Omeprazole for acid reflux after Roux-en-Y surgery

I recently attended a support group that I hadn't attended before. Most everyone in the group shared that their bariatric surgeons had prescribed Omeprazole for them post-op. My bariatric surgeon did not order Omeprazole after my surgery and explained to me that the new stomach (pouch) after gastric bypass surgery does not produce acid and therefore the surgery eliminates gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Is Omeprazole really necessary after gastric bypass surgery?

Most surgeons seem to prescribe omeprazole for 6 months after surgery, to ensure we heal without acid being a problem.

RNY does make gerd go away for most people. But not all. Acid reflux is not impossible.

Thank you Grim! Do you want to call my surgeon and tell him this???? This meaning it's not impossible to still have reflux after bypass! He tells me it's not possible; he's NEVER had a patient to have reflux after bypass. Currently waiting on the results of my Bravo testing so we shall see...one of us is going to be proven wrong.

Reflux is rare after bypass. Most who had it before have it cured. But it certainly can happen. I guess if your surgeon hasn't done a lot of RNYs he might never hafe seen it.

i am 10 years post op RNY. Omeprozole did not help me. I have been on RX Dexilant (PPI) for the last 3 years. Hopefully I will be able to get off of that this year. Hopefully

Do you have reflux 10 years post op from bypass??? If so, do you know the reason for reflux?

I have that on and off since RNY. But it got severe 2 years ago. Severe enough for the doc put me on very strong, (and very expensive) PPI. Dexilant.

Before RNY I never had to take PPI. I would get acid burn as a reaction to some foods (i.e pizza, spaghetti, some other foods). I used to try to have pizza a couple of times a year. And everytime I would get GERD for up to 3-4 days after. I think for me - my body reacted to combination of yeasty "crust", combined with tomato sauce, meat and cheese. My system just couldn't handle that.

I believe that GERD is related to food sensitivity and allergies, specially for me.

Alcohol is a horrible trigger for me. If I have a few drinks, the next day my GERD can be unbearable. And lasts a few days.

Our stomach makes avid as a response to histamine. A lot of PPI are actually work on blocking special type of histamine. The food itself has histamine. You can Google that, or look here:.

https://www.healthline.com/health/low-histamine-diet

I recall reading some studies that seemed to show post op omeprazole reduced the risk of ulcer and I do read that many bariatrics advise their rny patients to take it. Mine did. (I am somewhat confused because he advises twice a day and the bottle says once a day. It is over the counter. I listen to my surgeon though.) You might want to find out what the research shows so you can have it in hand the next time you bring it up with your surgeon or primary care Dr, etc. Omepazole isn't just for reflux, it is also used for a variety of GI issues and many times prevention is better than treating ...fwiw. I will see if I can dig up what I found but I will be busy with kids today/this weekend so it might take some time

First, you do not need a prescription to take omeprazole after surgery. You can buy it over the counter pretty cheaply. They even sell it at Sam's Club and Big Lots.

Here's the peer reviewed research on why most Centers of Excellence prescribe it post-RNY for the first six months:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25159641

https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(15)01050-3/abstract

https://www.mdedge.com/acssurgerynews/article/132543/bariatr ic-surgery/open-capsule-ppis-linked-faster-ulcer-healing-aft er

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241489/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769304/