3 weeks post op - laproscopic nissen fundoplicaton. HELP!

Hello all, I'm new to this site and I've been trying to do some research but I don't seem to be getting any straight answers...
I'm 17 and I had this op done 3 weeks ago today. I feel in myself healthy and well, I am not suffering badly with gas or anything.

My main problem is food sticking in my food pipe, it causes me so much pain and I actually have to be sick in order to feel atleast a little bit better. I seem to throw up the stuff that's trapped in my throat, but all the advice suchas sitting up straight, eating slowly and little bites doesn't seem to work with me, it still gets stuck even if I drink luke warm water or not...
I just need some advice that would stop this immense pain and discomfort please! :)

Hi Khally,

Welcome to the Healing Well Wrapped Club! Gritty has given you excellent advice.  At 3 weeks you're at the very beginning of your recovery, so swallowing problems are very common. 

I don't know if you've come across this link already, but just in case:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2183443

It's the link for my recovery journal.  You can see what my early recovery was like, and hopefully get some idea of how difficult swallowing can be.

As Gritty said, this will pass over time, and once healed, you'll be back to eating normally. 

Here's another link with some information on "mushy food" choices.  If you scroll down the document you'll find some recipes for milkshakes as well.

http://surgery.med.umich.edu/thoracic/clinical/procedures/MushyDiet-Nissen.pdf

I had the surgery 3 years ago, and I can still remember being where you are in the recovery.  I was told by others here that it takes 6 months for the majority of healing to occur, and a full year for the rest.  That doesn't mean you'll be having the difficulties you're experiencing for 6 months...but it should indicate how much farther you'll have to go before you get fully healed.  3 weeks is the infancy of your healing process.

If you can surrender to your recovery and follow it where it leads you, it will be much easier.  Those who struggle against it have the hardest time.  It is what it is. 

I can also speak to the food getting stuck...you don't have to panic when that happens.  If you can stay calm, you'll likely be able to get whatever it is down, by taking sips of water or warm tea.  (Did anyone tell you to stay away from iced drinks?  They can cause esophageal spasms.  Stick to room-temperature water for the time being.) 

As Gritty said, if you're eating solid foods, you'll want to make sure to take tiny bites and chew, chew, chew until it's liquified.  Then there will be nothing to stick.

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

Happy healing,

Denise

 

Hi Khally, I was really bad like you. Second time it happened I ended up in the ER. 5 minutes before I saw the doctor it passed :)

Anyway, to me it didn't matter if ate solids or had water. What did help was taking it extremely slowly in the beginning of the meal and not mixing food and water (or anything else to drink). If stuff did get stuck I spit out everything that did come up and it usually passed within 5 – 15 min.

I had the problems up until week 10, so don’t worry. You will get used to it 

You should be ok, you're still healing so it's natural to be worried about damaging the wrap. You're still acid free right? Basically just keep experimenting. At around 3 weeks I was liquidising casseroles but even the smallest chunks used to get stuck. Avoid bread at all costs but take it one step at a time. Move onto mashed potatoes and gravy for a bit of variety (and some nice savoury). I reckon within a couple of weeks you'll be ready for lumpier foods. Like I say, don't go cooking a massive dinner and kicking yourself when you can't eat it. Just keep seeing what works and keep it small. You might find you can cope with a bit of chicken if chewed properly or some pureed veg (I made a mean veg curry during recovery which was the consistency of wallpaper paste but delicious as hell). Your body will tell you when enough is enough so listen out for the telltale signs. It's very easy to get over ambitious at this stage as the recovery is very quick, just pace yourself and if you're anything like me you'll be eating everything within a couple of months.

Khally,

Welcome to the GERD/Heartburn forum. I just wanted to pop in and say hello.  I see you have met some of our wise and wonderful members and I am glad they have been able to help you with your questions. 

I look forward to getting to know you better.

Kindly,

Kitt

It sounds like you're advancing your diet too quickly. While you probably haven't caused any serious damage, take it easy during the healing process (words I should be heeding too). You'll be able to eat again normally eventually, just have patience. I'm 4 weeks out now and it seemed like magically last week I started being able to handle solids if I chew a million times.