2 months post op - still struggling

Friends,
I'm 8 weeks out of Nissen fundo and I'm still struggling. I had it bad a few weeks back then I went back to soft and liquid foods and felt much better for a couple of weeks. Then I forgot myself again, began eating more and more solids, pretty much all solids all day long. Sausages, krispy kreams, coffee, chocolate, nuts, breads, pastries, fast food, spicy food and finally steak. Of course it begin to get gradually worse and worse and here I am again. Now I began to feel burn and the nausea especially early mornings. It actually wakes me up early am. Not much burn, just chest pain and nagging nausea. It's awful. I'm very upset by all this and I'm suffering.
My noncompliance is awful!. I'm still on PPIs twice a day plus Remeron (AD - very small dose to sleep). Could I have made it worse by eating bad? Anyone expereienced this? I thought at 2 months I'd be good as new :( .

I don't know what to do. Maybe I need to go to the States and book an appointment at Mayo or some other clinic. Anyone had experience of a Nissen at Mayo? I heard they have a good surgeon there in Rochester, Mr. Deschamps. Any Minnesotans here? I lived in Minneapolis for 7 years then San Diego for 2 years then San Francisco for 2 years. This whole situation is driving me nuts. My deductible is high and I have no sick time left after Nissen. I heard some other guys were convinced they had heartburn after Nissen but then it went away.

Thanks, I'll try that for a few days and see what it brings.

Hi Rummaan,
I think that your expectation that "at 2 months [you]'d be good as new" is really unrealistic. You've had major surgery, and your upper GI tract was completely revised. You will be healing for months longer, and I'm afraid to say that even with the best surgery, you're not really going to be "as good as new". You'll be a lot better than "old", but there will always be changes and quirks you'll have to adjust for.

At two months (only 8 weeks, for gosh sake!) you are still in the early stages of recovery. A wise member here reminded me that "most of the healing occurs in the first six months after surgery, and the rest takes a full year.

You need to back off that eating pattern, and start taking care of yourself! You can eat a variety of foods, but small portions, and small bites. Chew, chew, chew!

Don't worry. If you calm down your eating and start taking better care of your wrap and healing stomach, I'm confident that you'll begin to feel better.

Slow down, and relax.
We're here to support your recovery!
Denise

Hi Rummaan,
You'll want to treat your wrap gently as it heals, so you give it a chance to settle into place so it can protect you. We're not frowning...just worrying!

You're not the only one who visits this forum who has unrealistic ideas about how quickly you will recover and eat normally. I had the opposite expectation, and thought the recovery would be much longer and more difficult than it actually was. I guess it's better to expect worse and be pleasantly surprised.

I think surgeons should be more upfront with patients and provide them with much more information, so they know what to expect. I educated myself via the internet, and knew that the recovery was going to be a challenge.

I'm likely to be looking at a redo, because of severe coughing early in the recovery period. Also, I'd been on so much steroid that my internal tissue was extremely fragile. Two things that don't bode well for a good outcome. I don't blame this on my surgeon. He did a great job, then I proceeded to undo it! If my testing indicates that a redo is necessary, I'll be right back where you are. It'll be interesting to compare the experiences. Hopefully I can find a surgeon who can do the job well, and I can get healed without a repeat performance of coughing...my lungs are starting to act up, so I'm being very proactive and aggressive about finding out what's going on.

Anyway, I digress...take care of your wrap, and eat delicious foods in small bites, and chew them to a liquid. Technically, you should be doing that as much as possible from now on, to protect your wrap in the future, so get used to it!

Hang in there...better days will come!
Denise

I am only a month out and had some of the same expectations! Unfortunately I've had to go very slow but don't know if you are a thin or overweight person but I can afford to shed extra weight so for me the pleasant side effect is I'm thinner than I have been in years. I can occasionally eat spicy food with some flavor but have to eat in small quantities and rarely. It is a bit frustrating and totally understand where you are. My little brother had the same surgery and he said he couldn't eat near the same things I'm eating right now but he had some complications. Personally I've stuck mostly to the GERD diet as much as possible and only eaten a couple times a week what I want but then I do end of paying for it. From all the posts on here patience and time will help!

Hi Jayne,
So glad to see you posting. Newly wrapped members need all the encouragement and wisdom they can get! As you know, it's a scary thing to do, and we worry always that the won't work for us, or we've done something to damage it.

My lungs were 100% better within 3 months of my surgery, and I know that my wrap was doing its job. I had the surgery because of my asthma, and my reflux wasn't severe. You're right...all coughs aren't GERD related. I still have allergy-induced asthma as well, and cough away because of that. I, too, take allergy shots. I've taken them for many years. They help, but don't solve all my problems. I wouldn't do without them, though. They help significantly.

Rummaan,
My docs don't want to jump to the conclusion that I need a redo without testing me extensively. My first test is tomorrow...a scope of my vocal chords. Apparently a local ENT is capable of making a differentiated diagnosis, and can determine if reflux is causing my persistent hoarseness. That will be interesting. If he says that it is, I'll get referred to a GI doc. I moved recently, so I'll be starting from scratch there.

You and CatLady need to hang in there...things will get better. You just have to take care and be patient. It's a long healing process, but time will pass and you'll find you're eating normally again!

Take care,
Denise