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Lap Nissen done 7-19-12

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 7/22/2012 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everybody! surgery went well. I'm on a clear liquid diet til friday. I'm a lil sore on my left side and have numbness and tingling in my left hand around the pinky and ring finger are. They said it was from the Lidacaine they shot me with before putting in the IV and it should go away in a wk. Getting tired of laying in bed I get up every hour er so to walk around and drink something. who knew veggie broth is pretty tasty! Also I'm drinking celestial fruit teas I luv the blueberry one! I've noticed that drinking stuff that too cold affects the wrap area so I'm tending to stay with rm temp liquids or tepid drinks. I'm having a hard time with jello one cup lasted me 2 days! but it tastes so good! loving the coffee it seems to go down good 2 cups is my max tho any more than that and my tummy starts to hurt 1 cup takes me around an hour er so to finish. I'm taking things slow drinking with a spoon helps me not get so eager to gulp. I have 5 incisions which are getting a lil itchy but that all due to the healing process. I get these bandages removed on friday and hopefully put on a full liquid diet I can have some cream of chicken soup or that baby food I bought. Being home is the best thing does wonders for the healing process. thanks for the good reads on here they helped me out during this surgery process.
Posted 7/22/2012 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
sun woman

Congratulations for making it into the wrapped club.  Sounds like you are doing all the right things post-op and getting up and around is the best thing to do to regain your strength and promote healing. 

Glad to read you are going slow on the diet and eating small amounts throughout the day ( if you can call drinking clear liquids eating idea )

Here is a link to a site re diet that you may find helpful. 

http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/nutrition/Pages/diet-after-nissen-fundoplication-surgery.aspx


 

Posted 7/22/2012 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats SunWoman,

You've made it through the first step!That's the scariest part, making the decision to not suffer anymore w/GERD!No more planning meals around pills & not having coffee or tomatoes:)I'm 3 1/2 wks post op & doing fantastic!Eating pretty much what i want now(but being smart about it)Small meals,fish,ground meat(chewing LOTS)no steak or pork yet but that don't interest me anyway..you will love next wk when the yogurt & ice cream starts YUMMMM.i hope you have much success & take care of yourself,no lifting,pulling,pushing etc..Good Luck!

Sheila smilewinkgrin

Posted 7/22/2012 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
thanks Kitt for the link its a great help knowing what I can and can't eat at this point. @ Sheila thanks for reminding me no pushing lifting and pulling I'm a go getter and if I feel well enough I go for it so I need to be reminded I did just have surgery and that my body needs time to heal. My tummy actually growled today! so I had some jello to suffice me til dinnertime then its beef broth by the spoonful I only do maybe a 1/4 of a coffee cup at a time. I know the food isn't going away anytime soon it'll still be there when I'm able to eat it. wishing sooner than later tho missing my burgers! lol Thanks for the replies ladies!
Posted 7/23/2012 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
I also had surgery on Thursday. It is great to have the perspective of others while going through this. Honestly, I don't know how to even answer the question of friends that is simply, "How are you today?" I am doing better than I expected, but to them I look fine and because of a high pain tolerance seem to be getting along great as well. I don't feel quite as good as they seem to think that I do.
Posted 7/23/2012 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Just Ducky!,

Welcome to the forum!It Really does help to read other peoples experiences through this surgery..some good ,some not so good..this is a major surgery & because of the laproscopic tecnique you don't look like you wouldv'e 8-10 yrs ago..you go home w/4 tiny holes & lose weight ,look great & people think wow she's doing sooo good..well, only you understand what your body has gone through!Everybody heals differently that's why it's so important to take it easy redface . Let the man do the housework & laundry(it won't kill them!)Soon enough it will be over & you can get on w/life as usual:) Happy Healing

Sheila

Posted 7/23/2012 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Just Ducky for the reply! I went out and ran an errand today moved slow and drove slow good thing the hardware store is close by! My hubby has noticed my tummy doesn't stick out as much that must've been from all the built up gas and bloating feels good to get compliments from the other half lol I'm trying to take it easy tho' but some things have to get done. Hubby has been a help around the house he's sporting a catheter and can't do too much but he does what he can. but now its time for a jello and a nap thanks for the replies! ttyl~
Posted 7/24/2012 8:10 AM (GMT 0)
I am not sure that mentally, I realized how major this surgery was. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so even to myself, I seem to think that I am SuperWoman. Then, I suddenly do something stupid. My doctor had suggested no driving or even riding unless it was an emergency. Today, I convinced the friend that I was staying with to go on a road trip. It was simply to my house a few miles away with a couple of little stops while in my community. After all, had I gone home, I would have made that same trip last Friday. (One way of course, so I justified it that I could just as easily have lived in the next small town and had to return home after surgery.) I definitely decided that I had given myself that SuperWoman title prematurely.

I am not sure how to explain to anyone that asks how major this is and why I am not going to be heading back to my own home in the next day or two. One friend today actually said to me, at least you aren't preparing for a colonoscopy. I think she was shocked when I told her that I would do that many times over as to deal with this. Another friend thinks I could have simply avoided the surgery by changing my diet since she can control her reflux that way.

It is going to be interesting as the next few weeks find me faced with a decision about when it is the right time to return to my classroom. I originally thought that I had timed this perfectly, but my family doctor is disagreeing at this point and thinks that I will not return at the beginning of the school year.
Posted 7/24/2012 2:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Just Ducky,

Welcome to the Healing Well yeah yeah   yeah   yeah Wrapped Club! yeah   yeah yeah yeah

I'm a retired teacher and had my surgery the end of February during the school year, 2009.  I'd planned on going back to the classroom half days after two weeks, but had lung complications that kept me home longer. (In case you didn't run into my early recovery journal, here's the link:

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

Half days are a great option, once you've gotten your strength back and are feeling better.  It will give you a chance to be with your kids without having the entire weight of the classroom on your shoulders.  You know how tired you are at the beginning of the school year without having just gone through major surgery. (Yes, it's major, even though it's laproscopic!)  I kept in touch with my sub and TA through email, which is a real blessing.  If your classroom is wired for technology, you can even Skype!

Listen to your body.  Go with the flow...follow your recovery's lead, and don't try to rush it.  If you can surrender to the path your recovery takes and just tag along, you'll find it much easier. Those who struggle against it and try to rush things have a difficult time of it.

Take that Super Woman suit off and hang it up in the classroom.  You can get it out when you go back to the classroom full time.  You'll need it! turn

Happy Healing!

Denise

Posted 7/24/2012 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Sun woman,

Another big welcome to the yeah yeah yeah yeah Wrapped Club yeah yeah yeah yeah to you!  It sounds as if you're doing great, and have a perfect attitude.  Yes, iced drinks are terrible during the early weeks of recovery...they cause spasms and pain for sure.

Stay away from straws, too, as they add to your bloating.  Glad to hear it's subsiding!  If you haven't already seen it, check out the link to my early recovery journal for more tips and a chance to see what another person's recovery looked like.  It's posted in my response to Ducky.

You're at the very beginning stages of recovery, and it's the most challenging of all.  Hang in there.  You'll notice real improvements over the next few weeks and months.

Keep in mind that your wrap is becoming increasingly more swollen as we speak.  The swelling peaks on or about Day 14.  Don't be surprised if your swallowing gets worse before it gets better.  That's the reason your surgeon has you on liquids. 

Be sure to ask any questions at all as they come up.  You're in a great place! This forum provides lots of great information and support from other more experienced members.  I came here just before my surgery in 2009, and felt extremely lucky to have found such a supportive and positive forum.  As Just Ducky said, nobody understands what this recovery is like if they haven't experienced it first-hand.  Here you're surrounded by people like that!

Happy healing!

Best wishes,

Denise

 

Posted 7/24/2012 2:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi She 1,

I can't remember if I welcomed you to the yeah yeah yeah Wrapped Club yeah yeah yeah way back when, but if I didn't, my apologies.  This time of year is so busy it's sometimes hard to keep up with posts here!

I've noticed you are doing a wonderful job of supporting and sharing your experience and information with newer members here.  Great job!  Isn't it great how members here provide so much help to others? 

I'm so glad I found it before my surgery.  It helped me before, during, and after...and that's why I've stuck around the past three and a half years.  I'm trying to "pay forward" the help and support I received when I needed it.  I've also met some wonderful friends!

Best wishes!

Denise

 

Posted 7/24/2012 3:03 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Denise, for bringing this to my attention. I think the questions that I have raised mean that we are matching in how the thought process developed. i am sure that I will be referring back to this often. I, too, have asthma issues that are the actual reason I gave in to the surgery aspect. Knowing that the hernia was likely what caused some major breathing episodes overnight during the winter months made the decision easy to follow through. Like you, I read all of the negative posts, but realize that is usually when I am searching for answers-- when the problems seem the greatest. I have plenty of time built up for sick days and my principal is totally supportive of doing what is best for my complete recovery. She is the one telling me to follow what the family doc says since she knows me best.
I am also glad to know that the swelling will likely get worse in these next few days. That will prepare me for what might have been startling otherwise.
Once again, thank you.

Post Edited (Just Ducky) : 7/24/2012 9:10:41 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/25/2012 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Just Ducky,

Glad to be able to help you work through these decisions.  Asthma is definitely the reason I had the surgery, and I can tell you that it took two and a half months for them to improve.  Once they had a chance to recover, my lungs have been 100% better.  I just wish I'd had the surgery sooner!

Good luck with your school plans.  When do the kids start back to school in your district?  I work one day a week in my son's third grade classroom and tutor three students, so I haven't given up teaching even though I'm not responsible for a classroom anymore.  If I didn't do these things, I'm sure I'd miss it! 

Happy healing!

Denise

Posted 8/9/2012 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Sun Woman, I have wondered how you have been doing since our surgery was that same day. I am recovering better than expected. (Should I knock on wood?) I am meeting with my family doctor today to discuss her thoughts about returning to work, since she is the one that originally told me that I could not return at the beginning of our school year, which is next week.
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