New Nissen Fundoplacation Victim

Hello to all. first time poster. I am on Day 10 of a fundoplacation, with repair of hiatal hernia. A little about myself and some questions. I am 51, have had acid reflux for 10+ years. and took Omaprazole. One day about 6 months ago, I had some massive heartburn. I was like, whats with this? So in went the Tums. and more Tums...,Tums, and yet more Tums. I called the Doc, did the new med thing, no difference so ended up in the Gastro Docs office. They set me up for a Stomach scope. I see him a few days later and he asks me " whats the issue". I'm thinking, you should already know the issue...But nevertheless. I tell this guy what happened, and that now I cannot even sleep without it coming up.. He says: " what you got, is a moderate size hiatal hernia, and blah blah. He tells me he needs to do a fundo on me, and tells me waht it basically entails.
A week later, I'm looking up at a large light, scared less, and having some really good drugs suddenly being introduced to me. I wake up, everything Ok, and nurse got told clear liquids only. Joy...
Doc said 2 weeks on clear liquids... That it was 2 because instead of the normal three stiches, he had to use 4 to sew up the Diaphragm. I have a full 360 wrap. So now after 9 days of clear liquids, jello, and occasionally some rice in my soup, I took a chance and ate some salmon, and baked potato. geez, i was starting to starve! It went down ok, I made sure I was real careful eating, but I think I ate a slight bit fast.
So now comes the questions.. I surfed the web on nissen diets,and while most are pretty much copies of others, some are different. Seems the main concern is how the stomach actually takes to the food, and the chance of getting food stuck in the pipe because of inflammation. I can understand the liquid for a few days, but clear? really? Everything I have tried to eat, has went down OK. I tried a slice of american cheese, a scrambled egg, and some Ritz crackers real slow. But one thing the diets all have in common, is no soft drinks, and NO CHOCOLATE. huh? No chocolate? Why is it so bad? the first thing the nurse at the hospital gave me was a chocolate pudding, and I've had 2 since than. I haven't had an issue over either. So am I just going to quick with all this? I have burped twice, not real belchers,just small but effective. Now at night, the flatulence when I lay in bed is so bad there better be no ignition sources in the room. usually goes away after about an hour in bed.
So what Do people eat on this? What can I start with that won't let me starve to death? My ultimate goes is to get a slice of Pizza. Long way off, I know. Now I know about not eating too much because you don't want to stretch the stomach., I get the no cokes. I ccan even understand the 'strained" food diet,. but no chocolate? When do things get good enough that you can eat somewhat normally as long as you pay attention to how much and what you eat? Will that kind of thought be my undoing? And is there any truth to the "never going to vomit again" thing I've been hearing?Any advice for the fundo I got? thanx in advance. Tim

Chocolate contains caffeine, and some surgeons want that eliminated early on in your recovery. There a lot of different versions of the diet out there, but if you aren't having any issues on yours, there's no reason to worry about it. My surgeon gave me the UPMC post-Nissen diet to follow. I will tell you that you can expect minor setbacks during your recovery. Peak swelling of the wrap usually occurs around the 2 week mark, and the gas that you are experiencing is something that you will probably continue to struggle with.

At around 2+ weeks post surgery you may experience swelling at the wrap site which will make it more difficult to swallow. Gastric issues such as dumping syndrome as well as gas/bloating. Reflux may return and some people end up back on medication. Dilation of the esophagus when there is difficulty swallowing. Nausea and dizziness. These are all pretty common, and can occur at any time during recovery. Some people have experienced symptoms years after surgery.

The gas will probably be an ongoing issue. I still get hit with waves of nausea, for no reason, 3+ years post surgery.

Oh joy.... didn’t want to hear that. I wasn’t told about any of this pre-op. The gas is a real issue and twice now I’ve had the dizzy/nausea thing. Seems to happen right after I eat. So far, food wise I was told I could eat whatever I could handle, but chew very thoroughly. I haven’t graduated to pizza and burgers or bread yet. This is not going the way I had thought it would. How often are your nausea waves?

Nothing of the sort was said. All I was ever told was what it entailed, and that it should stop my heartburn, and fix my hiatal hernia.

My op was >14 years ago now, but I only had soup and nutrition shakes for 6 weeks post-op - then it was pizza party time

Once you graduate to food like this, you really have to remember to chew. I got caught out a few times in the early days when out with friends, as I was trying to keep up my eating pace with them.

If you've had a full wrap, you WILL get food stuck at some point. You WILL know when this happens. You are not however dying when it happens and it will resolve itself - but it is extremely unpleasant and you will learn to avoid or be careful with any food which causes this (this is fried rice and char sui pork for me - *sigh*).

If you are getting bloating and lots of gas, you need to take something with Simeticone in - Wind-Eze are what we have in the UK, think it's Gas-X in the US?

Success rates for this op are in the high 90%'s so you are probably still experiencing the post-op side effects which will last a few months and you will by then have worked out how your body works.

I haven't had a PPI since my Op, and pretty much eat can what I want, when I want so hang in there - it does get better.

---UPDATE---

2+ months into this hell. I have several issues I hope someone can shed a light on. First, I have gas, I mean LOTS of gas. I have begun to burp once again. Lots of burp. And not a very pleasant scent along with it. As for the other end, lets just say it can get explosive when I go. I have Diarrhea pretty much all the time. It is as if my food is not digesting fully, I take an Imodium, and it stops it for a day or two, and during that time I become "regular" in the stool department. I also have lots of noise in the lower abdominal area, loud enough that others hear it. Squirting, Knocking, gurgling type of noise.

Then there is the stranger things. I no longer have hunger pangs. None, Nada. It is really strange, as I don't know when to stop eating, as I never feel hungry, and do not know when I am full. I have had to "manually" portion my meals, as to not eat too much, and make myself miserable after eating too much.

I have gotten sick once. I don't mean nausea, I am talking the full heave and vomit sick. At first, All I could do was a dry heave, then I actually started puking food. Something I did not expect I was able to do. I can eat pretty much anything, but I have had a marked increase in heartburn. I started taking 2 Omeprazole a day, one day, one night, and that has quelled it for now. Can someone please give me any insight on what the heck could be wrong with me, or is this the norm for all this? Need any more info or clarify, please let me know. Desperate.

Thank you for the response. I contacted the surgeon, I got the feeling I was getting the blow off. I told him this whole story. His nurse even said that the vomiting didn’t sound right. Told them I have to take Prilosec 2X a day to keep under control. He prescribed me metoclopramide and phenagren. Seemed as though I was getting drugs to cover a symptom only. As for diet, it matters not what I eat. I don’t eat that much because I do not feel hunger. I eat only for taste and because I have to.
My question is why I am taking more drugs now that before the surgery? The surgeon just gives me the “it’ll get better” well, it’s not.
I take the Imodium only when I gave to, as I am at a place where I cannot go to rest room every 20 minutes to blow crater holes in the porcelain.

So any take on my surgeons advice? Spot on, blow off?

Tim:

The boards are really slow, but I'll respond to you again. Most surgeon's automatically prescribe an anti-nausea medication for after the surgery because nausea is common and also to prevent vomiting. There are a lot of people that continue to take PPIs and and other medications both temporarily and permanently after surgery. The bathroom issues that you are having are also common after major surgery, these issues just take time to resolve themselves. I did not feel much improved until about 6-months post-surgery and my "new" self at around 1 year. My surgeon made me aware of the issues that I would experience during recovery, and I didn't expect an immediate recovery, and was prepared for for minor setbacks along the way. You surgeon can advise you as to whether you need to add fiber and probiotics into your routine.

Hello, sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you had any tests to see what could be the problem, or if your wrap looks Ok? I'd definitely recommend an endoscopy and barium swallow...Also maybe a 24 hour pH study.

Leo77: no tests. When I called and explained my issue, they called back with a prescription for a head drug, saying it suppresses certain nerves that cause the issues. Online looking showed he was right about the meds, but already taking webuterin, and they are incompatible.

SharonZ: I tried, but they wouldn’t touch me. All the above was done on the phone. I haven’t called them but once to complain, I haven’t said anything, but feel like I’m getting the blow off, especially whe I see folks on here that are less far than I am and symptom free (gerd, anyhow). Just feel like I should not be having to double my ppi dose when I’ve had an operation to supposedly cure it. I know you say early, but 5 months?
Thanx, Tim

Well, after not much of any change, I went to the doc and he referred me back to the Gastro Doc. I told him my issues, pains, the fact that I can bup, etc. He seems to think my diaphragm has ruptured again and the wrap didn't take.I told him if that is the case, and I have to have surgery to fix, that I do not want a re-wrap or anything like that. He stated he could put me on different drugs, to which I refused, or do a barium swallow to see exactly whats going on. So I am awaiting the Hosp to call for that procedure and we go from there.