Hello everyone,
I had the Nissen procedure done on August 28th and have been reading these threads almost daily to walk myself through recovery.
I am a 23 yr old female (24 on Friday!) living with GERD from age 16. It had gotten worse in the past few years and to top it off, I developed an allergy to PPI's, which almost immediately decided the surgery for me. I tried H2 blockers but as most of us know, it was just pointless. & I didn't want to be on pills for the rest of my life anyway! But heartburn within an hour of waking up before even eating? I was over it.
I am 9 days post op and struggling.
Shoulder: My shoulder is still really bothering me. I had my post-op appointment yesterday and was told that it's normal for it to go on up to a month! I asked if they knew any tips/tricks and apparently nothing you do to the shoulder can help, as the pain is coming from the phrenic nerve in the stomach - so ice/heat - useless. I found that adjusting my position and moving around sometimes helps, but not always. I still can't take deep breaths because of the sharp pain it sends to my shoulder.
Incisions: They seem to be fine! A little itchy but no noticeable pain - I haven't taken any pain medication since day 5 (swallowing pills is absolute hell now) and they aren't hurting at all! The steri-strips haven't come off yet though, excited for that to happen.
Bowels: I have also been struggling with constipation. Around day 3 I tried some imodium and that was not a pleasant experience at all! But it did get things moving. Since then though I am back to square one. I did try some stool softners today and that helped a little, but not enough to relieve the pressure and cramping I am feeling.
Nausea: No real nausea symptoms although I was terrified of that pre-op. The nurses put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear right before I went in and it stayed for 3 days. After that I was given Zofran which I used a few days post-op but no longer after day 4. I am still worried but so far so good, and my surgeon told me that vomiting would not be the end of the world as I had read online. Its not ideal, of course...but it made me feel better.
Food: I miss food so much! It seems that every step I take forward, I take three steps back for it. I have only been able to down noodles, soups, and Boost Vanilla shakes. My surgeon even told me I could advance to soft foods 3 days post op, but it has been a trial. I can't even eat apple sauce, jello, or yogurt because too much air goes down with it, and then I am burping and regurgitating food constantly. I became very dehydrated on day 4 because even drinking water took down too much air with it, no matter how many different ways I tried to drink (glass, bottle, with a spoon even)!
I am of course only able to eat a few bites, but a diet of ramen noodles can only last me so long. I did try scrambled eggs and the first few bites were okay, until I rushed a bite or two and it was hung up on the wrap. That feeling of drowning when drinking didn't help, and I ended up regurgitating what was in the esophagus. Apparently before this surgery I was a queen at swallowing 3/4's of my food whole!
All of this of course is worth it though, as I have had ZERO heartburn since the surgery! I am a little down and feeling very gloomy (all I think about
is food), but I know that after the '14th day swell' I should be on the mend and hopefully will forget the pains of recovery! I would absolutely love it if my shoulder stopped hurting though! Such a pain.
Edited title...Post Edited By Moderator (dencha) : 9/8/2014 10:20:13 AM (GMT-6)