Had the LINX device this weekend

Hello,

Can u tell in which country did u had the LINX installed ?  Have u talked to the doctor who installed linx, about this pain....Does the pain happen when u are swallowing or is this random ?

I really hope your symptoms resolve soon and u are on your way to a happy recovery !!

Raj

I know another poster named Slicer complained of some throat pain after his procedure. Not sure if he was refering to the same thing. That being said, his resolved in a few days, and he is doing very well reflux wise since his procedure. TIFWIW.

Hi Guys

The pain I've got is at the bottom of the esophagus and is very similiar in nature to the heartburn pain I've had in the past. I've kept taking my PPI's for the time being until things settle down with the op but to be honest with you I don't know whether this pain is reflux or the distruption caused by the LINX?

I'm still burping quite a bit and when I do that increases the pain at the base of the esophagus.

I think that my esophagus is still tender with the LINX around it and until that settles down I can assess what benefits I have acheived in respect of the reflux symptoms.

Look forward to other LINX users input.

Gazbiker

Beargirl-

Are you off of PPI's and able to eat whatever you like without acid reflux? Despite the side effects has the Linx been good at resolving those issues?

Thanks for sharing.

Hi Guys,

Speedygerd, - I wasn't on PPI's as I couldn't tolerate the side effects. I was struggling along with high doses of Ranitidine, lots of super thick Gaviscon & ant-acids. I no longer take the Gaviscon, but do take some Ranitidine each day as my stomach often seems to feel full of acid.

With regard to reflux; I do get it sometimes, but I think it's due to the stomach wind. Sometimes the force of the wind coming out brings up a little reflux. It can be like I'm blowing the wind out & I move paper on occasions!!! Only on a bad day does it feel acidic.

Food can still be an issue. I've given up on most red meat unless it's minced as my stomach just doesn't seem to like it & it causes me even more painful wind & nausea. I avoid pulses too & anything that is an obvious wind producer. However I can eat most other things, including (mild) curry & small amounts of chocolate(Hurrah!!) I can also enjoy a glass of wine without any problems - well except for the resulting hangover cos my tolerance for alcohol is now pathetically low!!!

I have bad days where nothing seems to suit my system, but overall I sleep better (& flat again) my exercise routine is good, & mostly I feel pretty good.

Gazbiker - I take Simethicone to help with the wind. It's available in Windsettlers & Windeeze gel capsules. Moving around seems to help shift it & sometimes a couple of ant-acids seem to help bring it up. Gripe water is also worth a try. Oddly, the time I don't notice any discomfort is when I'm actually eating food!!

It took about 5 weeks before all my post-op symptoms really settled down so don't give up. Hopefully yours will settle down much more quickly as you seem to have fewer than I did. (don't ask about the rest, we'll discuss them if they happen!!)

Keep doing what you're doing & I'm sure you'll start to feel better soon.

Take care

Hi Gazbiker,

Poor you, that's horrible!! Yes, been there done that....... I too went though 3/4 weeks thinking they'd put a gastric band in instead of the Linx!! I couldn't seem to eat very much at all without feeling awful. It sounds like dysphagia but I really would advise you ring the clinic & tell them your experiences. The pain was probably a combination of things so soon after the op. I had a lot of oesophageal spasms & was advised to try Buscopan. Ignore that it says for IBS on the box as it's an anti-spasmodic. It does help, as does the paracetamol & ibuprofen if you're ok with either of those.

I was eating a lot of soft food for the first few weeks, although I could tolerate small pieces of toast & thin sandwiches - just ham & a bit of mayo. My understanding is that it's not uncommon for Linx patients to have initial problems with bread & chicken, but that it eases as your system adjusts to the device.

I found eating very small amounts of food regularly was helpful. Your system really does have to adjust to having this foreign body in such an awkward place & the more you force it to open & close, the quicker it will settle down. I kept a sports bottle of water by my side so I could constantly take small sips of water - as well as my usual hot drinks. I also had a lot of things like Muller Rice Pots as they went down easily & gave me the calories. Soup was good & things like mince & mash.Fish went down o.k.too. I was sometimes eating little amounts 9/10 times a day.

I know exactly how you feel at the moment & honestly it WILL get better. Patience is not my strong point, but I learned some over those first few weeks!!

Also don't worry too much if you drop a few pounds. I did & then suddenly it stopped & I was able to eat more quantity & variety.

They really should put us all in touch with each other at the Clinic shouldn't they?? I wish I'd had me to talk to after my op!! Thank goodness for sites like this.

Stay positive & keep in touch. I'll be thinking of you.

Hi Gary,

They won't have made the ring too small, honestly just keep going with the boring diet & it will start to improve. Maybe treat yourself to some chocolate or anything that will melt down easily & you can wash it through with a drink!!

You'll get to the burger honest - I just can't tell you exactly when!! Trouble is, no 2 people seem to react exactly the same way to the Linx. Most of us seem to come out the other side feeling better tho'.

The other thing is the clinic sells the product, so obviously they're going to market it as a mini miracle. They tell us about what they know, but it's too new a procedure for them to know everything & we're the best people to supply that info.

I'm sure they will ease your mind when you ring them. Try & stay positive & keep eating!!!

Stay warm - been really cold hasn't it!!

Jan

Hi Jesper

Thanks for the info, it does sound like we had the same experience which wasn't very nice.

I'm on a steep learning curve at the moment and so far I have found that simple water is hard to swallow! it just seems to build up in front of the Linx device and I presume when there is enough pressure the LINX expands and allows the fluid through but the build up is very uncomfortable!

I agree, at meal times I have to "get over" the initial pain of dysphagia, wait for it too ease and then slowly build up the tempo with eating. Bread absolutely scares the life out of me, it's just too dry and after my last experience with bread I am steering clear.

Breakfast with plenty of milk seems to work OK as does hot liquids such as tea. Last night it took me 45 minutes to eat my meal! The missus almost went to sleep waiting for me to finish! so if we're going out I had better alllow about 1 hour for meal times!

At the moment I feel that I have got rid of Reflux but introduced a new demon! hopefully things will settle down and I will learn to live with this new set of rules.

I'll keep you guys posted with progress.

regards

Gaz

Hello Kenpo

I did not have a Hiatal hernia but I understand that they will carry out the LINX if the hernia is no larger than 2cm?

I am 50 years old and have had reflux for approx 20 years.

Good luck for the future, I hope you sort things out.

regards

Gaz

Hi NN

You have to undergo a strict set of tests before they will consider you for the LINX device. The main criteria is whether your De Meester score is high enough to warrant the surgery. They will obviously be looking for any hernia because this could have a bearing on the success of the device. If the Hiatas is too big they will not do the surgery, in this case a NP may be the better choice because the NP is more constructive surgery. The LINX is about minimal distruption to your anatomy so starting to fix a Hiatas Hernia is not really in their remit. You need to go to your local clinic, have the tests and then once armed with all the information you and they can make a judgement from there.

hope that helps!

Gaz

Hello Guys,

I had my Linx surgery about 1 week ago, and I would like to compare my experience with you.
Before surgery I assumed daily esomeprazole 80mg, after I was discharged from the hospital the docs have reduced the dose to 20 mg of pantoprazole daily. After the first few days of discomfort when swallowing, discomfort is now almost disappeared. I swallow almost normally, and the thing that worries me a bit is that I can belch normally, sometimes expelling large quantities of gas. In the morning I wake up with a vague sense of acidity. The doctors say I have to wait a few weeks before evaluating the effectiveness of the device. Have any of you ever been of the feeling as if the bracelet was not tight enough, at least in the early periods?
Or, could it be moved from the position in which it was implanted?

Thanks to all

Hi Beargirl

Can you email me? regarding the LINX.

Cheers

Gaz