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Finally got the Nissen done!! Got two post surgery questions.

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 1/11/2015 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi friends.

After suffering from both GERD and LPR for the majority of my 22 year old life, I finally decided to go through with the Nissen surgery. I had it 4 days ago on wednesday the 7th, and I can't believe how well my recovery has gone so far. After reading many stories here on the forum, I was prepared on a month of pure hell. I barely don't need any pain medications no more, and I can already eat solid foods. (And now I have a freezer full of stock that I don't know what to do with) :D

There are some things that have me a bit worried though. I don't seem to have much trouble at all swallowing, and I'm noticing that I still belch a lot after eating. They're not big burps, but rather many small ones. I was prepared to not be able to burp at all after the surgery, and now I do it almost as much as I did before the surgery. This got me a bit worried that the wrap may not be tight enough. After the surgery my surgeon asked me if I could drink, because she was worried that the wrap were actually be to tight. She also said that it's not very normal to be able to belch excessively after the surgery. Her therory is that it's not "real" burps, but rather air somehow trapped in the wrap. What do you think, does this sound normal?

I don't think I've been having any hearthburn, but I have some pretty wierd sensations in the hearthburn area which get me worried. I think it may be small bits of air leaking up, and the feeling can be described a bit as having reflux without having any acid. I also get some really short bursts of "cold pain", that are a bit similar to, but doesn't feel quite like hearthburn. I guess it could be pain from the wrap site. I've also noticed that my stomach burns alot, but I guess that's because I've been without the PPIs for 3 days now. I guess the acidification of the stomach could contribute to the wierd sensations that I've been having. What do you think about this, does this sound normal?

I'm sorry if I come off as a bit paranoid. The truth is that it feels to good to be true that the surgery will solve everything, and I'm just walking around waiting for the hearthburn to return.

I would really appreciate some advice from the Nissen veterans out there.

Jakob
Posted 1/11/2015 9:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jakob.

Congrats on getting wrapped. I'm glad you are doing so well.

I could burp right after surgery too, for a few days, but then the swelling got going and I couldn't. Don't be scared if all of a sudden you can't burp, and you have trouble swallowing, as long as it's tolerable. If you can't swallow liquid you need to see the doctor as soon as possible. I would hope not to have to have the wrap stretched though, because that can ruin it.

It's probably normal to have weird sensations. Things have been moved around a lot. Be happy if you're not having actual reflux. After my swelling came down and I could burp a little again - not like before surgery - I was delighted not to have acid coming up.

Of course, if you have serious questions don't hesitate to call the real expert, your doctor.
Posted 1/11/2015 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Alice: Thanks so much for your answer. So the wrap can actually swell up a couple of days after the surgery huh? I didn't know that. Well we'll see how it goes. I've saved some strong pain medications in case I'll get any pain later on. As of right now I'm actually forgetting that I've even had the surgery, because the pain is so minimal.

Do you have any troubles swallowing? Honestly I don't feel much difference now than from before the surgery. But I'l guess that is just a good thing.

One thing that I'm really noticing is my stomach reacting to all that acid coming back again. I guess it cannot have been a very good thing being without it for 6 years.
Posted 1/14/2015 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Gewarn,

I was told by my surgeon and gastro team that there are different 'types' of burps, you shouldn't theoretically be able to burp from the stomach after a nissen (although some do), but there are also other types from air being in the eosophagus and wrap etc.

I've never had heartburn so can't comment on that part but a lot of people on here have said its normal to have some after surgery until the swelling settles.

Remember even though you feel well and okay now to take it easy, you don't want to damage the wrap without realising :)
Glad you're feeling well and its all going okay for you :)
Posted 1/14/2015 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Gewarn:

You are only a week out from the surgery, and I'd still watch your diet. I initially felt really good after surgery, but recovery will certainly have its ups and downs. I think someone on this site said that peak wrap swelling usually happens around the two week mark. I agree with taking it easy and not overdoing things.

Good luck with your recovery.

Sharon
Posted 1/20/2015 11:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I'm now 7 days after my redo Nissens (first one failed after 7 months), and after both my ops have been able to burp easily afterwards. I don't have any swallowing problems either, but tried some 'soft food' as opposed to liquids yesterday and could feel it just sat in my chest... So reverting back to liquids today.
For the last 2 days I feel like I have reflux, which is worrying me... I don't remember experiencing that last time, wonder if anyone else has that?
Like you, Jakob, I get weird sensations in my chest and oesophagus, not necessarily pain, but odd feelings! I think that's probably normal, it's pretty big surgery. (Even though it's now done as daycase... Bizarrely!!)

Anyway, keeping everything crossed that this time works and lasts a little longer than the last one!!

Kirsten x
Posted 1/20/2015 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kirsten, and thank you for your answer.

How specifically did your surgery fail?

I think I traced my wierd sensations in the upper parts of my stomach and esophagus to gas. I've been taking high doses of probiotics for the last six months ago. I got of them, and got on som gas medications, and the preassure upwards and the wierd sensations have been reduced greatly.

I'm doing really well as far as the recovery go, and I could probably eat eanything I wanted. But I'm still sticking to food that's pretty soft, and try to rest as much as possible.

After getting off the PPIS right after the surgery, to see if I got any hearthburn, I'm now back on 20mg omeprazol twice a day. I don't know about you, but I also have LPR. Once you get LPR the tissues in your throat get extremely sensitive to any acid. I've decided to stay on the PPIs until my throat is completely healed (It could probably take several months), and then I'm going to slowly slowly taper of them.

I hope you feel well, and that your surgery is a success this time around.

Jakob.
Posted 1/21/2015 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jakob,

My surgery failed as the wrap itself stretched, so was no longer tight enough. Surgeon couldn't give any clear reason for this happening, but did say it's unusual. I also developed a large sliding hiatus hernia, which I didn't have before! My 24 hr ph tests this time were more than twice as bad as before the first surgery!

Have decided this is definately reflux I'm experiencing right now, which is rather a worry... May go back on my PPIs for a couple of weeks to see if it settles.

I too have LPR, I'm a singer, hence my putting myself through this twice, my voice gets really affected as I frequently have reflux right into my mouth!

Hope you too are still recovering well. Slow and steady is the best way!

Take care,

Kirsten
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