1 week after surgery and feeling surprisingly very well... should I be worried?

Had my surgery last week (230 wrap and hernia repair) and 1 week after the surgery I'm feeling as good as I did before and better and not sure if my surgeon was really good or something I should worry about.

- No more pain - only slight discomfort when I burp. Stopped pain meds 2 days ago.
- I can pass gas normally and have normal bowel movements.
- I can swallow large pills (Aleve gel capsule size)
- I have been able to eat some solid foods if I chew them well (tried olives, peanuts, even a small piece of toast and no problem at all).
- I can walk, drive, really was able to get back to my original routine.
- no pain at the incision site
- some bloating feeling after I eat but it passes after a while
- no more acid reflux
- no more chronic cough
- getting full night sleeps

So is this normal or should I be worried.
I assume having the 230 warp versus the full wrap makes a huge difference. I'm also 30 years old and in good shape (6 feet tall 180 pounds) - Has anyone had such great results?

The reason for the 230 instead of full wrap according to my doctor is that I already had swallowing problems in the lower part of the oesophagus. They discovered that during the manometry test I did before the surgery.

That's good but be aware many people find they get worse over the first few weeks, so don't worry if you suddenly start feeling it more, it should settle down again afterwards. Good to hear its been such a success

sam2015,
Your young age will work FOR you, however, it's very early in your recovery and your insides have A LOT of healing to do yet, so DO be very careful with lifting, bending and be careful with your diet, and REST when you feel tired. Don't push yourself to do more, even when you feel good.

I am much older than you (68), had a full LNF June 30th and still need narcotic pain meds. I went back to work too soon but was told I could, as long as I took it slow. (I'm a custom painter). Well, that was a BIG MISTAKE! I am paying dearly for it. Now, I'm off work again for a few more weeks but it is difficult, as depression has set in with me wondering if I will ever recover. Sorry to put out negative input, but we need to be honest with one another if we are to be helpful with those who try to do too much, too soon. When I was feeling good, I was still on narcotic pain meds, so that was MASKING the pain. It's a vicious circle!

One of our faithful moderators, Denise, wrote in her recovery journal, and I quote:
"Generally somewhere around 2-3 months, people come back to the forum in a panic, because they've got increased pain at the wrap site. This is a common complaint, and it's a result of being more aggressive about eating choices." (See her complete post in 'For successful fundoplication members').

Be careful Sam, and I hope you continue an uphill recovery.

Sam,
You only learn the foods you can swallow and which give you trouble through direct experience, I'm afraid. Everyone is different but there do seem to be some standards that cause a lot of us trouble: bread, especially if it's really soft or not toasted, pasta, steak. I had trouble with all of those but only once did something get stuck and that was after two months of recovery and I'd gotten careless. It just stuck near the wrap site and it was a little disconcerting but after some minutes it went down. I found it helpful to stand up and actually left the table to walk around a bit to help it move along. Overall, I also found that as long as I took small bites, chewed thoroughly and ate slowly everything, even those problem foods, all went down smoothly. At first I didn't have much of an appetite and ate several small meals throughout the day and that was helpful. Sometime ago, my appetite returned so I'm now trying to be more mindful about eating smaller portions, with mixed results!
It sounds like you're taking it easy and being very sensible. Good for you. I hope your recovery continues to be uneventful but if you do find yourself experiencing some swelling, don't be taken by surprise and keep going slowly. Things get a little better every day.
Peg

Sam,

Congrats on your surgery and i hope you continue to feel great. I didn't have fundoplication but did have hiatal surgery and I've seen it mentioned many times that the swelling will usually get worse at 2 weeks. I was eating and feeling good and right at the 2 week mark got a little too careless about chewing to liquid and food got stuck. It was a very scary feeling. Like others have said just be cautious.

Take care!

A little over 2 weeks now from surgery.
Had my follow-up visit yesterday.

I can happily say that I'm feeling great. ALL my reflux symptoms are gone. I can finally sleep through the night without waking up, no more heartburn, no more chronic cough.

I have been eating everything. Had only a little issue when I got excited to be eating a burger again. (Ate half of it and felt extremely sick afterwards - you learn from your mistakes).

As long as I chew well and don't eat fast I can swallow pretty much anything.
Doc gave me the OK to travel and resume normal activity except lifting and working out (other than cardio) for another 2 weeks.

I asked another doctor why is it that I feel so well and my recovery was so fast and she gave me 3 reasons:
- my age (30 yo)
- my health and shape (I was in good health and good shape prior to the surgery without any other health problems)
- the most important reason: the surgeon. I was extremely lucky to have one of the top surgeons in the country for this procedure and this helps a lot!!! If you're in Florida (or anywhere in the US for that matter) I would highly recommend him!!

I'll keep you all updated on the continued recovery.

:)