burning 1 week after nissen--ADVICE?

Hi there,
i am new here. i am about 1 week post nissen and have not yet had much relief from the burning in my throat I fely before the operation. PPI's stopped working for me a while ago, and the nissen was the path i chose after many doctors and much deliberation. i am 39, female, thin, active and healthy in all other ways. my surgoen said everything went wonderfully and i should expect no more reflux---he repaired a substantial hernia and a torn diaphragm muscle( from having children). he also mentioned that my throat was very very inflammed at the time or suregery. Could this burning that feels just like reflux be healing/inflammation? has anyone else experienced this? this burning is all the time, not just here and there---even increases at night just like the old reflux did. I do not seem to get relief from gaviscvon either......what to do? any thoughts? advice? my surgeon assured me it was not reflux, but I am sceptical.
thanks
lstek

Thanks for the welcome to the wrapped club. Other than the burning continuation, I am doing very well. I am moving slowly at 8 days out and have to rest a bit, but I am eating soft foods, digesting ok, and the pain is not so much to deal with now. My main concern is the failure of the operation. Have you heard of others with a post-op burn that subsides?
best
lstek

Hi Lstek,
Welcome to the "Wrapped Club"! You need to keep in mind that the inflammation in your esophagus won't disappear just because you've had the Nissen surgery. It'll take time for that tissue to heal. You said your surgeon told you that it was very, very inflamed. My experience an inflamed stomach and/or esophagus take a long time to heal. I had asthma problems that led me to surgery. My lungs were inflamed after years of being irritated by the refluxing acid. They took several months to heal, and at around 3 months they cleared up, and my breathing was great.

I had "reflux" sensations in the early stages of recovery (I had the surgery on Feb. 27th of this year), and discussed this with my surgeon. He said in the early stages of healing anything is possible. The wrap is swollen, and some acid could possibly slip by. "Pretty much anything is possible at this point" was his response. It has been my experience that whenever my wrap is irritated and bothering me, that's when I get those very infrequent "reflux" sensations. I've read that the esophagus is a "dumb organ" and interprets any pain as reflux. So, are we having reflux? I can't tell you for sure. I can just tell you that my lungs have continued to improve, and I'm breathing freely without any coughing or mucous. That's my indication that whatever I'm experiencing is not true reflux.

I can totally understand your concern, but I think you can rest assured that you're not refluxing. You've got everything going for you. You're young, thin, active, and healthy. Those are four things (in addition to a skilled and experienced surgeon) that set you up for a successful surgical result. Don't waste your time worrying! I think you can be very confident that the burning is residual, from the inflammation that you had at the time of the surgery. Be patient, take care to follow your surgeon's directions regarding diet, and trust that your wrap is just fine.

I hope you'll stay around this forum and report on your recovery experience.
There are lots of people out there searching for information and encouragement as they decide whether or not to move forward with surgery.
It's not a perfect surgery, but it can be a lifesaver for people suffering from severe reflux.
I wish I'd had the surgery years ago, before the steroids I took caused permanent damage to my body. Oh well...better late than never!
Take care, lstek!
Denise

denise and bill,
thank you so much for your responses. It is really good to hear that someone else actually had this, and it got better. I will do my best to relax and wait for the swelling to calm down, and see where that leaves me. I have been trying antacids to calm it down for several days, but they do not work AT ALL. My surgeon told me this is a sign that is is indeed not reflux. I hope everyone is right. I will post back when I know more. Thanks for helping me calm down.
best
lstek

yes, it seems it will take patience. Bill, did you feel as though you still had heartburn? or just a few occasions here and there. Mine feels just like before...all the time. I will try to drink more water to see if that helps as well.
lstek

hi again,
bill, can I ask you a few question, since you are the only person i have found that felt the same thing? did the post op burning that you felt mimic the pre-op reflux? for example, mine is always there, but seems to be aggrivated at night when lying down, just like before. Also, did you have your wrap redone because of this/ because it did not work? or for other reasons? did anything calm it down for you and how long until it was gone? I would love to get more details if you don't mind. The intensification of night burning makes me suspicious that it did not work. still concerned
lstek

H Istek,

 I hope ur felleing better.

Hii denise & Bill,miss u guys hope al is well

B

I am 11days post Nissen and have had the same burning feelings... my dispair was put to rest when I followed up with my surgeon yesterday. It IS normal because he said the esophagus is healing and food/drink stay there longer than normal due to swelling and swallowing slower since surgery and this should resolve. I got to advance to a soft diet last night for supper... fish and green beans... what a nice change, it went well just supper small bites and chew WELL. I hope that you are feeling better... keep in touch since we are 2 newbies :)

Hi Lstek,
Do you have your bed elevated and/or are you using a wedge pillow? It might be helpful during the healing stages. I always noticed that there was more pressure on my wrap when laying flat, so took to continuing with the raised bed/wedge. You're still healing, and I don't really think it's unreasonable to take the pressure off when sleeping.
Just a thought. It has been helpful to my recovery, so thought I'd share it with you.
Hopefully your surgeon will provide you with some reassurance.
Don't worry!
Denise

Good luck with your visit with the surgeon. Two weeks is still pretty early in recovery, and you could have swelling that is, indeed, allowing acid to slip through. That doesn't mean that your wrap isn't successful. Everyone's recovery is different. I did have some reflux feelings from time to time, and it did scare me. My surgeon warned me that as the wrap heals, reflux feelings and even real reflux can occur. It's variable, depending on each individual experience.
I hope you get things straightened around soon. Don't jump to conclusions. Try to relax and trust.
I wish you all the best results!
Denise

ps--the condition when the esophagus empties slowly is called achalasia. I was tested for this before surgery with 2 motilty tests and came back as not having it. Can surgery cause this?

I am back with an update. I am almost 7 weeks post-op and still burning. I have a ph test scheduled for next thursday, so that should tell me more about the reality of what i am dealing with. is it still constant reflux, or is it this visceral nerve sensitivity from prolonged acid exposure. I am wondering about others experiences with the post-op reflux and how it felt. mine is constant and fluctuates only in severity. It seems to be worse at night, but not good during the day. Often the burning is high in my throat and even seems to irritate my nostrils. All this is the same as before surgery. Is it possible for overwrought nerves to make your nostrils burn? I am skeptical of that. I would love any feedback available.
thanks
still burning
lstek

Hi rafael,
Well, it is nice to talk to someone else who is still burning. I never had much in the way of regurgitation, so that does not present a problem. My symptoms now are essentially the same as before the surgery.......constant throat burn both at the top and often down low by the les. It does still feel like it gets worse at night, and when i lay down....that is why i am most suspicious that I do indeed still have reflux. The pain wakes me in the night. I suppose it could all just be the damaged tissues still transferring pain in the same way as before( as I have read about online). I did have a lot of tissue inflammation at the time of surgery. unlike you, i am pretty convinced I still have reflux........especially with my nostrils burning. hope i am wrong. you sound a bit better off, with days of no burning and it not getting worse at night. i suspect you indeed do just have the inflammation.
lstek