Still Have Heartburn

thanks all for the thoughtful replies, this forum has been such a great resource. since i last posted most of my post op symptoms have lessened substantially and i'd say the gerd/reflux is 90% better. now the bad news. i would have posted sooner but i've been having some amazing neck pain that makes it difficult to do anything especially sleeping. 20-30 mg of percocet a day barely makes a dent in it. i'd read where others here had neck pain symptoms but did not mention the severity. i'm wondering if i need to contact my doctor first thing monday. if it weren't for this i'd consider myself to be doing better than expected at this stage.

for me at least, this pain is off the chart. it's kind of a electric and occasionally just takes my breath away and now it's not just in my neck but radiates right up into the base of my skull and is starting to give me an ear ache.
i'm having a hard time imagining how this is related to the nissen procedure

Hi Frank,

When I was first researching the Nissen surgery, I discovered may posts about what was described as "shoulder pain". Like you, I couldn't figure out what this type of pain could possibly have to do with stomach surgery! From what I've learned, it is most often caused by referred pain from the diaphragm repair, in addition to gas that is trapped inside the body cavity. (The surgeon pumps gas into the body in order to open up the field of vision for the surgical procedure.)

My shoulder pain was located pretty much in the depression where the collar bone meets the neck. It was excruciating, and no pain medication even touched it. I found out, though, that walking really helped. The more I walked, the less it hurt, and visa versa. If you can get walking, I think you'll find some improvement.

Give it a try. A night nurse at the hospital gave me the tip, and suggested I get up and walk whenever I went to the bathroom. Even my overnight at the hospital found me walking the halls, dragging my IV pole behind me. Walk, walk, walk! It definitely helps! I had a treadmill, so even though my surgery was in the winter, I was able to get on the treadmill...slowly at first, and gradually increasing the speed. What a difference it made!

Hi Linda Sue,

What you're describing to me, sounds like pain from swelling. It should subside, once you get past peak swelling and things settle down.

Still, if you have a pain that is worrisome, I would suggest you DEFINITELY call your surgeon's office and report it to them. That's why they get paid the big bucks!

Have you tried propping your upper body up when reclining? I found that really helped me feel more comfortable.

Best wishes and happy healing to you both!
Denise

Hi Linda Sue,

The pain you're experiencing seems out of the norm for your stage of recovery, so I'd recommend reporting it to your surgeon. Better an unnecessary trip to the ER than leaving a problem untreated that needs attention.

You know your body/pain tolerance best, but if it were me, and I was experiencing what you're describing, I'd call.

Let us know how you're doing!
Happy healing,
Denise

hi all,

i didn't want to leave the forum with out sharing some good news in instead of just going on about how bad everything was.

after about 3 weeks i was finally beginning go see a little light at the end of the tunnel. up to that point things had been pretty bad. by the forth week i was even beginning to get my appetite back, no longer having to force my self to eat. i'm 6' 2" and was down to 135 lbs. and couldn't bring myself to eat. even my residual heart burn had abated for the most part.

now a little more than 6 weeks in i'm mostly back to my pre gerd normal self. knock on wood.

my taste buds have mostly come back and i'm eating just about everything i ate before just in smaller well space meals and i'd say my heartburn is about 98% percent gone. i haven't experienced any in several days.

i'm still having some minor issues with pain caused by being inflated like a cheap beach ball but i trust that will eventually go away.

i want to thank everyone here that helped to make this a much less anxious time for me.

3154tm,
I'm real sorry to hear that! What is your primary discomfort? If acid controllers aren't working, there may be something else going on. Did you have any other upper GI testing, other than an endoscopy?

I'm now 6 months post-op and it was finally discovered that I have a condition called 'Jackhammer esophagus'. That's why I still needed narcotic pain relievers. My GERD is gone; surgery was a success, but this new condition causes the most excruciating chest pain you can imagine. I had another manometry which diagnosed the problem. I am on medications that have made a world of difference and still need 1 or 2 pain meds daily. Had one problem fixed and am now faced with another.

I will be looking into a minimally invasive procedure to treat this condition, as I sure don't want to be on all these medications for the rest of my life. This problem will NOT cure itself, either.

Don't stop asking questions to get to the bottom of your discomfort. Wishing you the best.

hi sue, sorry to hear about you situation. "jackhammer", even the name sounds awful. i wish you luck with your next trip under the knife.
no, i haven't had any other testing, just the endoscopy. since everything had been going so well i had assumed i must have done something to damage my wrap and that it would be visible.

hi, martin
yes, that does sound similar. i've been wondering what to do next while i'm trying to find a competent GE. the 24 hr ph impedance monitoring might be a good place to start.
i'm curious, how do antidepressants effect a hyper sensitive esophagus?
and if it's not that but your stomach, where do you go from there?
in the mean time, have you found a way to deal with the burning? it's driving me nuts. the only thing that helps me is not eating. i've lost about 45 lbs and i was somewhat thin to start with. i can't keep this up. i don't know which is more scary, having my wrap re done or finding out that's not it.
i'll certainly keep you posted and you please do the same.
it looks like my next problem will be finding competent medical help. near as i can tell, there doesn't seem to be any straight forward way to do this.
good luck to you as well.
frank

Hi everyone
My son had a Fundoplication 5 years ago at the age of ten. The surgeon was very good and he was confident with his outcome. It's been 5 years and recently he has been coughing again. He said he feels no heartburn and feeing ok.H just got off of predisone thinking allergies, lungs are clear but just a little concerned. The cough sounds familiar to years ago of the reflux cough. Just curious if anyone has had positive feedback on a fundoplication. I also think my son may not tell me symptoms as he doesn't want to deal with this again. Thx

Thank you Mart215.. I was thinking another endo just to make sure all is ok. Happy new year thx

martin, thanks, i'll try the gaviscon. nothing else i've tried seems to relieve the burning.
don't know about the alcohol, i never seem to have occasion imbibe anymore.

since i don't currently have a GE i'm going to approach my GP about ordering tests. i wonder where i should start? barium swallow, 24 hour ph monitoring or something else?