New year, New life! My Nissen Fundoplication experience

Hello everyone!

     My name is Mary and I am scheduled for my fundo on Jan. 6, 2015.  I wanted to have a place to  share my experience and reach out to others.  I posted before on being scared of the monometry, so you can pretty well tell i am always a little nervous.  lol

     I have battled Gerd for a very long time.  Now i have ulcers, hiatel hernia, gastritis, duodenitus?  not sure of spelling.  I am scared and excited at the same time to be moving on the this next step in my life. 

     I am sure most here already know the symptoms of acid in throat, hoarseness, burning in chest and stomach, choking at night, and many many others.  I am tired of living this way. 

     I wanted to thank you all in advance for any advice and wisdom you send my way.  I am gonna keep all my posts under this topic.    Thank yall

 

Hiya Mernzy,
Its only natural to worry before an operation,but all will be fine ,just think positive thoughts,that this will change your life for the better.Whats the alternative? Staying as you are.
You should be ok with your pills,just crush them or open up sealed ones and take the powder with sips of water.I was ok with all my pills.
Sorry cant help with the period problems as im a man.
You get five small scars on your tummy for Laparoscopic Fundoplication,nomore than a centimetre long each and they fade after a year so that you can hardly notice.
Good Luck Mernzey and look forward to hearing how you get on.
Barry

So it is 15 days till surgery and I have been reading everything I can find on this site and feel much better. Lots of great advice on here.

My preop appointment is the day before surgery so I was wondering about a few things...

Should I come off my omiprozole before then?

Will I have to do a bowel prep or just not eat 8 hours before?

Thank y'all!

I had my surgery about 9 weeks ago. I'm on two different blood pressure meds, birth control pill, an anti-depressant and a PPI before surgery. A nurse called me before the surgery and let me know which meds I could take that morning of surgery. I took two in the morning and the rest the nurses brought me after surgery. I was worried about swallowing them as well. I was able to swallow them just fine without cutting or crushing. But everyone is different. Talk to your doctor as some drugs should not be crushed. (usually extended release meds) My anti-depressant is extended release. I talked to my doctor and she said she could easily switch me to the non-extended release if I needed to crush.

As for your period, if you can't wear a tampon, I'm sure they will give you some mesh or something to put on or underneath you. My hernia repair and fundoplication only took 1.5 hours. Look at it this way, if anyone is used to seeing blood, it's a surgeon. I was very gassy before I went in...not sure why as I had stopped eating at midnight. I told the nurses and they just laughed. They were like that's nothing, we have seen everything.

I think it's only normal to worry about surgery so don't beat yourself up over it. Take care and keep us posted.

Mary S.

I am a wimp for pain. My surgeon said..."oh most people only need ibuprofren". I said "maybe so, but just in case, please prescribe me something". I am single and was only in the hospital for that evening and the next day until 5 pm or so. He gave me a prescription for oxycodene, not too strong, one every three hours. I took that amount the first night. The next morning and night, I only took ibuprofren. The next day I felt horrible. Felt much better when I took my prescription. Don't be afraid to ask for a pain killer. Also, keep the pain under control otherwise it's much worse trying to treat it.

I stocked up on "diet items" as well. I'm so glad I did because I had no desire to cook or clean up after. Recovery isn't a piece of cake but it will get better. I'm still having stomach issues but only when I push the eating too much. Basically, eating too much bread. I'm glad to say, I have no more GERD problems, however, I still have a cough that I thought was GERD related. My surgeon said that may be the last to heal.

I had never had surgery or even been in the hospital overnight so I was very nervous. Everything went well and I loved being waited on hand and foot in the hospital. It was like a vacation to me almost. Yes, I have a pretty boring life. LOL

I overeat at lunch today and I am miserable. Coughing up acid and can't breathe good. My throat is irritated and coughing up pink tinged acid is what it feels and looks like. I just keep telling myself surgery is only 12 days. Help is coming. But I feel like crying. :(

I probably already posted this on other threads, but.....I am a wimp for pain also and was dreading getting in and out of bed to walk, etc. after surgery. I knew there would be some shoulder pain as well...I spent considerable money to prepare to vegetate post surgery. I bought an electric recliner so I wouldn't have to flex my miscles to get up and down and built a "nest" around it so that everything was at hand.
Immediately after surgery I had the demand type of morphine dispenser. When I awoke in my room after surgery, they told me to push the button frequently to stay ahead of the pain. After resting for about 4-5 hours the nurse helped me to get out of bed so that I could walk. I could have gotten up by muself but with all the hoses, wires and stuff to disconnect it would have been impossible. To my great surprise, there was no pain from my incisions.

After the first few walks some of the monitors were disconnected and were not hooked back up. To tell you the truth, the burning from the catheter was worse than any pain from the surgery. The next day, when I could get up and down they removed the catheter and I became more mobile. I did not use the morphine dispenser after that first night--I just had no pain.

When I was discharged from the hospital they gave me two bottles of liquid Lortab for pain. The first day home I took one 15 ml. snort of that--not for pain--but to help make me sleep that night because I had tried to sleep as much as possible during the day. After that I never used it again--it is still in my medicine cabinet after almost two years. They also gave me three bottles of Zofran anti-nausea medication. I didn't need to take any of them. They are still in the cabinet as well. So, I hope and pray that you have as great a surgery and recovery as I have. I will be praying for you on the 6th....

3 days...3 days...3 days...

My brain is in overdrive!  I always heard the way to ease fears is to be prepared.  I have read anything and everything my little google could find.  I am nervous and scared and anxious.  I am scared of surgery.  I am scared of waking up in pain in recovery.  I am scared i will mess something up.  I am scared of everything today.

I am thankful all the holiday foods are gone.  Now i am onward to a better life.  I know the recovery will be long and rocky.  I am prepared for good days and bad. 

I am gonna rest with husband tomorrow and enjoy a good day together.  Then Monday I have my pre-op in the morning and my last day of work for a while.  Then surgery will be Tuesday. 

I just needed to get this off my chest so i can move on from these feelings today.  I will also be able to look back on here and see that i was scared for nothing.  Hopefully!!

Mary

 

Thank you Denise! I will be using this link a lot!! I appreciate your help and support!!

Thank you! It sure makes me feel good to know I got people cheering in my corner! I need the support and I am so thankful for it!

I made it thru surgery. This is my second nite in hospital. I think I will be going home today. Will post more when I am able.

I hope I get to go home today. I have been up walking halls yesterday and today. I am still on clear liquid. Just seen Dr and got the OK to add creams to coffee. Little wins!!

I have very little incision pains. Mostly still gas pain. I was cut 4 times and surgery so far has been a huge success. No heartburn.

I got swapped from dilotta to norco elixer today. I think that will help me function better. I also on kflex iv bag.

The nausea in the beginning was pretty bad. That's why no early posts. But zophran works wonders. I am not eating very much at all. Half a bowl of vege broth. 2 or 3 cubes jello and water sipping. I actually just don't feel hungry.

I have learned I don't like beef broth. Lol. :).

After I left recovery and came to my room the computer system went down. It took from 2:00 to 5:30/of me crying and begging for help. The nurse was as upset as I was. Finally they got my meds cleared thru pharmacy and I was able to rest. It was very scary and upsetting but at the same time I knew why. I think the nurse was crying too. After that everything has went pretty smoothly.

All I can think of right now. I will catch up again soon. Going to my.moms as soon as they let me out of here.

Mary

Hi Mernzy

As said before, welcome to the wrapped club! :)

I had my nissen in december 2013. I am 21 years old now and have suffered for a few years, and, like you, i suffered with gastritis, duodenitis and such others. the fundoplication really has helped improve these conditions, and i am now a year into my wrap and have only had to take ant-reflux medication once which was when my gastritis reared its head in the autumn!

In regards to your recent post - listen to your body. there were foods i was able to tolerate within a few weeks that others on this forum couldn't from what i remember when i posted - we are all different and recovery is different.
As for the diarrhea, it should settle in due course and is common after surgery. it can be part of the "gas bloat" that many of us develop and part of your stomach settling after trauma. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with IBS - D a few years before the reflux so im stuck with this sympton regardless! :P

Wishing you a speedy recovery! :) :)