Part 4 of POST OP LAP NISSEN - Go to Part 5 Please.

Part 3 of this topic is getting long, so lets move it to part 4.  I am enclosing links to parts 1 and 2 and 3 as well, incase anyone needs to look back.  All the information will be right here.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=952817  Part ONE

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=969744  Part TWO

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=1013068  Part THREE

Please continue to post.  I see this is such a hot topic.  I will do my best to keep it at the top, and to start a new one if Part FOUR gets too long!!!

Glad everyone is supporting eachother so much!

 

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 8/10/2008 4:56:06 PM (GMT-6)

Happily, I am thinking no, she didn't think this would happen. This is for sure the hottest post! Glad to hear from you Happily!

Hi Christo! Yes I am still here! I am seeing my surgeon next Thursday and he may decide to do a barium swallow. I hope I get the modified version then as my poop is already like cement! I am still on liquids/custards/yoghurts and if I try anything else it just seems to aggravate my throat so the lump feels worse. Still got loads of mucus/phlegm although I think it has eased ever so slightly. I had the stitch that was sticking out cut off on Monday. I can't remember what we talked about in our last posts so going back to have a look now. Will post again later!

Hi Christo and Bo Peep,

I haven't had my surgery yet but from everything I've read, you both are still in the beginning stages of recovery because everyone is so different with their healing process.  What's normal and short lived for one maybe longer and more painful for another.  It doesn't mean there is anything wrong necessarily.  I posted on page 3 of this thread that I personally know three people who have had the Nissen and they all say that it takes a year to recover fully.  That doesn't mean you won't feel good at 3 or 4 months but full recovery takes a year to get back to a normal status.  You are just babes at this moment, so give yourselves time to heal...I know it's difficult to say that when you are feeling so bad...but everything is probably fine. 

Oh dear, maybe I celebrated too early. I had a very bad afternoon. Burning pain from under my breast right up to my collar bone and I still seem to be generating abnormal amounts of saliva and it is certainly irritating my throat. The attack this afternoon was the worst yet and certainly worse than anything I've experienced in the last 6 months prior to surgery! Please, someone, reassure me. I am also a little light headed if that makes sense when I walk down the street.

I have stuck pretty closely to the puree diet. However, the other day when I consumed my mash potato a bit too quickly, I had a momentary painful burning feeling around the esophageal region. And remember, mine is only a 270 wrap.

I'm also having sustagen (on the recommendation of hospital staff) in order to maintain vital protein, vitamins and minerals. Similarly, I'm having peppermint tea (the surgeon's suggestion this time) for my problems with gas. I guess with all the liquids and soft food, my diet is far from normal.

It occurred to me that both sustagen (http://www.sustagen.com.au/healthy.php) and peppermint tea would be typical gerd triggers prior to surgery.

I just hope I'm not going to have to do the surgery again. How soon after surgery could I redo the impedance test? What other tests besides barium swallow could I undertake?

I also had a better weekend. I really don't know whether I'm refluxing or whether it's trapped gas or something else again. I am still waking up with a white frothy tongue and have heaps of saliva. And I still have shoulder pain over two weeks after surgery.

I have also managed the odd coffee and I'm going to keep doing that because that's one of the reasons I had surgery in the first place.

Thanks so much for your feedback about the dizziness. Yes, lack of food sounds about right.

Impedance testing is 24 hour monitoring of reflux (acid, bile, liquid). It is similar to the ph testing you would have undertaken before surgery. Basically, a catheter is slipped down the nose and you are supposed to eat and live normally for 24 hours .... lol

I am new to all of this... Been suffering for a while. I have my 1st appointment with my surgeon on may 23rd. I have a large Hiatal hernia and my esophagus and stomach is very irritated, red and inflamed from the acid. (found during an endoscopy). My main symptoms are lump in throat, pressure and pain. I never get a burning feeling but rather get pressure and a lump in my throat that is very uncomfortable.  I found these posts very helpful following along with all of your surgeries. I am still on the fence but after my Surgical visit we will see how I feel. I had an upper GI xray on say May 17th that my surgeon required. i guess to see how large the hernia is and where it is. That was awful and caused me more problems than I expected (lump in throat pressure etc) Do most people with a hernia get the wrap too? I am a little confused on what each term means and there is not a lot of good info on the Internet. Also, with my Crohn's I don't need any more GI issues so I would prefer to fix this :) thanks for the post! Karen

Dear Bo peep,
This will make you happy. The white tongue is purely and simply the result of having a soft diet. The white tongue is itself harmless. I hope this reassures you. I just wonder how much of what we are suffering is explicable in non pathological terms.
I had some skinless, boiled chicken today - and suffered. I have still got to be very careful about what I eat.

Best wishes,
chris

Thanks for that Chris. One less thing to worry about! In what way did you suffer after the chicken? Can't believe you can eat stuff like that when I am still on yoghurt!

Hi Karen. So far I have lost about 10 pounds and still losing. I weigh about 120lbs which is a bit on the low side for my liking. I am over 5'6" tall and need some strength for working around the smallholding.

Bo Peep,

The chicken was very soft and skinless. However, the point is that I couldn't eat it even after chewing it right up. So I guess it's back to soft vegetables.

My wrap is 270 so shouldn't be as tight as yours. The advantage in your wrap (I'm assuming it's a 360 degree wrap) is that it should last a lot longer; the advantage of mine is that I should be on to normal foods more quickly. So far that hasn't happened. I guess there is just a lot of swelling around the esophagus.

I will be happy if no further damage is done to the esophagus and the reflux stops. I am prepared to eat a very restricted diet for 4 to 6 months so long as the operation works. In saying that, I will try to eat more difficult food as time goes on.

Thanks Chris and very wise words all round. Yes, I have the 360 wrap. How many weeks post op are you now?What happened with the chicken? Did you spit it out or swallow some? You didn't choke did you?

 I'm off to see the surgeon tomorrow so we will see what he says. He's worried about my weight and now I have the beginnings of scurvy (I sound like a pirate) so am taking ascorbic acid after "meals"!

Bo Peep - I'm day 20 post op. It is still very early days, I know. Oddly enough, I was onto purees/ soft food on my second day in hospital. However, the second transition to harder foods seems no quicker than people with full wraps.

Karen - I hope my post didn't offend. I have lost weight in the past and you really have to trick your body. Starvation diets won't work because the survival instinct kicks in and you simply don't burn the fat. What I did was diet for 6 days and on days 7 and 8 eat what ever I liked. [The exception was soft drink (including the so-called diet brands) and beer. I gave up both completely and water became my standard drink.] Importantly, I maintained a pretty intense cardio program at the gym every day including the days I pigged out on food. I lost about 8 kilograms very quickly and maintained that loss painlessly.

Hi all. Just back from seeing my surgeon. He is a little worried. We are waiting another 4 weeks and then I will have a barium swallow. He doesn't want to rush into anything too drastic yet. He will consider dilation at 6 months post op. I had a load of blood taken and depending on the results may have to have more.

He weighed me and I have lost 14 pounds now. If I lose another 5 pounds I will be clinically underweight! So I am supposed to eat lots of ice-cream, full fat milk and cream etc.! He also told me to rest more (cos he knows what I am like!) but it is difficult when you have livestock.

Karen - Steroids! Agh! Horrid things. I was on them and put on about 12 pounds. You have to work so much harder to get the weight off when you are on them.

I can understand how you feel about surgery. You get fed up of being ill and if other remedies aren't working if you think the surgery will help you feel relief.

How much Prilosec do you take a day?