HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Is 4 weeks post op still early.....

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 3/4/2012 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Do you think 4 weeks post op is stil early in recovery?

I still have symptoms a burning mouth/throat type of feeling.......

I do not have stomach pains and discomforts that I had pre op so I know it did something but I can't figure out why my mouth and throat isn't healing yet....
Posted 3/4/2012 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Max
Please don't be so down... you too have so much more to experience in your recovery.. some things will be good some will be bad but all of it is part and parcel of recovery after Nissen Fundoplication. I know what it is like to whine and be down about how recovery is going and I, like you, came here to this forum and got a virtual "HUG" and support and concern and great advice... please continue to come here to the forum, we will be here for you as long as you need us.
At 4 weeks you are just beginning to heal in side.. you must remember that your insides have been poked, prodded, lifted, shifted, pulled, wrapped and sewn. Do NOT push your recovery.. relax into it and things will be better.. I am sorry, I haven't been feeling well recently and I have missed some of your posts.. have you talked with your doc about the burning sensation in your mouth/throat.. if so what have they said.. if you had this before the surgery, it may take more time for it to subside. There is no guarantee that all of your pre-op issues will be gone immediately. It may take a while..

The thing to ask your self is this.. OK I am 1 month post-op, am I better off now than I was before? Can I tell that things are changing for the better, even if they are changing slowly? Please do not focus on one issue that has not changed, you need to look at the whole picture, not just the center of it.
I hope I have helped and I am going to find your most recent post and paste this on it so that you will see it. Please kick back and roll with the flow... it will be better..
Just keep Reaching for the Sunshine.. Rainbows WILL follow
Sandi smurf tongue turn smurf tongue turn
Posted 3/4/2012 7:48 AM (GMT 0)
Kyheart,

How were you feeling at 4 weeks post op?

Thanks.
Posted 3/4/2012 3:11 PM (GMT 0)
Max,

The answer is an emphatic YES.  I don't know how many ways I can express the fact that this surgery takes a full 6 months for most of the healing.  Do the math.  6-1=5.  You've got 5 more months for the majority of healing. 

Relax.  There's nothing at all that you can do to speed up this process (except taking care with what you're eating and doing).

Perhaps your surgeon told you that your recovery would be immediate, but that doesn't tend to be the case.  Your body is working hard to heal right now. Try to trust it..

It will get better. 

Denise 

Posted 3/5/2012 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
Maximus,
I'm 15 weeks post Nissen / hiatal hernia repair and will give you a quick synopsis on my road to recovery. My objective btw was to get off Nexium entirely and I have not taken a single dose since the surgery.

Weeks 1 - 4: I could swear the reflux had resurfaced about 4 days post op, so I was really discouraged at this point, but some fellow board members provided reassurances that it was too early to tell. My surgeon said the same.

Weeks 4.5 - 6: It's like a light switch went on at about 4 1/2 weeks and reflux was 95% gone...fantastic.

Weeks 7-10: While I no longer had any classic reflux symptoms (mine were awful heartburn, throat pain, wheezing, coughing up mucus), I could swear that unmistakable sore throat caused by gerd was back, accompanied by that bitter taste. Again, discouraged at this point.

Weeks 11-15: The sore throat has since gone away and I have not experienced much (if anything) in terms of gerd / reflux symptoms. Eating pretty much anything at this point and it all seems good.

As you can see, there are some peaks and valleys in the early going and you need to give it time. Not everyone comes out of surgery 100% healed, it just doesn't work that way. Once the swelling subsides and healing completes, then you can better assess. My surgeon said that any additional / final improvements will occur between months 3-6, at which point whatever peak you attain should also be sustained. He said that if you're not better by 6 months, then you have to go back to the drawing board.

I consider myself fortunate that surgery has helped and take nothing for granted.

Best of luck with the recovery and no need to panic at this early juncture.
Posted 3/5/2012 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
Badbrewin,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm just about 4 week post op.  I have this odd burning sensation in my throat the goes up to my mouth.  It's weird but it's mainly on the left side.  My lips get chapped on the edges and my teeth are sensitive.  My tongue also has signs of redness on the edges.

I myself is waiting for the light switch to go off.  I never really had heart burn.  I use to cough and have some mucous after meals.  That has stopped but this burning hasn't.  It is real discouraging at this point cause I feel the surgery did not work. 

I'm trying to stay positive but I hope two months out I won't be saying the same things.......like I feel no improvement :(

I was so positive that it worked after surgery I was thrilled and filled with joy.  But 4 weeks post op.....this burning feeling remains and the sign of redness is not getting better. 

I hope and hope to get better but only time will tell.....

Posted 3/6/2012 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
My burning feeling was thought to be intubation trauma. However, two weeks post-op, I found out today at the ENT that I have a nasty upper respiratory infection! Evidently I got it while intubated or in the hospital. Hence my high white blood cell count. I encourage you to get your burning feeling checked out! I did, and I am on antibiotics for 10 days with a harsh warning about returning if not better in those two weeks. Good luck!

Day 17 and counting :)
Posted 3/6/2012 2:58 AM (GMT 0)
Applesteach,

What kind of burning feeling did you have?
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply