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Part 2 of POST OP LAP NISSEN FUNDO/HIATEAL HERNIA REPAIR...Please conitinue to post.

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Posted 11/16/2007 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
They did give me a sheet but I guess I figured a banana would be considered a soft food. I am not going to try sodas for a long time and your right I can live without that becaue the benefits outway that.
Posted 11/17/2007 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hey HappilyWrapped, it's me again, doghouse :) If I could bother you again....

When they put you on the mega doses of PPI's and all that jazz before your testing did you get relief from the medication? I've read some places where they say if you don't get relief from medications you are a bad candidate for the surgery and I've read other places that if you don't get relief from medications you would be a good candidate for surgery because the meds aren't cutting it.

My husband and I were laughing last night comparing the size of his itty bitty priolsec capsule that he takes once a day and has total relief (he's just started having reflux) to my mega zegerid capsule that I take twice a day. Gotta love it!!
Posted 11/17/2007 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Doghouse:

Yes, I did get relief from the mega-doses of medication. On mega-doses of medication, I still had loads of reflux, but the stomach contents washing up into the esophagus was not acidic. The Nexium did not prevent reflux, it just neutralized the acid so that what went up didn't do damage and I didn't feel the burning like when the stuff was acidic. Because the tests showed that my esophagus functioned normally when it was not exposed to acid constantly, they knew I was a good candidate for the full wrap. The wrap would do the job of totally preventing stomach contents from washing up into the esophagus.

I discussed with both my gastroenterologist and surgeon (they work together often and have offices across the hall from each other in the same medical building) the fact that I understood I could get relief from the mega-doses of medication but would prefer surgery. I wanted the reflux to stop, not just neutralize all the acid my stomach produced - plus I didn't like the idea of another 40 years of medication. According to my surgeon, the gastroenterologist I see does not recommend this surgery all the time - usually he preferres the medication route. In my case, the gastroenterologist was totally supportive of my choice for surgery because all tests indicated a great outcome and a life totally without medication.

He was right, other than the pain that crops up once in a while that I now know is gallbladder related, I'm feeling terrific. My incisions no longer bother me and I'm anxious to eat real food again. I can sleep on my stomach again! I can sleep on my back with only one pillow! I sleep through the night without waking because I'm choking. I know that at 4 weeks post op my insides are not healed, so I have to keep holding myself back so that I don't do too much during the day to become over tired. I also have to remember that I need to be careful about what I consume.

I'm pretty sure that there are situations where if you don't respond to meds, you are a good candidate for surgery. I think the deciding factor is the motility. I know it must function a certain way in order for the person to be a good candidate - and there are varying degrees of wrap depending on how much motility there is (180 degree wrap, 270 degree wrap and 360 degree wrap with 360 being the full wrap). All the meds do regarding motility is to remove the acid to determine how the esophagus functions in an acid free environment.

You're no bother at all ... hope this answered your question.
Posted 11/17/2007 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
Since I have rescheduled my surgery for January...I am SO glad I have this site to ask questions. Because of the lack of calories everyone is consuming post surgery, do any of you have problems with weight loss (if that is a problem? lol) I'm just worried since my daughter will then be 3, and I will somehow have to keep up with her. My husband will be working nights and I just hope I can some how deal with her if she wakes at night. Anyone else have a small child and going through this?
Posted 11/18/2007 12:01 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Alycarr00:

Yes, expect some weight loss. I lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks - my surgeon said that's about normal. You can keep your calories/energy up by drinking Boost or similar meal replacement drink - not chocolate, though. You probably won't be able to drink an entire can at one sitting - you'll be sipping the contents of the can over about an hour to get it down. Ask about a chewable multivitamin.

Does your child normally get up at night or are you just worrying about worst case scenario and stressing about the surgery? My kids are adults, but I do remember what 3 was like and I have nieces and nephews currently in that age group. I was an old-fashioned parent who believed in a standard bedtime of 8 pm and daytime naps (or at least lay in bed for an hour to rest - and I set a timer so the child would know when the hour was finished). My children rarely woke up at night unless there was a bad dream or potty need - it's the same with my nieces and nephews. I'm having a hard time figuring out what you would have to deal with if she woke up at night.

My neice just gave birth to twins and she has a 3 year old at home. Towards the end of her pregnancy, she couldn't move around much so she and the toddler spent lots of time cuddled in bed reading and watching movies together. You might get some quiet things to do with your daughter that don't require a lot of energy on your part or use the time to read books you already have on hand. Ask your husband to use his time with her during the day to do physical stuff so she gets her energy released on his time. She's also old enough to understand that Mommy has a boo-boo and needs to rest to get better. Then take a big calendar and draw a big circle around a day 3 weeks after your surgery and each day have your child cross off a day - that way she has a visual representation of how soon it will be until Mommy feels like playing again.

I get the feeling this is your first child and you're dealing with surgery as well as all the firsts that come along with raising a child. Hope this helped with your question.
Posted 11/18/2007 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
Porcelain Doll -

Haven't heard from you in a while. Drop a post to let us know how're you doing? Add any new foods lately? I'm hoping that you're feeling better than you were last time you posted and that the nausea has stopped.

I've got a question for you...You had gallbladder surgery and then the Nissen. Did they use the same holes for each procedure? As I'm looking at gallbladder surgery after recovering from the Nissen, I'm curious if my abdomen is going to have 5 more incisions. I'm wondering if when I drink water after the gallbladder procedure if I'll look like a water fountain with water spewing from all those abdominal holes - you know, like in the cartoons? :)
Posted 11/19/2007 1:41 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Alycarr,

I am on my 2nd week post opt and have lost 12 lbs. I know when I get my appetite back it will come back pretty quick. Althought I used to inhale food and this surgery will make me not do that anymore and tha tis a good thing. It is not healthy to eat that fast anyway. I will probably end up eating less sicne it takes me awhile to chew. I have to mentally think about chewing I wonder if I half chewed before? Thanksgiving should be interesting, I will just focuse on soft veggies and I can have some Turkey. I alway seat till I feel like I am going to pop so it will probably be nice not to overstuff myself.You found a great website Alycar, I wish I had before my surgery. These ladies are really nice to answer any questions and it helps to have 1st hand expereince and eveyrone surgeries have been very recent.

Posted 11/19/2007 1:47 AM (GMT 0)

Sorry I haven't been on the computer for a while.  The other day I had written my post which was lengthy and had taken me a while to write, then the phone rang and got up to answer it then my husband jumped on the computer and got rid of my post, boy was I mad.  So anyway, I will try to remember what I had written and go from there.  This Wednesday will be 5 weeks for me.  I am doing a little better but still having the chest pain that doesn't go away and if I do too much activity wise I can really feel it.  My appetite is returning and I am eating better and can also swallow better but still can't drink lots of water like I used to.  The nausea too is better too and haven't taken a pill in a while.  I am still drinking ensure and slowly introducing more foods into my diet.  The key is that I am still taking small bites and eating slow and I eat throughout the day and try never to eat a large meal because if I overeat I get sick.  I am also taking benefiber chewables with vitamins because I am so scared to get constipated and have to strain and endanger my wrap or hiatal repair.   

Nocough:  If I remember from your posts you are around two weeks posts op?  I think you are trying to hurry and eat things that don't go down easy and you could get into trouble if you're not careful.  I did have bananas but would have them in a blender and made smoothies but never ate a banana on its own.  Also, the gel caps would be too big and even now almost 5 weeks post-op I don't think I could swallow such a large pill.  I did have to take my nausea pill everyday for about 3 1/2 weeks post op but they were very small like the size of a lentil.  Your swallowing will eventually get better but you will have to stick with softer things or things that can turn mushy in your mouth.  My surgeon stressed the importance to me of not drinking soda or having bread or steak until he approved me otherwise (I see him on the 28th again).  I was very weak, especially around the 2 1/2 mark but what really helped was eating cow's liver (I know many will say yuck) but my mom used to make us eat it when we were kids because it will give you lots of iron.  Also, make smoothies, and also I ate lots of homemade soup and rice pudding.  I think you can eat a chicken leg if you boil it and take tiny tiny bites because it will be softer than a chicken breast which I couldn't eat.  Also, eggs are very soft however you make them and of course the oatmeal, cream of wheat, and the doctor said I could eat tuna fish because it is soft.  You will just have to experiment and see what works because after a while you will start to feel weak if you don't get some type of nourishment in your system and will ultimately lose weight.   

HappilyWrapped:  So sorry to hear about your gallbladder situation.  The best way to see if you have a problem is the hida or pipida scan and had mine done in the hospital.  I had the pipda scan and they found that my gallbladder only had an ejection rate of 19% where normal is 35%.  I did have an ultrasound but didn't have any gallstones at all.  What I have read manytimes is that PPI's can affect the gallbladder and as we all know we were on such massive doses of PPI's for a long time.  Unfortunately, they will not use the same holes as the nissen ones but will get 5 new ones.  I thought for sure they'd use the gallbladder holes but didn't (my nissen holes were much larger then the gallbladder ones and hurt more).  Let me tell you, the gallbladder surgery is a piece of cake as opposed to the nissen/hiatal repair.  I am sure you will do well since you really did good with the nissen recovery (much better than I).  At first, you will have to watch your diet and not eat anything with large amounts of fat and for the first 2 days or so your stool will be bright orange and it is just looks weird.  I did feel a little sick but again like I said nothing in comparison to the nissen and didn't even stay over night and didn't have that nasty tube up my nose (just awful).  I do remember about 3 weeks after my gallbladder surgery we went to a Mex food restaurant and was only able to eat about 1 1/4 red enchilada and told my husband immediately I am going to be sick and sure enough I paid for it dearly for about 2 days.  So, you will have to be careful of your diet but that won't be a problem especially right now since we aren't even eating good yummy stuff i.e. Olive Garden, Mex food, so on... I think I remember reading on one of your posts that you could sleep on your stomach.  You are lucky because I still can't do that not even on my side because of the chest pain.  Do you still have chest pain?  I don't know when it will go away.  I was a little disappointed that this guy that teaches at my husband's school had intestinal surgery (part of this small intestine removed) and told him it took him about 3 months to finally get better.  Do you think we will take 3 months for us to get better?  Hopefully, all of this will pass and we will all have speedy recoveries......Barbara......

Posted 11/19/2007 3:02 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Porcelien doll,

Your right I was rushing it but I didnt have the swelling the 1st week so I thought I wouldnt have it at all. WRONG!!! No more pills or bananas for me!!! I go back to work tomorrow but have felt really good since Thursday. It will ony be a 3 day week since it is Thanksgiving and I have a desk job so it will be a good way to get back into things. I am backign Ensure and applesauce for tommorows lunch. I can eat maybe one meal of solid food a day and it has been mushy veggies mostly. So anyone that is having the surgery come up learn from my mistake, if you do not have swelling at 1st it doenst mean it wont happen.

Posted 11/19/2007 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Barbara,

More holes for the gallbladder surgery? UGH! Good thing I'm an old fart and don't wear bikini's to the beach any more.

Glad to hear from you and I'm thrilled you're a bit better. Yes, I can now sleep on my stomach, however, I find that I sleep on my back more than I have in a long time. I also don't seem to move around as much when I sleep. My husband has noticed a huge difference in my sleep - he works 2nds shift and comes home an hour or two after I go to bed. I'm sleeping deeper than I used to with GERD.

I do not have surgery-related chest pain on a regular basis. However, if I move wrong or try to do too much, I feel a pulling or pressure-type sensation in my chest then I go sit and rest. For instance, I thought I could fill a leaf bag yesterday - not heavy raking, just used a plastic snow shovel to scoop light fluffy leaves and dump them into a bag. I only did 2 bags.

I DO (notice caps here) have excruciating chest pain that I now know is gallbladder related. It's now happening after almost every meal. My husband made homemade chicken soup last night - I didn't eat the chicken, but enjoyed the soft egg noodles, soft carrots and the broth - 30 minutes later I was miserable. Turned out he thought he'd simmer the chicken with the skin on to add extra flavor. He actually added extra fat enough to trigger an attack for me.

4 weeks post op for me today! I'm more thrilled now than before that I chose to have the surgery.
Posted 11/19/2007 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
Today is my 4-week post anniversary and something amazing happened.

I WAS ABLE TO LET OUT A MAN-TYPE, PULL IT UP FROM YOUR TOES, OBNOXIOUS SOUNDING, MAKE YOUR MOM REPRIMAND YOU FOR RUDENESS, MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER RIGHT AWAY BELCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, Barbara, I know you can't do that yet, but I was so darn excited I just had to tell somebody who could understand my joy in such a simple and totally relief-giving bodily function. I'm hoping that because you can burp small ones, you'll eventually be able to let out a humdinger. I didn't expect it, it sort of snuck up on me.

To all of you contemplating the surgery, the ability to burp is not a given. If you are able to belch after surgery, even small ones, consider yourself lucky.

Barbara, I'm wondering about that chest pain you still have. Do you find you have it more when you are dressed as opposed to comfy jammies? I have learned that the bra I'm wearing will affect if I feel a bit of discomfort inside my chest at the location of the wrap. I'm easily able to fix it by changing clothing, but I have noticed that I feel better sans underwire.
Posted 11/19/2007 10:47 PM (GMT 0)

happlywrapped

that is one of my concerns all my life i belch all the time and it worrys after the lapro op what will i do if i carnt belch, as if they put a wrap on my stomach thats not going to stop the belching even thou i wont be able too what do thing thanks ???

Posted 11/20/2007 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
bokbok

I don't have a good answer for you regarding belching. That's a variable that is different for everyone. Better for you to go into this expecting to not burp afterwards and then be pleasantly surprised if you can. However, I've noticed that a few people posting here who have had the surgery are able to belch, which leads me to believe your chances are pretty good. You may belch all the time now, but part of that may be caused by your GERD and your current eating and drinking habits. You might have less gas and less need to belch after the surgery.

After surgery you'll be watching your diet carefully and will be making sure you do not eat gassy or carbonated foods and beverages. This will cut down on your need to expel gas. Plus you will be sipping drinks and you will be eating slowly - this will also cut down on gas inside you. Eating fast and guzzling drinks cause you to swallow air - thus a burp is required. Please note that for me, I would not be burping as much if I wasn't experiencing gallbladder issues immediately following the wrap surgery. I only really burp in the middle of a gallbladder attack - eating and drinking do not cause a burp because I eat slowly and sip my drinks.

After the surgery if you cannot burp, don't worry. You might be a bit uncomfortable with gas, but you can help resolve that discomfort with some GasX. If the gas inside you can't come up though your mouth, it will work itself out the other way....know what I mean?

Take care.
Posted 11/21/2007 5:31 AM (GMT 0)

HappilyWrapped:  I would give my back molars to be able to let our a humdinger of a burp the way I used to.  I can burp but still only a tiny burp and only while I am having something to drink but this doesn't always happen (I won't complain because a little something is better than nothing at all).  Yes, I am still having chest pain, in fact I had it alot last night but I don't think it is my clothes.  Since I am not working and am alone during the day I sometimes don't even hook on my bra and don't wear tight clothes either.  I just try to ignore it but I do feel it everyday and it is a discomfort.  Tomorrow is 5 weeks for me and thank God I am eating a little better without any problems.  I am still eating thru out the day but only small meals and still take small bites and never gulp like the pre-surgery days.  I just hope all of us will not try to indulge and eat too much at Thanksgiving.  I read somewhere a while back on a post that a lady who had the nissen surgery ate too much one Thanksgiving and ended up in the emergency, so lets all try to be careful.  I can really tell how much my appetite is returning back to normal and I have to constantly remind my self "small portions."  Even as I write this post I feel hungry but I have already eaten my share for tonight but will have some ensure before I go to bed.  I almost forgot to mention that pain in my left arm still hasn't completely gone away where I had the i.v., just thought I'd mention it.

I think that there are many contributing factors as to the outcome of the surgery.  When I was in the surgeon's office they gave me a pamplet of the nissen surgery and my surgeon went thru it with me but he said that he does his procedure a little different from the one shown on the pamplet.  I never did say "but what do you mean" because of course I wouldn't of understood the medical procedure so I just took his word.  I wonder if these are the factors which determine who will be able to burp, vomit, whether one has had a partial or full wrap and so on....What do you all think?  I don't know if I can vomit or not because I did have nausea issues for almost 4 weeks but took the anti-nausea pill and it helped.  I think more people are getting the nissen surgery because it is tough to live with the gerd and know that they have come a long way as far as improving the technique, I am sure as technology does improve with time.  My surgeon was very young and has only been a surgeon for 3 years but has done many nissen surgeries.  Bokbok, you will have to take a chance and hope for the best outcome, I don't know if eventually I will be able to let her rip when it comes to burps but HappilWrapped has given you some very good information and agree with what she says about the belching.  Thank God gas and diarrhea were not problems for me but the nausea was a killer but then again we are all different and will have different outcomes.....Good luck.......Barbara...

Posted 11/21/2007 12:59 PM (GMT 0)
HI Porcelein Doll,

Sorry you are still having chest discomfort. Glad you are getting your appetite back. What is this about some lady going into the ER, did she choke? Or just eat too much? How could eating too much send you to the ER? I am still 2 weeks out and only have one very small solid meal a day which usually consists of soft veggies or soup. I have lost 13 lbs and hope I get back to normal soon because my husband thinks I am wasting away. I can tell you I am not. I was thinking I could try some turkey veggies and maybe some pumpkin pie, without the crust? What do yall think? I am staying away from the stuffing anything that looks hard and only very small portions. If I eat too much I get nausas and only did that once and it wasnt all that much food so I know to watch it. I am concerned about this lady going to the ER, do you know exactly what she did? I think Thanksgiving will be hard for all of us but I am still not coughing so I can certnaly indure not eating alot at Thanksgiving. I have a feeling I wont be able to eat the big Christmas meal I eat. I might never eat all I did before but then that isnt a horrible thing.
Posted 11/21/2007 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't had the surgery but I'm trying to think of holiday foods that are soft and mushy...pumpkin pie, yams, mashed potatoes, cranberries (the kind without the bumps).... I know someone who's making some kind of pumpkin cheese cake thing, I bet that would be mushy. Just offering suggestions :)
Posted 11/22/2007 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Nocough:  The lady had to go to the emergency room because she ate too much and couldn't vomit.  In fact, in that post she always advised to always have an anti-nausea medication on hand just incase you ever get sick.  If I remember they didn't have to pump her stomach or anything like that they just gave her medication so that she would stop wanting to vomit.  I don't know if I can vomit or not because I have been very careful and have taken my anti-nausea medication but the surgeon said he didn't want me to vomit at all because this early in our recovery we could tear the wrap.  I do remember my first night in the hospital I did want to vomit and I had to call 3 times for them to come and give me something, the last call I was in tears because I told them the doctor doesn't want me to vomit and please hurry and they finally came.  They did give me the medication and it did help, since it is via i.v. it goes in right away.  We just have to be careful not to over eat, especially this early in our recoveries.  I do find my appetite returning and I do feel hungry but I stop because I already got sick about 3 times when I over ate and really it wasn't even that much that I ate.  I didn't know if I wanted to vomit, nausea, poop all at the same time.  I even felt like I was going to panic but what helped was to walk and walk and try to relax.  It took me about 2 hours for it to subside but it finally did but again, like I said it was awful so I try to be careful not to over eat especially during the holidays......
Posted 11/22/2007 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
HI Porclein Doll,

Do you think it could also be some bloating issues since so far I can only get out tiny burps. I could see how that could be painful. My surgeron told me I wouldnt ever be able to throw up and I have a permanten prescription or Pnegren. I have only had to take one so far. I keep it in my purse just in case! I have to be at two Thanksgivings tomorrow and I am only eating one meal a day so far or I do feel sorta sick. I will just have to really be careful and it takes me so long to eat anyway I can tell when I am getting full. Thanks for the update, I an see why that would be an issue, I will be even more careful.
Posted 11/22/2007 2:47 AM (GMT 0)

Nocough:  I really don't feel bloated but I am like you I can only burp but a tiny, tiny burp not like the way I used to.  Even right now if I wanted to expel that tiny burp I can't.  The only time that I can expel a tiny burp is while I am drinking something.  Right now the only thing I drink is water and that is only because I was on such a strict gerd diet that I even gave up my iced tea.  I think eventually I will go back to my tea but a soda is definately a no-no.  I have heard of the Pnergen but is it a pill or suppository?  Mine is a tiny tiny size pill like the size of a lentil and I haven't had a problem taking it as far as swallowing goes.  In the beginning and for about 3 1/2 weeks or so, I would get really stressed when ever I ate and it would take me forever but now that I can swallow better it has improved somewhat.  Now at 5 weeks post-op I am pretty much eating a normal diet but I do take my time and never gulp and still take small bites.  I don't know if we will ever be able to eat liked we used to pre-nissen surgery days.  I used to drink lots of water but now I don't even drink two glasses because I get so full and can't gulp the water but I hope that all of that will get back to normal someday.  I myself always take the nausea pill with me because I don't know what I will do if I get nausea and have the urge to vomit.  I am writing to a lady by the name of Sue (here on the same website) and she had her surgery about 1 1/2 months ago and she says she is experiencing lots of nausea so you don't know if little things/issues will creep up on us in the future since I understood she didn't have the nausea before.  Good luck....

Posted 11/22/2007 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
Glad you dont feel bloated. I have the same issue, only little tiny burps if I am drinking water. Your right I cannot gulp or it is painful. I havnt tried drinking anything else because I like water. Why are you on a strict diet, I mean why would tea hurt? I know better than to drink the soda. Pnergen comes in a pill and a suppository. I have the pill thank goodness. I got ECOLI once in Jamaica and pnergen is the only thing that helped me through it. The thing is it makes me sleepy. The swelling has been a big issue for me this week. I went back to work on Monday and that 1st day really tired me out. Yesterday wasnt as bad because I had someone fetch the faxes and run downstairs for me. Today wasnt so bad because I had a half day. I am glad for the long weekend. The thing is I LOVE FOOD! I was never overweirght per say, 5 4 153 lbs. I am down to 141 in 2 weeks. I could lose more an still not be stick and bones. Thankfully my love of food is hindered by my lack of appetite. Tomorrow will be a challenge in that all my favorites are there. I will just keep thinking of the girl in teh ER, that does have me concerned. Gosh I hate to here that Sue has nausau now. I really hate that feeling. Is she takeing pnegren? It really is the best on the market I hvae heard. Is Sue eating 3 meals a day? I am still at one solid meal and it is half of what I would normally eat. I hope thw swelling goes down soon but I know patience is a key here. I have no physical pain so that is good. Thanks for responding to my email.
Posted 11/22/2007 3:45 AM (GMT 0)
Nocough:  You don't have any chest pain at all?  Yes, if you don't consider yourself lucky.  I have lots of chest pain that just doesn't go away.  Sue told me that it lasted about 1 1/2 months for her but that it finally went away.  The reason I mentioned the gerd diet because I had really bad gerd and was on the gerd diet i.e. no chocolate, tomato products, caffeine, coffee, and so on.... for over 1 year.  Nothing worked because my hiatal hernia was a pretty good size about the size of a quarter, at least that is what the surgeon said.  I had mentioned tea because it has caffeine and that relaxes the LES.  I don't think Sue is taking the anti nausea pill since I had told her which one I was taking.  I hope she takes it because it does help. I too have lost weight, I have an appointment on the 28th but in my last appointment I was down to 115.  I am sure that by the 5th week the swelling does go down because I am eating a little bit better.  You can read the thread titiled "nissen fundoplication"  I think it is about 1 or two threads below this one.  She gave me some good information.  Good luck...Barbara... 

Posted 11/22/2007 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
Happy Thanksgiving and good luck to all of us who will be showing gads of self control when our favorite foods pass by us tomorrow.

I can live without the turkey, I can pass on the giblet and sausage stuffing inside that turkey, I can make do with mashed potatoes and mashed butternut squash, but it's going to be really tough to stay away from desserts such as punch bowl cake (layers of scratch-made chocolate cake, chocolate pudding and real whipped cream). I guess I'll settle for some of the inside of the pumpkin pie - no crust <heavy sigh>.

So far, still not one bit of nausea for me - sorry others are suffering from it. I've even been enjoying restaurant food lately. Panera Bread - soup in a bread bowl. The soup had soft ingredients and it mushed up the inside of the bread bowl enough so I could have a tiny bit of the soggy bread. Have also been out to a restaurant and ordered baked scrod with a baked potato. Worked out great. I missed the iced tea I would normally order, but water with a lemon wedge sufficed. I asked for a "to go" container when they brought my meal and brought home enough for another meal later.

Anyone notice their gums have felt funny now that we aren't eating much? I found my gums were beginning to feel sore when I brushed my teeth, so I thought a dose of vitamin C was in order. A 4 oz glass of white grape juice in the morning for the past few days has made a world of difference - no more sore gums.

nocough - the reason we don't drink tea is because it contains caffeine and caffein is on the "no-no" list.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Posted 11/22/2007 4:36 AM (GMT 0)
I am so happy there is so much useful information being exchanged here! I don't have much input, as I have said before, I have not had this procedure, but I see you are all helping eachother, and that is so great. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving, and I look forward to hearing stories about how great of a time everyone had!
Posted 11/22/2007 12:28 PM (GMT 0)
Happily Wrapped-regarding the no no list? I am a bit confused as my surgeeon who does this at least twice a week said I can eat whatever I want from now on, obviously during the recovery period it has to be soft, liquids etc but caffeine with tea was acceptable. I am assuming the no no list you speak of is the one I followed prior to the surgery that could trigger acid reflux. Will you never be able to have caffeine? I was told not everyone can tollerate everything so try it once and see the reaction. I am looking forward once healed eating anything I want except I really dont see the soda thing in my future. I have had chocolate galore too but I will say it didnt bother me prior to the surgery so that is probabably why it doenst bother me. I have chocolate Ensure, Chocolate mix drink etc with no issues. I have had pasta with tomato sauce and that was a no no before but I had zero problems with it. Before that would send me into a coughing fit and major heartburn. The whole point of this surgery for me is to stop suffering and to be able to eat whatever I want  again. I had reflux so bad that even without eating the trigger foods I had some acid so anything on top of that was bad. But the few things I have tried so far have given me zero trouble. I wont go gungho like pasta every meal or anything but I even asked the PA and it is fine to eat whatever. Today though it will be mushy stuff but I wouldnt have a problem trying tea I just prefer water. I got so used to it prior to the surgery that I really like it. Anyway just wanted to see if this no no list is just during your recovery or forver. Obviously we dont want to overtax our system with heavy acidic stuff at 1st so that is why my acidic foods have been not an every day event.

Posted 11/22/2007 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
nocough -
Different doctors, different ways of doing things. Your doctor and mine have different opinions for after-surgery diet. However, if you do an internet search on "post nissen fundoplication diet" you will find that the majority of information you come upon has no tomato products, chocolate and no caffeine during the healing process. Most of what I read had it temporary during the healing process - which is different for everyone. It's not a ban on these items forever (unless they cause a problem), but for me it will be no chocolate, caffeine or tomato until after the new year. Plus my stomach is still getting used to digesting food without the PPI's it had for many years. I know that there is healing taking place and chocolate, tomato and caffeine aren't helpful to that process. I'm sure your physician knows his stuff, so you can feel confident following his instructions. We only post what our own experiences are. Maybe the next time you have an appointment you can ask him why he gave you less dietary restrictions than others you are comparing recoveries with? I'm sure his answer would be an interesting addition to this board for others to read.
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