Fundoplication in a week

I am 17 and I have been dealing with GERD since February 2015 and was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia in April after an endoscopy. After having a PH test in June(it got rescheduled twice), I was referred to a surgeon, saw him in August and after another test, he agreed to operate. I will be having a Nissen Fundoplication partial wrap with hiatal hernia repair with an overnight stay On October 14th.

Good luck with your surgery! Please keep us updated on your progress.

Good luck next week I am having my nissen in a few weeks wish it was here sooner this acid reflux is horrible

I hope the surgery goes well for both of you! Just remember that the worst of the pain/swelling hits around the 1-2 week mark, so don't be dismayed if you start to feel worse for a bit. Look after yourselves, and good luck for a smooth recovery.

Trust me the build up to it is probably a lot worse than the experience. My first surgery and stay in a hospital was for an apendectomy, but the hospital had a sudden flood of trauma cases so mine kept getting delayed, ended up being there for a week on nil by mouth because they would reschedule it for the next open slot each time it got bumped. Needless to say that gave me plenty of time to freak the hell out! But when the time finally came it was a piece of cake.

With my anxiety I find the more knowledge I have, the better, so I'll give you a run down on what its like based on what I remember from my gallbladder op a few months ago. Skip the rest of this post if you dont want to know :)

Basically a nurse will come along and weigh you, ask you heaps of questions, probably put some iodine in your belly button - not painful, but rather cold - if you are having it laproscopically. Then you may see the anesthetist beforehand or you might not see them til you get to the OR. The trip down to the OR will probably be pretty nerve wracking, and going into the OR as well, just because its a foriegn place, there will a few people milling around setting things up or going through your notes, it smells a little funky and there may be one or more TV screens which show the output from the endoscope. One of the scrub nurses will probably check over your details again at this point, then if they haven't already they'll put in your IV, and that will be the most pain you will experience before you get put under. Then the anesthetist will start giving you the magical cocktail, feels a little chilly going in, then they will put a mask on your face and get you to count back from 100. You'll start to feel super woozy and sleepy and be out like a light in seconds, I think the furthest I've counted to is 98.

Then you will wake up, probably to a nurse talking to you, the weird part about it is that it doesn't really feel like any time has passed, just like you blinked and its done. You'll feel pretty groggy, your throat might be a bit dry or sore from the breathing tube they use during the surgery, they say that you might have it in when you wake up, but I have never met anyone who actually remembers still having it in and to be honest you will be so drugged up you wont care anyway. For me I didn't feel any pain at this stage, just felt stiff like I had been in one position for too long (funny that :P) but they like to make sure you're nicely filled up on the strong painkillers which actually makes the first day post op pretty smooth, they will make you get up and go to the toilet at some point, within a few hours of the surgery, partly to make sure the waterworks are functioning normally, and partly because the sooner you can get up and move around the better your recovery. The gas they use to inflate your abdomen can irritate the nerves in your shoulders and moving around helps to dissipate this gas and drastically reduces any pain you get from this. They're not expecting you to be doing aerobics, just shuffling around your bed every now and then. Usually they'll get you to eat soon after the surgery, but with your type of surgery its probably different.

The nurses stick close to people just out of surgery so there should never be one far away. They will give you painkillers regularly, and it takes a few days for the anesthetic and painkillers the anesthetist gave you to wear off completely, so you should be pretty comfortable.

Hope that puts your mind at ease a bit. It can be scary, but once its done you will be so doped up you wont care about anything.

Hi Readingclaygirl,
I'm 8 weeks post-op. I had hiatal hernia repair and nissen fundoplication. Its the best thing I ever did. I went off Prilosec one week after surgery and have had no reflux or pain.
Just some thoughts to share.
-For some reason the gas they use during surgery will make your neck and shoulders hurt like crazy. It takes about two weeks for that pain to quit. It gets a little better each day. That pain was the worst of everything.
- Follow the diet they give you religiously. It will hurt a lot if you eat the wrong food at the wrong time. I forgot and grabbed a glazed doughnut (yeast based bread product) and it stuck. It hurt for about an hour.
- follow their breathing plan (spirometer or something). Doing that for a few days will make you feel great later.
- Walk all you are able to. It keeps things moving and makes you digestive track feel better.
I am now 100 %, can eat anything I want, although smaller portions at one time, have had NO reflux. I am still not supposed to lift over 25 lbs. and have to carry Zofran at all times to prevent throwing up for the next 2 years. They said that would rip out the surgery.
Best of luck and let us know how you progress.
Mike

The reason the gas hurts your neck and shoulders is because it irritates the nerves along your diaphragm, this pain then gets deferred to your shoulders and neck. The best way to get rid of this pain is to walk around as much as possible, without overdoing it of course.

Did your pH test show quite severe GERD? How did your esophagus look on endoscopy was it inflamed?

It seems remarkedly fast to get in for surgery just 6 months after the onset of GERD, but try not to worry as the NF has a very high success rate (well over 90%) and a lot of the failures are people that weren't great candidates for surgery in the first place. Sounds like you've been thoroughly checked out and will hopefully get good symptom relief.

I'm all set for tomorrow. I have to be at the hospital at 6am for a 7:30 surgery. I know it's going to be a long road to recovery but I'm thankful surgery day is almost here.

Thank you. I plan on it. Just got to get through tonight and tomorrow. One step at a time.