How Were You Feeling 7 Months After Nissen?

Dave,

Good morning,  As I have not had the surgery I cannot tell you how I felt but I do know from other surgeries I have had that I have found each of us will have our own unique experience and that does not always mean because you feel different than the next person that you are not on track as far as your healing experience.

Your body’s system is what cures. Doctor's and medicine support the process, but the body is the healing engine. Support this system: eat well, breathe well, sleep well, and exercise.

I wish you a peaceful day.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

What does a stretched wrap look like through the barium swallow x-ray?  Can they tell that the wrap is stretched from the physical appearance of it?  Mine appears normal but my surgeon didn't say anything about it appearing stretched.  Honestly I don't feel as if I'm getting much useful info from him like I am here.

I'm eating like a normal amount of food.  I eat until I'm full, but then I get hungry again about 2 hours later, but I really don't eat too often during the day...  My big issue is with nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt because I often go for seconds since I love ice cream so much, and then I feel really full.

I am very thin and am looking forward to lifting weights again (not on a full stomach).

I'm actually getting worried now that maybe I stretched it and that's why I sometimes feel what feels like reflux.  Please let me know more about a stretched wrap!

I'm about to have an upper GI this next week which is basically like a barium swallow. I'm never very optimistic with the accuracy of those tests because it really doesn't show the anatomy like GerdyGirl said. I had a large hiatal hernia last time and it didn't show that! Nobody saw it until they were physically doing the surgery needless to say that was a nice surprise! lol They only way they really know if your wrap stretched is if your surgeon knows how small a diameter he left your esophagus opening versus what it is now (perhaps an EGD could determine the diameter now). Additional tests like the Bravo ph or PH manometry can determine if you're having reflux again and possibly whether or not your wrap stretched based on how bad the reflux is. At least for me the Bravo ph test has been the ONLY black and white crystal clear picture of my reflux situation (I'm having another this Thursday). Granted that it is normal for it to stretch a tiny bit over time but if it stretches too much you can end up with symptoms again. It wasn't uncommon for me to get hungry quicker than I used to either simply because my stomach was a little smaller and therefore your stomach has less food to empty making you hungry quicker. Maybe that's what you're noticing? It is hard to stop losing weight or gain weight back after a surgery like this but I would even try Ensure weight maintenance. It has some of the nutrition you need but in a healthy way with some extra calories to help you to at the very least maintain your weight. It's what I'll probably be living off of this next time around if they do decide on a second surgery!! I can't afford to lose anymore weight!

I know it can be a pain but if you feel like you're not getting the answers you need from your Dr, maybe consider trying out a different GI Dr. I went through countless GI Dr's over 10 years before I found one that was willing to listen and start from scratch, that was open minded and explained everything. Thankfully he was humble enough to refer me to the right people for surgery when even his methods weren't working to help my symptoms. It never hurts to get a second opinion or to find a Dr that perhaps explains things more clearly. If you're having reflux like symptoms I'd ask for additional testing to figure out what's going on.

Some people will end up back on reflux meds post Nissen, a few might need another surgery while some people have no problems for 20+ years! There are so many factors that play a part in this (the surgeon's expertise, the type of wrap, how tight/loose the wrap was done, etc) so usually tests will help determine what's going on and if anything needs to be done. Sometimes the wrap just wasn't wrapped tight enough from the beginning. Sorry for such a long post as this is super fresh in my mind right now since I'm right in the middle of all the drama and frustration of having to go through all this again and waiting to see what the end result is going to be! <frazzled nerves!> You might just need to be back on a PPI med as it's not uncommon for post Nissen patients to eventually end up back on some sort of reflux med. Hopefully you get this figured out!! Don't be discouraged!