Two months after my nissen fundoapplication

Hi Gladiola,

 

Welcome to our Wrapped Club at Healing Well!  There are a lot of us here!  All the things you're describing sound very normal.  Two months out you're still healing.  Sharp pains here and there are part of the process.  If you ever get a pain that really concerns you, be sure to contact your doctor.  In my experience, though, those pains are to be expected, and subside as time goes on. 

The bloating and gas are totally to be expected...that wrap is keeping acid in your stomach, but in the process it isn't letting out those gas-releasing burps.  Be sure you're not using a straw, drinking carbonated beverages, and until the healing goes further, try to avoid the traditional gas-producing foods.  Have you tried BEANO?  That's very helpful when you eat things like broccoli or baked beans.  Gax-X is helpful also, but it does require a little burping to relieve pressure.

Hang in there.  Two months is still early in the recovery.  While most of the healing takes place in the first six months, healing continues to a year.  I even found that my wrap continued to fine-tune itself even into the second year.

The gurgling is very normal.  (mine was so loud that people were offering me food because they thought I was starving!)  That calms down gradually as you heal.  It becomes less and less frequent until it disappears.

Again, glad you've joined us!  I expect others will be by to weigh in soon.

Happy Healing!

Denise

 Thanks so much for the advise, it is so nice to know there is lots of people going thru the same post op issues.

WELCOME Gladiola

I have been able to burp since about 4 weeks.. not the same as before the surgery but, enough to help get the gas off my stomach.I will be 6 months post op on the 1st of October. I count every day as a blessing since I had the surgery. I am reflux and pain free.. I had Hiatal Hernia too.

I am eating fairly normal now, for some reason I cannot eat bread without discomfort, but this is not usual. Most people can eat bread by 6-8 weeks or so. I still have some issues with .. ahem.. gas... but I use gas-x when it bothers me a lot.

Gurgling is normal.. I went to my PCP at about 5 weeks and my stomach was making such weird noises, he thought it was his cell phone.. how funny is that???? TRUE STORY....

Please stay with us here at the forum and let us know how you are doing.. if you have questions or you take a step back or you just need to gripe or you just want to let everyone know how good you feel.. we will be here for you good or bad and we will try to support you and answer your questions.

Reach for the Sunshine... Rainbows will follow

Sandi

gladiola-
How long ago was your surgery? Soft breads should be avoided for a couple months or so. Unless it's toast that is. Would have been nice to have had both surgeries done and over with at the same time. I have noticed this time around I am having some issues with milk, I can eat all kinds of other dairy products, just get some nausea with milk for some reason. I can handle it in something like oatmeal, grits, or cold cereals.

My wife had a hysterectomy over a year ago. She was lucky and her doctor was able to remove it vaginally. She didn't have any outside incisions. She had a c-section with our first born, so she already knew pretty much what to expect if she had to do it open. She said it was way less pain the way she did hers.

Take care,
Bill

Hi Everyone -
I could burp from the moment they wheeled me out of surgery and I've never ever choked. I can close to it once but I didn't panic and took a drink and it passed.

I'm not swelling in the abdomen at 8 weeks as much as I did earlier but when I do it's a doozie. I took look very pregnant and my stomach when thumped sounds like a ripe watermelon. Some evenings hubby and I watch TV AND my swollen tummy. lol

At 8 weeks I still have left shoulder pain when I've drunk something too fast or just swallowed a lot of air talking or singing etc. It's not any fun but no big deal.

I think we all have similar symptoms during recovery/recuperation but I also think some of us have some very strange and not too mainstream symptoms that scare us but which end up resolving with time as well as the normal symptoms do.

Time helps.

Gas-X doesn't seem to help me too much but I am lucky in that I can burp lying down, standing up, sitting down etc. I get embarrassed in public when I burp so fast I can't control it and have to apologize.

If it helps you any I burp better now than I did just a few weeks ago.
I hope you can too.

Rita

PS You're right about having someplace to go to express your feelings both before and after surgery. Your regular circle of friends and family grow wearing of hearing it. I know I would for sure. Hang in there!

Cindy,

I'm lucky to have 3 friends in my hometown who have had the surgery and have also made a new hometown acquaintance through another friend who has had it as well - NF and GERD before that. And guess what - they all have different stories to tell. The men are pretty much in great shape about 10 years post-op and the ladies are not quite that well. No big surprise there. I think women's bodies just go through so many other things like the menstrual cycle, menopause, childbirth etc and we seem to have more GB problems as well. I guess it all evens out.

I think the thing I'd emphasize to newcomers who would care to listen is that we are all individuals and our bodies are all so different. If I could have recovered any other way than the way I am recovering now I wouldn't be me; I wouldn't be who I am. And even though I've been a little envious of others recoveries at times I wouldn't wish them any less and I wouldn't change it now to have experienced their recoveries. It's never too late to learn I guess.

HW is really a good place to visit. I too am glad to have found it.

Rita

You'll be better with time because you are young and healthy. Just hang on to the positive thoughts and be patient. I think I waited too long to have the surgery and the surgery has impacted me in negative ways that are hard for me to get past. I'm not able to eat much and I don't sleep much either due to food and medications backing up inside my esophagus to my throat. It's very painful and so far no one can help with it. I do have an EGD this Monday and if they don't see any problems I guess it's off to a more competent GI and surgeon somewhere else.

I don't want to discourage you or anyone so have faith and look forward to the day when your minor issues are all better.

You'll be fine.

Blessings,
Rita

Hi again Cindy,

I pretty much carried on with my life of church, family, civic and community work and kept up with my career as a newspaper columnist from the time it all started about 30+ years ago - GERD that is. It didn't become really bothersome and unpleasant till after my gall bladder came out about 17 years ago. Then about 11 years ago it - the GERD and bile diarrhea by this time - became more than I could deal with on my own. I worked with my GI, took meds for acid, bile diarrhea and had several esophageal strictures dilated. Each time I got worse. I lost weight and couldn't eat because it burned too much and wouldn't stay down. I finally collapsed from lack of sleep due to pain and hunger and was given medications to help me sleep.

I got some better after losing some weight and really watching my diet and then one day I got choked on a biscuit (not a cookie) and thought I was going to choke to death. Went back in to see the GI and he did an EGD and found another stricture. My GI system seems to get worse with each stricture that is dilated. I don't know why; it seems to help most people. Oh, I stop choking for a while and then I get another one.

Then a little over 2 years ago the GERD became so bad that it compromised my sleep to such a degree that the first hint of a panic attack crept in. Then when I began waking about 3 am with GERD and panic on a regular basis a pattern set in that has only gotten worse. Now I awaken about 1:30 and again about 3:30 and finally about 5:30 if I'm lucky. The acid reflux may have been helped but the same condition that existed before the surgery is still present and it is worse.

Much of my food and medication rests above the wrap and ferments and backs up at night when I'm sleeping. That's why I can't eat very much. Or really drink as much as I should. I spit up food debris all day and spend most of my time trying to swallow on down through the wrap the little food I have eaten during the day.

I'm not saying the surgery didn't work for acid reflux. I'm only saying that my surgery didn't clear up all my GI complaints and symptoms and maybe it never will. I don't know yet. I won't know much else till after the EGD on Monday and the chance to tell the GI what I'm still going through for the first time since before surgery.

You sound to me as if you're doing great and are going to continue to get even better and I'm so happy for you.

If at any time you'd like to correspond, maybe we can figure something out.
Until then take care and stay positive.

RIta

Before I joined this forum I surfed around the old posts from several years ago and saw where many of the people who are doing fine right now were just as scared and insecure as many of the others who are fairly new here now are scared and insecure. Time and its passing have a way of making it seem like things were a breeze when in reality they weren't a breeze at all.

It's kind of humorous to me in that my husband has helped me try to pin down what might be going on with me still all this time after surgery and even he began recognizing names of some posters to the forum who are now doing well and are so positive. He would say, "Is this the same person who was so concerned about their lack of progress just a couple of years ago?". I didn't know for sure till I looked up the names but they were the same.

I don't like to read scary posts about anything I've ever researched on the internet because one never knows the complete story behind what someone is posting. You don't know if they're being honest, trying to look like something they're not, stealing thunder, trying to scare or discourage - you never know why some people post what they do. In the end you have to make up your mind who and what you want to believe and do the best you can with the information you've been given whether you asked for it or not. The internet is a very illusive place.

I never have been a real worry wort. I believe in finding out what you need to do and doing it if it's going to help. If it's supposed to help. That's what I did with this surgery. Once my GI made hubby and me aware of it and after suffering for 30 years we jumped at the chance for some resolution to GERD. We did our research, both of us, found a good surgeon who has done lots of the procedures, had all the pre-surgical qualifying tests done and took me in for the surgery.

I was stunned when the burning - maybe not reflux - returned so quickly and got so much worse so soon. It may be caused from something other than reflux but if I put food into my mouth it goes as far as my esophagus and stays way, way to long. I feel as if I have bronchitis all the time. I could and choke and spit up mucous and phlegm and my tongue burns, my sinuses drain and I have some bit of something stuck just at the back of my tongue and at the front of my throat which I can feel and at times cough up bits from it.

Not everyone can be as lucky as some who post here. It would be great if we could all be that way but sometimes it's just not in the cards. Being positive is something I too highly encourage because that's the way I've lived my life. I worked for a doctor for 11 years. I was a newspaper columnist writing happy upbeat stories for over 10 years until I got too sick to write in June of this year. I know how far a bit of encouragement can go and the good it can do.

But, encouragement won't remove the thick mucous that collects from the bottom of my esophagus and it won't stop the coughing and choking that wake me up in the middle of the night as much as I would like it to.

It seems we have managed to hijack gladiola's thread here and I imagine we need to cease and desist. It's good to hear from you. Don't worry. You're going to be fine. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will find out why I still can't breath well, can't eat much of anything and cough myself silly about half the time.

It is a mystery.
Rita

Hi Cindy,

I had my NF wrap dilated today and so far so good. It may not last but at this point I'll take relief just about anyway I can get it. It's nice to be able to breathe and swallow without pain for a change.

I'm hopeful that it will last but if not we'll have it done again if the pain and reflux from my esophagus get to be too much.

And now it's a beautiful day.

Rita

Hi Cindy -

I would never have had the dilation if my food went through fast enough but it didn't and the pain was unbearable and the intra-esophageal reflux for 7 of my 9 weeks post-op was making me very ill to the point I couldn't breathe or sleep enough at night. It had to be done and I'm hoping the first time is the charm.

But, some people do have to have it repeated and I will face it if it comes to that. I thank you so much for your prayers and definitely felt them yesterday when I woke up from the dilation procedure. I have bad gastritis and diverticulitis and post-gall bladder removal diarrhea in addition to still having esophagitis after my NF so I have a lot on my plate. I'm not "normal" lol so don't pay any attention to me.

In my case time would not have healed what I've been going through for 7 of the 9 weeks post-op. My wrap needed dilated badly and that's the only thing that would have helped and I'm so glad I went through with it. How long it will last is anyone's guess but I'm going to be positive about it.

I so much appreciate your comments, your caring and your prayers.

Rita