Pre op one week and counting

Welcome to Healing Well!  Glad you've joined us!  I had a full Nissen wrap in February 2009 and received lots of help and support here at the forum, so I decided to stick around to help others the way others helped me!  Congratulations on your daughter's upcoming wedding!  My son is getting married next August, so we'll be celebrating, too!

You're wise to consider weight loss after your surgery.  Generally people lose around 15 pounds in the first three or four months, then (unfortunately) gain it back once they're eating normally again.  It'll be an easy diet that won't require any will power! 

While everyone's healing is unique, you should be able to enjoy your daughter's wedding at 5 weeks post op.  You'll have some eating restrictions, but you should feel well enough to fulfill your duties as mother of the bride! 

Surgeons tend to underplay the challenges of recovery, and you will still have a lot of healing ahead even after the wedding comes and goes.  It takes a full 6 months for most of the healing and a year for the rest.  I found that I had improvements even into the second year.  Much of the late improvements are actually adjustments your body makes to the changes in the upper GI tract.

Since you're having a partial wrap, you should have much less of a chance of having problems with bloating and swallowing, so that's in your favor.  Partial wraps are just a effective, and some consider them preferable because they make the negative/bothersome side-effects less likely.  Several people here at the forum have had a partial wrap with good results.

The post op pain is very manageable.  Most people are only on the narcotic pain meds provided by the surgeon for two or three days, then switch over to liquid Tylenol or other OTC pain med.  Sometimes it's helpful to continue with the narcotic meds at night, because when the lights are out and it's quiet, pain seems to like to creep back and keep you awake.

Here is a good resource that provides information about GERD and treatment options, including the full and partial wrap:

http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?productid=756&pageaction=displayproduct

Also, here is my early recovery journal, so you'll see what one person's first few weeks were like:

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

Here are two good post-op eating guides:

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

http://www.nissenfundoplication.com/nissen-fundoplication-diet

Again, glad you've joined us!  Good luck with your surgery!  We'll be waiting to welcome you into the Healing Well Wrapped Club! Please be sure to let us know how you're doing once the surgery is behind you!

Very best wishes,

Denise

On the topic of mesh, I do have one comment.  My internal tissue was extremely fragile when I had my surgery because I had been on high doses of steroids to keep me breathing.  My asthma was made terrible by my reflux (which, by the way, wasn't all that high on the DeMeester scale--actually quite low, which kept my GI doc from recommending surgery). 

Anyway, he said considered using mesh to reinforce the hernia repair, but "since mesh can cause its own problems" decided to put in a few extra stitches, instead.  I guess some mesh has eroded the esophagus on some patients.  His comment has come back to me whenever anyone mentions its use.

Gidday to both of you!

Denise