Nissen Fundoplication Durability and Exercise?

I honestly don't remember what the healing process was like, so I wanted to see what people here thought about post-op exercise. I've read a few posts here and elsewhere, but my question wasn't really answered, so I thought I'd create a post.

I'm quite fit. I exercise almost daily and eat well. I run 10 miles once or twice a week, and lift weights most other days. I do fairly heavy lifting, but because of my previous surgery I am cautious with core exercises, and I avoid free-weight squats and deadlifts.

I know this is a contentious topic, but I wondered if anyone had knowledge of both the post-op side of things and the exercise side of things. I'm curious what to expect for getting back into chest exercises (free weight chest press and fly, cable fly, etc) and back exercises (rear delt fly/lat pulldowns). The doctor said that if I have my migrated nissen repaired/pulled back down, I wouldn't be able to exercise for 3 weeks, and from the 3-6 week mark post-op, I can start working out slowly and cautiously not to strain myself, and avoid "lifting things around heavier than 50lbs for a while."

Therein lies the rub, though. 50lbs, as a blanket statement, doesn't mean much. I can do a one-arm curl of 50lbs without any strain outside my bicep, but other motions like a dumbbell shoulder press seem like they would require more consideration because of how much sympathetic movement would be in the chest and diaphragm. For that matter, I feel like strained bowel movements, some types of thoracic and chest stretches, and vomiting have had more pressure on the area than most controlled workout movements. Ideally, it would be good to hear an orthopedic specialist's opinion. Unfortunately, the times I've talked to "sports doctors" and the like, they either have no idea what a Nissen entails or what to advise, or they have the cavalier attitude of insipid inspirational sports quotes with "no pain no gain" mentalities.

I take it for granted I'll lose a decent amount of muscle after the surgery, and I'll definitely baby myself into physical activity again. That said, how comparable is a LNF hernia surgery's recovery compared to other hernia surgeries in terms of durability?

SharonZ said...
Since everyone's situation is different, I would go with your surgeon's recommendation.
Sharon

I agree. However, I've talked to two surgeons since and have gotten slightly differing advice, and the idea that I'll be 99% recovered within 6 weeks and "shouldn't have to worry" is disconcerting because "shouldn't" is an ambiguous qualifier, and neither surgeon seemed to have a consensus on what physical activities may have sympathetic movements that could impact the crural diaphragm region. I wanted to see if other people had experiences with physical activity.