Throat burns post sleeve

[liveaboard15 1,293]

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

My surgeons office just called they called me in two prescriptions but they are over the counter so insurance may deny them she said. She said to first try the Famotadine which is Pepcid and if that doesn’t work to try Omeprazole which is also over the counter. But they said as long as it’s controlled with the medication I do not need to do anything else. I just worry about it leading to other issues if left untreated but the girl made it sound like if the medicine works there will not be any damage. Does anyone know if I understood that correctly. As In as long as the meds work I don’t need to worry about damage to my esophagus or anything.

I have a script for omeprazole. 90 pills at a time. Cost with insurance which i just picked up yesterday was 6 bucks and my insurance does not even pay anything its just the discounted price. If they dont cover it, Use GOODRX. and you will get a decent discount. After surgery i did get a stronger medicaton for 30 days called pantropazole 40mg and was told to stop taking omeprazole until thats finished.

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

44 minutes ago, SleeverSk said:

Have you noticed what foods trigger it, the 3 main triggers are coffee (caffeine), chocolate, and Carbonated drinks. other people find food like orange juice, tomatoes etc. I find the first 3 I listed are triggers for me especially if I have all 3 on the same day . Mine is controlled with 20mg Nexium daily.

I haven’t sorted out what foods trigger it yet. It’s weird because I really don’t eat anything on that list. I wonder if it would be worse if I did. Just caffeine. I drink iced coffee but that tends to be earlier In the day and so far I have only noticed the burning at night.

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

1 minute ago, liveaboard15 said:

I have a script for omeprazole. 90 pills at a time. Cost with insurance which i just picked up yesterday was 6 bucks and my insurance does not even pay anything its just the discounted price. If they dont cover it, Use GOODRX. and you will get a decent discount. After surgery i did get a stronger medicaton for 30 days called pantropazole 40mg and was told to stop taking omeprazole until thats finished.

Cool. Thanks.

[SleeverSk 635]

11 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

I haven’t sorted out what foods trigger it yet. It’s weird because I really don’t eat anything on that list. I wonder if it would be worse if I did. Just caffeine. I drink iced coffee but that tends to be earlier In the day and so far I have only noticed the burning at night.

is it after you lay down? My surgeon said no food or drink 3 hours before laying down very hard to do I know. it could be the iced coffee I don't know how long after consuming something that it takes to feel "the burn" in your throat but I know the feeling you are talking about well. it normal takes a few hours before I feel it after eating trigger foods and that was one of the reason I didn't work out what my trigger foods were at the start. The size of your evening meal could also be a cause (to much or to little) Surprisingly my dietician told me not eating enough can also cause reflux which I found to be true early on after surgery and sometimes now if I haven't eaten for awhile I get that niggly burn have something to eat and it settles it I normally have a Gaviscon tablet after I eat if I get to that stage too. like I said before I did find that 20 mg of Nexium a day (morning) is all I need personally I think some DR's over prescribe so just see what works for you.

Edited May 20, 2022 by SleeverSk

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

1 minute ago, SleeverSk said:

is it after you lay down? My surgeon said no food or drink 3 hours before laying down very hard to do I know. it could be the iced coffee I don't know how long after consuming something that it takes to feel "the burn" in your throat but I know the feeling you are talking about well. it normal takes a few hours before I feel it after eating trigger foods and that was one of the reason I didn't work out what my trigger foods were at the start. The size of your evening meal could also be a cause. Surprisingly my dietician told me not eating enough can also cause reflux which I found to be true early on after surgery and sometimes now if I haven't eaten for awhile I get that niggly burn have something to eat and it settles it I normally have a Gaviscon tablet after I eat if I get to that stage too. like I said before I did find that 20 mg of Nexium a day (morning) is all I need personally I think some DR's over prescribe so just see what works for you.

Yea I am wondering if I should take the prescription strength ones to start or try over the counter to see if they work first. I mean they are supposedly not great for us to take so if I can get by with the lower MG it may be better.

[ShoppGirl 4,798]

3 minutes ago, SleeverSk said:

is it after you lay down? My surgeon said no food or drink 3 hours before laying down very hard to do I know. it could be the iced coffee I don't know how long after consuming something that it takes to feel "the burn" in your throat but I know the feeling you are talking about well. it normal takes a few hours before I feel it after eating trigger foods and that was one of the reason I didn't work out what my trigger foods were at the start. The size of your evening meal could also be a cause. Surprisingly my dietician told me not eating enough can also cause reflux which I found to be true early on after surgery and sometimes now if I haven't eaten for awhile I get that niggly burn have something to eat and it settles it I normally have a Gaviscon tablet after I eat if I get to that stage too. like I said before I did find that 20 mg of Nexium a day (morning) is all I need personally I think some DR's over prescribe so just see what works for you.

It is after I “lye down” for the most part. I think the reason I have noticed it more this week is cause my husband has COVID so I have been watching tv in the bedroom to stay away from him. I have an adjustable bed so I am sorta more upright but not fully. So basically after dinner I have been “lying down” right away for the past several days.

[SleeverSk 635]

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Yea I am wondering if I should take the prescription strength ones to start or try over the counter to see if they work first. I mean they are supposedly not great for us to take so if I can get by with the lower MG it may be better.

Personally I would try the over the counter like tums, renny's or Gaviscon first, mainly because as soon as you go on Nexium its hard to come off which is why I am still on them even though my surgeon wants me to try come off them. Pre surgery every time I tried to come off them I would get what they call rebound reflux which is bad, which I really dont want to risk now that I have had surgery. Also if you work out your trigger food is and hopefully avoiding that could be a workable option. If you do start on the meds start on the lowest dose.

Edited May 20, 2022 by SleeverSk

[sprukop0924 64]

Interesting. During my initial visits with the surgeon when we discussed whether I should have the sleeve or bypass, he asked me if I had Gerd. I did not, but did have occassional heartburn. So, he ordered an endoscopy - the result of which cleared me for the sleeve.

I started experiencing "gerd-like" symptoms on the 3rd or 4th day after surgery. I also have an adjustable bed and kept the head raised so that it was less painful getting in and out of bed. Pre-op it was always my habit to take my blood pressure and cholesterol meds at night just before going to bed and I continued this practice after surgery. So, it dawned on me that I should probably take them in the morning instead. But the first night without meds I STILL had reflux. So, the next night I made sure I had finished all of my Protein requirements before 9pm and only sipped Water until bedtime. MUCH better night last night. I think I read that the stomach is still secreting acids for larger amounts of food than I am consuming at this stage and there will be an adjustment. Hopefully the issue will correct itself as my stomach heals. At least that is my hope. In any case, I have my first follow up with the surgeon on Monday and I will discuss it with him.

[SleeverSk 635]

1 minute ago, sprukop0924 said:

Interesting. During my initial visits with the surgeon when we discussed whether I should have the sleeve or bypass, he asked me if I had Gerd. I did not, but did have occassional heartburn. So, he ordered an endoscopy - the result of which cleared me for the sleeve.

I started experiencing "gerd-like" symptoms on the 3rd or 4th day after surgery. I also have an adjustable bed and kept the head raised so that it was less painful getting in and out of bed. Pre-op it was always my habit to take my blood pressure and cholesterol meds at night just before going to bed and I continued this practice after surgery. So, it dawned on me that I should probably take them in the morning instead. But the first night without meds I STILL had reflux. So, the next night I made sure I had finished all of my Protein requirements before 9pm and only sipped Water until bedtime. MUCH better night last night. I think I read that the stomach is still secreting acids for larger amounts of food than I am consuming at this stage and there will be an adjustment. Hopefully the issue will correct itself as my stomach heals. At least that is my hope. In any case, I have my first follow up with the surgeon on Monday and I will discuss it with him.

yes after surgery ( early weeks) you do have extra acids from the healing, reduced stomach size etc which is why most surgeons put their patients on meds for 6 months post op but if you can manage without them that is best I guess as then you don't have to go through tapering off them etc.

[sprukop0924 64]

1 minute ago, SleeverSk said:

yes after surgery ( early weeks) you do have extra acids from the healing, reduced stomach size etc which is why most surgeons put their patients on meds for 6 months post op but if you can manage without them that is best I guess as then you don't have to go through tapering off them etc.

No, my surgeon did not prescribe any reflux meds. Guess I can tried Tums, since I have those on hand.

[Arabesque 7,258]

11 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

My surgeons office just called they called me in two prescriptions but they are over the counter so insurance may deny them she said. She said to first try the Famotadine which is Pepcid and if that doesn’t work to try Omeprazole which is also over the counter. But they said as long as it’s controlled with the medication I do not need to do anything else. I just worry about it leading to other issues if left untreated but the girl made it sound like if the medicine works there will not be any damage. Does anyone know if I understood that correctly. As In as long as the meds work I don’t need to worry about damage to my esophagus or anything.

I take a PPI every morning (20mg Nexium), always will & it controls mine. I also found not eating a heavy Protein a couple of hours before going to bed eased the odd night of a bit of a sore throat.

If meds are going to be a long term solution, try esomeprazole instead of omeprazole. It is a more recent & advanced formulation of basically the same medication & has fewer side effects (so my pharmacist told me yesterday). You can also make some dietary changes that help too. Avoid or reduce carbonation & caffeine intake & avoid spicy, rich, creamy, fatty, oily food. Allowed me to manage my reflux pre surgery with out medication except on rare occasions like if I had too many G&Ts or champagne 😉.