Dyspepsia and Stomach Gas After Nissen Fundoplication

It seems relatively normal to me - at least from what I've heard/experienced. I know I had months of awful pain before it finally disappeared. If you are concerned about this, I would suggest contacting your PCP at once.

But, it seems normal to me.

The pain lasted six months for me, but I heard that it usually goes away long before then.

My eating is almost normal, but it is not completely normal. I find that I need to drink a lot more to flush down the food. Other wise, it feels like it gets caught in the throat.

Hi elenisamerka,

Welcome to the Healing Well Wrapped Club! It does sound as if what you're experiencing is very normal post-op.  Be sure to stay away from foods that are gassy as much as possible.  I found that if I took BEANO (an enzyme supplement that helps break down vegetables and make them less gassy) it helped a lot.  Hopefully you can find something like that where you live.  Perhaps you have a milk intolerance, and you could get some lactose free milk products, or a lactase product that will help make it more digestible.  Be sure to stay away from carbonated beverages and don't ever drink from a straw.  All these types of things put more air into your stomach and add to bloating. 

Bloating can be a problem anytime after a Nissen, but it becomes far less frequent and bothersome.  I just had a bloating episode after toasting my son's engagement with champagne!  Who'd have thought? 

The problem is that the way a Nissen is formed, the flap becomes tighter the more full the stomach becomes.  So once the gas gets ahead of you, it becomes impossible to get it out until it makes its way through the lower GI tract.

Gas-X (Simethecone) can be very helpful (I took it with some relief after my champagne episode) if you can get a burp out.  I always carry it with me, just in case.

If you stomach is getting nauseous, I would suggest taking a dose of Ranitidine (Zantac).  I have always found it helps.  I think that the nausea is caused by irritation of the stomach, and Zantac can cut the acid, which is helpful.  

The loud stomach gurgles are also very normal, so don't let it freak you out!  It used to be pretty embarassing at a meeting, when people across the room started offering me something to eat, since they thought they were hunger grumbles!  This gradually subsides and gets less and less frequent, but in my case, it didn't disappear until into the second year.  I'd decided that I'd have to live with it, when one day I realized that it was gone! 

Hang in there!  Things will gradually improve over time.

Glad you've joined the forum!

Very best wishes,

Denise

Thank you all!!!

I will definitely get some Gas-X but the problem is that I cannot belch at all. And in order for the trapped air to find its way out through the lower GI tract it takes long long time and that is what makes me feel bloated.

I also avoid fizzy drinks as Denise advised and I know that I need to stay away from any form of fizzy beverage for long time.

Now, as fas as the nausea is concerned, yes Zantac ,or similar pills, help but was that supposed to happen after the Nissen? I was hoping I would get rid of these symptoms at once after the surgery.

Maybe I am a bit too impatient as it has only been 8 weeks.

Thank you once again!!

Lena

Hi again!!

First of all I would like to thank you for your help!! its being a very difficult period for me and I really appreciate all your tips!!!

I would like to ask something else. Do you ever experience stitching pain in your abdomen? Lately I get stitches for no reason (especially on the right side of my abdomen), while sitting at home after dinner.

Have you ever experienced something similar?

Thank you!!

Lena

this surgery, is pretty significant. recovery is slow, backwards, sideways, with a painful learning curve. gas bloating, weird unexplained pains, is all part of it. give your body time. do not overeat, stay hydrated, and try to stay optimistic. [ probably the hardest part] I am just reaching, the six month mark and finally, starting to get on the good side of this. skcollins57, I would talk to your surgeon, in regards to flying. we cancelled a trip, to Greece that was planned way before, my stomach decided to visit my chest. and as hard as this recovery was, I am very glad we did.

It has been 10 weeks since my surgery and I just found this forum........it is a relief to read that what I am enduring (horrific flatulence) is "normal"........that being said, I am glad that I didn't read these posts when I had surgery as I had enough negative thoughts ranging from being scared to being depressed for WEEKS........I definitely have a different relationship with food now....have to go slow, chew forever, and don't get the joy from eating as I used to. Hoping that those who have posted that they are symptom free at the one year mark are predicting my future!!!

HelloRinger4-It has been about 3 weeks since I last signed in - hoping that you are doing well and that you are continuing to find foods that you enjoy putting forth the effort to eat! I am now 10 weeks out and feeling unbelievably better. I am trying to continue eating small portions of food that are good for me. My surgeon is consumed with worrying about her patients gaining weight and causing damage to the place where the stomach and esophagus were repaired. I am assuming she has seen many patients get too happy with the food that they couldn't eat prior to surgery and are now able to eat 3 or so months after surgery. I have lost a bit of weight and I am eating mini meals to keep the weight permanently GONE! One of the biggest failure rates is people gaining a ton of weight and causing a rupture. Hope today was a good day for you!

Congratulations, Ringer4, on how well you are doing post-op! I am so glad that your surgeon is encouraging you to see a nutritionist. That is my current dilemma - getting enough vitamins, minerals, and protein. I am a vegetarian, so getting protein is always a problem. Since I had surgery to eliminate the meds that caused me to have osteoporosis, I have to take lots of vitamins and minerals along with calcium to try to undo the damage caused. This is all on my own - with the help of the Internet. I started on what I think is a good liquid multi vitamin just after surgery. Now I am trying to eat enough to not cause more problems. A nutritionist was never mentioned-you are very lucky to have him/her as a resource. I was just reading a blog by a young woman who lost 80 lbs in a year........not my goal...........but now she is losing her hair in clumps due to lack of protein in her diet. My goodness, if its not one thing to worry about it is 10 other things! Don't be surprised if one day your appetite returns to what it was originally. I was hoping that mine wouldn't but it has! Looking into the alkaline diet ideas as it is supposed to be the Western diet that is full of acid and sugar that contributes to all of the maladies our culture has that the Asian and Mediterranean areas don't get. I would love it if you would share guidelines that your nutritionist shares with you. Have a wonderful day today!!

Hello Johners - I, too, have had some issues with what feels like a stomach full of gas and I am 10 months out from surgery. First of all, try to figure out what is making the problem worse. Carbonated drinks and coffee are really bad for me. Even drinking water with a straw can be painful - and I won't not use a straw when at a restaurant (ick!) I also have to take calcium (plant based)due to complications from taking acid reflux meds. I have found that the "cramping" is worse when my stomach is somewhat empty........so I try to have eaten before I take my pills or drink. I don't take any kind of over the counter or homeopathic meds for this. I eat way less than I used to when my stomach is full of gas.......eating smaller portions helps. I would love to hear about something that would help.........

Hi Gaspass-Just read your post and will list some ideas.......I am 14.5 months since surgery. Perhaps you are having problems with gas no being expelled - and not being able to belch. Are you eating specific foods or trying to go back to your pre-operation foods? What are you drinking other than coffee?? I don't drink alcohol and only have a cup of coffee about once a week.

My experience is that coffee has caused me to have quite a lot of gas and pain in my stomach. It was about a year out before I could slowly drink one cup - with lots of cream. Soda causes lots of gas (that's what makes it soda!) and I still have some issues with drinking any liquid.....even water. I think it has to do with the air in a straw and the air that I "gulp" when drinking without a straw.

When I eat, I take tiny bits and chew chew chew. It's kinda of funny (sad) that foods that are greasy slide down much easier than those with less fat. For instance, one of the first enjoyable foods I could eat (just weeks after my operation), when I was going crazy with jello and pudding and yogurt and mashed potatoes, was GREASY HASBROWNS from McDonalds. Absolutely horrible for me, but they slide down (chewed slowly) and never caused any gas or other problems.

Did you talk with your fundiplication surgeon about the pain just below your rib cage upper right hand side.....if I am picturing it correctly, isn't that where your doctor told you that you would feel the results of your operation? I also had a giant hiatal hernia fixed during surgery. Anyway, right after surgery and for weeks, when food and liquids were stuck and I tried to throw them up (involuntarily), I felt the pain in my back, on the right side, just below my rib cage. Is this where you feel the pain now?

Looking forward to hearing from you - Noisy Nellie

Hello Cmeans24-You are most likely eating way less than you did before your surgery, so I guess your stomach is getting used to the difference by making sounds/feelings that you are calling "hunger pangs".
I had severe discomfort in the center right side of my back where the connection was made. Is that where you mean when you say "upper back"? Anything and everything stopped there.......sometimes causing me to throw up.......really horrid. My surgery was 12/29/15.....just about 18 months ago.......and I am still having issues with gas and discomfort in my intestines......I'm saying intestines because it seems to be further down than my stomach. Drinking with and without a straw still causes gas. I still have to chew chew chew very small bites and often feel like I have a lump in my stomach with lots of gas.
Be sure to talk with your gastroenterologist about your specific experiences. Things get better and better very slowly, but, eating is not the fabulous experience it used to be!! Perhaps that is a good thing?!?! Please post any other questions or thoughts that you are having. Hope you have a WONDERFUL acid free day!