different. Anecdotes are helpful at this point in my research.)

Thanks all!

(First post!)

[Mhy12784 423]

23 minutes ago, Subaru said:

Just starting this process myself (surgeon visit in October). I have GERD which is quite well controlled with rabeprazole with limited break through episodes which are typically triggered by specific food or drink/late eating/weight gain. I don' know about hiatal hernia, except that at my last endo in 2010 I did not have one. I formerly had an esophageal ulcer which has healed. I'd prefer to do the sleeve but will, of course, consult with my surgeon and ultimately go with what he suggests.

Has anyone with well controlled GERD noticed an increase in symptoms after VSG? Decrease? I've read a lot from people with GERD who, it seems, did not have it well controlled prior to surgery. Just wondering if that might make a difference. (I know we are all different. Anecdotes are helpful at this point in my research.)

Thanks all!

(First post!)

Just my two cents because I'm in the same boat. Statistically Gerd will get worse with a sleeve, obviously it's no sure thing but the numbers don't lie.

If you had an esophageal ulcer I think its more likely they recommend bypass. I've had endoscopy in the past by regular GI guys and never had a Hiatal hernia. Had one by my future bariatric surgeon and he found a 3 cm paraesophagael. He says GI guys usually miss them because they don't fix them so they don't know what to look for.

Regardless I ultimately decided to get a bypass because I don't want to worry about reflux the rest of my life. It's more complicated and riskier than the sleeve but it does offer better weight loss and will cure my GERD. I'm certainly a little scared because I've seen first hand what happens when there's complications but I know it's the best thing for my health

[Subaru 66]

1 hour ago, Mhy12784 said:

Just my two cents because I'm in the same boat. Statistically Gerd will get worse with a sleeve, obviously it's no sure thing but the numbers don't lie.

If you had an esophageal ulcer I think its more likely they recommend bypass. I've had endoscopy in the past by regular GI guys and never had a Hiatal hernia. Had one by my future bariatric surgeon and he found a 3 cm paraesophagael. He says GI guys usually miss them because they don't fix them so they don't know what to look for.

Regardless I ultimately decided to get a bypass because I don't want to worry about reflux the rest of my life. It's more complicated and riskier than the sleeve but it does offer better weight loss and will cure my GERD. I'm certainly a little scared because I've seen first hand what happens when there's complications but I know it's the best thing for my health

Thanks for that feedback, especially your surgeon's feedback on hiatal hernias and GI guys. Very helpful!

Is your GERD well managed now, and on what medication if you don't mind sharing?

Thanks again!

[Mhy12784 423]

My GERD is not well managed, I take 20mg of Omeprazole daily, and still have frequent problems as well as a cough from GERD. I've had my medications increased many times and got nasty GI problems from the dosage, which is why I'm chronically under medicated. It makes a lot of sense for me to just do the bypass

[Subaru 66]

That makes perfect sense. It may well be the direction I end up going as I continue to research. The challenge for me is all this time before even meeting the dr means I just keep researching and thinking.