Dave's Nissen Fundoplication Part 2 of 2

Yes, it was absolutely lower GI. However I do have some slight pain at the wrap site.

Hi Dave --

You might get something out of these two links:

http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber1.asp

http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber2.asp

Dave-
It is very common to have nausea at 7 weeks. Also as your inside readjust it's not uncommon to deal with IBS like symptoms also. During the surgery the gas they use to inflate your belly can injure your intestines some from the pressure. while they heal you may experience IBS symptoms for a while. I am just over 4 months out from my redo and still deal with bad nausea some days.

Take care,
Bill

I get reflux after some coffee some days. Yesterday I had reflux for a while. Do you know if certain medications can increase reflux? I'm about 8 weeks out from surgery. The wrap appears to be holding. Then why the lung-suffocating reflux sometimes?

I feel nauseous and with a lot of bubbles and stuff in my esophagus. It feels like reflux. 8 weeks is this normal???

Barium swallow showed the wrap as holding a couple weeks ago.

What is this???

Hi. I am scheduled to have nissen funoplition with hernia repair this coming Monday morning. I have been reading here for several weeks now and just want to thank you all for sharing your experiences both good and bad. Not saying that I am not scared, terrified actually but I do feel I am going into this much more well informed than I would have been otherwise. At this point I just wish I could go and get it over with. The waiting is pure hell! Thanks again.

Hi Dave

I'm sorry to hear you are having a rough time after doing so well with your recovery.

I am 6 1/2 months post op & get that same feeling from time to time.The feeling of air bubbles in my esophagus sometimes the fizz of air bubbles popping, a pressure/burning at the wrap site & a feeling that if I burped it would all go away, similar to what I experienced with reflux.

Like you I was concerned when it first happened & thought that the surgery had failed but my doc said it was from food having difficulty going through the wrap which would sit in the esophagus & start to ferment. He advised me to slow down when I'm eating, take smaller mouthfuls & chew for 30 seconds before swallowing then put the fork down & wait another 30 seconds before taking another bite.

I find that if it does happen now I drink a glass of warm water as fast as I can & I will let out a huge burp that feels like a small volcano in my esophagus & whatever is stuck there moves enough to go on through the wrap.

You ask "is this normal"? Who knows, but one thing I have learnt throughout this recovery is that when it comes to food & eating nothing is as it was & there are many things that are now a 'new normal' for me. Eating slowly is one of them. Before surgery I was a gulp & run eater (that's probably what contributed to my gerd in the first place) now I'm always the last to leave the table & I have half the portion size as anyone else.

Good luck. i know what works for some doesn't always work for others but I hope my experience has helped in some small way to calm your fears.
Take care

Lynda

After the 8 weeks will the swelling eventually go down enough for everything to go down?

Lynda, thank you very much for the advice. It helped a lot last night.... But it doesn't always help, like today. Is that a sign that something is wrong???

I have been feeling fine, but just now I moved all of a sudden and I thought I felt like a stitch break at the wrap site. But maybe it wasn't that. Can that happen just from moving slightly?

I ate fried breaded (already prepared in a box) fish for dinner, with tartar sauce. I ate too much. :( So, I don't feel well.

Then I moved weird and it felt like a stitch broke. Honestly I'm not sure how I feel right now. My wrap site feels sore.

Someone please advise me urgently.

Dave what were your symptoms before surgery? Do you do any lifting at the moment?

I'm a little over a week shy of 3 months after the surgery (I had it on Nov 19, and it's Feb 8 today), so 11 weeks out.

Much less reflux, though if I eat the wrong things, I feel it. If I eat too much I feel serious pain, and the feeling like I am just about to vomit (the same as the day I came back from the hospital - horrible!)

But I am feeling much better than before.

Can anyone offer me any advice at this point in time? I tried a little bit of bread (from a sandwich) yesterday, and was feeling awful afterwards. And it was bad because I was in a meeting that whole day! Then, at night (after my stomach had calmed down completely), I had a little over 2 pieces of pizza. Then I had some ice cream. It was at that point that I felt absolutely horrible, with the same exact pain as what I had about the 2nd day after surgery. It was horrible.

I lift more than what I had been lifting. Nothing major, but I am lifting some heavy bags from the grocery store, etc. At 11 weeks out I hope it's fine. I think it is.

I really do want to get back into weightlifting. I've lost over 30 lbs (actually it's closer to 40 lbs). I'm 164 lbs and I'm 6'2". I used to weight 200 lbs of solid muscle months before the surgery, and I really, REALLY want to get that muscle back.

Why am I feeling acid right now? Is this just more of the same, food caught at the wrap? At almost 12 weeks, is this normal? I know the answer is yes, that it is normal, and that it should get better. But it is frustrating when it is feeling fine one moment, and then refluxy the next moment.

It could be food at the wrap site, but keep in mind that reflux is still possible after a Nissen. My surgeon explained it well, if the Nissen was done so tight that nothing could come up ever, it would make it difficult to swallow and impossible to burp. There has to be a balance between allowing you to swallow/burp normally, and preventing reflux. This balance can result in uncommon reflux. Basically, the Nissen should make you function like someone who has no GERD problems. 99% of the time they have no heartburn, but if they overeat or have a particularly unhealthy meal, they'll have heartburn. Did you have a heavy meal before you had symptoms?

Might be a good thing to discuss with your surgeon or gastro doc. They may be able to put your mind at ease.

I've lost track of weeks, I guess I am about 2 and a half months out. A couple of times I have stuffed myself far beyond what I should have. While I didn't feel reflux, I did have burning in my stomach. I took just one zantac and it cleared that up.