Stretta: Reflux Worse Post Procedure?

Hi HealingWell Community,

Since I'm new I am a 28 y/o male who has had GERD for the past 6 years. Most of it was initially due to bile reflux and having my gallbladder removed significantly helped. However, although symptoms were well managed I frequently got upset stomach and I decided since I am young life off PPI's could be nice, so I went for Stretta.

The procedure was done 3 weeks ago with no major issues immediately after. However, I did a lot of reading on the procedure beforehand and nowhere in the literature does it say that your reflux could get worse (just that it's a theoretical possibility) but instead that the effects take time so don't expect to go off PPI's any time soon.

I'm a bit discouraged that 3 weeks out my reflux is worse that it's been before, or it could just be that my esophagus is more sensitive to the reflux, hard to say. Has anyone else had similar experience? Did it get better? Not sure how to proceed.

Also if anyone had the Stretta and then had a Nissen I'd be curious to hear from you as well.

Thanks Staydog. I had searched the forum for previously and found some insight, but just wanted to put it out there in case anyone had more recent experiences.

>Has anyone else had similar experience? Did it get better?

I did not have the Stretta, but I am also a 28 year old male that had the fundoplication 10 weeks ago and my symptoms have not improved either. For ~3 weeks after my procedure, my symptoms were reduced by 50-90%, but then came back 100% during week 4. I initially thought the reflux was worse than pre-op, perhaps because I wasn't used to the intense reflux since I had relief for a few weeks, but now I think that was just an over-reaction on my part. Maybe it is the same in your case, or maybe it is due to inflammation?

A lot of individuals (posters in this forum, as well as my surgeon and my GI specialist) mention that these procedures can take several months to start working. I'm not really sure why this is the case, and none of this is mentioned in the scientific literature specific to surgical outcomes - I have really searched a lot and have found not a single thing mentioning how symptoms can take months to improve post-op from any of these operations (Stretta, Fundoplication, Linx, etc.). However, all we can do is wait and be patient - it probably isn't a good idea for us to start pursuing some different surgical procedure or a repeat procedure right now.

I would suggest you try to be patient and do things to take your mind off of it (a walk, meditation/yoga, pain medication if needed) and wait a few months before heading in a new direction. I know this is tough, but you aren't alone in this struggle.

Post Edited (EJohn) : 7/13/2017 2:53:15 PM (GMT-6)

I had the stretta procedure done one week ago today. Day two and three were the worst as far as pain goes. One week out it is still very sensitive. My surgeon gave me liquid pain medicine that helped. He recommended liquids for 2-3 weeks to let it heal. He said to do liquids for as long as I could and then go to soft foods. Here is what he told me before I had the surgery. This surgery does not always work the first time for everyone. Some people it works for a while, or a year and then the procedure needs to be repeated. Some people only need the surgery once. Some 2-3 times. Everyone is different. He told me to expect the acid to get worse before it gets better. He instructed me to continue taking the acid blockers for 2 months after the surgery. I am doing liquids for the full 3 weeks because I want to make sure I get the best results for my body. There are different options for hiatal hernia repair. My surgeon and I discussed my options and decided on Stretta because it is least invasive. I hope this helps answer some of your questions. If you have more feel free to ask. BTW. I'm female. 60 yo

I had done my fundoplication on 15th July 2017.. was on ppi for 1 month after that... then it was all fine.. felt like it changed my life... but 3 weeks back I developed pain in my stomach... met another doc this time... doc said its IBS and put me on meds... that med gave me a lot of bloating and hence my reflux is back.. my surgeon asked me to stop the meds for IBS and go back on ppi for a few more days.. I hope I get better.. can't even think of living with this reflux for the rest of my life..

My names Nett, I’m 51 years old. I had the stretta procedure done 23 rd September 2016. Initially I was ok, did as I was told soft foods etc, and I was very pleased with the first results, I did feel confident it had helped me. I had suffered for several years thinking my Hiatus Hernia was responsible for the severe burning I felt constantly. After repeatedly going to my doctor who thought I was making a fuss over a 3 cm hernia, I eventually had a manometry test done, which confirmed I had a dysmotility of the osaphagus and a fully open LES, which allowed stomach acid to travel constantly up into my throat. I had no illusions, I knew it was only a chance it might help, but worth taking so I stayed positive, and found the £3,400 to pay for the instrument for the procedure that the NHS, wouldn’t pay for. I was happy for three months, then January 2017, I met with my specialist for the first time since the stretta op.He had talked me into trying the procedure. I told him I had been happy so far, but the evening before I had a bad night with awful heartburn and reflux again which disturbed me most of the night, But thought it might be a one off, My doctor then asked me to try to reduce my medication as I’m on such a lot, 40mg Omeprazole each morning and 300mg Ranitidine at night, which I tried to do but the pain and burning of just reducing it slightly made it impossible to do. Since that meeting, I haven’t seen my specialist since, I had an appointment come for end of February but just had it cancelled, til March 19 th. It feels like now I’ve handed over the money for the procedure he’s no longer interested in helping me, as before I had phone calls to my home to see how I am doing and if I was interested in having it done. I’m losing hope of this ever going back to being pain free. I was told they wouldn’t do the Nissan fundiplication op because it would hinder me being able to swallow afterwards, although my swallowing does feel more limited since I had stretta done too, but that was the only option they offered me to help my condition.I don’t think I can afford to pay to have it done again, but I’m struggling with Arthritis too because my bones can’t have medications like ibuprofen or other anti- inflammatory drugs because of the acid I suffer with and it feels like I’m in constant pain with no light at the end of the tunnel. I hope it works for anyone else that wants to try it but it certainly hasn’t for me.