Post op GERD help.

[AZDC72 1]

Hello. First post here. So....

I had a sleeve/hiatal hernia repair done on March 3rd-ish this year. Since the moment I woke up I had severe heartburn/GERD, whatever they call it, it sucks!! I stayed in the hospital 3 days extra because of the pain. They blamed the gas which I'm sure had a lot to do with it. When I got home it took a good month for that gas to exit from my system. My heartburn never went away. I've been waiting for things to "heal" and have been on many meds for it but nothing is working. Not elevating my head, diet, timing of eating, etc when I lay down I can feel it trickle up my throat. No puking, just a stream of gross. My throat feels like someone punched me in the throat, my esophagus is like a burning sharp pain, like a hot knife, and I can't quit hiccuping for the life of me. I wake up in the night gagging and coughing up stomach juice from my lungs, it's in my nose, and the taste is horrible. I mean HORRIBLE! Worse than when I puked up bile for a month straight years ago.

Anyways... I finally am seeing the actual surgeon that did my surgery, not his registered nurse, for the first time. I called over the weekend at my wits end. He wants me to come in this week on Thursday to talk about what we can do. Does anyone know what kind of things they do for this type of thing? Like the "go to." The internet just throws too much info at me. Lol. If I don't get something done I don't think I will have a throat or lungs left. I didn't have issues before the surgery. Now it's been since I woke up in the recovery room.

[GreenTealael 25,430]

Usually the first step is medication (proton pump inhibitors and carafate if ulcer is suspected) followed by diagnostic endoscopy.
I would suggest you insist on the endoscopy since you’ve been dealing with this so long (hopefully it’s done by your surgeon) because it can show nuances that can be missed through other imaging.

Get well soon!

[catwoman7 11,220]

I agree with what GreenTealael said. For really severe cases that can't be managed otherwise, they'll sometimes suggest a revision to bypass (which often improves - if not outright cures - GERD)

Edited August 17, 2021 by catwoman7

[Numbheart 108]

On 8/17/2021 at 7:20 PM, GreenTealael said:

Usually the first step is medication (proton pump inhibitors and carafate if ulcer is suspected) followed by diagnostic endoscopy.
I would suggest you insist on the endoscopy since you’ve been dealing with this so long (hopefully it’s done by your surgeon) because it can show nuances that can be missed through other imaging.

Get well soon!

I agree too, but I also hope he gives you something for temporary relief

[AZDC72 1]

Yeah I'm on Protonix and Prilosec. Plus Gaviscon for breakthrough. It's helping but I'm not sure how safe it is to stay long term on both meds. I see my OG surgeon tomorrow. I hope he will set up a plan to get to the bottom of this. I'm just happy that these 2 meds are helping. So much better! Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate you. 🥰