Chronic Heartburn after the Sleeve?

Yes, I had mine in 2008 and I would have severe heartburn every day if I did not take my medication. No matter what I eat...I have tried everything else first and now just accept it and take my heartburn med.

Becky

I can only speak for myself here. I had GERD before surgery and had been taking Prilosec daily for a few years. My doctor did not have any issues doing the sleeve. I have had no problems with GERD since the surgery and I do not take any meds anymore.

That?s great!! Thanks for sharing.

None here and I don't take anything to prevent it either (aside for the required post op period)

I'm almost 2 months out (one week to go) but I haven't had any heartburn yet and I'm not on any medication either (only my multi-vitamins twice a day). Will it start some time soon or I'm just lucky? I've been on solids for a month.

I am almost 2 years out from surgery during which I had a hiatal hernia corrected. I haven't had any heartburn. There is obviously no guarantee for the future for me, but the statistics don't say that "everyone" gets it with the sleeve.

It's not a given, but those with a history of GERD/reflux tend to have it get worse after VSG. Many people do development GERD after VSG due to Boyle's Law (less volume = more pressure). Most of us are instructed to take a PPI for some months immediately post-op and then to wean off it. (The people who aren't tend to complain of hunger because acid can mimic hunger.) We take it because the stomach takes a little while to catch on that it's smaller and doesn't need to produce as much acid as it used to.

The "fix" for acid post-op is revision to RNY.

It is also worth noting that some dietary choices can lead to increased acid and acid issues. For me, for example, I have fructose malabsorption (which is rarely diagnosed correctly in the U.S.) and I've learned that if I ingest monk fruit, which is a sugar substitute in some "healthy" products, that I get horrible stomach acid. As long as I avoid the fructose malabsorption triggers, though, I have zero problems with acid.

Thank you very much for that information. It's helpful for my decision. ?

I had mild reflux before surgery (about 1-1/2 years out), but we had other medical reasons to take a risk with it and the VSG. Also, my surgeon and I were both pretty sure the reflux was caused by the obesity.

I have to take PPIs because of other meds I'm on, so I don't know if I would have any reflux without it. On a normal dose of PPIs I have zero reflux.

So no, not everyone gets reflux. And even in some cases where there is reflux before surgery, it goes away with the weight loss.

I did not have heartburn/reflux/GERD prior to surgery. I developed severe GERD about 8 months post sleeve surgery (my acid was 409% higher than normal) and was forced to revise to RNY. If I had heartburn prior to VSG, I would not count on the surgery curing my acid issue and I would have RNY from the outset.