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Part 5 of POST OP LAP NISSEN...Please continue to post!!!

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 9/21/2008 3:22 AM (GMT 0)

Bo Peep said...

Hi Janice! Your motility sounds similar to mine. I've been told I have "ineffective motility of the oesophageal body". When I swallow, the food doesn't go down smoothly with a normal peristaltic action, it goes down in fits and starts (mixed and interrupted activity).

It looks like I am still having reflux because when I stopped taking my PPI I got the chest pain back again, the throat burning was worse and the palpitations started coming back. I have gone back on them so I will see what happens and let you all know.

I am so fed up with all of this! I seem worse off than I was before! I have reflux, gall bladder problems and I still can't eat normally! cry

On a happier note we have sunshine and blue skies today! I haven't seen that in a long time! :-)

(Hello Bo Peep I think I read about or may have spoken with you before.. I believe you had your Nissen after mine..? mine was done in march08. I noticed we are having some similar problems.. My reflux returned shortly after surgery and has continued to get worse daily I have been back on my PPI which is not even working at all it seems.. which is what lead me to have the surgery in the first darn place. I hear you on the burning in the throat feels like someone is forever holding a lit match back there! I also get the palpitations when not taking the PPI I thought I was the only one that happened to shocked I am also VERY fed up and feel as though I am worse now then before due to the added problems since having the surgery. So how bad are your eating problems? what can and can't you get down? sorry if I jumped right in just so glad I can find others who truly understand how difficult dealing with this diease really is.)

Posted 9/21/2008 8:16 AM (GMT 0)

Hi UnHappy! I'm finding the palpitations hard to deal with. They are FAR worse than before I had the op and it took a while for me to figure out how to calm them down. So I am back on the PPI 3 times a day.

I have only just started eating cereal this week. I did try some soft meatloaf yesterday and that went down okay. I had horrible stomach pains in bed last night and don't know why? I can feel my gall bladder throbbing sometimes and I can't lie on my right side in bed. Anyone else have that? As I said before somehwere my GP doesn't want to do anything about my gall bladder until I am in absolute agony constantly. Shouldn't be long to wait now! shocked

What does your GP say about your symptoms UnHappy?

Posted 9/23/2008 8:31 AM (GMT 0)
hi there,

i'm 5 days post Nissen OP. I had no hiatal hernia so only the wrap was done.

before the OP I often had a sore throat, voice probs and sometimes in the morning an acid taste in the mouth. No severe pain like the heartburn but I wasn't easy to live with these symptoms.

At the end i took 80 till 120 mg pantoprazol a day. (i started years ago with 20 mg)I was one of those patients who doens't respond to PPI's anymore. Nissen OP was brought up by the specialist because my valve didn't work as it schould be working. after several tests i was ready to go 

generally i'm fine : no severe pain  BUT

since yesterday i have the feeling of an irritated throat , slime,

I'm afraid the acid is back. is that possible after the OP?

before i went to hospital i had no symptoms in the last weeks and now 5 days after the surrgery it's there again.

Is it possible that the symptoms i'm having right now are due to the swelling tissue and the difficult eating at the moment. one day after surrgery i had a barium swallow test and it was OK: there was a passage to the stomac and there was none coming back up .

I'm getting depressed by all this.

eating is not bad , i can eat pudding, yoghurt, bread soaked in milk, soup.

Everytime i swallow a bit of food i hear a sound when the food is passing into the stomac. It feels like burping but it isn't that. Do you recognize this?

Pfff, confused  

(sorry for my bad use of words and writing because my mother language isn't englisch. Im from Belgium and i'm speaking dutch )

greetz

margel

      

Posted 9/23/2008 1:56 PM (GMT 0)

Hi margel and welcome! Your English is fantastic!

The slimey feeling could be congestion, I was advised to take something for the post nasal drip.

I had the weird feeling/sound of air when I swallowed too. I think it may be caused by all the swelling. I had it for quite a long time.

I wouldn't panic yet as it is early days. See how you get on and let us know of any new symptoms or progress.

Posted 9/23/2008 2:56 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Elaine,

I try to stay calm, but it's so difficult, I know i should look no longer than 1 day ahead. but when you're home and have nothing to do, you're thinking on the worst case scenario.

Friday i'm having a folluw up with my surgeon. We'll see .

for the moment i must concentrate on eating

thanks for the support. i see you've had your piece of misery the last months. How are you're doing at the moment.

Did you know before the Nissen that you have a motility problem in the esophagus.

Margel

Posted 9/23/2008 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
hello margel,

i regongnize the gurgelling sound(borrellen),i`m from holland and also had my nissen done in belgium in luik.
i also have it only with liquids and i still have it,i`m three months post op now.
where did you have your nissen done??
i wouldn`t worry about your sore throat, often the swelling is getting worse after a couple off days and it also can be coused by the breathing tube that was used with the surgery,my sore throat was gone in a week.
please try to be patient, 5 days is verry early in the healing proces,stressing yourself out is not helpfull for the healing,you will be fine.


bo peep,
please let me know how you are doing,are your problems not coused by the solid food or stopping the ppi`s suddenly what gave you a rebound off acid.
i can`t imagine that you are still refluxing because your nissen was done so tight.
are you considering to do a ph-test??do you take ppi`s again??
please let me know,take care.
Posted 9/23/2008 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi (hallo) Bruta

I'd had my Nissen done in Tielt (local hospital) by a surgeon who assisted  for over a year the well known professor Lerut in this matter from the universty hospitel of Leuven. In this period he was co-author on a study about the long term results of LAP NISSEN OP's.

So therefore i had faith in his skills.

 I know in Holland there are long waiting lists for an OP but Why did you choose Luik?

 

Posted 9/23/2008 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

Elaine, I'm so bummed for you! I hope when you finally get your gallbladder out that a lot of the overall discomfort goes away. I imagine the stress of that alone is causing higher acid production in your body, which perhaps is "wicking" up your esophagus. My MD explained that that is why my nighttime acid was hitting my vocal chords when I was lying down (even on an incline). It wicked up the tissues. I know when I went off PPI's cold turkey, I had a horrible case of reflux, the rebound was baaadddd! After about a week, it settled down to normal levels of irritation.

Hi Margel... you are so right about our obsessing about it. I made myself crazy with worrying about this symptom or that symptom. Finally I found this site and realized that all the things I was worrying about, somebody else talked about and eventually got through. The first week or so I had a sore throat, from the tube they put down my throat during the surgery. And I had a lot of that slime feeling, especially after I ate (well, drank!) That is phlegm and where it comes from I'm not sure. Sometimes it is post nasal drip as Elaine said, but sometimes I think it comes from my lungs, like an allergic reaction to something, and my lungs start to overproduce. But mine did eventually mellow, except when I do too much dairy. Since the surgery I actually have less phlegm than before the surgery, so clearly the acid which irritated EVERYTHING, can't do that anymore!

The last couple days, I feel like I turned a corner finally. I'm in my 5th week and actually feel OK. last week there was still a lot of pain around the wrap site, which was freaking me out. This week that seems to have mellowed. The last 2 days I actually have some energy and have been motivated to conquer things like paperwork, which before I would stare at in a listless depression, not even knowing what to do!

I hope this trend continues, but I know from reading other peoples stories, that we still can take a step or 2 backwards for a while yet!
I'm going to try going back to work this week. I'm a massage therapist which is very physical, and really until now I couldn't see myself having the energy.

I'm thinking healing thoughts for all of us!!!

Jules
Posted 9/24/2008 9:06 AM (GMT 0)
hi margel,

well it`s a long story why i had my nissen done in luik,i try to tell te short version.
when my meds stopped working in 2005 i heard about a new procedure cald the esophyx so my doct send my to a university hospital in maastricht,in the meantime i was getting some info in luik about the esophyx because they had more experience with it in belgium than in holland.
i liked the surgeon in luik en he was verry skilled in the esophyx as well in the nissen procedure.
in november 2007 i had the esophyx done in maastricht butt it failed big time and my symptomps where getting worse,butt because it was still experimental in holland they want to keep you in the trial for a year to find out why it didn`t work.
because i was way to sick and verry weak i couldn`t wait that long so i went to luik again to find out if a nissen was possible after the esophyx and i needed a skilled surgeon for the surgery.
so in june 2008,7 months after my esophyx i had my nissen done and my gallbladder was removed at the same time because the gallbladder was inflamed.
Posted 9/24/2008 9:34 AM (GMT 0)

Margel-yes, I knew before the surgery that I had motility problems.

bruta-yes, I am back on the PPIs and still trying to sort out my gallbladder problems. Everything has become worse since going back on solid food.

Posted 9/25/2008 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
FYI - It's been almost a year since I had the full Nissen wrap (surgery 10/2008) and almost a year since I began chatting with Porcelain Doll and others in Part 1 of POST OP LAP NISSEN.

Life is amazing! No PPI medication since surgery! No reflux at all. Lost weight has remained off this entire year and I eat like a normal person. I eat smaller portions than I used to, but that's fine because the portions now are the ones recommended by dieticians not the supersized portions we have become used to as a society. With the exception of carbonated beverages, I can consume anything I want.

I know this procedure is not for everyone and I know that there is a percentage that this surgery may not work for. But for me, I remain.....
HappilyWrapped
Posted 9/25/2008 7:54 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there HappilyWrapped! It's so nice to hear from you again! I'm glad everything has worked out well for you! yeah
Posted 9/25/2008 2:00 PM (GMT 0)

Good moments change with bad moments.

presently i have more bad than good. the throat is still irritated , much phlegm. but i'm hanging in there, tomorrow my first folluw up with the surgeon.

Bruta,I think your surgeon was the french speaking Prof Cadiere? months ago i was also thinking on the esofhyx but my GI didn't recommend it. Isn't his office in Brussels also? as i can reed in your story you had a though period the last months. 

Posted 9/26/2008 7:37 AM (GMT 0)
hi margel,
my surgeon was dr.weerts,he worked with dr.cadiere in brussel when they started the esophyx trial in 2005.
dr.cadiere is still working in brussel.
i`m glad you didn`t choose for the esophyx,this saved you a lot off trouble.
please let us know how your follow upp with your surgeon went.
Posted 9/27/2008 7:03 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all, I had my surgery in October of 2000 and my heartburn was back after a year and back on meds. I am on the strongest thing available Nexium and still have problems. I also had my gallbladder out in May of 2000. It took them 3 months of 24/7 heartburn and countless tests and ER visits for dehydration and pain before the figured out the galbladder was malfuntioning and pushing stuff back into my stomach and esophagus. It took so long because they didn't do the test for function instead of the usual ultra sound for stones which I had 2x. After that is when I started with the asthma so it really does make a difference when that acid is coming up. My acid reflux occurs at night. My doctors want me to take the Nexium 2x a day which really does help, but I lose my short term memory to the point my boss says stuff to me about it and my family and friends really notice too. It's 2 bad because the 2 weeks I took it I slept through the night for the first time in years and actually felt rested. I take the gaviscon break through formula before I go to bed. Then I suck on a piece of hard candy so I swallow enough times to clear my esophagus as I developed a problem with the esophagus not pushing the food through as a result of the surgery. I don't know the technical term for it any more but it really sucks. I also have alot of problems after I eat with it feeling like the food is stuck. I drink alot of water with my food which seems to help that problem and my GI encourages me to drink alot of water to help that problem. He also stretches my esophagus every year which helps for a while but he does keep going back to telling me he thinks my wrap should be loosened but I am afraid it will allow more acid to come up and am afraid of the surgery. When I saw the surgeon a year after the wrap when I started having problems again he said the same thing and I never went back to see him again. I don't do well with pain so the thought of any surgery scares me. I was also told that no other surgeon will touch you to undo it and my surgeon is no longer in my insurace net work and the hospital is not either since I have new insurance now. I guess I'll have to go see the stomach doc again. I hate going to the doctor with all my other health issues I see enough of them the way it is. Well better get to bed for now. Barb   

Posted 9/27/2008 8:09 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Barb. Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. The Nexium is great stuff, unfortunately I can't take it at all as I am horribly allergic. The only one I can manage is Rabeprozole which seems milder.

I know what you mean about visiting the doctor. I am loathe to go back to mine as I know that it will take ages for them to figure out that it is my gall bladder that is giving me trouble. I am just hanging on until it is so bad that I have to go see them.

Good luck with your visit to the stomach doc and let us know how it goes. :-)

Posted 9/27/2008 10:00 AM (GMT 0)

hi,according to the surgeon my throat problems  could be caused by food (or rests of food) that is stuck in the esophagus because of te swelling after the OP. and is so irritating my throat

he called it reflux in the esophagus or reflux above the stomac?

This should improve in time as the swelling go down. he also said not to worry. 'll hope h'is right. the healing process is so strange. there are times that i'm feeling fine (often in the morning) and there are times that my throat hurts a lot and my voice is gone. It's the same for eating: sometimes my food (half liquid) goes down easily but other times i'm having troubles just drinking water. just to be sure i'm still taking my meds(PPI)

beside of the throat  issue i'm doing well generally, no pain , not to tired, enough energy (need it for my 3 month old baby, she's daddy's girl)) let's hope it's stays this way

Posted 9/27/2008 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bo peep, sorry to see so many others in the same boat as me.  shakehead  I know I have to try to get this resolved because after they made me take an asthma education class it really scares me to see what I have to look forward to if this is not taken care of. Besides the cancer thing I could end up on oxygen because my asthma is out of control in part because of the acid reflux. I also have my daughters dog living here right now that doesn't help the asthma thing. I'm going to talk to my doc about getting me on something else in addition to the Nexium. I also might try taking it later in the day instead of the morning. I don't know if that would help but at this point I'm willing to try anything. I have an uncle that is really into nutrition and told me to take some extra calcium and magnesium. It seems to help a little bit but maybe I'll look into some other things. All my supplements have helped my heart problems so maybe there is something else out there to help my stomach. I have the touchiest stomach around. I can't take any statins because of it which bothers my heart doc because I am only 45 and had the stent put in at age 42. I got so sick in 2006 from taking Crestor for one week. I was doubled over with stomach pain and was sick for three months with my asthma and acid reflux really bad. I ended up in the ER 2x with asthma attacks. So it is really important to keep the acid reflux in check. It's just finding the right thing sometimes takes such a long time. All the other doctors expect my stomach doc to fix my problem so I can take the meds they want me to take too. I have 7 different ones altogether so you can see why I dread going so much. The stomach doctor thinks if I lose weight all my problems with the acid reflux will magaically go away. I've lost 18 so far and it hasn't helped. I haven't been a normal weight since having the surgery so maybe it might help. All I know is when I was a normal weight I still had to take meds and had problems with acid reflux. Well I can hope I guess that is will get better as I lose more. I always try to look at the bright side of things. It helps when you have all these problems. Better to laugh tongue than cry   cry is my motto. Well I am off to get some exercise on this beautiful fall day.  yeah Barb
Posted 10/28/2008 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
JBT1234 - here's the 'bump' of this topic so you can read the posts. You'll definately understand what a Nissen Fundoplication is after reading all this. Best of luck to you.

HappilyWrapped
Posted 11/22/2008 10:01 AM (GMT 0)
BUMP.....BUMP......BUMP.....
Posted 12/2/2008 12:27 AM (GMT 0)
Bump
Posted 12/2/2008 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
I have had or the drs say I have had, Gerd, reflux, IBS for 9 yrs now. I have been on meds that long which I feel has only made everything worse. I have had this "lump" feeling/sensation in my throat for 2 yrs, they call that globus senstation. I'm not a pill or dr person. I try to be optimistic but to date no one has helped me, so it's hard. I am scheduled to have the bravo 48 hour test to start with in January. I am so nervous about that! I have read horror stories........ I am so glad I found this post and read all about these surgeries. I was very apprehensive before coming to this site, now I KNOW I will not have the surgeries done. No one seems to be improving let alone getting well after the surgeries. There is nothing anywhere I have read so far that is positive about this and nothing is promising or even near a guarantee.
I pray for all of you to recover and recover quickly. I hope I have the nerve just to go thru with the bravo 48 ph monitoring now!!!!!!!! All so scary! God Bless All.
Posted 12/3/2008 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi rdjc....

I'm here to tell you that surgery saved my life. In 1989, at 38 years of age, I had an open Nissen done (lap was not done then). My esophagus was badly damaged,stricture and linear ulcers were there and I had no quality of life because I hurt every time I ate, even with medication. After a month of recovery, I was a new person and began to live a normal life again. This lasted 17 years. I now hurt every time I eat again and have trouble sleeping in pain because the wrap came undone and I will be getting a revision of the Nissen procedure in 2 weeks. Not easy at 57 but this time to be done lapriscopically and hopefully a little easier.

Let me tell you- I'm begging them for it and paying out of pocket for the priviledge because I have no insurance. Feeling as I do now- can't eat, can't sleep- I know there is no reason for it and that surgery is the only solution. You wouldn't walk around on a broken leg and I feel my LES is broken. Both should be repaired. Simple as that. Whatever information you received was not accurate, in my humble estimation.

I welcome comments if others who are about to get a Nissen soon. Having someone to share the experience with would be comforting
Posted 12/3/2008 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone.

I'm new here, and am looking for support for post-op Nissen Fundoplication!

History.... I've had a horrible phlegm cough that won't go away since 2000. Due to me being Asthmatic I've been fobbed off with anti-biotics for 9 yeas until this year I demanded to be referred to a chest physician at our local hospital. He immediately took a look at my x-ray and said it's a gastric problem and nothing to do with Asthma. After a barium meal confirmed I had a 'moderate' hiatus hernia, I am finally booked in for my nissen fundoplication tomorrow. My symptoms have never really been about acid reflux - I put this down to being pregnant in 1999 and suffering badly with acid - and these symptoms decreasing once I had the baby. Maybe I've just got used to it and don't realise how bad it still is compared to normal folk?!

I am absolutely terrified. I don't know what to expect post-op. I thought I'd be off work for a week but the surgeon has advised I book 3 wees off. I'm aware I'll be on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks but reading through posts it sounds like it could well be for longer.

I'm usually so prepared in everything I do, and feel a little out of control at the moment like I'm blindfolded and don't know what's going to happen.

Thanks for listening, and any any tipspr advice would be welcome.

Elaine
Posted 12/3/2008 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
Elaine-

Good luck tomorrow ! All will go well and you will have a better life as a result- particularly if you were ingesting acid reflux into your lungs? I will be 3 weeks behind you and to be truthful, I wish mine were tomorrow too. Medical procedures are difficult for anyone but particularly for type "A"s like me and you ? This is one time where we have to let go and hand the "wheel" of life over to someone else and go for the ride. Use whatever works for you to accept what will happen and trust the process. I've had to do this twice already- one a Nissen long ago and cancer surgery 6 years ago- so I'm trying to go with this as much as possible. Nothing is easy in life- like having kids are never easy- these trials have made me doubly appreciate all that life entails. I'm glad someone finally diagnosed you and that you're getting the gold standard Nissen repair. Good luck and keep in touch !
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