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Nissen Fundoplication

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Posted 9/3/2015 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, new to forum and HealingWell.com. I live in South Wales U.K and have my appointment tomorrow afternoon to decide if I want to go ahead with having the Nissen Fundoplication procedure. I have suffered with acid reflux for many many years and have grown tired of taking heartburn tablets at which sometimes don’t work. My concerns regarding the procedure are post opp, mainly consisting of not being able to be sick and also difficulty swallowing.
I work for a sewage utility company and I am in close contact with raw sewage everyday I am in work. I would guess that on roughly two occasions each year I have picked up an airborne virus from my job which does worry me when deciding on the procedure, not able to be sick sounds painful. My kind of work is lifting heavy manhole covers to clear sewage blockages. I have told my boss that I would need 6 weeks off work. Is that a realistic time period? Its not your normal kind of work especially with the heavy lifting. This is another worry for me when deciding if I should agree to the procedure. At what point would I be able to lift manhole covers again? 6 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks? I really don’t know.
I have read on here about people having difficulty swallowing after the procedure. Does this improve over time with the healing process? I already have swallowing problems due to having my Uvula removed 5 years ago due to it pickled and was resting on my tongue. I had an operation and they removed all of my Uvula to which has caused me to have nasal drain and with this nasal drain comes mucus and dry throat all of the time. Its worse when I am in bed. If having the opp will it make swallowing even worse than it already is?? Who knows I guess.
Thank you for reading my post, if there is anyone out there that can help with my questions I would appreciate it.
Regards
Pauly
Posted 9/4/2015 2:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Pauly888, I hope you asked your doctors all of these questions today. You have a difficult decision to make. I can say after having the surgery that I would do it again, even after some of the healing issues or learning to eat differently, but I have a sit down desk job. My doctor told me to wait at least 8 weeks before I pick up heavy items, but I don't think he meant man hole covers! If you read some of the diaries on here, you will see that a lot of people vastly decrease their intake of food, just because you are not hungry and you have to chew everything so well to swallow. Your calorie intake during this time will be limited. I am 5 weeks post surgery and I still get a little dizziness, most likely from the low calories - and again, I am sitting down at a desk. It would be good if anyone posted a reply who went back to a strenuous job to see how long they took to get back to normal. Good luck.
Posted 9/5/2015 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor advised me to exercise as much as possible without pushing myself. I am 3.5 weeks out and I was told to work up to a jog, but start with a brisk walk. As long as I am not placing too much stress on my core and stomach where the internal stitching is, I Am good to go. Sit-ups, crunches and other stomach focused exercises are a no go, but they made it clear that as long as the walking and running doesn't hurt, I am good to go.
Posted 9/9/2015 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the replies. Well I guess after speaking with my consultant I have decided to go ahead and have the operation. I will post again and keep a diary of my experience in hoping it will help other people in my line of work who may have to decide one day if its the right decision. I am looking to have the opp from February 2016 so will keep posting to update.
Regards.
Posted 9/9/2015 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
I suggest you do some research about LINX, TIF, ENDOSTIM before making a decision.
Posted 9/13/2015 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your post Lisa. I was unaware of the above alternatives. I have read your posts on those procedures and other members and will discuss these options with my consultant. Looking at Linx and Tif there seems to be a low success rate and Endostim does look more suited for me regarding recovery and back to work. I do want to make the right decision but I guess I will just have to dive into the deep end and see what happens.
Paul :)
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