one month out, first time reflux, but....

Sorry I haven't been around...we were on vacation.  Tramadol and antibiotics are both very hard on your stomach--especially if you have a "sensitive stomach".  I have a very reactive stomach, and had to have a course of antibiotics after my surgery because I had a lung infection that hadn't cleared.  My doctor was so concerned about putting anything into my very sensitive stomach that he gave me my antibiotics via shots (Rocephin) instead.

Antibiotics have always set my stomach off.  Because I have asthma, before my surgery, a course of antibiotics put me in the hospital with gastritis and reflux that was causing my lungs to become so inflamed that my asthma doc was fearful for my life. I could never take a drug like tramadol or NSAIDS. 

It's unfortunate that you're having to take these medications so soon after your surgery.  Since you have a sensitve stomach, these drugs are adding to the challenges of recovery.

Do you still have any PPIs hanging around the house?  If so, it would be wise to start taking them again until you get off all these meds and your stomach has a chance to recover.

Many people who are recovering from Nissen surgery have reflux symptoms and fret over the fear that their surgery has been a failure.  It's very common during recovery.  Losing weight is to be expected, and nearly everyone loses 15 to 25 pounds as they recover.  This will all resolve itself when you are fully healed.

Try not to project negative outcomes into your future.  You are at the beginning stages of recovery, and that recovery has been compromised by the treatment of a non-related health problem.  This adds an additional challenge to overcome.  You'll be okay...things will be fine, once the healing has had a chance to progress.

Stick with us!  We'll help you through it all.

Hang in there!

Denise

Take a breath...relax.  You're almost 2 months along in a process that takes 6 months to a year.  While your incisions have healed and it seems all should be back to normal, that is an unrealistic expectation.  You've had MAJOR, MAJOR surgery.  Because the surgery was laproscopic, the healing remains hidden--thus your expectation that you should be back to normal by now.

Listen to your body.  If it's saying, "No coffee..." don't drink it yet.  Often after the initial swallowing issues, when healing post-Nissen patients start experimenting with foods and eating more aggressively, there will be discomfort.  That's your body's way of saying to back off--it's not ready to move to that level of eating.

As far as the hiatus hernia stabiity goes, the sugeon places sutures to secure the opening to it's pre-herniated position.  This suturing is what keeps the wrap in place.  Without a securely repaired hiatus hernia, the wrap will slip.  You can be assured that your HH was stitched securely.  What you're experiencing is normal healing, not a reherniated HH.

What you're doing is struggling against your recovery.  You're at your "wits end" because you want your healing to move at your speedy-paced expectation.  That's not how it works.  Your recovery is going to take its own sweet time.  There is a lot of healing that still needs to take place, and after all healing is complete, there's the job of adjusting to the new upper GI configuration. 

Surrender.  No matter how much you will it to be so, your recovery won't be rushed.  It is as it is.  Relax and go with the flow.  You're wasting precious healing energy on this fruitless effort.  When your body is ready to accept coffee again, it will, and not a moment sooner.

Wish I could give you the answer you want, but I can't. 

This is the reality.  Breathe.  Relax.  Give your body a chance to heal and adjust.  When that happens, you'll move back to eating and drinking normally.  It's not time for that yet. 

Hang in there!

Denise