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Current State of VSG/GERD

I just saw a post by a woman who is in stage 3 kidney failure due to long term use of PPIs. Which is why I got off those things very soon after my VSG surgery. If you take them, you should start stepping down from them immediately. The product I talk about in this post would be an excellent way to do that. Read on. However, if you’ve not read it, I’d read my other post which includes the links to PPI research before reading this one if you want the full picture. The kidney specific articles are here and here. I also have several posts about getting off PPIs, you’ll see them in the category.

The woman with kidney failure and my current status have prompted me to write an updated post about my VSG and long term GERD issues. I’ve not written anything about it in detail since 2021 when I tried acupuncture – which didn’t do much, sadly. I wrote a passing note within a deck building post last summer, but I have not written anything detailed, which will now be rectified.

Ok, so let’s go back to my last batch of writing from 2021. I did acupuncture, and while I do feel acupuncture is helpful for many issues, I got little results even with the Chinese Death Tea™.

I got into a routine with ONLY famotidine (H2 blocker), 3x a day, totaling 40mg/day and antacids (calcium). This was fine until 2024, when I started throwing up. Often.

I thought I was just overeating, but when the spitting and puking kept happening, I started to pay attention. It was NOT volume related, it was something else. I did some digging and found that throwing up typically begins with VSG patients around the 8-10 yr mark. Why? It is the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) spasming and/or becoming weak. When I mentioned this within my deck building post, I was thinking it was gall bladder, but no.

So I kept on with my famotidine routine and tried to be extremely careful when eating (read: eating TINY amounts at a time) to not miss the signals that I would end up puking. This went on until about a month ago (June 2025) when I was looking at FB and an ad caught my eye. It was an ad proclaiming Kiss My Acid Goodbye!, which of course, has the perfect tone for me. So I clicked it and read about the product and decided to roll the dice on a fucking FB ad.

I interrogated the dude who said he was behind the product – I even ran his emails through AI detection! – and he was, indeed a real guy who was ALSO a VSG patient who had the same puking experience that I am dealing with. I started the KMAG supplement (you can read all about it here: How KMAG works) and after a month, I can say that it definitely does SOMETHING. I’ve cut down famotidine to 10mg Pepcid at bedtime only and I’ve only had 3 pukes in that time, with a few spits w/out puking. I should probably go to 2x/day with it, but I take SO MANY fucking supps. I take: multivitamin, NAC (because I’m a sot), vit D+K sublingual, B12 sublingual, liquid glucosamine/chondroitin (nasty), concentrated liquid biotin/collagen and liquid magnesium (to offset the calcium, which is becoming a non-thing), PLUS the KMAG. It’s a lot.

I do feel that KMAG is healing my ravaged stomach and LES, it’s taking some time, but ALL natural supplements take time.

So that’s where I am with VSG/GERD and supplements. I feel that KMAG is doing its job healing up damage and soothing the LES spasms that are the likely culprit of the puking.

If you want to read ALL my posts relating to VSG, PPIs and managing GERD, here is the category, which is recent first, so you’ll need to go backwards to get to the beginning.

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More PPI and Famotidine Info for GERD

This is a repost of the update I just did on my PPI post from last year.

While I am glad I’ve rid myself of PPI use, I can’t say that it’s been without its issues. I have bouts of GERD every single day, while awake and while asleep. I typically get a flare after eating (doesn’t matter what it is) and occasionally with alcohol.

I have been using Pepcid, an H2 blocker with antacid (10mg famotidine + 750mg calcium carbonate) when GERD was really bad or it was flaring before bed – and it works GREAT! I was having some issues with the H2, but they planed out. I do have some constipation issues, but nothing that a senna caplet can’t handle.

I looked up famotidine and it has the best track record for long term use. There are no long term health issues from using is, as there are with PPIs. I discovered that PPIs have been DIRECTLY LINKED to liver damage with long term use. That is in addition to the potential kidney issues. Here is the NIH article on liver damage. Yeah, HARD PASS on the PPIs.

I do use Tums (calcium carbonate) A LOT to manage the breakthrough GERD that I get during the day and sometimes at night. I was looking up the details of calcium carbonate, such as safe amounts to take daily and found that it’s generally 2-3 grams per day for old people like me. Each chew is 750mg, so that’s 3-4 per day. Sometimes I am within that, sometimes not. The long term overdosing on calcium carbonate can cause kidney stones, but that’s about it. Constipation is a common side effect, which I manage with senna.

BUT overall, I feel that famotidine and calcium carbonate are my long term solution to VSG induced GERD. I use calcium carbonate (Tums chews) during the day if I need it and I take one Pepcid (famotidine + calcium carbonate) before bed. I’ve been on this regimen for about a year and it is OK. Not as good as PPIs, but I just can’t justify the potential organ damage that is caused by stopping stomach acid production. I think there is going to be a huge wave of people with organ failures from taking PPIs for years. I don’t want to be one of them.

So, if you use PPIs regularly, I implore you to rethink that strategy. Remember, ANY drug that ends in -zole is a PPI. Drugs that end in -dine are H2 blockers. That is an easy way to tell what your Dr put you on.

You have to understand that Drs are all about treating symptoms. They rarely look at the long term effects of anything they prescribe. If your Dr has you on PPIs long term, ask him or her if they are aware of the various NIH papers and studies on the long term effects. I’d be shocked if they have read ANYTHING about it. If YOU want to educate yourself, then I suggest you read my posts about PPIs. I’ve linked to various studies and papers that have been done about the potentially deadly health issues caused by long term PPI use. HERE is a fairly inclusive post with lots of referral links. If you want it all, go to the search box (front page) and search GERD, which will give you ALL the posts I’ve made regarding GERD.

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Interesting GERD Development

I am still wrestling with GERD, and I have discovered an anomaly!

I started taking probiotics (Vitacost brand) about a month or so ago. Probiotics are supposed to aid in managing GERD symptoms and I’d been taking Kyo-Dophilus before I got the Vitacost brand without issues. Soon after starting these, I began to have bouts of severe hypersalivation (called “water bashing”) which is caused by acids touching the esophagus an causing an automatic salivary response. In addition to having a LOT of saliva, swallowing it would make the GERD even worse! It was keeping me up at night.

I was even getting GERD spikes during the day and occasional water bashing during the day! I thought I was doomed to start back on PPIs to get rid of this nasty symptom. As it was, I was having to take Pepcid (H2) several times a week just to sleep.

Tuesday I decided to look up probiotics and GERD. Lo and behold, there IS actually a correlation to taking them and having worse GERD symptoms! Sigh. I, apparently, am one of the people who have bad results with probiotics. LUCKY ME! I stopped taking the probiotic yesterday and the GERD has already backed off a bit. I think it’s the Vitacost brand that has something in it that does not agree with me. Nonetheless, probiotics are OUT.

I’m still having some water bashing – I had a couple of short bouts last night. I’m hoping it will cease now that I’m off the probiotics. The minor good news is that the H2 (Pepcid) does not seem to cause complete constipation, so I think I can safely use that for nighttime GERD.

So, if you are taking probiotics and your GERD is no better, try stopping them. They might be making it worse!

This fucking issue (GERD) is a moving target. UGH. I’m mostly OK, but it is something I deal with every single day. BUT would I choose to skip VSG knowing that I’d have GERD? NOPE. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and I’d do it again. It’s worth playing the odds that you won’t have GERD like I do. I think most do NOT. But I will tell you to get OFF PPIs as soon as you possibly can, so your body does not become dependent like mine did. GERD is no joke!

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Looking for VSG/Bariatric info?

Hi there! If you’d like to see ONLY my extensive research on Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, bariatric diet and managing GERD (reflux), you can filter out all my other posts and see just those by clicking HERE. You can see my vlogs about my VSG journey here.

To see any category (recipes, for instance), use the drop down menu to the right labeled “View Posts by Category” and select the category you’d like. Thanks for stopping by!