Heartburn worse after Nissen

Friends, bloating is getting me now. A few times a day I just feel like a bubble of air inside me where the wrap is. The tension is growing, I'm sweating, sometimes I get some sour taste in my mouth, then it subsides. If I eat something I feel better for a little bit then some sweating again and fullness. Still can recline, begin feeling dull pain at the wrap site and getting slightly nauseous. By the evening all gets a little better. I just pass out around midnight and sleep 2-3 hours, then the darn nausea and sweating get me up. As soon as I'm vertical I feel better. After a while I can recline again and steal another 2 hours. When all the gas shifts through my bowels I feel tremendous relief. Is it something you guys expereienced, Denise, Bill? I feel stupid calling my doctor again, but I'm concerned a bit.

Rummaan, I forgot to repeat that we're always here to support you and answer whatever questions we can. We've been through the surgery and recovery, and although each recovery is unique (you'll see that as you read posts here) there are similarities.

There are no questions or worries too small to ask at the forum. It's a place to vent when you're upset and worried.
We'll do the best we can to support you through this recovery.
Trust, and believe things will improve. You'll look back on your recovery, and soon forget the details! You should keep a journal of your recovery, so you can share your experience with others who have the surgery!
Denise

Rummaan,
Have you considered taking something to help push that lower gas out? Like mineral oil? It's safe and gentle and you can take big doses.
Meanwhile... relax. It will all get better. Give it time.

Sometimes the swelling is more on one side than the other causing a small gap and acid gets out some. Once the swelling goes down it will improve. Are you still on PPIs? If not take some to help during the transition.

Thank you Bill for your advise. Last night I took 7.5 mg of Remeron just to relax a bit and slept a whole lot better, heck I slept 8 hours. When I woke up today i had no unpleasant feelings at all. It's 9 days today and I just hope it gets better. I guess you are right about the wrap getting adjusted to its function and not functioning properly yet. Shortly after I eat or drink water I feel heat wave going over me and a burning where the wrap is, also slightly sour taste in my mouth. Then it's gone for a while, until I eat again. I can only eat 1/4 cup at a time plus some water. Maybe my esophagus is hypersensitive to minuscule amounts of acid too.

Day 10. I was feeling great yesterday and the day before. Didn't take any antacids in addition to my doctor-prescribed Aciphex. Practically no burning, no sour taste, minimal twinging at the wrap, great energy and appetite. That means I was becoming more adventurous with food. More food, more appetite. So I tried some cheese omlette left over from my kids, chewing really really well. It seemed to go down fine, but a couple of times I could feel the little burnt crusty particles going painful through the wrap. I chased it with some apricot jam which was pretty sour I guess. 30 minutes later I was miserable. Bloated, nauseous, sweating. And a little sour taste was back. I guess it was too much food and too much of the wrong food. I became really upset at my step back and I'm eating pretty cautious today. Some discomfort still persists, but is better today. Is it normal to take steps back when not careful?

Post Edited (rummaan) : 8/17/2010 2:11:13 AM (GMT-6)

Absolutely! I remember (I think it was a little after two weeks) having Pad Thai, thinking that the noodle would be chewable. Well, rice noodles are definitely harder to chew to liquid than regular ones, and I spent the next two days panicked because I was having heartburn feelings.

I think when the wrap is irritated (or things get stuck in it), it can swell a bit and let some acid through. I was afraid I'd ruined my wrap, and was really scared. Long story short, after some time, things went back to normal, and my healing continued as it should have.

Don't worry! Just continue to eat very carefully, and you will be just fine. Also, remember to eat small amounts as well. At some point (farther out in your recovery) if you get the urge to eat beef, you can put some stew beef, potatoes, carrots, and onion, in a slow cooker, and cook it for hours and hours. The vegetables will be deliciously flavored with the beef stock, and if you've cooked it enough, you'll most likely be able to manage a little of the beef as well. Always keep in mind...tiny bites and chew, chew, chew. I made it because it was recommended by an acquaintance who'd had the surgery, and she said the vegetables would help me keep up my nutrition. I had every intention of only eating them, but found the meat to be very easy to chew to liquid. The key is cooking it a LONG time!

You'll be eating normal foods before you know it. Until then, you can't be too careful. To this day, a year and a half later, I am careful to eat slowly and chew my foods carefully. It's a good habit anyway!

Take care.
Denise

My brother had the same surgery several months ago and though he said it was totally miserable at first - said it was totally worth it after it healed - was yours laproscopically? I'm worried will end up with big incision as had gallbladder surgery over 20 years ago. Am super scared.

Bill, you wrote: "when you feel some reflux it could be from trapped air trying to get out and some of the acid leaking through the wrap while it's swollen. Of course this is my theory from my experience with both Nissens"

That's about exactly how it feels.

Catlady, why was your brother miserable at first? For how long?

My friends, its a little over 4 weeks after my surgery. I must say that I'm recovering but slower than I'd like to. I'm still unable to burp, but some small burps want to get out after eating and then my esophagus does this "suck-in" motion, I really don't know how else to describe it. It's like what it did before the surgery when I wanted to burp. But this time there is no burp or a very small burp or some liquid comes up. It feels like it's all happening between the esophagus and the throat. I feel slightly nauseous between meals if I didn't eat for a while or after I eat something challenging. Still have a little of the lump-in-the-throat sensation along with odd chest pains here and there. Still get sour taste after some foods, mostly sugars. Food-wise, I'm eating some steamed fish some boiled chicken legs, butter, sour cream, yogurts and the rest is soft and liquid. I also eat ice cream, home made apple pie, scrambled eggs. Swallowing is great, I have very little hang-up with either solids or liquids when eaten slowly. Still can't eat much, only about half a cup or 2/3 of a cup. But I'm hungry all the time, except when I'm a little nauseous. It's easy to forget that you're just out of a major surgery when you feel good. But a wrong step or too quickly remind you that you're still healing. a couple of times I got so miserable that I wrote emails to a couple of top-experts back in the states, and they both said "everything is possible and normal during the recovery, gove it another 3 months, then we'll talk". One expert said the reason for all of this is that the wrap is tight and food and saliva pools above it even when we don;t feel it. then it starts irritating the still-sensitive esophagus. It also refluxes back to the throat and makes it hoarse (something I have after meals sometimes). It all should wear off in a couple of months he said. It's stressful to feel that and hard to believe the experts when your own feelings register something exactly the same as before the surgery.
The good things are many - sleeping improved drastically, energy and good mood are coming back in waves like pre-GERD, and the other day I had a piece of KFC chicken (odd craving, I had for a while), and it went down very well. I won't abuse it though and refrain for a while. How's everyone doing?

Post Edited (rummaan) : 9/4/2010 1:00:59 PM (GMT-6)

It sounds like you're progressing very well. Take it easy and continue to listen to your body. It will let you know when it's time for the next step. The growly stomach can be helped by eating something high in fiber.