Questions Post Nissen Fundoplication/paraesophageal hernia repair

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the positive comments. This forum is a great place to get helpful information and support, so stick around! I do hope you will share your recovery experience, as it will help so many others! That's what makes this forum so great.

Most surgeons don't prepare their patients for the recovery experience, and it's scary to go through it alone. Thankfully, the internet can connect us with others who've been there, done that!

Your positive attitude is the key to a positive recovery experience! Hang in there...You're in the midst of the roughest part of your recovery. Once you get past peak swelling, things will begin to improve. Relax and go with the flow. Sometimes it's really hard to remember you've had major surgery when it's laproscopic. Your insides have been through A LOT.

Happy healing,
Denise

To "a great day to be a potato" In regards to your question about gas, I had and still have problems with this also, I think it has to do with our small intestines not working quite right or not having the right bacteria. Two things that help me with that but that do not cure it, but definitely help are probiotics, you need a good probiotic from your doctor or an integrative doctor. That will help with intestinal bacteria and the second thing is whenever you eat gassy foods like broccoli and beans take bean-o just prior to eating, or even better eat very little beans and broccoli at a time, mix them with other veggies so that you don't get too much in one sitting and eat small meals at a time, which means you might eat 5-6 times per day to feel satisfied.

Denise thank you for the info on the hernia surgery! I have been wondering about that, none of my doctors even address it, I have a small hernia, and they all dismiss it, I feel this is a mistake since it is likely the hernia caused my other problems, like LPR.

AGreatDayToBeAPotato

Something very important to remember about this surgery....it takes a long time to heal and recover from. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

While 22 days seems like a long time, for this surgery you have just begun. You most likely are still quite swollen inside. This will continue to subside, but will take time. Thin weeks to months. I know the surgeons don't do a good job of informing people about this recovery. It stinks, but the majority of them have never been through it.

The food hanging up will get better. In the mean time remember to chew VERY well, to a liquid if possible. As you advance your diet expect setbacks, it's going to happen. When it does back off your diet to easier foods for a couple days and try again slowly.

Also remember to eat several small meals a day, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time. It's easier on your stomach to eat smaller meals and it keeps something in your stomach to use the acid it is producing now.

The damage that was done from reflux and such happened over time and will take time to heal. The body is an amazing thing.

Take care,
Bill

Hi Jeff,

Bill hit the nail on the head! At 22 days you're just at the very beginning of a recovery that lasts 6 months for most of the healing and a year for the rest. I found improvements into the second year.

I started on solids at Day 6, when my surgeon told me I could eat "anything that could be chewed to a liquid". You should be taking very small bites, and chew, chew, chew, chewing your foods into "oblivion". They should be a creamy liquid consistency before swallowing.

Don't eat anything that doesn't chew completely, to a liquid/creamy consistency. There are many, many things that chew really well, so just experiment. I kept a paper napkin handy to deposit those things that didn't pass the chew test!

Certain things just don't chew well...for example, mozzarella cheese, and untoasted breads. My surgeon told me no sandwiches, untoasted bread, or steak for 8 weeks. That was just a guideline.

The most important thing is to take small bites and chew, chew, chew.
Hang in there...as you heal, things will improve. Also, at 22 days, you're still pretty close to "peak swelling". My surgeon told me that my swallowing would get worse before it got better, and that my wrap would become increasingly more swollen over the first two to three weeks.

Also, I can identify with the fact that when you swallow something that isn't creamy/liquid, and it irritates the wrap, that irritation will persist for a while. During the first one to two years, my wrap didn't like too much raw veggies or large salads. When I ate too much of them, my wrap would become irritated and that irritation would last quite a while. I'm 5 years post op, and for the last few years, I can eat as much salad and raw veggies as I like without a problem.

Hang in there...it gets better! If you can surrender to your recovery and accept what is you'll find things much easier. As much as you'd like to eat solid foods with abandon, you're not there yet. Surrender to your recovery and follow its lead. Give your body permission to heal in its own sweet time! It'll thank you! Struggling against the reality of your recovery won't make it go any faster. You can't rush this. Just go with the flow!

Happy healing,
Denise

Hello! I am 9 months out from my nissen (I had LPR). As Bill and Denise have said, it takes a while to recover and you might experience some unusual things along the way, but it does get better!

At 22 days out, I think I would have done just about anything to be able to eat pizza, and I probably pushed a little harder than I should have with food a time or two. I remember eating just a little bit of something I should not have had; I ended up howling on the kitchen floor with an esophageal spasm, my mother laughing at me because I was stupid enough to test my luck (tough love in my family).

I still have some residual effects from surgery. Very rarely I will get horrible gas pain in my stomach, but it passes in about 20 minutes or so (oh but those 20 minutes are awful). If I drink cold water too fast, everything sort of locks up and it takes a minute to go down, almost as if there is a funnel in there.

There are some habits I developed before my surgery that I still try to stick with. I eat small meals so I don't push the envelope, so to speak (I get headaches if I eat a lot anyway). I also try not to eat or drink within 3 hours of bedtime. I'm probably paranoid, but I'm young, so I need this nissen to last.

Hope this info is reassuring; best of luck with your recovery!