debating surgery

Within the last year I was dianoised with GERD. I have been on 4-5 different medications for the past 3 years before realizing that it was worse than we thought.  I had my first endoscopy 6 months ago. They found 7 cysts and a hiatal hernia. My specialist wanted to give me another 3-4 months to see if the cysts went away with medication but the second endoscopy showed only 4 cysts.  The specialist advised me to have the surgery and to go do a motility test to verify I can have the surgery. Once I had the motility test I met with the surgeon and he confirmed that I did have GERD and the motility test showed I had a weak valuve. My surgery is set for June 11th and I am scared to death. I have seen and heard so many differnt stories. I also have another concern.

My husband and I were planning on conceving this year. My surgeon suggested me to have the surgery first then concieve. I am meeting with my OBGYN to get his opinion on the OB side. I had a miscarry in 07 and since then I have been wanting another baby. Has anyone out there had the surgery and had a baby? If so, what was the time length between having the surgery and having the baby? Or has anyone had a baby while being diagnoised with GERD? I know I will be getting some of my answers by my OB when I see him but it won't be for another week and a half.  Thank you for everyone that has posted on this website. I have learned alot from everyone's experience.

I wasn't diagnosed with GERD until 5 years ago, but I have had 2 pregnancies, 2 children, and I think what your doc is concerned about is that women often have mega heartburn during pregnancy. During my second I had a bottle of Mylanta in my school mailbox, my glovebox, my purse, you name it. What you might want to do is ask your doc if he's had any patients who had the surgery prior to pregnancy (maybe you already said that...). But you're doing the right thing by asking these questions. Which is why all of us are here. Good luck with your GERD and your babies!!

Hi! I'm so glad that you posted on this topic, as this was one of my concerns too. I'm 25, not married and not even a bf at the moment. I've known for quite some time that I wanted nothing more to be a mommy though. I also knew that I cannot LIVE w/o ppi's.

I was always concerned b/c there are so many medicines that you cannot take when you are pregnant. I cannot survive on tums alone! Also, there are so many females who NEVER have heartburn until they are pregnant. This made me wonder if when I am pregnant I will turn into a fire-breathing dragon or something. I think that much pain on the mother could def cause stress for the baby.

My mom was concerned about fundo before childbirth for two reasons. The first being increased naseau and lack of ability to vomit. The second being pressure on the wrap. I asked both my GI doc and surgeon about these issues. They both reassured me that I would be fine. My surgeon told me that I will still be able to vomit because he will not make the wrap too tight. (He said my mom's was probably wrapped too tightly.) Also, he said that the location of the wrap vs the location of the uteras (sp?) does not create a problem.

Not sure if that helps any but I'm curious to see what your OB says!