Full NF on March 24

A huge Thank You to all that have posted their experiences on the nissen fundoplication surgery. I honestly felt very prepared for this surgery and even with all the scary details I knew I was going into this surgery without blinders and the upmost confidence that I'd make it through with plenty of support. I had a full wrap to fix a 9cm hiatal hernia with off and on reflux. I had symptoms of heartburn,choking,shortness of breath,and most recently tons of belching. Drinking water had become a problem because everything kept coming up. My 1st dr. Refused to talk about surgery even considering the large hernia. A 2nd dr. Thought I might be a good candidate. I had an endoscopy,barium swallow and manomertry test -all results leaning towards me being a good candidate for the surgery. I then interviewed two surgeons. One was versed in robotic surgery and the other in laparoscopic. I ended up going the laproscopic route based on my interviews. My surgeon does this operation 2-3 times a week and has done over 1000.
I had my surgery March 24,2015 at 8:30am it took about 2.5 hours and I woke up in recovery feeling much better than expected. I made sure to mention that I get nauseated after anasthesia so I didn't suffer from that because of a patch they placed on my neck. What I didn't know is morphine gives me a headache and I suffer from migraines. The worst part of my hospital stay was the migraine I got. I didn't really need the morphine for pain so I was given Tylenol thru IV and that helped. I was up walking around that evening. I experienced some shoulder discomfort so I walked as much as I could. I was not aloowed any liquids by mouth until the next morning after my swallow test. My swallow test showed fluids trickling down VERY slowly but it was going down and there were no "leaks" around the wrap site. That scared me a little but I have not had any trouble swallowing. I was released by noon on Wednesday,4/25/15 and have been recovering without incident at home. I been following a liquid diet and walking quite a bit. I do feel tightness in my chest but not too bad. I doing my breathing excercises in hopes of wiping the breathing problem out. Overall,I feel so much better than expected. I'm belching and water seems to be going down fine. No reflux and no choking feeling. Im a 52 yr old women who could stand to lose 25/30 lbs and I've lost 6lbs since my surgery.
I hope this post will comfort some of you who are about to embark on this journey and are scared of the outcome. I feel very blessed to be feeling so great and also blessed I have this forum to turn to should I start experiencing complications later in my recovery.

Hi Linda Sue,
I live in San Antonio Tx. Glad to hear you have another positive story to follow. I guess one downfall to feeling so well is I might be over confident that I could eat and do anything. I'm really sticking to the soft diet but the variety is getting pretty boring. I'm lactose intolerant so I'm limited regarding shakes and stuff containing dairy. I certainly don't want to tax my digestive system. I wonder if anyone has ideas for getting protein in without lactose for next week when I introduce more variety in my diet.

Funrider,
Stay the course and take good care of yourself and don't stray from careful diet so you don't 'backslide'. I'm pulling for you!

Retired Seabee,
I've read your journal and am very happy for you. I still don't know if I'm a candidate for surgery. I have one more test; pH to be done on April 15th, with my follow-up visit to surgeon to see where we go from there... I will report back. I really miss eating 'real food'. I really miss Mexican fare. The last time I had it, it sat like a brick in my stomach for DAYS!!!

Best to all!

Fundrider,
So GLAD you're doing good! DO be careful with your diet. You may feel so good you can eat anything but many others who had the surgery and did that regretted it. Your insides are healing and I understand that takes time and to be gentle with what you eat and drink. You had a HUGE hernia, wow!

Keep up the good work! I'm pulling for you!

Day 16 and I have to say I've had a very uneventful recovery which I'm so happy to be able to say. Had my 1st follow up with the surgeon and I'm cleared to start testing my limits with chicken, meat and fish. No steak for another month. He asked me to start eating things that gave me heartburn before to see if there is any Gerd. I'm limited to 15 lbs lifting - up from 10. I seem to be hanging on to weight even with a reduced calorie intake. I'm drinking water but not enough and I'm walking 2 miles a day. I've only lost 9lbs. ... Still a bonus in my eyes since this wasn't a weight loss surgery. No gerd, I can breathe better ... Overall I feel great. I do have to eat slowly but I'm a fast eater, this can only be a good thing . I have good energy levels and the only "slight" discomfort I have is the center incision. Dr. said it could take up to 3 months for the internal stitches to dissolve completely . My other incisions look good and cause no discomfort. The shoulder pain from the surgery is gone😊.
While this post my seem very boring I just felt it was best to post my success as this can be a very scary surgery and I feel there are a lot of success stories that don't get posted . I hope this post can lend some assurances to all those on the fence and scared to follow thru with it. I had a great doctor and this website to help me thru this . Thanks to all that have posted their experiences.

Fundrider,
Please keep posting your successes as I'm hanging on every word! I got the results of my barium swallow and the surgeon quoted: 'hiatal hernia with significant reflux'! SIGNIFICANT REFLUX!!!!

Maybe, just maybe now I will be taken seriously! I am in total AGONY right now as I've been totally OFF Nexium for 15 days! Nexium never really helped me much but I never could have believed that the pain could get THIS BAD! I have a pH manometry test scheduled for Wed., Apr. 15th and I will be eating 'trigger' food and drink and will probably be a 'zombie' when I go back the next day to have the probes removed but this last test should be my 'ticket' out of misery! I have a meeting with the surgeon on April 20th to see what happens next.

Fundrider, I know you've been there and done that! I need to keep reading about success stories as I am hoping to BE ONE SOON!

For Linda Sue too. Please tell us how your testing turned out and the 4-20-15 surgeon appointment. Wish you the best and get on that road to healing. Here's is some success real life stories.


https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=45&m=3132073&p=4

Linda Sue. At last, you are on the path to healing. So happy for you.

Fundrider placed comments on the 'successful' page. Worth a visit to read as I feel you will add to it in the future. (Link above).

If you care to, call and get a copy of the surgeons post op instructions and eating plan--then get the stuff and have it on hand. The pre-planning is liberating. Might be liquid nourishment drinks, applesauce, pudding types , pillow to help for a sneeze or unexpected cough, NO straws, blender ,--anyway I think you already know all this stuff but it helps to think in advance. Wish you the best and look forward to your recovery on our forum. Pat

Linda Sue. Sounds like you are getting prepared just fine. I have both a vitamix blender and a bullet one. I now use the bullet everyday for smoothies, creamed soups, salad dressings, creamed potato soup. You will get off liquids pretty quickly. From what I understand, having several small meals a day during the early healing time is important. As the moderator said, chew, chew, chew. Take your time and savor the mini meals. The best is to come. No straws as it makes one swallow too much air. Keep in touch. Best to you and husband. Glad you have a support system too. Pat

Hello to all,
Well, I had a full laprascopic Nissen fundoplication procedure on Tuesday, June 30th at 7:30am, and left hospital Wednesday evening around 6pm. I am doing pretty well considering it was major surgery. I was able to swallow and burp fine after surgery and was not allowed anything by mouth for 24 hours. I am now on clear liquid diet for 2 weeks and then other heavier liquids and I have a follow-up appt. with my surgeon on July 20th.

I had very little neck and shoulder pain; just some during the first 36 hours after surgery and then it was gone.

I'm in pain (managed pretty well with narcotics), really sore in my throat and chest and can't talk for long as it hurts. HOWEVER, I am on the mend and feel better than I thought I would just 3 days out from surgery. Don't have much of an appetite but it is slowly getting better. I will follow my doctors orders to the letter so I recover WELL and heal well. It will be rough to have the entire month of July OFF as I can't really DO anything, LOL! It is great to not be worrying about acid controllers, trying to find a doctor to listen, having medical tests, etc. I'm hoping that is ALL BEHIND ME NOW!

I'm really glad I had the surgery as I have NOT had reflux since. I will join the wrapped club after my check-up, but will be around to post highlights of my recovery. Just wanted to check in and let you all know that I REALLY DID IT!

Fundrider & Pat,
Thanks for your good wishes! I'm back home after having surgery at 7:30am Tuesday and was home by 7pm Wednesday. No sleep, of course! I had a full Laprascopic Nissen Fundoplication by a cardio-thorascic surgeon and have 5 small incisions. I will be on a clear liquid diet for 2 weeks, and have my follow-up with my surgeon on July 20th. They will take another chest x-ray to check the wrap. (They took a chest x-ray later on the day of surgery). I'm 68 and have had GERD for 7 years, the last 2 were the absolute worst.

I was able to leave the hospital the day after surgery, only if I could urinate and the doctor thought I was ready. I could NOT spend another night in the hospital! Too busy, noisy and too much LIGHT! So I was able to pee, YES!!

My surgeon did not allow anything by mouth for 24 hours after surgery! I heard that this helps the wrap heal faster as those first 24 hours with nothing to stress it are very important. That was ROUGH and my nurse brought mouth swabs several times as I was so parched! I'm used to drinking a lot of water and it has already been 12 hours before surgery since I had anything by mouth.

I was also on dilaudid through IV and was getting anti-nausea meds shots (no it didn't hurt). My abdomen is swollen to twice it's normal size and makes wearing clothes difficult, but I'm managing. I don't need to be anywhere! I finally got a full 6 hours of sleep last night in between 'time to take meds', at 1:30am and 5:30am so it makes getting a full 7-8 hours impossible for awhile and I just can't sleep during the day, at least not yet. So today is my 3rd day after surgery and the neck and shoulder pain were totally gone yesterday. I didn't have that for too long.

I am able to swallow, burp and hiccup. I am on Norco (Vicoden), a stool softener, a muscle relaxant and an anti-nausea drug for 10 days. My diet is liquid for 10 days. I don't have much of an appetite so it's difficult to get much in my tummy. I am consuming apple juice, prune juice, mango juice, jello, popcicles, nutrition shakes and water. Today, I believe I will be able to increase my intake as my tummy is 'growling' like it wants more than it's getting, LOL! My husband made coffee this morning and it smelled so good, but I can't have any of that for awhile due to the stimulant content. Yes, I told my hubby to make coffee if he wanted it. He has been my 'rock'.

My abdomen is swelled to twice it's normal size and 3 of the 5 incisions sit right at my waistline so getting dressed is a real challenge. I don't have the right things to wear and be comfortable.

I'm a bit 'loopy' from meds so I hope I don't repeat myself. I found it difficult to walk very far. In the hospital, I walked down the hall and back, and since being home, up and down my driveway (driveway is long), and across the front of the house and then I'm totally pooped. I got myself in shape for this surgery, too! I'm sure glad I did seeing how weak I am now. I know it will take time for healing and I've scheduled the entire month of July OFF. I am following doctors' orders to the letter and if I need to be off more than 4 weeks, I will do it. My quality of life for my entire future rests on how well I recover from this important surgery. I have had no acid meds as my doctor said I wouldn't need them anymore! It's still early and I'm in pain but I believe my days of acid reflux are OVER.

I had an endoscopy just before surgery, a breathing tube during surgry and my throat and chest are still sore and I can't talk for too long as it hurts! I guess this is normal??

Well, this is a long enough read and I'm gonna take a break. Thanks for your support; it means so much to me. I got so much great information from this forum over the past few years, I don't know what I would have done without this wonderful community of such caring people!