Paraesophageal Herna - Diet after surgery

Hi Deb,

I had a large paraesophageal hernia repaired and Toupet Fundoplication on March 3. My surgery took about 2 and 1/2 hours and I spent one night in the hospital. Everyone recovers at a different pace and what you experienced might be quite normal. When I have eaten a bit too much, a bit too fast, or the wrong foods I have suffered. I learned to back off and slowly progress on my eating. It can take quite a bit of time for the swelling to subside and for full recovery. Others have written it can take up to 6 months to a year to be back to near normal. (I could not have done a pork chop at 4 weeks).

I have not yet tried chicken, pork or red meat other than ground beef. I have been eating fish and soft foods including cooked carrots. It has only been in the last couple of days that I felt that eating has starting to improve a lot. I can actually eat almonds including dark chocolate covered almonds as they chew up and go down quite well. Yesterday I had a fruit smoothie but had too much and ended up with a lot of discomfort. Thus, although I have made a lot of progress, I am still not quite back to normal. Swallowing has been difficult but is getting better---much better the last couple of days. I am confident I am on the right track. Hope this helps,

-Tim

Hi Deb,
I also had a large hernia and a full wrap. My surgery was March 24,2105. I had my 2 week checkup recently and my doctor asked me to start testing/adding additional foods to my diet. Ground beef and chicken were on the list, but had to be chewed very well. Steaks of any kind were still off the OFF the list until next months follow up. He also said to stay away from raw veggies and fruits... No apples, carrots,celery... For at least 6 weeks out from surgery date.
I'm a fast eater and I sometimes forget to chew as much as I should , so chicken still causes some discomfort. Eating with sips of water helps a lot.
I tried some pasta with meat sauce and I'm so happy to say it all stayed down. It was a little worrisome as I was eating it but I slowed down and drank as I ate. Before my surgery spaghetti with meat sauce caused so much discomfort.. Regurgitation and heartburn- now, nothing but a full stomach. I'm keeping my meals to a 1/4 - 1/2 cup servings as to not over eat and that helps as well.
Another tip mentioned here and by my doctor is to eat meats with lots of gravy to help it go down. He also suggested I drink something warm BEFORE eating to relax the esphogous.
Hope my response helps in some way.