Reflux 11 Days Post Op

[SassyCassie 14]

I’m 11 days post op, still on liquids, and have had pretty bad acid reflux the last two nights. I’m waking up with sore throat and burning in my esophagus - I started on Omeprazole a few weeks prior to surgery and am taking it every morning.

Does anyone have any recommendations for preventing it while I sleep?

[Lynda486 784]

What surgery did you have? I had reflux for many years before I had a revision in Sept. What I did was not eat after 7 pm (this one will depend on when you go to bed) elevate your mattress or prop yourself up on many pillows. Avoid spicey foods and all that jazz. Do call your surgeons office and they may up your Omeprazole dosage. I was taking 40 mg every morning. Hope you feel better soon!

[catwoman7 11,218]

my surgeon had everyone on omeprazole for a year. I think he's reduced it to six months now, though, with all the negative press PPI's have gotten lately. Most surgeons have always done it for the first 3-6 months (I think mine was an outlier)

[S@ssen@ch 745]

Have you tried other PPI's? Prilosec (Omeprazole) worked for me, but Nexium (esomeprazole) was much more effective. Everyone's different. You may want to talk to your doctor about dosing or other PPIs.

I 2nd the suggestions by Lynda486. Elevate your head at night. Propping up on pillows is "ok", but that can cause you to bend at the waist/abdomen and contribute to nighttime reflux. Look into a wedge or inclined bed therapy. Also, evaluate your eating. Do not eat 3 hours before you go to bed, essentially go to bed on an empty stomach, and reduce acidic foods like tomatoes, chocolate, and spices.

If it doesn't get better with some of these simple modifications, definitely consult your doctor.

[SassyCassie 14]

1 hour ago, Lynda486 said:

What surgery did you have? I had reflux for many years before I had a revision in Sept. What I did was not eat after 7 pm (this one will depend on when you go to bed) elevate your mattress or prop yourself up on many pillows. Avoid spicey foods and all that jazz. Do call your surgeons office and they may up your Omeprazole dosage. I was taking 40 mg every morning. Hope you feel better soon!

Thanks! I had the sleeve on 10/23.

[SassyCassie 14]

I haven’t had reflux during the day, just while sleeping. I’m going to try not eating a few hours before bed and will ask my doctor about other meds next week.

[Mgalind9 3]

6 minutes ago, SassyCassie said:

Thanks! I had the sleeve on 10/23.

Did you have any issues before?

[AJ Tylo 1,399]

I had it bad also get the prescription do a search of my posts i posted the med a few months back - Was great and worked amazing - Only needed it for a few weeks

[SassyCassie 14]

38 minutes ago, Mgalind9 said:

Did you have any issues before?

No, only when I was pregnant! But when I had my endoscopy my gastro noticed my stomach lining was a little irritated which is why I started the Omeprazole prior to surgery.

Edited November 3, 2019 by SassyCassie

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

I was on omeprazole 2x/day. Maybe your doctor would be ok with that.

[RickM 1,750]

Things to try -

take the omeprazole in the evening instead of morning since your problem just seems to be overnight - timing shift may be all you need, but if not...

try 2x per day, or another drug in the PPI class - Protonix, Nexium, Prevacor their generic OTC analogs

try adding an H2 inhibitor such as Zantac, Pepcid, or their generic OTC equivalents in the evening - this class of drug, while less effective overall than PPI's, is reputed to be particularly effective for overnight reflux, and has less worrisome potential side effects than PPI's.

[Christine330 6]

I was on omeprazole 2x a day for years and I had Barrett's esophagus, then it suddenly stopped working so I was started on Protonix and it got rid of my Barrett's pre-OP. I still take it once a day until my next endoscopy. It was the best thing to go from pre cancerous to no signs of it and I've had acid reflux since I was a baby. Protonix gets my vote.