Post NF worries

In need of a bit of reassurance tbh.

Im 23 days post op. I am still getting some quite strong and painful throat spasms. My middle chest is very weak and I have nausea most of the time.

My main concern are these spasms- short sharp intense pain which lasts only a second. Eating is getting better. If I ever do forget to chew enough, I get severe discomfort around the surgical area, exactly where I get the spasms emanating from and the back pain is horrendous. It does subside after a minute or so. Do you think this is normal? All I can say is my sphincter must have been very very damaged because if im healing normally, these spasms are taking ages to go. Should I go back to fluids do you think?

On the positives, I am sleeping better, thanks to Zopiclone and I feel more energetic and less fatigued. I will be stopping the Zopi in 3 days.

I do hope you can reassure me and dis-spell my concerns.

Thanks again, Carl

Hi, I have had insomnia in the past so can hopefully be of some help. The most useful thing i have used, which i still use is called autogenics. Its a type of deep relaxation which when performed several times a day puts the body in a recuperative state and greatly reduces stress. I use autogenics also when falling asleep and usually fall asleep within 20 minutrs before, whereas previously i could lie in bed all night unable to sleep, and wake after only a couple of hours when i did sleep.

I fou d the sleeping pills where good for preventing me waking up too soon, but relaxation has been far more effective with falling asleep. There is a grat book on amazon on autogenics and a free website with some tapes to talk you throug the exercises. It takes a while to get good at it, but believe me it really helps and theres a specific chapter in the book about sleep problems too.

How has the surgery itself gone, are you eating more normally now and pain free?

Hi There Carl,

Hope you feel better soon.

As for Sleeping and Insomnia, My Naturopath recommends taking 3 mgs of Melatonin. this is what your body naturally produces to get you to fall asleep. If I can't sleep after that I occasionally have 6 mgs (Two tablets). I have tried a few kinds and I found that the best ones are the ones you get from your health store. Look for the small tabs that you can put under your tongue to dissolve. You'll be sleeping before you know it and it's totally natural!!

I also agree with the relaxation listed above. I am a type A personality and I never shut off. That what my dr's always say to me (I think it's more because I educate myself before I go in to talk with them and they get threatened with all my questions and suggestions). Either way, I did a lot of research on meditation and the one that I landed on was Transcendental Meditation. It's one of the older forms of mind calming ' thought reduction'. I started doing it after my cancerous Thyroid was removed and I can tell you it has been a god send! 20 minutes, twice daily to sit and be quiet with yourself and reduce noise. TM is not cheap though, the whole can run you a few hundred, or more, depending on where you are and what your financial status is. There are any number of Meditation options out there that you can learn for free, but my mind set is that I wanted to learn the one that was most studied and most practiced globally. Besides, when you amortize this cost over the rest of your life, it's well worth it. It's not a religion (I'm Catholic), its a relaxation technique.

Not to preach, but this is an example that actually happened to me. before mediation I would drive aggressively (I still do), and then when I would drive by a cop scoping out speeders, I would have a rush of anxiety (This anxiety also happens in all other aspects of life, like worrying about your health, your kids, your job, etc...) and it would last the rest of the drive into work. Someone cutting me off would hav ethe same effect. Anyway, you get the picture. Now, after doing TM for over a year, I actually notice that the person who cuts me off, or the cop that i see out of the corner of my eye, still get's me to stress... but only for a few seconds. In no time I carry on and get over it.. This is my experience, and I know this type of thing can help many people. Reducing stress/anxiety will also help strengthen your LES. Stress is a known contributor to reflux!!

Anyway, I'm ramlbling, but please try anthing that will calm your mind, and also look into the Melatonin at the least.

Good luck!

Carl-

Some people do, but a lot of people still have improvements during the 2nd year post op. They aren't dramatic as the 1st year, but improvements all the same.

Take care,
Bill