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Posted 2/16/2009 8:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Christopher, i just joined this forum today as i have got my date to go in for my opp. FRIDAY 13TH MARCH 09.lI desperatly wanted to hear from someone who has gone through nissen fundoplication. reading yours has helped a little. despite the underlined bold date, etc.. i'm not really worried about the procedure it self im more worried about the recovery which is obviosly slow and painful or at least uncomfortable. i have suffered chronic heartburn symptoms for 10yrs now and been on omeprazole most of that time. its only when I woke up choking on my own vomit which also blocked my nostrils it was such a frightening experience i thought i was going to die, that i went back to doctor to find out why this was happening. i have a large hiatus hernia of about 10cm diamater. so here we are the surgeon will push my stomach back where it should be then wrap the fundus etc..etc...So i need the opp i also need to lose weight which im sure will happen. because the hiatus hernia is large the sugeon says i may need to stay in hospital a few days longer.i hope you stay positive and recover quickly. thankyou for your insight
Posted 2/16/2009 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Juliesq, I am 3 1/2 months post op. Welcome to healing well. This blog really helped me and gave me the support I needed before, during, and after my surgery. I had been on PPIs for 17 years and they were not working any more, I had an endoscopy that revealed my LES as wide open and I have a small amount of Barretts. For me the surgery was life changing. I do not have any GERD symptoms at all. The recovery is not too bad. Just focus on recovering, with deep breathing, walking, and eating what and how your doctor prescribes. I hope everything goes well for you, and oh yes the lost weight is great! I lost 23lbs and can eat anything I want but I still get full fast.

Best wishes,

amo

Posted 2/17/2009 1:01 AM (GMT 0)

hi amo thanks so much for getting back to me i will use this site as you say its nice to talk to people in the same situation. as for the weight loss that would most definatley be a bonus. what iv gathered reading on this forum is to take it easy and slowly recover. i will take this advice from everyone and will be back in touch after my op. must admit the thought of not being able to burp sounds kind of weird i never have big loud burps but would say i have to do little burps almost all the time but maybe thats 1 of my symtoms. im also fotunate that i rarely suffer flatulence but thats gonna change too by sound of it. i admit I am worried about those sort of problems you know wind & bloating etc.. i'll just have to wait and see how i feel and learn to deal with it. thanks amo speak to you soon probably,take care.  confused

Posted 2/23/2009 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
I am 5 weeks post-op and feel great.  Very glad I went through with the procedure.  Still have a little trouble with breads as they get stuck.  Even drank a little pop the other day.  Have been taking GasX to help with excessive gas/bloating feelings. 
Posted 2/23/2009 6:12 PM (GMT 0)

rsapooh

I am so happy to read of your success and thank you so much for sharing your outcome with everyone.  It is so good to read your doing well.

Keep it up and take care.

Kitt

Posted 6/2/2009 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all,

Sorry for the long departure and I hope this finds everyone in relative good health.

I am now approx 6 months into my recovery from surgery and seem to be through the worst of all my recovery for sure. The last couple of months has seen me get stronger and gain back weight I had lost just after my surgery in late Dec '08. Still not back to my previous weight, but I think in general that is a good thing. I have started back with a trainer to help rebuild my core strength, because of the work I do, I really have to have my body mechanics right, or I'll injure something trying to compensate for my weak stomach area.

My general health has been great. Few problems with foods of any kind at this point. Lately caffeine has been an issue...especially iced tea, which had become my staple since going off carbonated beverages and still occassionally with tomato based stuff I get some grumbling and discomfort. Still have to remember my chewing....I get ahead of myself with certain meats and it is slow going. Back to having some alcohol again, although I'm a cheap date right now...one drink and I'm toast.

Scars have healed well..and although I fell as normal as I have in some time, I do expect there to be little improvements over the next 6 months. Still pretty gassy....used to do alot of beano, now I just live with it. Still can't burp, but everyone is different in that area. Went on a cruise and survived the open seas with taking any anti-naseau meds...though I did have them on me and tend to carry them wherever I go.

Not sure what else to write.....certainly open to any questions any may have. My continued wish for all on this board to heal as well as I have and to have the luck and skill of a great surgeon to get you through a very tough and debilitating illness and surgery.

Best wishes to all.

Chris Lucas
Posted 6/3/2009 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone
welcome to the wrapped club. I had the nissan done on 5/7 09.I feel great.Soemtimes I think I will wake up from this fantasy and be dead on my feet.But so far so good. I have posted my recovery and prior ailments on another post.
Chris 2 things,
Your incision is the same one that bothered me and I have an infection in my belly button.
How much weight did you lose? I lost 20 but im tryna lose more. My surgeon used a "Bougie" when he did my wrap.It isnt tight.I have no swallowing issues and I burp fine. I do however blow my husband to iraq every night WITHOUT GAS X lol. I do have the gurgling sensation in my stomach.
Janice has covered alot.Kudos to her.I had many problems from GERD .I had asthma, post nasal drip sinusitis, sore throats, 3 strictures that required opening. I had clickin noise in my saliva, I had night tme gerd 24/7. i had h pylori ,gastritis,esphagitis ,trouble swallowing a tiny bayer aspirin, drooling,bakwash, A defective LES,pneumonias fro the gerd related asthma, aspirating on my food even if i ate @ 11am.As soon as i went to bed ,it rained on my parade. My bed was raised on 4bricks plus i had an 18 inch wedge!! My dad died at 50 from esphagus cancer. The acid burnt my lining so much he said maybe within a year i will have barretts then eventally cancer. I had no option but to do the surgery. i had 4 second opinions!!
Here is one of my posts:
I had the bravo which was done thru the endoscope . I had no problems whats so ever. It passed thru the stools. The reading from the bravo showed I had 200 episodes of gerd within a 48 hour period. My acidic rate was 21.
I never had the manometry done prior to surgery which is REQUIRED, I however, am an epileptic and when they tried sticking the tube down my nose i had an aura,So they stopped.
I prayed to god every night. I said "God please dont let me be the one to get all Fuc** Up after surgery becuz I cudnt take this manometry.Please make sure my LES and esphagus is blah blah blah" He heard my prayers.
My operation has been a success. However it is THE SKILL OF THE SURGEON!! Bottomline, You need to ask how many they did, how many were a success,how many were failure and if you can speak to another patient whom he performed this on. I had the great honors of asking another dr. MY surgeon did dr.pepe's nissan and after speaking to him, denise, bill, janice ,this whole entire wrapped team they eased my fears.
I AM A NEW WOMAN NOW!! my quality of life has improved significantly.At 44 years young i need to see my retirement.lol
Bea
Posted 6/3/2009 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
oh and cant 4get get my hiatial hernia which seems to go hand in hand with gerd along with heart disease.
bea
Posted 6/3/2009 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Bea,

I went from about 175-178 to about 160-162...now hovering about 165 or so...lost alot of muscle mass...but have built it back up over the last 2 months. My wrap must be pretty tight, no burps on my side...just lots of gas every AM ( sorry to get graphic )

Incision was a prob for about week and then it cleared up wit some antibiotic cream. Otherwise I've been very lucky. I had a large hiatal hernia as well, LES was shot and my Bravo test was about double yours. On the other side now, I feel great and hope that things stay that way.

My doc at USC had done several hundred of these surgeries, and he's at a teaching hospital and on staff as a teacher as well.

Thanks for the post and congrats on your speedy recovery.

Take care.

Chris
Posted 6/3/2009 4:52 AM (GMT 0)
Christ Lucas...??

your real name?

 

Posted 6/3/2009 4:54 AM (GMT 0)
Well Christopher John Timothy Lucas actually. Christ is part of Christopher I guess. Haven't been called Christ yet tho.
Posted 6/3/2009 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
What a wonderful name...all of it !

Very nice.

And unless you can walk on water I hope you won't be called Christ.

I do look forward to meeting Him someday though.

Take care ..talk to you soon and thank you for the reply.

Anne

Posted 6/3/2009 12:19 PM (GMT 0)
Chris,

Hi, this is Kitt.  I am so glad to read how well and how far you have come these past 6 months.  It truly sounds like your quality of life has improved and that is a great outcome.

You have a great outllok on your whole experience so keep on working out and know I am thrilled for you.

Kitt

Posted 6/3/2009 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you Kitt,


First of all for your support, and secondly for all the work you do here on the board. I can say for me and I know many others it is an invaluable resource for all of us going through this experience.

Keep up the great work !


Regards,

Chris
Posted 6/3/2009 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
I second Chris' comments about how important you are to this forum, Kitt. You're the one who steps in and welcomes people. You're encouraging, and caring, and give lots of gentle (((((((((hugs))))))))) which feel great when you're hurting or scared.
We appreciate you, Kitt!
Denise
Posted 6/4/2009 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
KITT U R HEALING WELL IN ONE BREATH!!!

Hi guys,

Im doing good. I went out to eat for my neices graduation.I had 2 mozzarella sticks saturated and i mean saturated with sauce. Basically I had 2 sauce sticks.lol I had one hot wing, a half of a chicken cutlet parm with excessive sauce and water.I chewed it all into liquid and did well. I do not like any fish as I am allergic to it. They had scungills,calamari, shrimp,lobster and I was getting nausea from seeing and smelling it on EVERYONE'S breath. I survived though.

Chris ,how long did it take you to go back to work? I will be out until July 13. I really needed this break.Sometimes I am bored but I say freak it. I have been working since high school,had 3 kids and returned to work at 6 weeks.2 years ago had double surgery, gall bladder and inguinal hernia. The gall bladder was a breeze,it was the conventional cut of the hernia that had me to my knees.But I returned to work within 2 weeks. This time though,Hell no!! I am out for the count.

Did you have your gall bladder removed? just out of curiosity,I am wondering.

Well im stuffed tty guys 2moro

all in my prayers

b

Posted 6/4/2009 1:45 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, Bea! You always amaze me. Mozzarella sticks! I've had trouble with mozzarella until just recently...it just doesn't chew up very well for me! I'm presuming that your pain has subsided? You did take everyone's advice seriously, right? Doctor visits for pain that is unexplained?
You take care of yourself, Girl!
Have a great night.
Denise
Posted 6/4/2009 3:00 AM (GMT 0)
all this info has been amazing and i am hoping that everyone takes things slow. I was originally scheduled for wrap surgery but thanks to another GI doctor and his intepretation of my test results i have to go in for more. Especially another 24 ph test and motility test. I'm more scared for this stupid ph test because when i'm not taking either the zantac or nexium my body reacts so bad i ended up in the ER last time... sigh, but we all look to hope, time, patience, and heart. Everything takes time.. and now i'm wondering after reading all this.. wther surgery is really what i want, but i continue to lose weight especially with my constant stomach, heartburn and acid problems.
Posted 6/5/2009 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Chris,

I am Marie.

First of all, thank you so much for sharing your information and helping everyone here. Am seeking for surgery with my sever reflux - everyone been so wonderful here for helping.

I saw you have your surgery done at USC. 

Is this at USC Keck school of medicine? 

I live very close to USC .

May I ask who is your doctor that do the surgery?

I live in Los Angeles - If no heavy traffic, it is about 20 minutes drive to USC.

I have very bad reflux. Am seeking for surgery, but right now I am going thru some test and see if I am qualify for the surgery. I am waiting for my insurance to approve the final test 24HR study -test upper and lower.

Chris, before your surgery, do you have heartburn - like soar-throat and burn throat?  I have soar & burn throat constanly.

One of the doctors told me that burping can be difficult after the surgery.

I saw your post regarding to not able to burp. Do you feel very uncomfortable without burping?   Chris, can you burp as of now?

Do you know is USC specialize in this type of Nissen surgery?

Thank much, Chris.

Marie

 

Posted 6/5/2009 6:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Marie,

Yes, my surgery was at USE Keck School of Medicine. My doctor was Dr. Lipham, who has an office in Orange County and I think one in LA.

I had very bad heartburn before my surgery, was on medication for about 3 years before I decided to have the testing. I did not have the sore throat like you, but sometimes.

In regards to burping...it was very uncomfortable at 1st, but I have gotten used to not burping , and I avoid those foods/drinks that give me gas. I still cannot burp as of 6 months after surgery...perhaps that will change after more time has passed.

USC has a very large program for upper gut surgery...and I think they specialize at the USC campus/hospital.

I hope these answers help you Marie...please feel free to ask any more you may have.

Be well.

Chris
Posted 6/5/2009 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,

 Chris thanx for your support on healing well. Its always good to hear positive results versus all the rubbish that is found on the Nissan.

take care,

B

Hi marie, janice teala bill,rick, denise,melissa,kelley ,barb,kitt and if i 4got any 1 your in my silent shout out.lol

Posted 6/5/2009 5:29 PM (GMT 0)

Good morning Bea. Your a doll wink

Marie -  I had my Nissen redo Jan. of this year and I can burp with out trouble. However, after this 2ND surgery I also gained hiccups like all get out. Each person is so different after this surgery. It definitely isn't text book results afterwards I think.

I had suffered with horrific heartburn (I couldn't even bend over to pick something up without a big flare up) regurgitating when I laid down ill regards to how many hours it had been since I had anything to eat, awful sourness, sore throat all the time on and on and now that I have a wrap done correctly I have not experience any of those symptoms. I do have some pain still in my left rib area and shoulder pain due to a long 8 hours on the operating table but you know I wouldn't go back to that horrid gerd pain for my life.

I also have long segment Barrett's esophagus that is pretty established so that was also a huge factor in getting the wrap redone to try to keep that acid from washing back up and destroying my lining more.

The surgery can give you back your life with maybe a little bump here and there but I think it is so worth it. That is just my experience mind you.

If you have any questions I will gladly try to help you out ; )

Teala

 

Posted 6/5/2009 5:42 PM (GMT 0)

griffdawg - That ph test is really needed to get a reading on if you are a good canidate for the Nissen. I did have a lot of troubles with it my first time. The doc was rude and was rushing me and it just was a bad thing. My 2nd one was much easier with a doc that was very caring and took it slowly.

If you have gagging problems I will share this thing that for some reason made me able to do it.

I layed on my back on the table sort of twisted to one side with my head side ways, mouth open, took the water, swallowed it and then left my mouth open to let the extra saliva run into the cup thingy because you are not suppose to swallow inbetween the water sips.

Are they going to put the bravo in for the 24 or 48 hour study or just do the study while in the office?

I wish you the best and If I can help you with any questions you have let me know.

Teala

Posted 6/5/2009 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
Good Afternoon everyone,

Chris, you have provided a wealth of information and as with each  story reading yours was an education and I love to learn.  I am glad you are looking at returning to work............that tells me you are doing good.  Hurrah.

Bea,

Mozzarella sticks, whoooooo hooooo.  I love a dah Italian food. You are such a tremendous support to all and your sense of humor I know  gets you down the road many days.  I use mine often but I am usually laughing at myself.  I crack me up smilewinkgrin

Teala

 

You, my friend, have so much experience with this surgery you could teach a class.  You are always right here to support and encourage and explain. cool

Marie,

 

I have never had the surgery but I have had some other interesting surgeries...........LOL.  Glad to see you jumping in and participating, asking your questions. Knowledge is power.

griffdawg

I agree this is one super - duper forum and I have been told that it is the best GERD/Heartburn Forum on the web and I believe what I have been told.  :-) Glad you are with us.

Denise

You are real guru on this topic and along with Janice, you share in the top dog spot when it comes to trying to help everyone.

Anne,

You and I are not wrapped but we still have GERD and it keeps us on our toes and gives us some difficult times to get through,  you more so then me.

I know you cannot have the surgery and for that I am sorry. 

As for me I do pretty well with meds and not eating certain foods.  My GERD kicks up when it wants to and often if I am stressed to the max.

Now, one Big Group Hug to All...........I adore this forum and I enjoy the commraderie.  Thank you to each of you for being who you are.

I know there are tons of other members but I just wanted to drop into this thread and let you all know your simply wonderful.

(((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))

Kitt

 

Posted 6/5/2009 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
Kitt - you are fantastic and an absolute God send for many ppl looking for those comforting words if only over the Internet it does help ppl tons and you are wonderful for that !

I'm contemplating the class but I'm not so up on the technical terms so I might confuse people when I say use that air thingy and keep a check on that whatcha call it, oh and by all means tell the doc about your thingy ma bobber... LOL

I do try to help where I can but I some times wonder if I can put into words what I'm trying to say so it can be understood ?

You have a super duper fantastic Friday and weekend my dear and I all most forgot again to congratulate your Granddaughter on her graduating.

Take care now, Teala

 

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