13 months out from VSG--having trouble eating and drinking

Hello everyone, I've recently begun to have a problem that I'm hoping you can help me with. My surgeon is stumped as to how to help me. 

About 13 months ago I had VSG.I never had acid reflux before the surgery and it appears that I still don't. I was put on PPI's for my recovery period and stopped taking them at the end of November. I took Tums as needed to taper off of the PPI's and it wasn't too bad.

Starting about a five weeks ago, I noticed that I would occasionally have trouble swallowing a pill. This had never happened before. Then I got a pill stuck for about 4 hours twice in two days and the next day I got food stuck in my esophagus for the first time ever. This also lasted for hours.

I was finally able to push the food down by trying a tip I read about online-pushing your chin into your neck in order to widen the esophagus and take a hard swallow.

However, the next day my throat was so inflamed with acid reflux and swelling that I couldn't eat solid food. This continued for 13 days as my bariatric surgeon put me back on PPI's, had me tested for a stricture or other swallowing problems by having an upper GI (no stricture and no evidence of acid reflux or reflux damage). He also scoped me and saw no acid damage at all.

He did say that I have a hiatal hernia and that my sleeve has healed into an L-shape rather than the banana shape that they aim for.

I thought the problem was fixed this past Thursday because he did use a balloon to perform a dilation on my esophagus and I was able to eat solid food in the recovery room after almost two weeks without it. But now after several days of being able to eat and drink normally I am having trouble eating again (food getting stuck) and burping every time I take even the smallest sip of water.

I called my surgeon and he says that the balloon went down easily (no restriction at the top where my swallowing issues are) and he was really just trying to fix the L-shape of my sleeve. That was unsuccessful.

He says that the temporary ability to eat and drink normally for a few days was probably from the scope and other instruments temporarily stretching out my esophagus.

He took me off of the PPI's and doesn't know what to do next. He said that repairing the hernia doesn't guarantee that I'll be able to eat and drink normally again. He also said that he could try to fix the shape of my sleeve with another dilation that I would have to be fully sedated for. But he still doesn't seem confident that either one of these would fix the problem.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be going on? Thanks so much for any help that you can offer!

One thing I would suspect is that after your esophagus is 'traumatized' by something getting stuck, you will have a slight inflammation response.  The more you continue and try to eat, etc, and get things stuck, the worse the inflammation will get.  As far as the Hiatal Hernia, I would see about staying on a PPI until it is resolved, or until you take a good look at your diet and see if there are any foods that are in your diet that may agitate the hernia.  I developed one in the last two years, and my PPI was increased.  However, once I stopped eating crap food, and got back to a proper bariatric diet, it has settled down. 

One of the least 'dangerous' ppi's for long term is ranitidine.  I've been taking omeprazole OTC for years.

Thanks for your reply. I agree that being careful with what I eat is important now--I've been sticking to mostly pureed and soft foods hoping that it will calm down on its own. I eat a very healthy plant-based diet so I think I'm good there.

My doctor doesn't seem to think that there's any benefit to me taking H2 blockers or PPI's since all of the tests indicated no acid problems, but I see him again next week so I'll see what he says then.

could be.  Me, I got ACID!!!  I will probably have my hernia repaired this year sometime.  Then, hopefully, my acid issue will lessen exponentially.  I don't expect for it to completely go away.  But it has gotten better since I have nearly eliminated carbs.  OTC Ranitidine could be a good thing to keep around for just in cases.  Or a big bottle of Tums!

Just FTR ...

Ranitidine is not a PPI -- but an H2 blocker antacid. Here's a link discussing various antacid meds:

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/h2-blockers-how-acid-red ucers-can-help-treat-gerd-symptoms#1

You're right. I'm sorry. I use ranitidine sporadically with my omeprazole...

I had a hiatal hernia for years (was fixed during sleeve surgery) and there were times when I couldn't eat or I would throw up. Felt like I was choking at times. The only thing that helped was drinking a warm or hot liquid before eating. Try that and see if it helps. After my hernia repair, I have not had any issues.

Thanks so much, that really gives me hope! I was confused as to why my doctor would find a hernia but tell me that it might not be worth repairing when I'm having these problems.

I'll try out that warm water tip also.

I have an appointment with my GP next week. I think I'll explain the situation to her and see if she wants to refer me to a specialist. Maybe my bariatric surgeon is in over his head here :-)

Keep pushing for a solution. Do not accept this as your new normal.

Thanks, I absolutely won't! One of the reasons that I'm waiting for my GP to make a referral is that my bariatric surgeon doesn't seem concerned that I'm suffering like this. That's just not right.