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Part 3 of POST OP LAP NISSEN...Please continue to post!!!

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 3/10/2008 5:08 AM (GMT 0)

dental hygenius....

Welcome....this is a WONDERFUL site!

Feel free to email me [email protected]  I am now 6 weeks out of a lap nissen/hital hernia repair and I FEEL GREAT!  I'm basically eating whatever I want, starting to exercise and have been active with my 3 year old (28lbs) since 2 wks out. Please email me with questions/concerns. There are 3 parts to the lap nissen posts....there really is great info on here.  Everyone reacts differently to surgery. I even had bronchitis right after, I thought my surgeon was going to have a heart attack when he heard my coughing fit!  But I survived.

Right after surgery, you will be uncomfortable, the gas pains in the shoulders are not fun at all!  I wasn't very hungry, just thirsty...but you will be unable to drink a whole lot just due to swelling and some pain. I am prone to nausea, which is unlucky for me.I now have a HUGE bottle of phenergan for my tummy now. Yes, you will not be able to vomit. It was a HUGE concern for me, especially since I am hoping to get pregnant soon and got VERY sick with my first pregnancy.  So, we will see what happens. Some poeple have said they are able to vomit eventually, I guess it's just a wait and see thing! 

Before my surgery, I had esophageal ulcers that were on there was to cancer, a 4 inch hiatal hernia, I would wake up practically vomiting at night, water gave me heartburn and I would cough and cough because of the reflux. I NOW, can drink water, lay down, and NOTHING.....it's GREAT. I can eat at night and no heartburn, no more coughing (except for the bronchitus) and  I feel like a NEW PERSON. 

Now, I have not gone back to work, but am actually quitting tomorrow! whoo hoo! People go back to work at various times. I was ready to go back at about 3/4 weeks.....BUT I was very sick!!! PLUS, my job is very physical, I work in a physical therapy office, moving patients and showing exercises..so I was NOT about to do something at work that might jeopardize the surgery.....

This is a GREAT site for help/questions/ideas etc. Please keep us posted. Everyone here is VERY nice. I believe that doghouse and I are the most recent to have the surgery, she has had a slightly different experience than me, but she also went back to work, where I didn't. Keep asking questions.....we are ALL here to help!!!!

:-)
Posted 3/10/2008 5:15 AM (GMT 0)
Tomorrow will be 7 weeks, and I'm loving it. Not a drop of reflux. Just a touch of nausea once in a while. I was back to fairly heavy work and lifting within a few weeks. I'm riding my bike, and doing everything I did before, only without misery from my stomach. I say do it.
Posted 3/10/2008 11:45 AM (GMT 0)
It's not fair! I was supposed to have mine the same time as doghouse and I am still waiting. You all sound like you are doing so well and I am still struggling along! All private patient operations have been cancelled at the hospital that my surgeon works out of so we have been advised to find a different surgeon. That means another appointment to meet him and then waiting for a date again (and I haven't even been referred yet!). It also means we will have to travel further. I can't believe the state of our health service! Sometimes I wish I lived elsewhere! Okay rant over! It's great to hear from you guys who are enjoying life after Nissen!
Posted 3/10/2008 10:10 PM (GMT 0)

can you still drink soda? I have heard that you may never be able to drink carbonated drinks again? Another concern is that I am only 24 and I don't know if this surgery will last a lifetime.

Would you guys still opt for the surgery if your meds were controlling the reflux fairly well? I also have a small hiatal hernia. 

Posted 3/10/2008 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
I heard that you can't drink fizzy drinks too. Maybe someone who has had the surgery will let you know for certain. If the meds were controlling my reflux I don't think I would have the surgery until my symptoms became worse. But then again I'm not sure I would want to be on medication for years and years. Maybe wait a few years and then reconsider? I am having it because I have so many side effects from the drugs and can only take the milder type (Pariet).
Posted 3/11/2008 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
dental hygenius...It seems like we are in a similar boat here.  I am 26.  I am meeting with a gerd specialist for the first time in June after seeing less than par gi docs for the last 7 years.  Can you believe it is taking that long to schedule with him?!?!  Crazy.  I hope this means he is good.  I am going to be taking the steps and having the necessary tests done to move forward to surgery.  I get relief from my nexium - 40 mg once a day.  For me, it is more an issue of taking meds for the rest of my life bc I simply could not imagine doing that!!  I am petrified to have surgery though.  My biggest fear is that things turn out worse then they were before since I can live a very normal life with the meds.  However reading these posts have made me feel like it could very well be worth it.  I would love to keep in touch as I head down that road as well.  Keep us posted.  Do you have an email we could correspond further down the line?  Let me know :)  Ally, I may also email you too if you dont mind!

Posted 3/11/2008 1:10 AM (GMT 0)

Bo peep & Dental hygenius....

Carbonation causes problems because of all the gas. Most people after the surgery have difficulty making themselves burp to get the gas out, same thing goes for eating too quickly or even drinking water too fast. Gas X will become your friend. I've had some soda....sometimes I'm ok, other times, I get VERY full. But, before the surgery I drank too much soda, and needed to quit anyway.....Although I would love to have hotwings and a beer....but I won't try that anytime soon! WAY too fizzy!

One of the things that can happen with some medications, they control symptoms, not fix the source of the problem. I was on my way to extremely damaged tissues, and I am only 29. (Like the way I say ONLY 29! sorry, made me laugh!!!)  I was to the point that the thought of living with SO many diet and life modifications just would not be possible for me, especially when I get pregant again....I had lost a lot of weight when I was pregnant and was hospitalized at 6 months. It is NOT worth it. These "side effects" from the surgery are WORTH EVERYTHING!!! I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat.  If I have to have it again in 20 years.....I won't think for a second of not doing it.

I am very pleased with my results! 

 

Posted 3/11/2008 9:21 AM (GMT 0)
All your positive comments are making me feel very confident about the outcome of surgery. I have an appointment on Thursday to see a new surgeon so am hoping to progress this quickly. I am ONLY 44 (but mentally I feel like 22 most of the time!)! GERD messes with my life severely. I live on a smallholding on a mountain and because of all the exercise I need to eat a certain amount to keep my weight up. But lately I have been unable to do that and have lost 21lbs. (and still losing).

I'm not too bothered about the fizzy drinks but I do love hotwings!

I look forward to hearing how everyone gets along with their various appointments and I will keep you updated on mine. Your never know dental hygenius, maybe we will have our nissens together and can compare notes!
Posted 3/11/2008 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
Bo Peep -
I'm 5 months post op - had the Nissen in late October. I'm 46 and didn't want to spend the next 40 years dealing with PPI's. IT WAS WORTH IT! No reflux. No heartburn. I can go to bed and lie down flat. I'm not worried about the inability to vomit and the surgeon did the wrap perfectly so that I can burp without any difficulty. I just signed up for a membership at a local gym. I don't miss soda - it's healthier not to drink it all the time anyway. I do have soda as a treat as well as a glass of wine as a treat once in a while. I enjoy them more now than I did when they were an everyday beverage. Besides, I grew up in the 60's and back then, we drank water or milk and did not suck down soda like people do now.

I was back to work after 3 weeks.

YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU HAD THE SURGERY!
Posted 3/11/2008 2:02 PM (GMT 0)
Bo Peep, don't fret, I can still eat hot wings, it's just that beer is SO much better than water with them! EWWWW

I'm SO happy you are feeling more confident!!

Posted 3/11/2008 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
Lucy....
Send me an email anytime!
Posted 3/12/2008 12:58 AM (GMT 0)

well, I canceled the surgery. I guess I don't think I am ready for such a dramatic lifestyle change right now. Although I know that getting rid of this reflux would be the best change ever, I have a strange gut feeling that maybe now is not the right time for surgery. Everybody says, oh well you should get rid of the sodas and all the preservatives anyways, but does anybody ever think that that is the real underlying cause of our GERD and hiatal hernias in the first place? Sorry, I was raised by two hippies who really don't want me to get the surgery.

One other thing, I would be so mad if I got the surgery and in 5-10 years or even a little bit longer something better was out there. 

If my GERD was as bad as most of you guys on the forum, I would for sure get the surgery ASAP. But I am so worried that I am kind of being hypochondriac-ish. Of course I have had all the tests and GERD was the diagnosis.  

Posted 3/12/2008 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
I'm new to the board and am 18 days post Lap Nissen.  I have had a fairly easy recovery until yesterday.  I am now experiencing severe pain on my left side extending up under my arm.  I spoke to my surgeon yesterday and he recommended increasing my pain and anti spasm medication.   Even with the the increased meds, not much has changed with the pain especially when I am standing up.   I'm concerned that this pain is coming so long after the surgery and it is a pain I have never had before.  Has anyone had a similar experience?   
Posted 3/12/2008 7:36 PM (GMT 0)

dental hygenius...how long have you had gerd?  How long have you taken meds and do you take them every day?  Have you ever tried other alternatives to controlling your symptoms?  I have been on a very very long journey of trial and error to try absolutely everything possible to heal myself before undergoing surgery.  I think you made the right decision for now.  Give it time.  Good luck.  Oh and I too have def said I would be so upset if I got the surgery and in five years they had some minor non invasive procedure instead.  ha  Thought that was funny.

Posted 3/13/2008 12:05 AM (GMT 0)

Hi all, I'm from the fibro forum but thought I would add my two cents in here if you don't mind. I had surgery over 9 yrs ago. It was rough at first getting stuff down but it got better. It was the best thing I could have done considering how bad mine was. Even sleeping with the head of the bed up I was still choking in the middle of the night and asperating into my lungs causing pneumonia.

I still can not vomit but I know some people that can. I drink diet Pepsi all the time and yes it may bloat me some but I have no problem rather than that.

Get use to having more gas cause it has to go somewhere and it doesn't come up.

Marlee

Posted 3/17/2008 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
outtllaw

Whats "LPR". I want my soar throat at night to be stopped by surgery but hearing that it may not is causing me to pause.

S
Posted 3/23/2008 8:39 AM (GMT 0)
I finally have a date for my Nissen! April 10th! Will let you know how it goes.
Posted 3/27/2008 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi. I have to go in for pre-operative tests on April 7th. What are they? confused
Posted 3/28/2008 1:53 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Elaine

I didn't have any pre op tests. But I imagine they could include a blood test, sometimes doctors have patients go through EKG's, pee tests, etc.

I really wouldn't worry to much, and you could ALWAYS call your doctors office to find out.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Posted 3/28/2008 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hey everyone

SO, I am now almost 9 weeks post op!! YEAH. I feel GREAT! I've been going to the gym a few times a week, and just have to be very careful with the amount of weight and reps I do on the machines, But I try not to over do it. The only time I feel anything is if I do more than 30 minutes of cardio and get to breathing too hard.....then I feel my diaphragm pain.....

I'm still NOT eating nearly as much as I did before, BUT, I'm ok with it. I've lost 13 lbs so far, and am hoping to shed some more.  I've been pretty much eating whatever I want, except for the fiber one bar I used to eat each morning, I'm just afraid of the texture, (i dunno, maybe I'm just weird!) I even had a STEAK on Easter....OH MY GOSH....it was gooooood!  yeah

I really don't think there is much at all I am NOT doing. My husband gets mad when I start to clean and move stuff...

Oh, and I can wear a normal bra!!!! YEAH. I never thought I would again. HA!  Granted it gets taken off ASAP!

Happilywrapped, porcelain doll, old poopie and doghouse HOW ARE YOU GUYS????

 

Doghouse whatever happened to your wrist??

 

Well, I hope everyone is doing well! 

For all of you who are thinking about having this done, I AM SO GLAD I DID! No heartburn at all, and I love it!  Even if I have to get this done in 20 more years, I would do it again. I LOVE not taking any medication! And Eating anything I want is amazing. AND the BEST part of it all....Drinking water in the middle of the night or right before bed and NOT feeling like it all comes up!!!

 

HUGS TO EVERYONE!

 

now on to bigger and better things.....hopefully having baby #2 :-)

Posted 3/28/2008 8:10 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks Alli! Yeah you are right. The tests are blood, urine, EKG. I have to make a 4 hour trip just to get those done! Ugh!

So happy you are doing well! And good luck with baby number 2! How exciting.

Sounds like your husband is a bit like mine (a worrywart)! :-)

Posted 3/28/2008 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Alycarr00:

I'm doing 200% better than before the Nissen and before the sphincterotomy. The Nissen put me on the right track - no more reflux and no more pills. I even went for broke and had HOT wings with no ill effects. The biliary sphincterotomy stopped the gallbladder-type chest pain I continued to experience after the Nissen surgery. This pain was was originally considered esophageal spasm pain because I had such a badly damaged esophagus and the chest pain is similar for both sphincter of oddi disfunction and esophageal spasms.

Last month I joined a local health club and feel better than I have in years. You don't realize how much acid reflux is affecting your life until it's gone. I've dropped 40 pounds since last fall - 20 of it post Nissen - and feel like I'm 26 instead of 46. The smaller portions of food mean I eat anything I want, just not a lot of it. I skip carbonation because I don't want to tempt fate and feel bloated from gas.

I'm thrilled that you are doing so well and are pleased with your decision to have the surgery.

Take care and may you enjoy reflux-free living for many years to come.
Posted 3/29/2008 5:57 AM (GMT 0)
Phew... been gone a while...busy with work! Let's see, I'm almost 2 months post op and I'm cleared for any and everything. I've been lifting 40lbs okay I'm just careful. I am not normally a pop drinker but I do drink rum & coke occasionally and have done okay with that.

I was one of the weird ones who hasn't really had a problem over eating. I didn't feel full after little bits of food after surgery, I was actually sooo hungry! I did have boughts of nausea and the doc said that was probably my body adjusting to my "new" digestive track. It significantly decreased at about 3 weeks out. I took 2.5 weeks off work. I planned for 2 but needed a couple more days.

My surgeon told me I was abnormally ahead too in my recover with my diet when I saw him ten days out. I was already eating a some solid foods. I didn't have much trouble with swallowing either. I think I was lucky in that my surgeon had done over 750 of them.

I did, and still do, go through phases where I have weird little pains here and there. Recently I'm having some pain around where the flap was made. I've noticed if I eat a lot of things that before would have given me reflux in stead the where they constructed the flap - that area gets a little irritated.

BUT - I have had V8 - which I could never have had before. I've also had a couple of fried foods that I could never eat, and some simple things like a little pepper or a little bit of onion.

Hope this helps!!
Posted 4/5/2008 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hello!!! Hello!!! Hello!!! Still alive and kicking!!! I haven't been on the board for quite some time and thought I'd check in with my gerd/nissen friends.  First of all, I am so glad to hear Alycarr00 and Doghouse have made full recoveries.  HappilyWrapped we pretty much started on our journey together and so great to hear you have joined a gym and doing so well.  As for myself, I am doing better but like I always say "at a snail's pace."  The chest pain comes and goes but is still there.  I am having an endoscopy and colonoscopy (I might as well kill two birds with one stone) on Thursday.  The gastro doctor said he wants to check my surgery because he thinks the chest pain should of gone away by now.  I can still feel that funky pressure that HapplilyWrapped and I talked about.  I have an appointment with my surgeon the end of May, so I will also get his opinion too on this annoying chest pain/pressure.  I am still very careful and don't do any heavy lifting because if I do I sure can feel it. Luckily, I haven't had anymore heartburn and have never had any problem swallowing.  I still don't know if I can vomit because I haven't had the need to vomit since I immediately take the nausea pill but I will cross that bridge when and if I will need to.  I notice lots of people are scared to get the surgery because of the inablilty of being able to vomit and I say don't worry they have good medication for that.  Also, I still eat smaller portions but pretty much eat anything I want with the exception of carbonated drinks (don't touch them). 

I started to sub about 4 weeks ago and it hasn't been too bad.  The only thing that I notice is that I do feel so tired when I get home but other than that I can't complain.  I really can't think of anything else except the chest pain, at least in my case has probably been the most annoying problem about my surgery.  The gas/bloat is getting a little better, as is the constipation.  Even if people asked me if I would have the surgery again, I definately would.  I have to be optimistic and hope for the best.   I will let you all know the results of my endoscopy when I get them.  I sure am not looking forward to the prep for the colonoscopy and having to practically starve all day Wed but that is how it goes.  Good luck to all.......Barbara.....

Posted 4/7/2008 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
I went for my pre-op tests today. All they took was 3 vials of blood! They also asked if I had ever been pregnant confused  and if I had ever had a blood transfusion.  Will let you know how it goes on Thursday (gulp)!
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