New to all this, worried, and hopeful about surgery

Pumukl,

First, I'm so sorry to hear of your swallowing issues. I had those too, along with incredible reflux for many many years and finally had the nissen procedure done in April. As slow as the recovery was, I'm glad I had the surgery. My quality of life is better than ever and I'm eating anything and everything now as if I never had reflux/swallowing issues.

Second, I'm not going to sugar-coat any of this because I don't believe it's helpful. That said, even laparoscopic, this is major abdominal surgery. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. As someone that has had the surgery done, I will respectfully disagree with your surgeon (as I'm sure others will) that you will be comfortable enough and ready to go back to work after one week. In my opinion, that's downright silly. Due to a couple complications, my surgery was almost 5 hours long and I was in the hospital for a full three days following the surgery. Once I was home, I continued with the liquid pain meds I was discharged with. I don't think I was off of the liquid vicodin for at least 4-5 days once I was home. I was out of work for almost 6 weeks and happy to have all of that time to recover. Even with that, I found my energy to be completely zapped for the first few days before the lunch hour.

The key to a smooth recovery is to plan ahead. Read many of the posts on this forum and get as many of your questions answered as you can. As your surgery approaches, it would be wise to have meals planned and to have a caregiver (family or friend that can stay with you) go over everything with you so that they can help you while you're recovering. You'll find some food easier than others...we are all different. You HAVE to eat and you HAVE to keep hydrated. Not doing either will make your recovery much more complicated than it needs to be. Even if you aren't hungry or thirsty, you NEED to eat and drink. Yes, you will have pain, but it's manageable with medications and plenty of rest. Bottom line, follow your doctors orders, get lots of rest, and don't rush your recovery. Just because your surgeon says you'll be ready to go back to work in a week doesn't mean you will. 99% sure he/she hasn't had the procedure done and doesn't know what the recovery is like outside of what he/she has read the recovery "should" be like. You'll have both good days and bad days, for sure.

Hopefully as others respond you'll get more "good experience" responses versus "bad experience" responses. Mine was one of the "good experiences" and I know that not all of us that have had the procedure have been in the same boat. Everyone will have their own reasons as to why. Nine months later, all I have to show for my surgery is 8 scars on my belly. I hope that your recovery is just as smooth and uneventful as mine was/has been.

Please ask as many questions as you want!

Be well,
-TonyG-

Thank you so much for your reply! It was good to hear a non-sugar coated answer. Planning is not that big of a deal for me. my children are grown and in college, I don't have to worry about them or care for them physically. My husband will help as much as possible, and is pretty supportive. He had lapband surgery, so he knows some of the things I will be going trough. I just had a hysterectomy, and recovered much faster than anticipated. Right now I am starving, have not been able to swallow anything for almost three days. Tiny sips go down, and I am hoping that I can at least eat after the balloon down my throat procedure, maybe it will help that.
I am a paralegal, and sit at my desk most of the day, I think that did influence my surgeon to suggest a week. Good thing that my boss is very understanding, and just wants me to get better. Either way, if I need more time, I will be able to take it, and I thank you for suggesting it. That way I can prepare my office much better.
The burning is awful, as I am sure yours was, too. Feeling like my insides are on fire all the time. How soon after surgery will that stop? Am I really going to live on liquid and mush for weeks? And I have read some about weight loss after. I am assuming that this correlates with the liquid diet and not eating much? Were you able to get around and moving good after you got home?
Sorry if some of those questions are silly, I am still learning a lot.....

When I say planning, I mean ensuring you and your husband know what to expect, how to deal with any setbacks that might arise, and what to shop for in preparation for your limited diet once you're home. My surgeon had me on a full liquid diet from the moment I left the hospital up until I saw him for my follow-up appointment two weeks after the surgery. Loose oatmeal, pureed cream soups, yogurt, pudding, broth, Ensure/Boost, applesauce, and the like. The closer I got to the follow-up appointment I added loose scrambled eggs into my diet as well as toast (chewed very well and very buttery!) and didn't have any problems getting those down.

Funny thing about that burning. It may in fact persist for a bit after your surgery and this is why. Your esophagus is a foolish organ. Its only way of communicating discomfort or pain is to make it feel like the burning and pain of reflux/GERD. I can assure you that your wrap isn't failing and that it is working as it should. This is just how it is going to be until the swelling goes down (which will take a good 3-6 weeks post-op, honestly). The more active you can be, the faster you will heal and the faster the swelling will subside. I started with short walks everyday to the corner and back. The easier that got, I added 5 minutes to the length of the walk until I had made it around the block. Some days I was too tired to walk, so I puttered around the garden with the watering can for a little bit just to get fresh air and not sit all day.

After the dilation you should be able to eat a little more. The scar tissue from all the reflux has created a stricture in your esophagus that has closed it up. The dilation will open that up and you'll feel relief almost immediately (absent of a little soreness). In the meantime, since you take small sips, perhaps try an Ensure or Boost? Those have a bit of protein and nutrition in them and will help you feel full.

I have a desk job as well yet was happy to have the time away to rest. I can honestly not imagine being back at work after a week. I barely had enough energy to take a proper shower each day and get up out of a chair to use the bathroom.

All the best!
-TonyG-

Hey, all the best. You won't regret the surgery. Now between meals I feel GREAT! I'm just suffering for a short time after meals.

Sorry to sound down about it but I just wish I had been given good information. The last time I checked I was a responsible adult who could make my own decisions. There was a price to be paid for the bad information and I certainly paid it!

Thank you all so much for your answers. So many things the doctor said do not match up with how I am, and what I read. Anyway. I know I need to do something. And surgery seems to be the right thing. I am glad to see that you did have a success story, Cary, I am hoping to follow your example.

I agree with the wise members who have replied to you.  I am going to post a couple of journals from 2 of our moderators for you to read through.

Denise's Nissen Fundoplication Surgery:
My Forum Journal

 

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

Bill's "My journey through nissens and esophageal tear" 

 

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=2337138

 

Check out our resources at the top of the page and you will find other info to clarify some of your concerns.

 

Going back to work in a week after major surgery is not a good thing to recommend to anyone.

You may want to get a second opinion.

Kindly,

Kitt

Yes. They checked. And all was well there. today I'm going in for dilation. Hopefully I can eat afterwards. ...

Dilation worked, at least I can eat now. On to the next hurdle, some sort of study of the esophagus, then schedule Nissen surgery.

No. I had so many cysts and soblarge growths that my doctor had to open me all the way up for the hysterectomy

Cary:

Would you mind emailing me. I would like to speak with you more about what symptoms you had and what testing you had done prior to surgery. Thank you so much for your time.


Please add your email to your profile so only registered members cab see it.

7. Do not post offline personal contact information (ie. your home address, phone numbers etc.) and do not ask for personal information from others. This is to protect your security and identity.

Thanks,
Bill

Post Edited By Moderator (opnwhl4) : 1/15/2014 9:55:48 PM (GMT-7)