Toupet Fundoplication on 10/17/2012 in Orlando, FL

Best of luck to you! Keep us informed as to how things go. We're pulling for you.

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement! I have to admit, now that I am counting down in the single digit days, my anxiety is REALLY rising! LOL That said, you would not BELEIVE what I've been eating these past few days! LOL

LOL Couchtater I don't know if that will happen to me or not. We'll see! =)

Hi Bill,

Your severe nighttime reflux the past two days should give you peace of mind.  It sounds like your surgery is the right thing to do.  The removal of part of your esophagus adds a different challenge, so I expect your recovery to vary a bit from others. 

You'll likely be in the hospital a bit longer, and your surgeon will likely require you to stick to an easier diet for a little longer.  Once those things resolve and you're starting to heal, I expect your recovery will follow the typical path of others who've been "wrapped".  It will be very interesting to track your recovery, and your experience will certainly help others who may follow in your path.

We'll be here to welcome you into the Wrapped Club when you feel up to posting after your surgery!  Good luck to you. You've got a forum cheering squad wishing you the best!

      

Best wishes,

Denise

Going to the hospital today for all the pre-admission tests. T-minus 48 hours....the anxiety is REALLY building up now.

Good luck Bill! I will keep you in my prayers, everything will be fine and hopefully you will have a new life aftetwards! Keep us posted

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the Wrapped Club! It's great to hear that your surgery went well and you're on the other side and starting your recovery!  

Don't be surprised if your swallowing gets worse before it gets better.  Your wrap will become increasingly more swollen during the first two weeks of recovery. It peaks on or about Day 14, and then things gradually reverse and you'll start feeling better again.  You may get more pain at the wrap site during this time. 

Try to surrender to your recovery and follow its lead.  You can't rush this, so you might as well go with the flow.  If you struggle against the reality of what is, you'll find this recovery much more difficult.  Listen to your body--it will tell you what to do.  If you start having discomfort, back off of eating a little.  While your surgery was done laproscopically, you've had major, major surgery, and your insides have a lot of healing to do.

It takes a full 6 months for most of the healing and a year for the rest.  As you move closer to the year mark it becomes more adjustment to the changes made in your upper GI tract.  I found some fine-tuning continued into the second year.  I'd been getting some intermittent dumping and figured I'd just have to deal with that quirk forever.  I was fine with that, since it was well worth the improvement in my lung health.  However, somewhere in the second year, I suddenly realized it was no longer happening.

Get lots of rest, but be sure to get up and move as much as possible.  It'll help get the gas out of your body cavity and help you regain strength.  A nurse told me to take a walk whenever I got up to go to the bathroom, and I did this even in the hospital.  I don't know if you're getting any of the dreaded shoulder pain, but I found that it responded well to walking.  The more I walked, the less shoulder pain I experienced.

Glad to hear you're doing well! 

Happy healing,

Denise

Bill-

Congrats on the wrapped club membership!

This recovery is a bit strange, long too. The left rib pain is from the instrument they use to hold the liver out of the way. The rib really gets torqued on and usually is the last incision to stop hurting.

I understand wanting to get off the pain meds, but don't let yourself get into too much pain as it is way harder to get it under control if it gets bad. Remember ibuprophen is hard on stomachs too. A lot of people use the pain meds at night to be able to sleep more comfortably.
I also found that sleeping elevated was easier for me the first couple weeks. I have a very comfy recliner and a couch with end recliners. Have been a life saver for me with all the surgeries I have had.

As Denise said, don't get alarmed if things start to feel worse as you get to the 2 week mark. I remember feeling great, just worn out and then one day everything went down hill for a week or 2.

Take care,
Bill

Ps. Hey I am a Bill and 41 also! My reflux started about 17 or so though.

It's been 7 Days since surgery and I wanted to give an update.

The astronomical amount of pain I have been in for the past couple of days can only be compared to hell. The ironic part about it is, it's not surgery pain, it's just pure bloat & gas pain. It was so instense yesterday that it was affecting my breathing and I went into panic mode. I called my Dr's office to find out what I can do. I know that I was doing everything right but it wasn't helping. I was walking, mild exercise, drinking plenty of fluids but - I was a baloon that was ready to pop!

While waiting to hear back from the Dr. - I googled "Naturual way to get rid of bloat" and I found pureed banana in regular yogart and lemongrass tea is one way - well, as my luck would have it - I happened to have had all those things in the house and it did inded work.

This morning I feel MUCH better. My surgery pain is completely gone now. I put my new tummy to the test the other day and tried five oyster crackers - chewed them like crazy, had plenty of water next to me - absolutely no problems. When I told my Dr. what I had done, he laughed and told me that he just knows I'm going to be in some Medical Journal somewhere as the quickest healer LOL (Yes, I'm very stubborn) but I will say my body has total control.

Naps are a BEAUTIFUL thing. Evidently my body is reverting back to my kindergarten years because I take at least three naps a day! LOL It seems like with each nap, I wake up feeling a little bit better.

My emotions are good too. As soon as I can get some control over this bloat, I'll be all set. Today I am working in my home office. It's the 1st time I've been in here since the day before surgery. It feels WONDERFUL. I don't know how long I can be in here, but it sure feels good to get back to normal, if only for a few minutes!

Thanks for checking on my

Today is Day 14 since I've joined the Wrapped Club and all I can say is, life couldn't be better!

I'm full of energy, eating continues to be easy, even managed to enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner last night!

The bloating is still there, but, thanks to the Charcoal Tablets - it isn't as bad as it was.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy to report - NO ACID REFLUX whatsoever!

Thanks Denise! Thanks for the info as far as the bloating! Happy Halloween to you too!

Hi There LynnL

How are you feeling with your recovery? Oh, and welcome to the Wrapped Club! LOL