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Breathing problems after Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication. Help!!

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Posted 9/2/2008 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
I am a 37 year old woman with a very thin build. I had the surgery three weeks ago. They also fixed a slight hiatal hernia. I am having a tight, constricting feeling in the area below my breast bone. Because of this tightness, I am having a hard time breathing. I can get a deep breath but it takes quite a lot out of me to do it. I feel tugging/pulling when I try to breathe. Could this be swelling? I do feel something below my left ribcage, right at the bigger incision that seems like swelling. I really feel the tension and pressure when I laugh. I have days where I feel a little better and try to do some simple things around the house and the next day I pay for it. I also burp alot and sometimes cough when I'm trying to breathe. My lungs have been checked and are clear. This doesn't seem like a normal side effect to the surgery and I am scared. Could someone please help me understand what is going on and what I can do to help this? I need to get my life back for myself and my family. Thank you all very much!!
Posted 9/2/2008 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Nate, I too had a lot of difficulty breathing; this concerned me because I have lung damage from the reflux. When I spoke to my team, I was told that the pain and subsequent breathing difficulties (I couldn't get a full, deep breath) is the result of the surgery. They fill you up with gas to distend the abdomen and the chest cavity so that they can see; this can and does cause inflammation of the cartilage in the sternum and around the ribs. Everything in that area has been traumatized and it will take awhile for it to subside...try some childrens' motrin; it's over the counter and it will help with the inflammation. Also try moist heat...not only does it help but it feels really, really good!!

It took a while for this to go away for me, probably longer than most, but it did go away!!! So, breathe easy (no pun intended!!) and give it another week or so and see how you're doing.

Let us know, we're here for each other.
Janice
Posted 9/2/2008 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
WOW!! Thank you for your help, Janice! While I don't like the idea that you had to deal with this discomfort also, it is nice to know I'm not alone! Your insight makes perfect sense. It takes away some of the anxiety that I've been dealing with. I'm thinking I've ruined my life by having this surgery. I am already on Motrin and will definitely try the moist heat. I will also try to be patient with the healing process (definitely not easy to do!). Thank you again! You are truly a lifesaver!
Posted 9/2/2008 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
So funny, I had the same thoughts... at one point I was sure that I ruined my life with this surgery; what (I used to say) did I do this for??? I was really frustrated and unhappy! I'm now 7 weeks out and I'm able to eat more, the pain is gone, I can breathe without problems. I still have problems eating and I still get some bloat once in a while and some minor heartburn (3 or 4 times). Overall, I feel great; no more chest pain, no more lung constriction, no more coughing, throat clearing or upper right quadrant pain (I also had my gallbladder removed)...I'm just a lot, lot better and you will be too!!!
Janice
Posted 9/3/2008 2:47 AM (GMT 0)

nate930

I just want to welcome you to HealingWell.  I am Kitt.  Janice has given you great advice but do be sure to seek out help if you feel your respiratory status is being compromised. 

The members that have had the procedure are great resources for you.

Kitt

Posted 9/3/2008 7:05 PM (GMT 0)
Janice and Kitt,

I just want to thank you both for your kindness and insight. This is the best message board for medical advice I've ever been to. The people on here are amazing and I just want all of you to feel better as soon as possible. Thank you!!!!!
Posted 9/3/2008 9:56 PM (GMT 0)

nate,

Thank you from all of us. It is a pretty great board and I have been lucky to find so many kind and wonderful members all in one place.  No matter which forum you are in the members are knowledgable and very supportive.

TAke care and keep posting.

Kitt wink

Posted 9/8/2008 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
I'm feeling discouraged today. Last week, I started feeling a little better. I thought I might be able to go back to work this week. I even went to my surgeon for a followup and told him how I was getting better. But on Friday, I started having discomfort again. Breathing is still kind of difficult but isn't as bad. The tightness in my upper abdomen (right where that middle incision is) is really bothering me. I still have that big swollen knot under my rib (at the left incision). I am trying to be patient, but it will be four weeks tomorrow since my surgery. I start having doubts again. Will I ever get better? Sorry, I usually don't feel sorry for myself!! Thanks for listening!
Posted 9/8/2008 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
I had this surgery together with my hiatal hernia being fixed too. I too had a very hard time getting a full deep breath for the first wk for sure, I had the surgery 3 wks ago last Thurs. so almost 3 1/2. I was wondering from somebody else about the constant throat clearing, that is definetly my problem too but it's not totally gone, do I just need to be patient or since its been about 3 1/2 wks already and not gone does that mean it's not going too? Also a wk ago Sat. I started having problems with quite a bit of liquid coming up my esophagus, it doesn't come all the way up it feels like it stops about at the base of my throat. Has anybody else experienced this, it's not really painful but is very uncomfortable. Also how long can I expect for my stomach to be tender, it's still pretty tender if I bump it.

Posted 9/8/2008 10:15 PM (GMT 0)

Dear Southern Star,

I have not had the surgery so I cannot give you a personal experience answer but I was wondering if you talked with your physician re these issues.

I am sure one of the other members who have had the problem will post to you.

Take Care

Kitt

Posted 9/8/2008 10:18 PM (GMT 0)
I have talked to my surgeon and he thot it was a spasm. He prescribed Librax for me. I took it a couple times but it did not take care of the problem and the side effects were so bad that I couldn't handle it. I don't go back to see him again until the 25th. I just thot maybe somebody else would have had something similar that could help me. Thanks.

Posted 9/8/2008 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Southern Star and welcome.

Throat clearing was an issue for me prior to surgery (July 16th), but I haven't had any since, so I can't help you there. The abdominal tenderness at 3 1/2 weeks is still normal; there are times that I still have tenderness and I'm at almost 8 weeks.
My issues involve eating and drinking and they are slowly, but steadily resolving. If I drink too much, the fluid will come right back up, the same with food, but food is tougher and more resistant to passing through the new valve. I have had some bouts of heartburn, but no regurgitation and it almost sounds like that is what you are experiencing.

I wish you luck, let us know how you're doing.

Janice
Posted 9/8/2008 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Nate, I'm sorry you're feeling so discouraged, but I can tell you this; you are not alone and it will get better!! I remember thinking the same and feeling the same, wondering if I would ever feel better, if I had made a mistake by having it. Someone told me that the 90% of the healing will happen in the first 8 weeks, the last 10% will take a year! Honestly, at 4 weeks, I doubted it completely!, but finally, around the 5 1/2 to 6 week mark, I finally started to feel better and now at the almost 8 week mark I can say that the healing that has taken place in the last 3 weeks, far exceeds the healing in the first 4.

I started back 1/2 time at 6 weeks, they wanted me to wait two more weeks, but I didn't have the time to do so. My Dr.s' told me that regardless of how this is presented, it is major, major surgery and 4 weeks is way to early. Give yourself some time and permission to heal some more. The abdominal pain takes a long time feel better, but it will get better!!

Hang in there!!

Janice
Posted 9/9/2008 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Janice!

Thanks for the positive words. It's really deceiving when you read online how people are going back to work after two weeks after this surgery. I'm still feeling yucky after four! Thank god for you! You have become my voice of reason! I will continue to be patient (tick, tock, tick tock!). I'll be checking in here and there. I hope you are feeling better, too! Thank you a million times!
Posted 9/12/2008 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
Janice,

I never had the surgery that you had but I would lke to know your symptoms before you had the surgery.

My symptoms are having trouble swallowing and it feels like I have a hold in me. When I swallow I can feel the liquid going all the way down my stomach. I am so worried that I have cancer of the esophagus.

Smoky
Posted 9/14/2008 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not a Dr. Smoky, but very often most everyone can feel what they're swallowing as it goes down their esophagus and at, time, you can feel cold or hot liquids even as they enter your stomach. I would ask your Dr. about the sensations that you're talking about.

Have you had an endoscopy? This will give your Dr. the opportunity to visualize your esophagus and take biopsies. I looked up the following for you on line and copied it so that you can read about symptoms of cancer here, but when reading them I realized that the symptoms are very much like that of GERD and other situations. Many here, for example, have had many of the same symptoms that are listed here, but do not have cancer. The point I am trying to make is that you must see a good Dr. to determine what is going on with you. You said earlier in another post that you are close to Cleveland Clinic; in another post I responded that Dr. Gary Falk is an excellent Dr. there; please call them and make an appointment...if for no other reason than to ease your mind.

Janice

I've copied this from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons web site:
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF ESOPHAGEAL CANCER?
The most common symptom of esophageal cancer is difficulty swallowing, or the sticking of food before it gets into the stomach. This is usually a progressive problem which begins initially when large pieces of poorly chewed food are swallowed, but can worsen to the point that thin liquids won't go down easily. Esophageal cancer may also cause weight loss, pain with swallowing, regurgitation of undigested food, and bleeding manifested by vomiting blood or passing old blood with bowel movements.
Posted 9/23/2008 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hopefully, Janice and stkitt are still checking this post. I need to vent. I basically had this surgery because, although I had a hiatal hernia and some GERD, I had a reoccurring gnawing feeling in my upper abdomen, between my belly button and sternum. I've had numerous endoscopies. The first one I had showed that I make too much stomach acid. What I didn't find out until last week was that I had GASTRITIS. My doctor at the time had a very, very thick accent and to this day I have no idea if he said the words, "You have gastritis." Had I known that, I may not have had this surgery. The doctors after him (yeah, I left him) said, "IBS" and ultimately, "Hiatal Hernia/GERD". We decided, again not knowing about the gastritis, to try the surgery. Now, I think my gastritis has become extremely bad and that's what I've been dealing with for the past several weeks. I took motrin (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory), which is very, very bad for gastritis, for weeks. I would take up to 6 a day. I also see that surgery can exacerbate gastritis symptoms. I went to my family dr last week and this is where I found all of this out. So, I'm walking around with the constant gnawing, some moments better than others. I'm back on Protonix but nothing has happened yet. It really helped me before the surgery, I hope it can this time. I'm going to a gastro in a couple of days to find out if this indeed gastritis. So, in a nutshell, I had an unnecessary surgery that actually made the condition I was trying to fix worse!! Whatta mess!! I gotta laugh!! Thank you for reading this. You guys have been such an amazing help to me. I hope you all are well. Janice, how is your recovery?? Take care, everyone!! Thank you!!
Posted 9/23/2008 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
Crikey nate! What a palaver! How will they treat gastritis?

Posted 9/24/2008 12:22 AM (GMT 0)
Protonix at this point. I'll be checking with my gastro Thursday to see if there is more I can do. Good Times!!!!! Thanks for checking in, Elaine!
Posted 3/2/2012 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
Hi. I am 3 weeks today out of surgery (open procedure) and having trouble breathing and pain in my chest. It hurts clear through to my back. I will try the Motrin and the moist heat as well. No acid but this does hurt. Thanks for the tips and wishing everyone a speedy recovery.
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