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8 weeks post Nissen - complications!!

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GERD & Acid Reflux
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Posted 4/1/2016 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all, I'm not new to this group and want you all to know what a great help your experiences and comments have been to me pre op and through my recovery. Monday I'll be 8 weeks post op and recovery has been slow but for the most part uneventful. A few weeks ago I developed a chest cold causing deep coughing and shortness of breath. My IM doctor gave me an antibiotic, cough syrup & said to take Mucinex. The cold and mucous are gone but I still have a cough (although I've always been somewhat of a cougher). It is a dry cough usually preceded by a tickle in my throat. The worst part & the scariest part is that I am still SOB with some wheezing when walking very far. I also have chest pain when coughing, sometimes when breathing and bending over. The SOB, chest pain were my primary symptoms pre op. Has any one experienced the cough, SOB &/or chest pain this far along in recovery? The symptoms are not as bad as they were pre op but seemed to return with the cold and continue. I would appreciate your thoughts. I will see my IM in a week for f/u. Thanks in advance for your help!!
Posted 4/1/2016 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
I know where you are coming from because I have same of the same symptoms as you. I had my Nissen in May 2015 and seemed to recover pretty well. Then in October I had a bad cold and since then I have breathing problems after eating. I got to the point where I could hardly eat anymore. Every 7 days or so I wake up with stuff in my throat and choking. I just spent 12 days ins the hospital because I lost so much weight and could not maintain adequate nutritional levels. I thought for sure my reflux returned but there is not evidence of it on the barium swallow. During the barium swallow I aspirated quite a bit of barium. Tests also revealed that I have delayed gastric emptying and a manometry showed that my muscles in the esophagus are weak. I have to continue further tests on a outpatient basis because they can't keep me forever. I would press your physician for further testing to find out what causes your troubles.
Posted 4/1/2016 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
I am 1 year following my Nissen Fundoplication surgery and am still experiencing gas pains, bloating, and excessive gas. I do not drink any fizzy beverages and still avoid beans and other gas producing foods. Is there anything else I can do besides taking Gas-X pills? Didn't want to have to take any medications...the main reason for my surgery to begin with! Thanks!!
Posted 4/1/2016 11:59 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, LGSE :( I'm so sorry to hear you're still having trouble with that darn chest cold stuff! It's awful to have that on it's own, but coupled with recovery, it's even worse.

Perhaps it was bronchitis which can last much longer? I had it for 3 months, between October and December this year. The coughing and shortness of breath took forever to clear up and the pain accompanied the coughing because my ribs where hurt during the coughing process. Perhaps your doctor could give you some cough medicine, like Tessalon perles (benzonatate) or something with codeine? Not that you want any more meds, but Tessalon has always helped me -- it reduces or minimizes the coughing mechanism or reflex. Any chance you're asthmatic? Did the doctor give you an inhaler for your breathing or wheezing?
Posted 4/2/2016 1:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi CaliGal, he gave me the cough syrup with codeine & antibiotic. I really don't know much, but the pain & SOB are not as severe as pre op, but it mimics those symptoms. He wanted to see me in a month so I have an appointment 4/18. If he doesn't order a chest x-Ray I will ask for one. So how are YOU doing? I hope your recovery is going well.
Posted 4/2/2016 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
I would like to thank everyone for the comments. Everyone is so helpful on this forum. Everyone's recovery is different. I guess instead of focusing on the problems I'm still having only 8 weeks post op, I should focus more on the positive: no more GERD I'm off the Omeprazole, the swelling in my Esophagus is pretty much gone ~ no problems swallowing or eating AS LONG AS I CHEW & EAT SLOWLY, I'm pretty much back to eating what I want except that I have absolutely no craving for any ethnic food, fried food, sweets,which are pretty much the things I should not eat. I've lost 10 lbs (this is good) I am enjoying my first Diet Coke in 8 weeks...I have been enjoying it for about 4 hours sipping & no problems so far. I find it doesn't taste as good as I thought. I drank far too much of this pre surgery & could never go back to my addiction. I do have gas, shoulder & chest pain, some nonproductive coughing, & the SOB when walking. I will see my IM in a week & if he doesn't order it, I will ask for a chest X-ray.
Posted 4/2/2016 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
MMMM... diet Coke!!! Oh, someday I might get to taste one of those again (even though my Dr. says to banish all carbonation for good) :)

I found that the codeine cough meds are fine for helping me sleep but they didn't do much to touch my cough. Just made me sleeping. The cough part is annoying and scary, I'm sure, particularly as you don't want to mess up anything that the surgeon did in your gut. I had my surgery 3 weeks ago yesterday and am doing well, I think. But I worry about any cough, hiccup or sneeze... I don't want to pull or tear anything.

As for your SOB, I get this too. It was one of my main problems pre-op. But I haven't yet exerted myself to know if I have this still or not. I'm guessing that those of us with this pre-op problem probably need to give our bodies time to adjust. With a good part of our stomachs in your chests pre-op, I'm guessing that our lung needs to learn how to full expand again and take up the space it shared with our stomach for so long. I had a partial lung collapse post-op so I'm still working through some breathing training to strengthen that lung. But, I imagine, it'll be some time until our bodies -- particularly our chest space -- to adjust, strengthen and start working anew. Did they give you an incentive spirometer (the plastic tool you breathe into to strengthen your lungs post op)? If not, ask the doctor for one or maybe ask for a breathing test? I have these for my asthma and they help me and my doc to understand if my lungs are up to par or in need of a boost through exercises, medication or both. Just a thought.

Otherwise, I, too, have not experienced any GERD (wahoo!) and have not taken a single GERD medication since pre-op. I'm on soft foods now and am slowly expanding my palette. I've been dying for something beyond yogurt, applesauce, thin mashed potatoes and well-cooked boxed mac and cheese. So last night I made a very simple manicotti to test the water. I bought it frozen and cooked it longer than usual to overcook the pasta in a non-chunky tomato sauce. Once cooked, I took one single small manicotti, cut it up into tiny pieces and ate it. OMG -- it was sooo good! I was worried that my stomach would reject it or that the tomato sauce would bring a world of hurt like it used to. But, happily, I survived with flying colors. Progress! I'm still not doing anything firm, hard or crunchy and I'm not only meat yet either. But the over-cooked pasta with sauce was a nice treat that I can add to my meal plan. I've lost 22 lbs so far (I'm not obese but definitely curvy so I've got it to lose) but want to make sure that I'm eating enough to stay healthy.

I'm gabbing away here so I'll stop. Can you tell me, though, about your shoulder pain? I started back to work part-time at my desk job this week. I can only handle about 5 hours before I'm exhausted and come home for an immediate nap. The thing that also sends me home is pain -- not my chest/stomach pain which is there but manageable, but my lower neck and shoulder pain. HORRIBLE! After a few upright hours, it hurts something fierce, right where my neck connects to my back and across my shoulders. I don't know if this is residual gas or a result of my muscles having to work harder now that I'm more upright and not lying down as much. Would love to hear about what you're experiencing.

Hang in there, LGSE... I'm thinking about you! :)
Posted 4/2/2016 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Caligirl ~ a collapsed lung! OMG. I haven't tried anything tomato cuz I havent craved it. That was one of the things that caused me the most problems pre op. Your first taste must have been like my first bite of wheat toast ~ heaven! The shoulder pain is mostly when I bend over or sit too long ~ or cough too much! It was another pre op thing. It's can me either shoulder & goes along with the chest pain. I went back to work after 2 weeks even though he gave me 3 because they needed me. As for the fatigue ~ I am still very very tired. It sounds like your shoulder problems are related to the surgery ~ I know at 2 weeks post op mine really hurt badly. Give it time ~ it will get better. BTW I feel like we are old friends! Wish we could get information to be FB friends lol you take care ~ you will be fine. Reading about others I woul say we are doing well ~ you sound like me at 3 weeks. My husband says I am much better than I was you hang in there too :)
Posted 4/2/2016 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
BTW we invested in a Ninja & my husband has become an expert fruit smoothie maker! I was able to handle these about my second week ~ sip & no straws!
Posted 4/6/2016 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
LGSE, thanks for the info on your shoulder and chest pain. I spoke with my surgeon's nurse yesterday. She spoke with the surgeon (who wasn't in office yesterday) and he said that the shoulder and neck pain may be referred pain from the surgery. Referred pain from the diaphragm and lungs are often felt in the left shoulder and up the neck, following a nerve that goes up from the diaphragm area to the shoulder region. He recommended taking a combination of extra strength Tylenol and a max strength anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen or naproxen sodium) to help alleviate the pain a bit. I didn't realize that it was OK to take both. I tried this combination today, along with consistent heat, and the pain was slightly reduced. Still there, but a degree better. Frustrating, though, as it seems it's just going to take time to heal. The waiting is the hardest part!

I've got a Nutri-bullet here (like a Ninja) and that's been very helpful for making smooth drinks. I'll give smoothies a shot soon. I tried a milkshake and it was a gastrointestinal nightmare. Don't know if it was the sugar or the dairy but it hit me hard and that's something I'd like to avoid again, if I can! I've also found baby spoons to be very helpful -- they keep me from taking and swallowing large bites.

And, yes, I know what you mean, old friend! I always check the board to see how you're doing. I wish I had FB but I don't. I even work with social media in my career but haven't adopted it yet personally. It's just me being stubborn and old school...and knowing that it would become a total time-suck for me. Does this board have IM or PM capabilities? Keep me posted when you can! I want to keep up on your progress :)
Posted 4/8/2016 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
lgse0211,

I too had issues still after surgery. I would get a tickle in my throat. that caused me to cough which caused a lot of phlegm. My throat would then start feeling like it was closing. If the attack was bad enough, it could take hours before I would breath normal again. I just recently found out on top of the silent reflux, I also have asthma. the reflux made the asthma worse, so once i had the surgery it was better but did not go way. Now that my asthma is being treated, I feel awesome.
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