HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

David's Nissen Journey ~Surgery 11/1 Part 1 of 2 Closed

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic locked
12 3 4 5 6 7
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 10/24/2013 9:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone, my name is David. I will have the robotic assisted hiatal hernia repair and nissen fundoplication at the University of Toledo Medical Center November the 1st.

The decision to do this hasn't been an easy one, a lot of my comfort in doing so was helped a lot in joining this forum. I feel that I owe it to the community to give back and share my experiences to help others that are considering the surgery, while no doubt asking questions and reaching out for help at the same time. I encourage everyone to ask questions along the way, if you want to put it into perspective for your own journey or to plan what you may be up against.

I am 28 years old, just under 180 pounds, a lot of the time an active runner. I think I'm decently healthy, minus continuous coughing, clearing of the throat, burping a lot, throwing up from time to time. I'll make it known that I rarely get "heart burn." Drinking caffeine causes me to have coughing spells, where the acid will rise like crazy and might just cause me to cough so hard to start throwing up. I'm told that I cough more than three or four of other people's smoking friends combined. I'm definitely a slave to my omeprazole. When I don't take it I'm miserable, with a continuous, non stopping feeling of battery acid in the back of my throat which has effected my voice and my teeth. Actually as I'm typing this I'm reaching for the next pill which is technically beyond what the pharmacist recommends for the number pills for me to take in a day.

I can hardly imagine what it would be like to live without any of these symptoms. But for me to claim that I'm not just a little bit nervous about having what seems like a full blown surgery would be a lie. I recognize that the time frame to complete recovery is going to take a long time, I'm just hoping it wont be too much of a hindrance. I absolutely hate the idea of being limited.

Going forward is truly going to be an adventure. I'll be sure to treat it like one. As far as I'm concerned, I'll have the surgery, heal up, and that will be the end of it. I've made an effort to prepare the right kinds of foods.. err drinks, maybe some soups to blend in my ninja blender! Not sure how that's going to work out. I've prepped work to not see me for three weeks. Which goes into Thanksgiving, but that's a different story. A bit nervous! I'll take all the relaxing and pain relieving meds they'll give me just in case.

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 12/1/2013 1:14:39 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 10/24/2013 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
David-

You've taken the first step in the process and that is scheduling your surgery. I'm glad you found this forum; it was a fantastic help to me when I was prepping for my procedure. You have every right to be as nervous as you are; you're about to have major abdominal surgery (robotic or otherwise). Your healing will only be as easy as you make it. Be sure to have your diet and meals planned out, know what to expect when you're in the hospital, know what to expect once you're home, and make sure that whomever will be helping you at home the first few days knows how best they can help you.

Sometimes the little things that no one tells you will be the biggest help. For example, after the surgery, keep a pillow handy. You never know when a sneeze or a cough will come up. Giving that pillow a big hug against your abdomen as you sneeze will save you a ton of pain. Sleeping on your right side will be easier than your left side (because of the incision that is the main port your surgeon works in). Get up and walk as much as you can! No straws, no carbonation. Chew thoroughly and stay away from hard/sticky food for awhile. Protein powder added to smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce, etc will help you stay full longer. Don't forget to drink water! The first shower after you get home from the hospital will feel like the best shower you have ever had. Don't be afraid to ask for pain meds in the hospital. Eating too fast will make your stomach protest. If you've decided not to be sensible about your diet, then don't stay very far away from a bathroom. Your stomach WILL protest. Loudly.

Bottom line, the more you prep up front, the easier you'll have it once it's all over. From one active person to another, I guarantee you you'll get antsy. When that happens, go for a walk. Even if it's just to the corner and back. Even if it's been your 5th walk of the day. Just don't rush it. Let your body heal. In the end you'll have a better outcome if you let your body tell you how it's doing instead of you telling your body how you want it to feel.

Good luck, and be well!
-TonyG-
Posted 10/24/2013 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
Oh my gosh Tony, thank you for that. I literally went to Costco the other day and got this hybrid memory foam/ cooling gel pillow for all the time I'll be resting afterwords. I'll be sure to take it with me. I'm honestly a horrible cook. I've at least got my ninja blender! What kind of protein powder do you recommend to buy (The one's I imagine are the chocolate flavored kind that you mix with water but I can't imagine that tasting good with smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce.)

Some random people are telling me to stay away from fruit with seeds? Like strawberries? I'm not sure I understand their reasoning. Does blending cans of soups and eating them end up tasting gross? I also keep seeing posts about Carafate. What kind of drug is it and why do they prescribe it?

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 10/24/2013 5:37:37 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/25/2013 1:23 AM (GMT 0)
I have that pillow from costco. its wonderful.
You will do just fine! Im rooting for you!
Posted 10/25/2013 1:41 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Stephanie!
Posted 10/25/2013 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
David,

I actually used a vanilla-flavored protein powder I found at my local GNC and I added it to most everything...milkshakes, smoothies (yes, with whole strawberries blended in. Seeds were no problem once they were emulsified), oatmeal, applesauce and yogurt. I had purchased chocolate Ensure/Boost and I used that to make banana milkshakes. Yummy!

The soups, well, you get used to the texture. It's kind of weird at first. But you get used to it. The best bet is to not blend them for very long. The cream based soups I found to be most satisfying. Cream of chicken or potato worked fine blended up and went down easy. Noodle-based soups I blended for a very short while, enough to just break down any big vegetable or chicken pieces. The noodles were never a problem in big pieces as long as I chewed well enough.

I was never prescribed Carafate and honestly, I'm not exactly sure why folks are taking it. I didn't have any nausea problems either in the hospital or once I was home. I haven't taken a single pill since my surgery although I have taken Gaviscon to help the gas issue (I still can't burp, and it's a common side-effect of the procedure).

Hope this helps!
-TonyG-
Posted 10/25/2013 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
David,

One week to go and you will be on the other side of the surgery -  I am praying for all to go well for you and the advice you are receiving here is magical so know the experts are coaching you.

Kindly,

Kitt

Posted 10/25/2013 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
FYI on the carafate- it is a drug that coats your esophagus and stomach tissue and protects it from acid and bile helping it to heal.

I was prescribed it and only took it a few times after surgery. It is a pain to take because you have to take it 1 hour before or two hours after eating or taking medications and I never could get the timing right.
You most likely wont need it and its kind of hard to get Dr's around here to prescribe it for some reason and its really expensive.
Posted 10/26/2013 4:42 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Tony,

I'm going to stop by GNC and pick up a bunch of that vanilla protein powder so I can do the same thing with all different kinds of foods. I'm a fan of Greek yogurt so I bet that might work out. At least hopefully. Also those cream soups sound pretty good. I'm actually looking forward to trying that idea about the banana smoothie! I thought I was reading about chocolate being something to avoid? Maybe it's different for everybody.

Kitt,

I can tell. I'd literally be freaking out if I wasn't posting in here and reading what everyone has to say. Somehow I'm pretty calm about it. I'll see how that holds up the day before! I like how my surgery is literally the morning after Halloween night! Did any one else notice this? If I see someone dresses up as a surgeon I'm not going to like it!

It is magical, and I'm thankful for that. There is nothing worse than trying to figure it all out on your own!

Stephanie,

That totally makes sense. Go figure it would be expensive.. I see people posting about having to crush it and mix it with water to make it a mush. Sounds complicated.. all that effort and time consuming.. But if it protects your stomach wouldn't it speed up your recovery by taking it? I guess if I don't need it, then I don't need it. I still need to go buy some gas x or whatever works.. it's not something I've ever bought or taken before. No reason to get it until now. Hopefully that air build up doesn't become too bad!

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 10/27/2013 8:46:24 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/26/2013 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi David,

I agree...this forum is a godsend!  I found it shortly before my surgery, and it helped ease my mind and provided lots of great advice for my recovery.  It was great to talk to wrapped friends who "knew the ropes" and could provide support and reassurance.  Because of the help I received, I decided to stick around and continue helping out, even though I was healed and on my way.

Carafate is great for people who have a reactive stomach/wrap, or people who have had food sitting at the wrap site and not getting down.  That can irritate the esophagus.  It is very comforting, and for most, it helps relieve the discomfort.  The suspension form (liquid) is the one I keep on hand (for my reactive stomach).  That's the expensive one.  The generic tablet (Sulcrafate) is very inexpensive, and that's the one that requires mixing in a medicine cup and a little water, if you want it to coat your esophagus as well as your stomach.  You probably won't need it, but I can assure you that it can be very helpful.

I had all kinds of liquids and soft foods ready and waiting for my recovery.  My surgeon, however, set me free to use my good judgment, and said I could eat "anything that could be chewed to a liquid".  I ended up never using a single liquid meal, and those containers of broth and soft foods I'd frozen in preparation, never got used.  I found it very easy (through trial and error--AND good judgment/using common sense and listening to my body) to find a larger variety of foods that worked just fine. 

During the early days, of course, I was more careful.  I found no need to puree soups...I just chewed the very soft veggies inside completely to a liquid--my teeth and mouth were my blender.  If something didn't chew completely to a liquid/creamy consistency, I deposited in in a handy paper napkin. 

Every surgeon has a different protocol, but that was my experience.

Best wishes for your surgery!  And Happy Halloween!  I found that once I had the surgery scheduled, it couldn't come fast enough!

Best wishes,

Denise

Posted 10/27/2013 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Denise,

Thanks for the encouragement. What you're saying about using your teeth and mouth to be your blender sounds good, so when I went to the store to pick out some more food, I took that into consideration. It will be interesting if they prescribe me the Carafate. I like that you know so much about it.

I now have a range of foods that are totally liquid, to soups that might benefit from blending or just chewed with teeth. I'll just see how things go and see how my body reacts. Also potatoes that I can mash up and add butter or sour cream. I went to GNC and got some vanilla protein powder (thanks to Tony's recommendation), yogurt, applesauce, coconut water, almond milk, and chew-able vitamins also from GNC. Also finally picked up some gas-x. I'll get perishable items like fruit for smoothies on Thursday, the day before my surgery too keep them the most fresh. Almost didn't get the oatmeal, but since my food choices still seem way too limited I think I'll pick that up anyways. I did not pick up any liquid pain meds, I assume they will give me a prescription for those, hopefully in some liquid form, so I don't have to settle for just children's strength. Might change my mind on that, I'm just looking for my best options.

I think I remember some people mentioning some over the counter pain meds working really well for certain kinds of pain, but as I'm writing this, I don't remember specifically.

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 10/26/2013 9:01:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/27/2013 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
David, I am 4 weeks+ since my Nissen/Hiatal repair. I am doing well. Am at now at the point where I can eat litterally anything as long as I have a glass of water handy (no ice). It seems like it takes about 3 mouth fulls followed by large gulps of water to get my esophogus to "figure out the swallow game". After that, I can eat pretty much normally with occasional needs for a good size drink of water to flush the system. My robot port incisions are going through some new healing changes and I am feling them more these days. I am told that the internal stitches are begining to dissolve which causes the muscles to be under tension on thier own without the help of the stitches. This is causing some aches and burning/itchy pain around some of the incision sites. Seems to be getting better now after a week of that. I am so thankfull that this procedure has been refined and perfected. I feel so fresh and clean. No more sour breath, nasty tastes in the mouth, clean pillow case, nice deep breaths without the heavy full sensation in the chest. I have had no reflux since 4 days post surgery. You may experience that as some food will hang up in the esophogus the first few days and will give you that reflux sensation. I can eat chocolate, drink coffee, a glass of wine, a margarita, popcorn' the list goes on. No heartburn, No reflux ! Can't do beer yet. I seldom burp and evidently beer and burps go together. Good luck, and know that in the long term you are going to feel better. 4 weeks till pretty much normal eating. Til then eat your protien shakes, soups, canned fruits, puddings, V8 juices. CALORIES!
Posted 10/27/2013 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi David,
Just to say the generic form of Carafate, Sulcrafate in tablet form that Denise mentioned above does not need to be crushed. No tedious crushing involved - the tablet dissolves almost instantly in a small amount of water and just needs a stir.
It's been around for years and was used long before the H2 blockers and PPIs. My doctor said she thought it was "brilliant stuff".

Best of luck with your surgery!
Posted 10/27/2013 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
It sounds like you are ready! Will you have help? I needed a dose of the liquid portable by the time I go home. I had to wait for my husband to go gey the prescription filled.

Lightly cooked scrambled egg goes down easily. Cream of wheat cereal made with milk and cream went down easily - very sloppy with extra cream early on. I added cream to chunky soups before blending, to make thinner yet add extra calories.

Good luck, I hope your recovery goes as well as mine has.
Posted 10/27/2013 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
Finally fixed,

Four weeks and being able to eat anything, minus drinking beer (which I hardly drink anyways) sounds very encouraging! Not that I'd be able to eat completely like normal, but Thanksgiving is coming up too! It would be sad to have to watch every one eat and for me to be on that liquid diet sitting at the table with everyone else. I was wondering about those incision sites when you take a shower. How sensitive they can be when you touch them and when you clean up in the shower. And no reflux! If that happens that will be a godsend. I didn't think of the pudding. I'm going to need to pick some of that up too.

Noelle3,

It's nice to know the generic form of Carafate, Sulcrafate in tablet form dissolves so easy. I know everyone says the liquid form is really expensive, but I don't know just how expensive it really is. If I can save money on the kind that is easily dissoluble anyways, that could be good.

Laurie,

I sure hope I am! I want to be as ready as possible. My sister said she would take me to the surgery and be there for me in recovery and help me afterwards. She has cats at her place which I am highly allergic to. I've asked her to please vacuum before I come over the night before my surgery. I am not going to be happy, at all, if I can't breathe the morning of my surgery. Frankly Ill be rather pissed. I may tell her I'll see her early in the morning and I'll meet up with her at her house really early.

I love eggs, I just don't like eating them runny, I usually prefer things to be well done, maybe I'll be able to find a happy medium on that. If I can eat eggs, I'll definitely be fine. What kind of cream were you adding?

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 10/27/2013 3:39:40 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/31/2013 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
Okay everyone, tomorrow morning is the big time. They told me to be there by 6am, and that my surgery should be underway by 7:30. Eastern time in the US.

It's a bit surreal. The following clip is what I expect for when I'm on the way to the operating room. At time 2:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLDtYsxtwXU

2:45 will be my nurse, and 3:30 being the beginning of my surgery.

Don't let the video fool you, it's not like I'm completely calm about all this. All things considered I'm actually doing pretty good.

Hopefully this is extremely easy, and not as big of a deal as I think. I've done everything I could to prepare. Go figure, shortly after I wrote this, I threw up, along with my omeprazole tablet slightly dissolved in the mix. Makes me feel good about this decision.

If I am able, I'll post about my experience the same day, but if I'm too drugged and miserable, I'll definitely post about it as soon as possible!

Thanks.

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 10/31/2013 2:42:44 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/31/2013 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
The best thing you can do at this point is just relax and let your surgeon and his/her team do their thing. It'll be a bumpy ride once you're resting in your room, but as long as you stay focused on the long-term benefits of your decision to have the procedure done the rest is a short-term nuisance.

Be well and keep us updated as to your progress!
-TonyG-
Posted 10/31/2013 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
I am thinking of you!!!!!
You will do great!
Posted 10/31/2013 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck.
Posted 10/31/2013 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone, especially Tony, Stephanie, Kitt, Denise, Finally fixed, Noelle3, Laurie, and MCord for coaching and being there for me before and during this critical and difficult time! (If I miss anyone after this post, I’ll likely get to you after my surgery, I’m heading off to some family where I will probably not be on the computer).
Posted 11/1/2013 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
yeah yeah Good Luck tomorrow! yeah yeah
We'll be waiting to welcome you into the Wrapped Club as soon as you're up to posting again!
Best wishes,
Denise
Posted 11/1/2013 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
Good Luck! Will be waiting to welcome you to the wrapped club also.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 11/1/2013 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
There is a club? Are there member dues?.... Lol
Posted 11/2/2013 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
Day 0.

I seem to be doing pretty good, I don't have any shoulder pain just a little bit of pain where my incisions are and some mild stomach pain. Stomach feels a bit weird, I'm definitely babying my wrap as I just had surgery.
My surgery was underway by 7:30, and got to my room around 11:30, 12 o'clock. I don't remember a lot, nor am I sure why it took so long to get to my room. Could it be that my surgery took four hours? I've been in and out of consciousness enough that when I did talk with my surgeon I didn't think to ask.

I got up and walked down a pretty long hallway and came back. That's enough for me, I don't want to push it too much.

I feel a bit hungry, they are only feeding me small ice shards to melt in my mouth. Not even clear liquids to where I can drink them yet.

I feel no reflux at all. None. That's pretty amazing to me. Not feeling any esophagus spasms yet either. feeling pretty drugged and tired so more later.

Post Edited (Diaas2) : 11/2/2013 4:20:38 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 11/2/2013 1:04 AM (GMT 0)
Hi David,

You've made it through surgery and are now hopefully on your way to a enjoying life reflux free! Best of luck as you start the recovery process.

I had my nissen about a week ago. The surgery took about two hours (surgeon was dealing with a falling apart TIF). I too had my surgery in the morning. I was in what the hospital calls 'recovery' for a while afterward before I got to my room. Sometimes it's an issue of the hospital having a room available. Not sure if that was the case for you, but it's a possibility.
✚ New Topic locked
1234567