4 days post VSG, Acid Reflux & pain

Hi all,

I had my VSG done on 8/30/12 and seem to be doing ok with the liquids however; for the past two days, I've experienced lots of pain when swallowing and acid reflux. Is this normal? Will it pass? At this point, I'm very thirsty and still taking sips of liquids and when it goes down, I feel a very sharp pain in the center of my chest that goes away once the fluids passes. Anyone else have this problem?

Are you taking a PPI? If you're certain the pain is acid reflux, this should help. If you are already on one, talk to your dr about increasing the dose or changing to another one.

Also, have you tried sipping fluids at different temperatures? Some find that they don't have this problem when sipping warm broth, and some find cold liquids go down better. You may just have to experiment and see if any of that helps.

I was taking a PPI prior to surgery however; I was told not to take it afterwards for some reason. Needless to say I had to take something because it was keeping me awake. I've found that colder liquids or popsicles are much better right now.

Thank you.

I had my surgery 8/30 too and am going thru the EXACT thing... the first 3 days I couldnt take anything cold...yesterday all I could drink was ice water & popsicles.... my Dr dave my 20 mg Prilosec... it doesnt do much...

honestly getting up & walking DOES help... but Im so winded.... Im supposed to walk 5 minutes of every hour that Im awake... it really does HELP... I just have to force myself to do it...

 Give it a couple more days and it will be better!  At least for me it is better.  

My mother and I have both been sleeved (she's 8 weeks ahead of me) and we had different doctors...both prescribed acid reducers post op and both told us to stay on them long term (meaning longer than the two week recommended treatment regimen). I think my mother takes hers once a day, but I had a hiatal hernia that my surgeon repaired and I'm required to take them twice a day. If you think you're having issues with heartburn, you need to contact your doctor. I'm not sure why you would be instructed to NOT take them after surgery, but the acid can do quite a bit of damage if left untreated. It's not something I would just let go and wait and see if it heals itself.

On another note, the pain when swallowing...does it feel like air is trying to come up at the same time you're trying to swallow or shortly after the sharp pain happens? I have the same sensation if I take a sip that is too big and had to re-learn how to drink in much smaller quantities. Regardless of the temperature, I tend to be a gulper and as small as our tummies are now, there just isn't room for any extra air with my liquids. 

Whatever the case, talk to your doctor and get some relief. Hope you feel better soon!

My doctor gave me Carafate to take for 10 days after my surgery along with my Prilosec 40mg. The carafate soothed my esophagus and stomach. Also, I could not drink cold liquids or very warm, they had to be room tempature.

Your stomach doesn;t realize most of it is missing yet, so it still produced the normal amount of stomach acid that it did before surgery.  A PPI will help until your stomach 'comes around'.  

Take smaller sips of water if you can...that pain sounds like the fluid hitting your smaller, swollen stomach.  I had the same problem until my swelling went down.