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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 10/10/2010 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
I know from all the posts on here that bowel problems and sensitive stomach is to be expected form some time after Nissen but for crying out loud, how long does this honestly last? I just passed my one time mark and I've been living on Immodium and am now tempted to move my desk at work permanently to the bathroom (LOL). My diet mostly consists of soft chicken or vienna sausage, applesauce, yogurt, small snack crackers, plums - once in awhile some popcorn, salad, tuna, sugar free ice cream and maybe once a week I will splurge and have a small portion of Mexican food - taco or chicken enchilada casserole but when I do it makes the bowel problem much worse so try to limit this. I drink lots of water and once in awhile a little brewed tea. Dr said to take pop or anything carbonated permanently off my diet as it would stretch my stomach and potentially the wrap. I've lost nearly 30lbs in the last month as alot of food really has no flavor for me anymore and everytime I eat I spend so much time in the bathroom and then have so much gas. Have tried Gas-X and lots of walking. I still have not tried steak or anything with a solid texture or bread. Taking now only 1/2 a Protonix daily as still a bit of an acid problem but very little and Dr wants me to try to back off the med. He said the bowel problem is due to having everything reworked inside plus an increase in the acid since I'm not taking 2 Protonix daily anymore. I'm not so sure? Anything else with this experience and does this get better?
Posted 10/10/2010 11:41 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, it does get angry at times. Sorry for the pun, but "this too will pass".
You're about at the one month mark right? Avoid the spicy for now, the plums, and step back from too much water.
It's time to start bulking up your diet. Try oatmeal, grits, eggs, and sweet potatoes.
I hope this helps.
Posted 10/11/2010 11:08 AM (GMT 0)
Not sure what Nissen is but my mom has GERD and she is having the same problem with going to the bathroom all day long.  She is on a bland diet and it doesn't help either.  She takes Immodium all day to.  It will stop it for a few hours but then it comes back.  She has lost 14 pounds in two weeks.  She is going for a colonoscopy in a few days and then the dr's will take it from there.  Hope they can help her because she is going crazy being stuck in the house.
Posted 10/11/2010 11:49 AM (GMT 0)
Oh...this is the part I can hardly wait for after surgery.
When the GERD hit me almost 2 years ago, all my other normal functions ground basically to a halt.
I've gained almost 70 lbs even though I'd been tiny all my life.
The only way I ever "go" is by drinking citrucel (daily) with miralax in it (every other day) and even that wont always work for me.
30lbs of weight loss and the constant need combined with the ability to "go" sounds like heaven to me.... I'm pea green with envy!
I'll buy some Immodium to have on hand for after my Nissen surgery on Nov 2 but from where I sit today, I cant imagine using it.
After two years of being unable to "go" normally, what you're describing sounds like a perk... lol
Posted 10/11/2010 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
Mindy, Nissen is the surgery for GERD. It involves wrapping the top part of the stomach around the Esophagus to strengthen the LES (lower esophageal spincer) so acid will stop leaking into the esophagus causing heartburn.

Zhykitty, Since my surgery I definely go more often, but not as much as poor Catlady. Ouch! Have you though of taking mineral oil daily? It's safe and not hard to do. Just put three tablespoons of oil in 4oz of water. You can take it twice a day with ease. There's no flavor just a faint oily feel on your lips. Good moisturizer! :)
Posted 10/11/2010 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
Joy, I'll get some when I go out today.
I'd try anything to free up my guts - nothing works so far and it's just agony.
I don't eat very much solid food anymore and I'm still bound up so any suggestion is worth trying! lol
Thanks! : )
Posted 10/11/2010 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
Catlady -
Some of the things in your diet will keep you in the bathroom: applesauce, plums!, yogurt. Did your doc say to try a little fiber? My gastro has me on Benefiber because it works both ways - soften and firm - by holding water. Tea all the time doesn't help much either. Ice cream will mess you up too if you are starting to get lactose intolerant - and most of us do get that way eventually.

Mineral oil will definitely keep you going!

Beef is not on the diet yet. It's NOT a soft food! Stick with fish and fowl. SOFT foods for another month at least. Patience will pay off preventing pain.

Gas is your enemy. It will give you abdominal pain and keep you running. Watch the gassy veggies and other gassy foods. Find lists online. I stick pretty much to beets, potatoes in small quantities, rice, carrots. I happen to tolerate spinach, which you need for vitamin K to keep you from bruising. The other K veggies are gassy. Easy on the salads, but I find I can eat them - being careful with the dressing - no ranch! The gas problem probably will not go away if your wrap was a good one. The air you swallow - just talking!- goes down now.

Don't take anything, like Immodium, without your doc's approval. Forget the gas products. They don't work for us. They free up the gas in the stomach, but there's nothing simethicone can do to make it come up in a burp if you have a good wrap. Even if you burp a little, it's not ALL the gas you swallowed all day.
Posted 10/11/2010 11:36 PM (GMT 0)
When my kids were babies and got the runs my mother in law used to stew them up red apples to eat. It really helped them
Posted 10/12/2010 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
I know having this problem may sound good if have have the opposite problem but believe me, this no picnic....my Dr. said I could use one Immodium a day but don't think this is meant to be a maintenance med. I was almost in tears today when I came home was so miserable the stomach pain was so bad. My stomach was so hard and swollen. I came home and put this warm compress that you put in the microwave that has these little warming beads in it. That helped some and I think it's mostly gas but some is still a bit of swelling of the wrap although alot of that has gone down. It's so hard at work as my job is 90% sitting so I use every opportunity possible to get up and walk. I can eat bread now but have to chew very slowly and drink alot of water. Going to eat some peanut butter with it and see if that helps. I really hate lunch meat. May try some steak this weekend and cut into very small portions and chew very thoroughly. I'm going to have to bulk my diet up but I'm so scared to gain any weight. I haven't been this small in so many years but I can't continue in this manner. By the end of the day, I feel dizzy I spend so much time in the bathroom. I don't have the acid problem anymore but I don't know that this tradeoff is any better. This seriously is not funny. I'm going to call my Dr's office but somehow I really think they just don't get it at the office about diet.
Posted 10/12/2010 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
Catlady you may ask your doctor to prescribe you Lomotil it is a prescription medicine for diharea I have to use it once in a while when I have a flare up from my culitis it works pretty good a little more effective then the immodium and it is cheap in generic form.
Posted 10/13/2010 10:42 AM (GMT 0)
I didnt mean to make light Catlady.... I just have such a tiresome problem in the other direction with my stomach situation that I cant help but envy a "reverse gears" issue. The bloating and gas sound painful....
Since I already have terrible problems with that now, before surgery, I'm not looking forward to more of the same or worse after.
I hope you feel better soon....
Posted 10/13/2010 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
Zhykitty,
Your sense of humor will be essential for a positive recovery experience! There will be many challenges you will face when recovering from your Nissen (as we all do), and if you can laugh, and take things as they come, you'll be a much happier person. The more you struggle against what is, the more difficult you will find your recovery. It appears that many who have this surgery expect smooth sailing, and have a really hard time accepting changes that come with this revision of the upper GI tract.

There is no telling how your stomach will accept the assault that has been forced upon it. Having the top of the stomach wrapped around the esophagus and stitched there is no small matter. Your stomach is bound to rebel for a while, and the more you can accept that fact, the easier your recovery. Follow your recovery, don't try to force it.

My stomach is very sensitive, so even a year and a half post surgery, when it gets irritated (or my wrap gets irritated by roughage, etc.) I can get a bout of diarrhea. Hey. That's life! I have a "potpourri of poo"...it changes daily...soft, normal, diarrhea...it may change day to day, or week to week. If I get a lot of grumbling and gurgling in my stomach, I know I'm in for a bout of diarrhea. You'll be glad to know that constipation is very, very, rare. Yay!

All this is part of the game. I'm not sure everyone experiences what I do...everyone is different. I can only speak to my experience and what I've seen posted on this forum.

Catlady,
This too will pass. Try to hang in there and go with the flow! You're in the early stages of recovery, and there will be challenges until things settle down. I know the fact that you are at a desk job makes things more difficult. Things will get better as the weeks progress.
Sorry it's so hard!
Take care,
Denise
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