Sicking up after Nissen - what happens?

I didn't sleep in my recliner when I came home although I have one. Do you have extra pillows? Prop extra ones under your back as I found what hurt the most was laying back because of the pressure up into my collarbone from the gas they pumped and it was pushing into my diaphragm which caused the pain. Also they gave me a little blowing machine to use to blow into (although my cats are fascinated with it and think it's a cat toy) and that helps as well as walking alot. I'm also very sensitive to morphine and get horrendous headaches and got Darvocet but very little of it in the hospital. Surprisingly the majority of the swelling doesn't really happen until you're almost at the end of your 2nd week so swallowing pills was not a major concern for me. That really surprised me but I could eat breakfast and not be hungry until nearly 9 hours later. Surgery was not really that difficult. It was rough having the x-rays the next day and the awful stuff I had to drink so they could do the x-rays but take your anti-nausea meds. I did have a challenge with an infection in one of my incisions but I'm a lupus patient and take immune suppression meds and although I stayed off them several months before the surgery I still got an infection. All that was pretty easy. Just challenged now with trying to find a diet that agrees with me. No real acid problems, just rumbling tummy alot and spends lots of time in the bathroom but know this will get better. Just a bit frustrated but so much better than how it was before. It's totally worth it!

I got demerol at the hospital and liquid loratab for home. It helped fine.

catlady4520,

I am seeing a surgeon tomorrow to discuss the possiblity of having the Nissen Fundoplication.  My reflux is controlling my life.  I saw that you have Lupus.   I have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I take an Enbrel injection each week, but that does not compare to the destruction that reflux can do to the quality of life.  I go each day without sleep and constantly have a sore throat.  It is a very difficult decision so I am trying to do my homework.

Is it worth it?  How about the EsophyX procedure?  Your thoughts?

Well that's....really scary.....
Now let's see...I'm always after a "bright side" .... if that happens, I'll be thin again.......lol

If you approach this with the thought I'm going to get through this and it will be for the best.
There may be bumps in the road and there may be times it seems a dead end, but there is always a new path to find and continue to forge ahead.
Many people have had this surgery and have gone on and embraced their new lifestyle and adjusted to their new quirks in their digestion.
There are a few people who fought their new life and felt misery.
There are a few people who chose wrong or the wrong choice was made for them and are suffering misery.
The point I'm trying to say is this surgery is not a quick cure all. Don't enter it lightly thinking everything is going to be perfect afterwards. I've seen too many people thinking "in two weeks I'm going to be fine and I can eat anything I want". Or I don't feel any pain after those two weeks I can do anything I want like carry heavy loads or push a lawn mower.
You won't go back to a totally normal diet. Your stomach will be changed, mostly for the best.
You will have to treat your stomach like a new baby. Be alert to it, tend to it, don't abuse it and it will be good for a long time. It will take a full year for your stomach to heal. Until then you can have some odd things happen if you abuse it.
Choose your surgeon wisely. Go in well informed and eyes wide open. If you have any concerns about anything speak up! During recovery ask questions. You may think you're being a pest or a worrywart, but this is what we're here for-Support!
stepping down from soap box....
hugs to all

I think maybe that outlook is based on perspective.
12 years ago my 9, almost 10 year old daughter was run down and killed by a drunk driver.
After that, it takes a great deal to really knock me down on a spiritual level.
I have something to compare levels of emotional distress to that serves me rather well and keeps things in perspective.
Disappointments are much more easily shrugged off after something like that - and I also learned that expectations are REALLY what cause disappointments - if you just keep a "live in the moment" attitude as often as you can, you'll find yourself more able to laugh and accept what "is" and not pine for what "might have been" or for what "I wish".
If I lived like that I'd still be in my bed, refusing to eat or shower, even after all these years because where the pain from this surgery is going to come and go - that one never will go away, not really.

I laugh instead of cry when I have a choice. Sometimes you dont, of course, but if I can choose, I'll choose to laugh.
I just didnt want anyone to think I was making light of any of this - I'm not - but in a situation where you're just going to have to deal....you're really better off to find SOMETHING to be glad, or to laugh about.
Silver lining in ALL things - and if you really look, you can find SOMETHING you can call a silver lining - at the very least faux silver plating! ; )

Cant thank you and Joy and all the others here enough for all of the encouragement. You're helping me to be brave.
I'm already in pain, short of breath, unable to cope with most solid food, etc - so as I see it, at worst I'll hurt a bit more for a while and then be no better off - and that isnt going to happen to me. I've got a good feeling about this inside.

I dont know details about my surgeon..... I know he's a great, nice guy and that this kind of thing is all they do over there - and I cant switch doctors and couldnt even if those things weren't true....because I'm on medicaid.
Lots of doctors don't take it and when you get a good one who will, you've hit the jackpot.
When I come through this the way I know I will (positive attitude!) eventually - I'm sure I'll be singing his praises to high heaven. It's not every doctor who believes that poor people should get as good a care as those who can afford to buy it - so I'm more than grateful to him. Unlike someone with no insurance, at least I'm still able to get help - even if I can't travel to somewhere like the mayo clinic to get it.
The odds on this surgery looked like good betting odds to me, frankly. Didnt you think so?
They looked better than what could happen if I didnt go get this fixed. Cancer or a septic situation with a rushed emergency surgery to save my life seemed an unwise risk to take when I had this option - so the choice was easy.
Now all I have to do it stop my teeth from chattering when I think about the post op pain.
That trapped gas thing sounds excruciating....and being a high functioning autistic person....I've got a low pain threshold....so I'm frightened about it.
That night be the one main thing that is keeping me scared - but my hope is that when I get to that part, I'll be able to just "be" in the moment and that way, I'll get through it. Is that how it was for you?

Oh Jayne, I want it go go just like that for me.... lol

I'm already on blended foods - er....drinks. I'm as protective of my personal blender here at home as ever golemn was with his precious ring.
I cant "eat" without it. lol

Thank you!

Ugh... I cant do oatmeal....the texture.... but I also dont touch caffeine, soda, coffee or acidic foods already so there wont be much adjustment for me there.
Thanks so much for the valuable tips though, because if I were eating those things I might not have known to stop! : )

I dont intend to be up doing anything. In advance I have prepared chore lists, etc for the males to run this house (husband and 2 boys ages 15 and 17) and I have shopped for all of my own foods. I've got protein jello from GNC, smart water, low-sodium whey proteins for meal replacement from GNC, clear protein replacement drinks from GNC (also low sodium) and some low sodium soups to throw in the blender for when I get a little further along.
I'm trying to plan for this in such a way that I can simply be left to lay in bed and walk - concentrate on healing and healing alone for 2 or 3 weeks. I'm as prepared as I can think to be......with fingers crossed for a silver lining of serious weight loss. I was always tiny until all these problems started and I guess I just wasnt digesting my food - because for the first time in my 38 years I gained fat...and so I'm hoping to see it come off with the restructuring of my plumbing.

Babyfood might be a good idea to add too though - thanks for the mention!

ZhyKitty,
I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. As a mother of two, I can certainly identify with the pain you suffered. You could have curled up and died inside yourself, but you are obviously a strong person, and I admire your decision to go on. You are a role model for those around you, that's for sure.

You are so right. Happiness is an inside job...it is a choice you make every day. As I said before, your positive outlook will make your surgery and recovery much easier to handle. If you let your recovery take the lead, and follow after it, things will go much more easily. It's those who fight their recovery and try to control its pace and progress, who have a really difficult time. It is as it is. Just go with the flow and things will be much easier.

Don't worry about the pain. It's minimal. Yes, there's a bit of surgical pain to start with, but it's very manageable, and only lasts a few days. It's the eating that is a challenge. Your wrap becomes progressively more swollen over the first two weeks, so your swallowing will get worse before it gets better. Don't worry, though. It's really not bad.

Try to walk as much as possible right after the surgery (that night, the next day, and at home). That will help relieve the gas pain that hits the shoulder. At home, just walk from room to room whenever you get up to go to the bathroom.

I had lots of liquids and soft foods ready for my recovery (like you, I wanted to be prepared), but in the end I didn't need them. My surgeon put me on solid foods that could be chewed to a liquid after only 5 days. I never even drank a single Carnation Instant Breakfast!

Glad you've joined us, and be sure to keep asking questions!
We're here for you.
Take care,
Denise

I liked the instant cheese grits. Plain grits are yucky!
I lost 20 lbs with my surgery, but once I could eat normal food again my weight went back up within a few months. :(

Hi

I am trying to get my food (liquids) together for after my surgery on 10/20.   Where do they keep grits in the store.    I have never tried them so I dont know where to look.   Sure would like to find something better this time around than the last LOL.

I have Whey powder, but think all I have is chocolate so I think thats a no..no and I am thinking it whips up really thick almost like a milk shake.  I have been really paying attention to what people have been eating.   I really appreciate the information.

Also I was looking for the GasX strips all I could find so far were flavored mint.   I dont think that would be a good idea.   I did see Cherry flavored chewables would they be ok.   Thinking I should get some Imodium I already have a problem with loose bowels.

I could stand to lose about 50lbs.   I have already lost 75 .....50 of them before my symptoms of acid reflux.   Just couldnt seem to imagine acid reflux especially after reading that weightloss helps.    Really was puzzled.

zhyKitty good luck on your surgery just in case for some odd ball reason I dont get to post again on here before your surgery.

Thanks everyone for all the information.      Keep it coming.

Mitzie,
Cherry chewable Gax-X are my favorite, so they're just right.

I used Cream of Wheat Cereal instead of Grits...a similar consistency, and can be made very liquidy. I just added a little more milk.

Really, if you're planning for the worst recovery ever, you'll find it much easier than you expected. If you think it'll be a breeze and you'll be back to normal in a week or two, you're in for a terrible disappointment.
A realistic attitude regarding a surgery that totally revamps your upper GI tract and cobbles up a new valve for your stomach is to expect a challenging recovery. I expected a horrible recovery, and was pleasantly surprised.

Be sure to have liquid Motrin or Extra Strength Tylenol on hand. You'll switch from the narcotic pain killer to that within two or three days after you return home. You may want to take the narcotic pain med when you go to bed at night, since little twinges seem worse when you're trying to sleep.

ZhyKitty,
I lost 20 pounds after the surgery, but be careful. It's really easy to put back on after you're eating normally again (about four months post surgery).

I'm a bit worried about your sleeping arrangement (mattress on the floor) during the first week or so. It'll be more difficult for you to get up. You'll want to roll to your side, get up on your elbow, then push yourself up to a sitting position. Getting up from there will be a challenge in the early days. You might try going on all fours and having a sturdy chair nearby to pull yourself up to a standing position.
Your abdominal muscles need to be protected in the early weeks, so you'll need to be careful. Any chance of trading for a spot on the couch for the first week?

Just a thought!

I had terrible GERD bouts before I had the surgery. I'd have a burned esophagus, and wouldn't be able to eat at all...even a tablespoon full would cause pain. The recovery from my Nissen Fundoplication was NOTHING CLOSE to the horrible GERD episodes I'd experienced that took months to heal. I'd take the Fundoplication recovery over those awful acid episodes any day!

You've got the perfect attitude. Embrace the surgery. Be happy that when it's done you're on your way to recovery and a better life! You'll be a member of our "Wrapped Club"! HOORAY!
Denise