idaman said...
to LOWDOWN... my appt with the gastro specialist, to discuss my EsophyX procedure is on Thursday. Any suggestions or questions I should ask while I'm there?
Since my problem is not obesity or an eating disorder, and the condition has been controlled until now by my Priolosec/omeprazole...my main concern is continued use long-term of meds that could compromize my other medications, as well as the loss of effectiveness.
Any insights you can offer are appreciated.
idaman
I was on PPI's (nexium 2x daily) for over a year or so and was not getting the effect desired. I will admit that I did not follow the dietary restrictions "to the letter" as I found them too restrictive and that no doubt caused some problems. I had suffered for years and decided to get something done. I was in favor of the EsophyX due to the non invasive nature of the procedure. Have you already seen the gastro before, had a scope done and confirmed that you have a problem with your LES? I assuming yes if you're talking about the procedure.
Honestly, as always ask about the risks. There were cases early on of esophagus punctures but I was told the newer version of the appliance and better knowledge of the procedure address this. I didn't ask my doc how many of the EsophyX she had done prior ( I know I should have) as I was ready to do it and that was that. Everything turned out fine so far, but if I did it again, I would ask. She was very well versed in the procedure and explained everything to me so well, that I had no reservations about going forward.
Do you have problems with nausea and vomiting after a general anesthesthia? If so you must make your DR aware of that. You can undo the whole thing if you start having severe vomiting afterwards. My DR gave me a Transderm SCOP patch to apply 24 hours pre op to help with the nausea and vomiting. I don't know what they gave me at the OR but I had NO problems with vomiting at all. If you have any liver problems ( I have a fatty liver) tell the doc, he may want to do a scan prior to clearing you for the procedure. You'll probably need the OK from a Cardiologist for pre op clearance. Do you have one? If not ask your doc if they can refer you to one. Probably unless you're talking to a gastro doc, your regular doc might not even know what the EsophyX is, so take the flyer about the procedure in with you to your regular doctor when you go in to get pre op clearance.
The post op diet is VERY restrictive make sure to discuss that. If you have an active lifestyle, it will be affected. You have to take it easy for the first 4 - 5 weeks no lifting, no exercise! Only liquids and very soft foods for the first few weeks and in small amounts throughout the day. Could be a problem at work if you can't eat at your desk or work area as you will have to take small bites and wait a minute or two between. Hmm, if you have a 30 minute lunch break, you get roughly 15 or 16 small bites (at least that's what my instructions were). My staples were strained cream style soups, cottage cheese, pudding, steamed very soft squash which I loved, jello NO meat, NO bread till 12 weeks post op although my doc cleared me for thinly sliced deli meats, chicken and turkey fairly early on. STICK to that post op diet, you don't want to have a big chunk of soild food get stuck down there as you might have to make an emergency trip to have it removed. That would not be nice.
Ask what type of antiboitics you are going to receive for the procedure? I had a reaction to the ones they gave me and it caused me to have a C-diff problem, which caused severe diarrhea and I was unable to work much less be farther that 10 seconds away from the toilet. It was not pretty, prepping for a colonoscopy was easier. If the doc thinks you might be affected, have them give you a script "up front" just in case. Believe me, you DON'T want to have to drive all the way back to the doctor to have them see you before you can get the script. That's what I had to do and it was a VERY scary 45 munute round trip drive. The dr had me start eating active culture yogurt's to help with the C-diff and gave me Flagyl to treat it. If your dr thinks you might be affected, ask if you can start the active culture yogurt's right away. BTW that started for me at around 4 weeks post op.
All in all the whole experience was easy. I remember nothing of the procedure and suffered little to no post op pain. I took a week off work but felt like I could have gone back with only minor discomfort after 3 days. I did have to miss some time due to the C-diff episode though.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Carl