post fundoplication fatigue

Dear All,

I had a fundoplication procedure in Nov 2014 & I have been miserable since. I have unexplained severe fatigue, losing muscle mass, constipation, feeling full, no appetite, brain fog. Although my reflux symptoms have subsided, I have traded these with a lot of other worse symptoms. Especially the fatigue is so debilitating it has cost me my job, quality of life as even trivial tasks are a mission to accomplish.
I do not know whether all this is related to the surgery as I was so normal before. Anyone out there with similar symptoms? My surgeon keeps telling me that the surgery is not the cause?
Any help would really be appreciated.

Best, Sam.

@tde 44,
Thank you I shall have my heart rate & blood pressure checked.

However other symptoms not mentioned on my earlier post are bloating, flatulence, belly distention after meals, Nausea, light headed, dizziness, memory problems, confusion. Sorry but have quite a few issues since then. Could it be a vagus nerve damage? How & from what Doc do I get this tested & confirm?

Sam.

Thank you Mrgummy for your reply.
It is quite helpful indeed. The extreme fatigue has also affected my work life to a great extent. I will definitely find out more on the dumping syndrome but I thought that would cause diarrhoea as opposed to the constipation that I have. I will also try & watch my diet & try to have regular bowel movements if that would help.

Also I get bloated after a small meal & can't burp or vomit either :( I am just wondering if having a reversal of the wrap (if possible) would help relieve my current symptoms as it's very difficult to live with this. I want to get another surgeon to get some answers as the previous one is not very helpful.

I wish I was only told about all these complications beforehand & I would never have opted to do this surgery :( hope we feel better soon. Take care.

Sam

I too need some help; had a hiatal hernia repair 3 weeks ago couldn't stop throwing up phlegm re-admitted to hospital given IV so I wouldn't dehadrate released I am still throwing up anything I eat which is now soft foods. It's like anything I eat stays in my throat lingers there until I burp and it all comes up. Can't sleep keep choking on Phlegm, burping with a burning sensation in throat! Just came home for lunch had a scrambled egg threw up nonstop can't seem to eat anything; can someone give me some feedback! Thank you, I did have GERD, acid reflux and now have barrets disease.

Post Edited (janeg10) : 1/21/2016 2:17:50 PM (GMT-7)

FWIW - 6 months after surgery I still get bloating, belly distention and flatulence...it has gotten better but is still there; my bloating & distention is mostly a problem starting in the very late afternoon and into the evening. It took almost 4 months post surgery to get to this point.

Fatigue is a b*tch and unless you can get some real rest and relaxation it will be one of your biggest obstacles to feeling better. What, when and how much you eat are critical. I now have a routine of some juice and prunes first thing in the AM. about an hour later have breakfast. A mid-morning snack with some protein. Lunch. A mid-afternoon snack with some protein. Dinner and a small snack (w/some protein) about 3 hrs before bedtime. In addition I try to consume about 2 fruits per day - usually 1 fresh and the equivalent of 1 canned.

My BM's have never returned to pre-surgery but at least I have weaned myself off of artificial laxatives which I needed for quite a while after surgery. I do take meta-mucial and a probiotic each day to help.

From my first visit to ER just before the surgery until about 1 week post surgery I lost about 45 pounds - plenty was fat but a lot of it was muscle. I am now back up about 1/2 way but my latest surgery (PM) has prevented me from getting enough upper body exercise...that will change in about 2 weeks.

The one area I was lucky in was that I was able to burp right away so at least I didn't have a the additional abdominal pressure from that to deal with...I still need to thoroughly chew everything (including cottage cheese) or it fells like it is getting stuck at the bottom of my esophagus.

janeg10 said...
I too need some help; had a hiatal hernia repair 3 weeks ago couldn't stop throwing up phlegm re-admitted to hospital given IV so I wouldn't dehadrate released I am still throwing up anything I eat which is now soft foods. It's like anything I eat stays in my throat lingers there until I burp and it all comes up. Can't sleep keep choking on Phlegm, burping with a burning sensation in throat! Just came home for lunch had a scrambled egg threw up nonstop can't seem to eat anything; can someone give me some feedback! Thank you, I did have GERD, acid reflux and now have barrets disease.

How about liquid? Was the wrap too tight? I think you still need to wait for your body to settle down and adjust to the change inside your body. 3 weeks to me may still be too early for scrambled eggs.

Had my Hiatus repair and fundoplication end of Nov 2015. Initially lost about 10 kilos, could only eat small amounts of blended foods then slowly worked up to nearly normal food. Still have a bit of problem swallowing some food.
Now regained about 3-4 kilos which is good. In my opinion the op was a 100% success. Getting rid of 30 plus years of constant burning and reflux is well worth the slight change in diet and the stricture of the wrap.
After so many years of damage my throat and oesophagus will never repair but now will not get any worse. I was also diagnosed with Barrett's disease and no medications helped with reflux or the acid burn.
I am now 64 yrs old, wish I had the op years earlier but the op is probably much better now.

Hello everyone, I too had a nissen in August 2016, about 8 months ago, and traded the reflux symtoms for such a large list of debilitating symptoms:
Bloating after eating
Many food sensitivities
IBS
Diarrhea or Constipation
Brain Fog
Fatigue
Pain after eating in left shoulder
Chest pains
Muscle and Joint Pain
Muscle weakness
Acne and skin problems
Muscle twitching
Headaches
Severe Anxiety and Depression

I have visited a large number of specialists, and also holistic alternative doctors, and also made a lot of research to find what's wrong and have come to the conclusion that many of the symtoms I experience, and that some of you list here, are related to a condition called leaky gut, also to Gut disbyosis (Gut microbia not in balance), yeast and candida overpopulation, and nutrient malabsortion.

I will give you a few tips that have helped me improve a lot in the last couple of months:
I got myself checked for food sensitivities, I made this with alternative doctors which gave me a list of foods I was sensitive to and would make me bloat. Not eating food from this list has made me improve so much, especially gluten. Any time I eat somthing from the list I will of course bloat and feel unwell from a few hours to a couple of days. I am still getting a IgE Panel (more professional study) to complement this list.

Leaky gut can lead to nutrient malabsortion, this means you will be lacking some vitamins or minerals. I am supplementing magnesium, zinc, chrome, and triptophane, which is precursor to serotonin.

I have read that surgery can make you prone to this condition, also all the antibiotics taken post surgery mess with the gut flora. I think most of the problems described in this post may me related to these issues.
Had anyone heard about this?

Dairy can also be problematic sometimes ..

You are still very early in your recovery. I'm not sure what information you were given prior to your surgery. It is very common to lose weight and have fatigue during the healing process - you've had major abdominal surgery. Most people gain that weight back as they transition to a more normal diet. I didn't feel much better until 6 months post-surgery and the "new" me at approximately. on year. If you are still concerned about the weight loss, I would contact a nutritionist.

Sharon